1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,840 Let's open our Bibles together into the New Testament to the eighth chapter of the Book 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:08,840 of Acts. 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:13,480 Actually, there was someone who came to me before the service and guessed the exact verse 4 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:14,760 I was speaking on tonight. 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,720 He had done some thinking about it. 6 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:21,320 In fact, two minutes worth this morning, he said, and figured it out. 7 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,560 So it wasn't that hard of a quiz, I suppose. 8 00:00:25,560 --> 00:00:30,720 The first question of a new convert is our subject for tonight, and we find that here 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,240 in the account of the Ethiopian eunuch. 10 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:43,960 We sometimes forget the confusion, uncertainties, and questions which are faced by new converts. 11 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:54,120 It's important for us to remember to be kind, to be sensitive to their early inquiries, sometimes 12 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,320 immature ideas or even mistakes. 13 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:02,720 And not be judgmental, because after all, we all started out there, didn't we? 14 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:08,920 We were all young and new babes in Christ at some point, and perhaps some of our ideas 15 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:12,520 didn't quite square up with what the Bible teaches. 16 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:14,840 But that comes with maturity. 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:18,600 That comes with growth in grace. 18 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:27,920 The Ethiopian eunuch was a man who was a student of the Word of God. 19 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:33,760 The Spirit of God had prepared him for this encounter with Philip. 20 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:40,240 He was on his way back home after having come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. 21 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:48,480 Now whether he was a Jew by birth or a Gentile proselyte to Judaism, we're not really told. 22 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:53,040 Here in Acts chapter 8, I rather think he may have been the latter. 23 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:58,880 I think that that would seem to fit in logically at least with the flow of the book of Acts 24 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:03,640 that we would have here a Gentile who was a convert to Judaism. 25 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:08,160 But he had not knowledge of Christ. 26 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,480 And as he read Isaiah chapter 53, his heart was puzzled. 27 00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:16,440 We find concerning this man that he was a man of questions. 28 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:22,520 In fact, the only statements recorded by him are questions or exclamations, nothing in 29 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:24,520 between. 30 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,640 Notice that in verse 31 he had this question of Philip as he joined the chariot. 31 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:33,040 He said, how could I, that is how could I understand what I'm reading unless someone 32 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:34,040 guides me? 33 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:35,040 Question. 34 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:40,800 And so they read the scripture together that he was studying. 35 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:48,400 In verse 34, the eunuch answered and said, please tell me of whom does the prophet say 36 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:49,400 this? 37 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:50,400 Question. 38 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:52,720 Of himself or of someone else? 39 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:54,480 Question. 40 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,920 And then Philip preached Jesus to him. 41 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:03,280 And they went on down the road and came to some water and the eunuch exclaimed, look, 42 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:04,580 water. 43 00:03:04,580 --> 00:03:08,920 And then he asked another question, what prevents me from being baptized? 44 00:03:08,920 --> 00:03:17,880 Here we have the first question or the first matter of concern after his hearing, and it's 45 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:22,640 implied his believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. 46 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:25,680 What prevents me from being baptized? 47 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:26,680 He asked. 48 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:32,840 Baptism, it seems to me, is the first question that every new convert ought to ask. 49 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:38,280 Indeed, it's the first command which the word of God gives us to obey. 50 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:40,280 We're coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 51 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:45,680 I want you to look with me in the book of Acts just very quickly at a sequence of scriptures 52 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:46,680 that deal with this. 53 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,880 Turn back to chapter two in verse 41. 54 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,360 I want you to notice how consistently this theme is followed in the book of Acts. 55 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:02,560 While it is not made a point every time there's a convert, the Holy Spirit causes Luke to 56 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,520 record this frequently enough that we certainly see the pattern that's established. 57 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:13,920 In Acts 2 41 it says, so then those who had received his word were baptized. 58 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,520 And they were added that day about 3,000 souls. 59 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:22,360 Now turn over to chapter eight again, and this time in verse 12. 60 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:28,840 Earlier in the chapter it says so, or rather, but when they believed Philip preaching the 61 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:35,320 good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized. 62 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,280 Men and women alike. 63 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:43,240 We've already read Acts chapter eight and verse 36. 64 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:47,080 So let's skip over that to chapter nine and verse 18. 