3/19/23 The Ordinance of Baptism
The Ordinance of Baptism
Matthew 28: 18-20
Being a basketball fan, this is one of my favorite times of the year. You may have heard of this thing called “March Madness” going on right now…?
The regular season is over and now the top 68 collegiate basketball teams in the country compete in a huge tournament held in different regions all across the country, until the final four teams are left standing. These four teams then play for the coveted national championship trophy.
Each year, the members of our family fill out a tournament bracket where we try to predict the winners of each game, and then the eventual champion (Of Which mine has already been defeated – Ouch!) We don’t play for money like some families do, but serious family bragging rights are on the line every year!
Division 1 college basketball is big business. Perennial powerhouse programs at universities such as Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas bring in huge amounts of revenue to their respective schools. These programs are also stepping-stones for talented incoming freshmen hoping to showcase their talents on a big stage. If a young player can perform well at these elite basketball schools, they are most certainly headed to the NBA where riches and fame await them.
Talented high school players are typically recruited by numerous schools, and eventually, these players publicly announce which college they intend to play for. In other words, they declare their intention to play for a certain university.
“Signing Day”, as it is called, is a big deal for high school athletes who have performed well enough at the high school level to continue their athletic participation at the collegiate level. At the Signing Day ceremony, the student athlete, surrounded by their family and coaches, “signs” their letter of intent to play for a particular university.
For high-profile high school basketball players, there is typically a sense of suspense as they make their way to the table to proclaim their allegiance to a particular school. Many times, these highly sought after student athletes will not disclose their school of choice until after making a few comments to the media there to cover the event.
When it comes time for the athlete to disclose who they will play for, they will typically put on a hat displaying the name & colors of the school, or sometimes they will take an outer garment off to reveal the school’s name and colors on a shirt underneath.
This act reveals their intention to play for a specific school – the athlete is joyfully making a public declaration to align themselves with a particular team. A pledge is being made by the student-athlete to stay true to their decision. From this point forward, the athlete is expected to follow through on their promise to align themselves with the coach, teammates, and fans of that particular institution.
Believers in Jesus also have a “signing day” – A time to make a public declaration to the world regarding a decision they have made – the decision to devote the rest of their lives to the teachings and commands of Christ. Or to put it another way, they have declared to wear the jersey of “Team Jesus.”
The Bible refers to this public act as Baptism.
Baptism is one of 2 Church Ordinances that Jesus commands his followers obey. The other Ordinance is Communion – we’ll cover that one next week.
What is an Ordinance anyway?
An Ordinance is a God-ordained ceremony involving a symbolic reenactment of the gospel message – they are visual aids meant to assist us in better understanding and appreciating what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross.
In addition, participating in one of the Ordinances is to proclaim belief and trust in Jesus Christ and that a decision has been made to follow him.
Ordinances have three general characteristics.
1) They were instituted by Christ.
2) They were taught by the Apostles.
3) They were practiced by the early Church.
You may have also heard the term “Sacrament” before. Some denominations refer to baptism and communion as Sacraments. According to their tradition, God conveys saving grace to individuals who participate in these two sacraments, as well as a host of other rituals deemed to be channels of God’s grace and blessing.
In other words, they believe that salvation is actually acquired (At least in part) through the physical act of participating in baptism & communion.
This line of thinking ends up de-emphasizing faith and emphasizing works to a degree that becomes contrary to scripture. The book of James does remind us that works are important….but at the same time, Paul teaches in his letters that works are always a result of genuine faith.
In other words, salvation is obtained through faith alone….but genuine, functional faith will always be accompanied by works.
Back when I owned the music store, one of my regular customers was a very pleasant lady by the name of Kimberly. Kimberly is confined to a wheelchair – her arms work but her legs lack the strength and mobility for her to stand on them. Because Kimberly’s arms are functional, she is able to go places on her own through the interaction between her arms and the wheels on her chair. Wherever Kimberly goes, her wheelchair is always with her.
Without her wheelchair, Kimberly would be immobile – unable to move. And the wheelchair, without Kimberly’s arms there to power it, would of course be unable to move on its own as well. What makes Kimberly truly mobile (Or Functional) is the interplay between her arms and the wheels on her chair.
Think of Kimberly’s arms as faith - and think of Kimberly’s wheelchair as works. If Kimberly is to go anywhere – if she is to be functional - her wheelchair will always be with her. Kimberly’s arms are what gives her the ability to be mobile but without the wheelchair, movement (functionality) simply would not happen.
So it is with faith and works. Functional faith (True, saving faith) will always have works right along with it.
The Bible is very clear that we are saved by grace through faith alone, not by any works that we have done, or will ever do, in our lives.
Ephesians 2:8-9 clearly states “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – Not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Romans 1:17 says that the “Righteous shall live by faith”….this was the verse that convinced a 16th century Catholic monk by the name of Martin Luther to stand in opposition to his church regarding its unscriptural views of individual salvation.
The two Ordinances that Jesus specifically commands His church to observe and participate in are communion and baptism.
Today’s passage, called “The Great Commission”, deals with the final commands of Jesus given to his disciples – and by extension – the church, before he returns to Heaven in what is called the “Ascension.”
In verse 19 Jesus says that we are to “Make disciples of all nations” and then he follows that up with the words “Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Imagine you opened the ‘Help Wanted’ page of a newspaper or internet site and saw a posting for the job of “Christian.” When you look under ‘Job duties’ you see a very important task: To Make Disciples…..and attached to that task is another important assignment: To Baptize those disciples.
