Believer’s Baptism

I. What is a Believer’s Baptism?
A. It is the believer’s identification with Jesus Christ – a public testimony that one has accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior.  Matthew 10:32,33; Acts 2:41
B. It symbolizes what happened when I was saved. Water baptism is a physical representation of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. You were alive (standing upright in the water), you die (immersed into the water) and you are resurrected unto life (raised out of the water). I died to sin (its guilt, power, and its penalty) and was raised to a new life in Christ.
C. Physical baptism is a picture of spiritual baptism, that places or immerses the believer into the “body of Christ” at the time you called upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to save you according to Romans 6:1-7, I Corinthians 12:13 and Ephesians 4:5.
D. When we are plunged beneath the water in baptism, this does NOT wash away our sins. – Ephesians 2:8,9; Galatians 2:16.
E. When we were saved (born again) the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ was applied to our sins. It is the blood of Christ alone that cleansed us from sin. Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 1:7; 1 John 1:7; Colossians 1:20

II. Why is Baptism Important?
A. Because it is God’s command: Matthew 28:19,20 John 14:15 – If ye love me, keep my commandments.
B. Because Jesus Christ was baptized in obedience to God’s plan. Matthew 3:13-16
C. Before anyone can be taught to follow Jesus Christ, they must be willing to submit to the first act of obedience. If a person refuses to obey the Lord in the first point, he will most likely not obey in future points.
D. Because it was the normal practice of the churches in the New Testament. Acts 2:41; See also Acts 8:38; 9:17; 10:48; 16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:4,5
E. Because it is an open public testimony of an inward salvation.
F. Because it testifies to the world that you are different now, and that you are aligning your life with what the Bible says, and not with what the world says.

III. Who should be baptized?
A. Those that want to be obedient – Acts 2:41
B. Only those that are saved can be baptized. – Acts 8:36,37  (This excludes all baby baptisms, because they cannot believe. There is not one record of the baptism of a baby in the Bible)

IV. How should A Person be Baptized?
A. Again, Acts 8:26-39 gives the clearest example. In verses 38-39, both Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch went down into the water and came up out of the water.
B. In Matthew 3:16, Jesus was baptized in the same manner.
C. As seen previously, baptism is a picture of death, burial, and resurrection. The only way to bury someone is to put them completely underground. The biblical method of baptism is complete immersion. No one in the Bible was ever sprinkled, because no one can be buried by sprinkling dirt on them.

V. When Should A Person be Baptized?
As soon as possible after salvation—The Ethiopian eunuch – Acts 8:26-39 B. The apostle Paul – Acts 9:18 C. The Philippians jailer and his house -Acts 16:25-33

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