65 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:50,320 Here regarding the apostle Paul after his conversion. 66 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:56,480 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight and 67 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,240 he arose and was baptized. 68 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:02,040 Chapter 10 verse 47. 69 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:08,600 Here we come now to the first Gentile, Cornelius, his household. 70 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:14,920 In verse 47, Peter says, surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized 71 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,560 who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did Kenny. 72 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:23,320 And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. 73 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:30,880 And now over into the minister of the apostle Paul in chapter 16 and verses 14 and 15. 74 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:36,560 A certain woman named Lydia from the city of Phthira, seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper 75 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:38,560 of God was listening. 76 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,360 And the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. 77 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:49,120 And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us saying, if you judge me to be 78 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:53,400 faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay there. 79 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:58,720 And then in chapter 16 again in verse 33 it says, and he took them that very hour of the 80 00:05:58,720 --> 00:05:59,720 night. 81 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:03,520 And they were in Philippi and washed their wounds. 82 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:09,000 And immediately he was baptized he and his household. 83 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,320 Chapter 18 and verse 8. 84 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:17,480 And Crispus the leader of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his household. 85 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:23,040 And many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 86 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:28,960 Chapter 19 verses 3 through 5. 87 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:33,240 And he said, Paul said, into what then were you baptized? 88 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:35,720 And they said into John's baptism. 89 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:41,480 And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe 90 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,360 in him who is coming after him, that is in Jesus. 91 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:50,040 And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 92 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:54,040 And then one other account in chapter 22 and verse 16. 93 00:06:54,040 --> 00:07:00,920 Paul says, and now why do you delay, arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling 94 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,840 on his name. 95 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:08,880 So you see that throughout the book of Acts, not just in the early chapters which deal 96 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:14,160 primarily with the Jews and with Israel, but throughout the book of Acts and the progress 97 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:19,520 of it, you see baptism consistently followed and practiced among the early believers in 98 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:21,800 the church. 99 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:28,720 We teach as a local church that there are two ordinances or commandments which our Lord 100 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:36,160 gave to us as a body of believers as a church to practice and obey during this age. 101 00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:42,240 And of course they are the Lord's Supper and baptism. 102 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,000 These are indeed commandments. 103 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:45,840 They are not considerations. 104 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:54,440 They are not options, but they are commandments given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 105 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,960 It seems to me that there are two extremes that need to be avoided regarding baptism. 106 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,680 On the one hand there is the extreme that says baptism is not for this age. 107 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,600 For a variation of it, baptism is unimportant. 108 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:07,600 It's insignificant. 109 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:08,600 It's optional. 110 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:16,600 The other is the extreme that teaches baptism is essential for salvation. 111 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,320 And unless you are baptized, you cannot be saved. 112 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:24,320 Both of those extremes are incorrect. 113 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,320 They are in error. 114 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:36,120 Is the command of Matthew 28, 19, for example, in what is commonly called the Great Commission, 115 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:41,000 where Jesus has go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the 116 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:46,160 Son and of the Holy Spirit, is that command for this age? 117 00:08:46,160 --> 00:08:50,200 Well, certainly the apostles thought so. 118 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:55,280 They were convinced it was true, and the early church followed that practice. 119 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,040 Is it necessary for salvation? 120 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:04,720 The apostles did not teach that it was, nor did the early church teach it. 121 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:10,800 And there is the first question that every convert ought to ask. 122 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:12,600 That prevents me from being baptized. 123 00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:20,520 If you were to ask that in our church tonight, the answer to that would be a leaky baptistry. 124 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:24,080 I'm sorry to say we have quite a few people who are waiting on baptism, and we've been 125 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:28,400 waiting to get the baptistry fixed for a number of months, trying several ideas. 126 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:33,080 And you notice how the plants are even growing over there now, isn't it? 127 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:35,640 You can see how badly it was leaking. 