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Baptism and the Bible
Check out what the Bible does – and does not – say about baptism.
1. Jesus was Baptized - Matthew 3:5-16
a. He was baptized by John who preached repentance
b. He was baptized as a prophecy of things to come:
Symbols of death and resurrection
c. He was baptized as an example for His followers.
2. Jesus Commanded Baptism - Matthew 28:18-20 - “The Great
Commission”
“Go and make disciples of all nations”:
a. Baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit
b. Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you.
3. The Disciples Practiced Baptism
• Acts 2:38 - “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost....”
• Acts 8:12 - “When they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
• Acts 8:38 – “... and they went down both into the water, both Philip and eunuch; and he baptized him.”
• Acts 16:15 - “And when she was baptized and her household, she besought us, saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there...”
4. Christians in the Bible saw Baptism as very symbolic
a. Of death and resurrection: Romans 6:3 - Know you
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death; that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of
God, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
b. Of washing & cleansing - (which is what the baptism of
John in the Wilderness symbolized).
What Baptism is NOT:
1. It is not a soul-saving technique.
• Mt. 16:16 - “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.”
John 10:9 - “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved…”
• Acts 2:21 - “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
• Acts 4:12 - “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
2. It is not a right of passage into adulthood
Baptism is not a “bar mitzvah”, a Jewish right in which a boy is accepted into manhood.
3. It is not the way in which one becomes a Christian. We become Christians by accepting Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior, asking him to forgive us of our sins, and determining to live for Him.
John 3:3-18 - We are born into Christ’s Kingdom from above.
4. It is not a graduation ceremony from church - it is the beginning of your new spiritual growth as an adult believer having accepted Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior.
What Baptism is:
1. An important part of following Christ – He commanded
it.
2. Natural and obvious next step.
3
. An outward sign of an inward transformation
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