128 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,840 But we are assured that within the next two weeks, as a matter of fact, the baptistry 129 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:45,400 is going to be repaired, and we will be scheduling baptism immediately after that. 130 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,260 But let's think about that first question of a new convert. 131 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:50,920 What prevents me from being baptized? 132 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:52,520 And ask several basic questions. 133 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,040 First of all, what is baptism? 134 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,960 The noun baptism comes from a Greek verb, baptizo. 135 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:05,280 You see that that's where the word baptism is derived. 136 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:09,000 Baptizo means to dip or to immerse. 137 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,160 All lexicographers agree on this. 138 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,760 You say, what in the world is a lexicographer? 139 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,160 That is a person who writes a dictionary. 140 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:20,880 Those who study words and write definitions to words. 141 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:24,520 I was just reading a very interesting article today in Parade magazine, maybe some of you 142 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:30,120 saw it, regarding Noah Webster, who was the first lexicographer of American English. 143 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,880 There are people who study the definitions of words and write those words down. 144 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:40,520 Now those who study these Greek words are lexicographers too. 145 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:45,400 And they say regarding this verb that it definitely means to immerse or to dip. 146 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:49,440 All lexicographers agree with that. 147 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:56,240 In Mark chapter 1, we have recorded for us the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ. 148 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:01,080 Now in the language as it's originally written there, it could not be made more clear that 149 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:06,440 exactly what happened to Jesus was that he went down into the Jordan River and came up 150 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:08,840 out of the Jordan River. 151 00:11:08,840 --> 00:11:12,840 Not just that he walked down the bank and waded into it, but that he went down into 152 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,280 the water and came up out of the water. 153 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:22,240 There is no question that that was the mode or the form which the Lord Jesus Christ followed 154 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:26,840 in his baptism, which was the baptism of John. 155 00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:31,920 But someone says, well it's not really the form that is important, it's the spirit that 156 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:32,920 counts. 157 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:37,280 Well certainly the spirit is important. 158 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:42,280 Certainly the heart attitude is critical indeed to what baptism means. 159 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:46,440 But the meaning is also found in its symbolism. 160 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:53,640 And that is directly related to the mode, the form that is practiced. 161 00:11:53,640 --> 00:12:01,600 Immersion pictures beautifully the symbolism of baptism, that of death, burial, and resurrection 162 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:07,320 with the Lord Jesus Christ being placed below the waters, brought up again just as the Lord 163 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,980 Jesus was. 164 00:12:09,980 --> 00:12:14,000 That is a picture of his death, burial, and resurrection. 165 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,920 It seems to me that the form is significant. 166 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:25,760 This Greek word is transliterated into the English language giving us the word baptism. 167 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:34,760 The King James Version translators actually created the word so as not to offend the King 168 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:40,680 of England, King James who was the head of the Anglican Church, the Church of England. 169 00:12:40,680 --> 00:12:46,680 Had they translated this word like they translated other words from the Greek as well as the 170 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:56,600 Hebrew, they would have used the word immerse, where it was implied it was literal water baptism. 171 00:12:56,600 --> 00:13:02,360 But that would be in contrast to what the Church of England did and could have cost 172 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,320 them not only their jobs but the upper portion of their anatomy. 173 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:12,320 And so to keep from offending the King of England who had hired them to do their work, 174 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,880 they simply transliterated the word and brought it into the English language. 175 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,240 Thus we have the word baptism or baptize. 176 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:27,800 Let me quote a Dr. Grould, E.P. Grould who is an Episcopalian authority commenting regarding 177 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:28,800 Mark 1. 178 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:33,880 He says, the proposition here coincides with the proper meaning of the verb indicating 179 00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:39,200 that the form of the rite was immersion into the stream. 180 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:44,480 As you know Episcopalians, those who are related to the Church of England practice another 181 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:49,920 form but one of the scholars even admits immersion is what the Bible teaches. 182 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:55,720 John Calvin who is associated so often with Presbyterians and the reform movement said 183 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:59,960 this, among the ancients they immersed the whole body in water. 184 00:13:59,960 --> 00:14:05,920 It is certain that immersion was the practice of the early Church. 185 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,800 Cardinal Gibbons of the Roman Catholic faith and faith of our fathers said this, for several 186 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:17,960 centuries after the establishment of Christianity, baptism was usually conferred by immersion. 187 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:23,280 But he went on to say, since the 12th century the practice of baptism by our fusion has 188 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:29,840 prevailed in the Catholic Church as this manner is attained with less inconvenience than immersion. 189 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:34,680 Someone asked me this morning, well where did sprinkling begin? 190 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:38,880 It's difficult to trace that back and find the exact source of it. 191 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:41,320 There are different ideas about it. 192 00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:47,720 But you can draw the bottom line and say this, that sprinkling began as a mode of convenience. 193 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:57,200 Personally in this Church we understand the Bible to be our final authority and we have 194 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,040 convictions about what the Bible teaches. 195 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:07,720 We believe that the final authority, the Bible, teaches us that immersion is the proper mode 196 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:08,720 of baptism. 197 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:13,960 Then the question, who should be baptized? 198 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:16,240 The answer to that is those who have believed. 199 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:22,520 Just as it was true with what Philip said to the Ethiopian eunuch, he said to him, if 200 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:25,800 you believe you may be baptized. 201 00:15:25,800 --> 00:15:33,240 And he responded by saying, I believe, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 202 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,600 And immediately they stopped the chariot and got out of the chariot and went down to the 203 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,360 water and there he was baptized and Philip was caught away by the Spirit. 204 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:43,720 And the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. 205 00:15:43,720 --> 00:15:46,960 Who is it that should be baptized? 206 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,680 The answer is those who have believed. 207 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:56,640 Or as Jesus would put it in Matthew 28 and 19, those who have been made disciples. 208 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,600 As those who have believed on him. 209 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,280 In other words, baptism is not just for some. 210 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,920 Baptism is not just for those who are more dedicated. 211 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,800 It is not for those who have grown to some state of Christian maturity. 212 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:16,800 It is not for those who sometimes get in the mood for it. 213 00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:22,000 But the teaching of the New Testament is that baptism is for all who have believed, who 214 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,920 are best disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. 215 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:29,200 It is for all who come to faith. 216 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:35,280 But then notice too, it is only for those who come to faith. 217 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:39,800 We practice what we call believers baptism. 218 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:45,440 That is, baptism is for those who have believed. 219 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,880 In fact, in the Bible there is not a word of another kind of baptism for unbelievers 220 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:56,320 or for infants for that matter. 221 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,800 I usually tell those who are in the members meetings that I am going to take a few seconds 222 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:08,240 to talk about all the scriptures that deal with infant baptism. 223 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:12,200 And I wait about that long to say that is all of them right there. 224 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:17,040 You see, the point is that there are none that deal with infant baptism. 225 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:24,360 Infant baptism is based upon a system of theology that is called covenant theology. 226 00:17:24,360 --> 00:17:29,640 Covenant theology says that the New Testament age is the fulfillment of God's Old Testament 227 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:32,480 covenant with Abraham. 228 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:40,160 They teach that infant baptism thus replaces circumcision of the Jews as a means of bringing 229 00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:45,880 a child under the covenant of Abraham, the covenant with God. 230 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:53,760 Now certainly the New Testament does teach a kind of circumcision, not physical circumcision, 231 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,680 but rather spiritual circumcision. 232 00:17:56,680 --> 00:18:04,000 What Paul calls in Colossians chapter 2, the cutting away of the sin of the flesh. 233 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:09,920 That is, the power, the principle of sin within us, the power of the principle of sin. 234 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:14,720 The guilt that is associated with that, that is circumcised, cut away from us when we come 235 00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,880 to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 236 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,120 But that is the only kind of circumcision that is mentioned in the New Testament. 237 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:29,160 It is a spiritual thing that occurs in the heart, in the spirit when one comes to Christ. 238 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:38,600 The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Godparents or sponsors come with the child at the time 239 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:44,040 of his being sprinkled, what they call baptism. 240 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,520 They refer to that as vicarious faith. 241 00:18:47,520 --> 00:18:52,120 These people are, the child doesn't have faith they say, but these people come with faith 242 00:18:52,120 --> 00:18:55,160 on behalf of the child. 243 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:00,960 And thus they try to justify baptism for that child who has no, I'm sorry, no knowledge 244 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:01,960 of what's going on. 245 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:06,320 I know because I was sprinkled as a child and I didn't know what was going on. 246 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:12,360 I got my head wet, but that's all that I could possibly get out of that whole experience. 247 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:17,800 Luther taught that infants have faith. 248 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,000 Calvin was very similar to that. 249 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:28,040 He taught that the seed of faith is implanted in children of believing parents because of 250 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:29,280 the covenant of promise. 251 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,240 And so taught infant baptism. 252 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:38,560 But again, I refer to the fact that the word of God is our final authority. 253 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:42,520 And nowhere in the word of God is infant baptism spoken about. 254 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:47,800 Oh, you say yes, but you read some scriptures where households were baptized. 255 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:52,800 But please notice that in none of those cases does it say whether the household was family 256 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:53,800 or servants. 257 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,200 In the first place, the word can refer to either one. 258 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:03,000 Let's assume for the moment that it is a family, which I think is probably the better understanding 259 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:04,000 of it. 260 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,200 It does not indicate there the age of the family. 261 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:09,360 It says nothing about infants. 262 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:14,600 And to use that as a text for arguing for infant baptism is at best to argue from silence 263 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,600 a weak argument. 264 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:25,360 Indeed, the indication there is that not only the parents were saved and the households 265 00:20:25,360 --> 00:20:30,520 were baptized too, but it is rather that the parents and the households believed and therefore 266 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,920 they were all baptized. 267 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,760 Why should one be baptized? 268 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,200 Because it is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ. 269 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:44,840 There's a part of his commandment to us to evangelize in this age. 270 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:49,680 The early church then followed by giving us a consistent example of that. 271 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:51,560 Why should one be baptized? 272 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:57,840 Because it evidences obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ and testifies not only of one's 273 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:04,040 commitment to him, but of one's union and identity with him. 274 00:21:04,040 --> 00:21:06,240 What is the significance of baptism? 275 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:11,560 Well, it is not a baptism of repentance. 276 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:19,640 What I mean by that, the baptism today is not the same baptism in its significance with 277 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,720 which Jesus was baptized. 278 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:27,600 He was baptized by John the Baptist, an Old Testament baptism. 279 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:33,760 There are some Baptists who teach that the Baptist church can be traced all the way back 280 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:34,760 to John the Baptist. 281 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,840 Have you ever heard that doctrine? 282 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:40,920 I guess you have to be from Kentucky to have heard that. 283 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,440 It's called landmarkism. 284 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:49,320 And it's a very strong theme in some of the Baptists and they only put the capital B on 285 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,480 John the Baptist, but all the letters are capitalized. 286 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:56,840 They taste that the Baptist church goes all the way back to John the Baptist. 287 00:21:56,840 --> 00:22:01,080 My argument with them is this, that if it does, it's an Old Testament Baptist church. 288 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,240 Because you see, John the Baptist was a part of the Old Testament. 289 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:10,320 It seems to me they're cutting their own throats and trying to propagate that. 290 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,120 Jesus was baptized with John the Baptist baptism. 291 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:16,240 It was a baptism unto repentance. 292 00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:22,360 Not that he needed to repent, but he identified with us in our sin, in our need to repent. 293 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:29,160 And it was the beginning of his ministry, his public ministry, identifying in suffering 294 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:35,680 with us in our sin, culminating with his death on the cross. 295 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:42,720 By the way, from what I just said, you can see that the apostles did not create baptism. 296 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:44,800 John the Baptist practiced it. 297 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:52,000 We got it from the, what was the group called down at the Dead Sea? 298 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,280 The Essenes. 299 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:54,680 The Essenes practiced it. 300 00:22:54,680 --> 00:23:01,520 In fact, if you go down to the community that the archeologists have uncovered from those 301 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:06,840 early days, 2,000 years ago, you will find something there that some people believe is 302 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,800 a baptistry that was built in a part of one of their buildings. 303 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:11,200 At least it appears to be. 304 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:12,200 It may be a bathtub. 305 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:13,200 I don't know. 306 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,560 I don't know how archeologists decided it was a bath history, not a bathtub or whatever 307 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,200 it may have been. 308 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,520 But the fact is that the Essenes were known to have practiced baptism. 309 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,480 The Jews practiced baptism in the Old Testament. 310 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:32,560 Gentile proselytes brought into Judaism were immersed in the water to bring them in. 311 00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:37,760 The pagans practiced the same rite. 312 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:45,480 You see, the Lord Jesus Christ gave it a brand new meaning, signifying his death, burial, 313 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:46,480 and resurrection. 314 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:53,800 And so, although it's the same event, it has a brand new meaning and significance during 315 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:58,480 this age because it points back to his death and resurrection. 316 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,680 That's what it symbolizes, the great facts of the gospel. 317 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:06,400 It also pictures our baptism in the Holy Spirit. 318 00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:11,240 At the moment that you and I are saved, the Holy Spirit is a wonderful thing. 319 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:12,240 He baptizes us. 320 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:18,480 Nowhere are we taught in scripture to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 321 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,900 Not once are we commanded to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, contrary to much of the teaching 322 00:24:22,900 --> 00:24:26,000 in some churches today. 323 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:30,800 The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the work of the Holy Spirit identifying us with the 324 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,640 Lord Jesus Christ at the very moment that we're saved. 325 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:36,440 We don't sense it. 326 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,240 It's something that happens to us, but it's not something that we sense. 327 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:41,240 It is done once. 328 00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:43,640 It is done at the moment of salvation. 329 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:45,440 It never needs to be repeated. 330 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:54,200 It means that he identifies us with the Lord Jesus Christ, just as that spiritual baptism, 331 00:24:54,200 --> 00:25:03,480 by the way, brings us into the church, the universal body of Christ, capital C on church. 332 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:11,720 Just as that spiritual baptism brings us into the church, the body of Christ. 333 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:18,180 So we believe that it's logical to conclude that water baptism should be a part of one 334 00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:20,480 coming into our local church. 335 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:27,320 Not that one has to be baptized every time he goes into a church, but after being saved, 336 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,160 one is baptized in water and brought into the membership of a local church because it 337 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,840 fits beautifully with that picture of our spiritual baptism. 338 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:40,920 When one is baptized, it is an illustration of our death with Christ to the old way of 339 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,400 life, to our sin. 340 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,160 Romans chapter 6 talks about this. 341 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:53,160 Our burial with Christ, our resurrection, to walk with him after newness of life. 342 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:57,760 It indicates our desire to walk pleasing to him. 343 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,960 And so is baptism essential for salvation? 344 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,920 The answer is a resounding no, it is not. 345 00:26:04,920 --> 00:26:07,760 It is not necessary. 346 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:12,800 Commonly we point to the thief on the cross as an example of that. 347 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,920 Jesus said, today you will be with me in paradise. 348 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:16,920 Obviously he wasn't baptized. 349 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,040 Well, there are those that have argued with me on that. 350 00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,840 They say, well, he was baptized with the baptism of desire. 351 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,080 He would have been if he could. 352 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:30,360 I don't know how you argue with that. 353 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:35,800 The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 14 said, I thank God I baptize 354 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:41,760 none of you but Gaius and Crispus and he names the ones that he baptized. 355 00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,280 Now the reason for his saying that, you have to understand what he's talking about in the 356 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,760 first couple of chapters of Corinthians, but my point is this. 357 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:52,640 If baptism were necessary for salvation, Paul would never have said, I thank God I didn't 358 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,120 baptize you except for these few people. 359 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:58,520 In other words, he says others have baptized him. 360 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:03,720 He would have wanted to make sure they were baptized immediately if it were necessary 361 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:07,520 to somehow consummate their salvation. 362 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:13,920 It seems to me that the teaching that one must be baptized to be saved is heresy. 363 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:19,440 Just as heretical and just as false as those Judaizers in the early days of the church 364 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,180 that one had to be circumcised to be saved. 365 00:27:23,180 --> 00:27:28,320 They were adding to the gospel of Jesus Christ and Paul denounced them in the strongest terms 366 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:33,920 and so I believe that we need to denounce that teaching which says one must believe 367 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,760 on the Lord Jesus Christ and be baptized to be saved. 368 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,740 That is heresy, that is false teaching. 369 00:27:41,740 --> 00:27:48,120 Salvation comes through simple faith, receiving through faith what God provides by grace. 370 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:52,720 Is it essential however for discipleship? 371 00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:56,000 Is baptism essential for discipleship? 372 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:01,920 The answer is a resounding yes, it is. 373 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:09,240 If commands are meant to be obeyed, it is necessary for discipleship. 374 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:15,680 If commands are meant to be obeyed, then failure to obey the command is disobedience. 375 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:22,640 Jesus said in John 14, 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. 376 00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:28,080 My friend baptism is one, it is one of his commandments. 377 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:34,960 It seems to me that baptism is the first question that a new convert ought to seek out. 378 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:41,560 Now there are those who delay, some delay out of fear, they're afraid of the experience. 379 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:47,960 I have talked to people who are absolutely petrified of water. 380 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:56,960 And I know they bathe, I know some of them get into a bathtub at least on Saturday night 381 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,640 whether they need it or not. 382 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:05,280 But somehow either they go swimming in a swimming pool, get water up to here, that's about as 383 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:10,040 far as my wife goes, because she has been baptized. 384 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,080 We've never lost anybody yet in the baptistry. 385 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:20,080 It's been close a couple of times, but we haven't lost them yet. 386 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,320 There's nothing to be terrified of. 387 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,920 Yet there are those who neglect because of fear or delay because of fear. 388 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,800 There are those who delay because of neglect. 389 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:34,360 They simply don't see this as something that is that urgent. 390 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:39,880 But it seems to me if you study it in the Bible, in the book of Acts in particular, 391 00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:47,360 the historical book of the early church, you see that almost always it followed immediately 392 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,320 the act of faith. 393 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:56,120 Now we do delay that somewhat in our own practice of it in order to give an opportunity for 394 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:01,680 that faith to be testified to publicly. 395 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,520 I'm not sure that we have biblical grounds for that however, because as it was practiced 396 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,200 in the New Testament church, it followed faith immediately. 397 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:18,080 There are those who delay also, I'm sorry to say, out of pride because somehow it is 398 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:22,640 a humbling thing, and I think it's meant to be that. 399 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,480 It's meant to be a humbling of oneself. 400 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:30,520 My friend, if the Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be baptized with the suffering that he 401 00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:36,480 endured, if he humbled himself to the point of death, even the death of the cross, it's 402 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:43,440 not too much that we should humble ourselves in front of others and allow ourselves to 403 00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:51,160 be identified through water with him, with his people. 404 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:56,960 I don't know what the reason may be for delay in your life if that's the case, but I want 405 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:02,480 to encourage you to examine that because I want to repeat the baptism is essential for 406 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:03,480 discipleship. 407 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:08,200 It's not that the Lord doesn't forgive sins, he does. 408 00:31:08,200 --> 00:31:11,960 But let's face it, he commanded baptism. 409 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,120 Obedience means to be baptized. 410 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:24,680 It's not a question of salvation, but it is a question of following him in obedience. 411 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,480 Let's bow together in prayer. 412 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:36,480 My friend, the question tonight may be for you. 413 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,120 What prevents me from being baptized? 414 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:43,680 And I would respond to you the way that Philip responded to that Ethiopian. 415 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:45,920 If you believe, you may. 416 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,600 Have you believed? 417 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:56,920 Do not place your faith in some rite, even if it be baptism, for water can never wash 418 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:04,040 away sins, only the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for that. 419 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,800 What prevents me from being baptized? 420 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:14,340 Nothing if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as far as God is concerned. 421 00:32:14,340 --> 00:32:16,560 If you have believed, have you been baptized? 422 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:21,840 Have you followed the Lord in the waters of baptism? 423 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:32,560 Father, I pray that you tonight will, in a very wonderful and gentle way, your way, deal 424 00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:36,320 with us, speak to our hearts about this. 425 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:42,240 And for those who have for some reason delayed in their obedience, I pray that you, not me, 426 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:49,440 not this preacher, not this church, but you by your spirit, would deal with those hearts 427 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:54,560 and bring them to the point of understanding the importance of this and of following through 428 00:32:54,560 --> 00:33:03,240 with an obedient discipleship, knowing that that pleases you. 429 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:08,560 And I pray, Father, if some friend be here without Jesus, that you will help that one 430 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:17,280 to see the preeminence of that decision to receive by faith the Lord Jesus. 431 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:19,800 And may you do that tonight. 432 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:47,800 In Jesus' name I pray, amen.