As we will see, Baptism is mentioned numerous times in scripture with this passage being the most straight-forward verse concerning its importance.
So, what exactly is baptism AND what is happening when someone participates in the act of Baptism?
In its most basic sense, baptism is a dramatization of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Did you catch that?
When we are immersed under water and brought back out of it, we are doing 2 things. We are (1) recognizing and symbolizing Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection…and (2) We are illustrating our own death to sin and new life in Christ.
Romans 6:8-11 states “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Baptism is not about simply following church tradition or engaging in some empty ritual. Baptism is about proclaiming Jesus’ shed blood for your sins, and at the same time, proclaiming your new life of freedom from sin in Christ.
Being submerged in the water represents death – death to sin’s mastery over one’s life.
Emerging from the water, then, represents the cleansed, holy life that follows salvation.
Romans 6:4 puts it this way: “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
The act of Baptism is “Declaration Day” for the individual who has made the decision to forever wear the jersey of Jesus Christ.
Now as a side note, scripture will occasionally speak of the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” This is different from the physical act of baptism.
The ‘Baptism of the Holy Spirit’ happens at the moment of salvation and refers to the work of the Holy Spirit in placing the believer into union with Christ, and into union with other believers.
In other words, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is when He indwells you the moment you believe in Christ. At the moment your soul becomes born-again (regenerated) you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:13 explains it this way: “For we were all baptized by one spirit so as to form one body – whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free – and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
Another important thing to remember about spirit baptism is that when we are born again, the Holy Spirit indwells us in His entirety. There are some Christian traditions that use the term ‘baptism of the Holy Spirit’ to describe an experiential event at some point after their conversion when they supposedly receive a “greater portion” of the Holy Spirit. According to this teaching, believers who experience this secondary ‘baptism’ are then said to be given the ability to utilize certain spiritual gifts.
Nowhere in scripture is such a secondary baptism ever mentioned or taught. Likewise, nowhere in scripture are we told that the Holy Spirit indwells people with different amounts of himself.
Paul says in Ephesians 4:5 that we are united in “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
ALL believers receive Spirit baptism at their conversion (Salvation) it’s not a special experience reserved for only a few.
If you are a believer, you have been indwelt with the entire person of the Holy Spirit – now it’s your choice as to how obedient you will be to the Holy Spirit’s direction in your life.
As Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, Faith is the means by which we are united to Jesus – and we symbolize this faith through the physical act of baptism.
Think of a wedding. The groom takes a ring and slips it on his bride’s finger and says “With this ring I thee wed.” The act of putting a ring on the bride’s finger is not what makes them husband and wife. The Vows made before God and witnesses are what make a bride and groom husband and wife, not the act of putting a ring on a finger.
In other words, the rings symbolize what the vows have instituted. Does that make sense?
In the same way, the act of Baptism symbolizes what faith in Christ has instituted.
Another aspect of Baptism has to do with the way it is administered.
Baptism in the Bible is Always performed through immersion.
In scripture, we simply never see sprinkling or pouring as a practiced method of Baptism – that is why we here at LaValle Advent Christian baptize by immersion.
The Greek word for baptism (baptizo) literally means to dip, or immerse, or to submerge.
The Eunuch in Acts Chapter 8 asks Phillip to baptize him because he sees a body of water nearby.
In John Chapter 3, we are told that John the Baptist baptized people near Salim because there was plenty of water.
Verse 19 of our passage for today (Matthew 28:19) reminds us that another aspect of Baptism is that it is to be performed “In the name of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit.”
The act of Baptism is a sacred moment. All three members of the Godhead are involved in your regeneration; therefore, they are all to be referenced at the moment in which you publicly proclaim your faith.
Baptism is also an expression of faith reserved for believers only.
Colossians 2:12 says: “Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.”
Galatians 3:26-27 reads: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Scripturally speaking, baptism is an act of faith (An expression of faith)
Infants and toddlers, as well as individuals mentally incapable of expressing faith in Christ, are not eligible (Nor are they expected) to engage in the act of baptism since they lack the cognitive ability to choose Jesus over the world.
Scripture, however, has very comforting words regarding the eternal destiny of these precious individuals should they happen to pass away without ever possessing the cognitive ability to publicly proclaim Jesus as Lord & Savior of their life.
In Seminary, I wrote a long paper on the topic of infant salvation – perhaps that would make for a good sermon topic someday.
Lastly, I’d like to end with a question for those of you here this morning who have placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ but for whatever reason have not chosen to be baptized – or maybe you were sprinkled as an infant.
It’s a simple question - What’s holding you back?
I’m certainly not trying to put a guilt trip on anyone here this morning – just maybe a pebble in your shoe.
Yes, technically scripture indicates that you do not need to be baptized in order to receive salvation (Just ask the thief on the cross) But that’s not the point.
The point is, If you have already received the miracle of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ by believing in his death, burial, and resurrection…why would you not want to publicly proclaim it before others?
More importantly, why would you choose to ignore the command of Jesus to be baptized?
A believer that refuses to be baptized is like the basketball player from our opening illustration who never reveals the name of his or her future school/team.
Why would they do that? …..aren’t they happy to be associated with their new team? Wouldn’t their joy be overflowing?
If this is you, please consider participating in the act of Baptism.
We have a nice warm baptismal pool right here behind me that needs to get used (It’s been a while) think of it as a hot tub if that helps – And I promise not to hold you under for too long! 😊
But more importantly, remember the words of Jesus from our text this morning and allow them to inspire you to respond in faith to the Savior’s request.
Go ahead and declare your decision to play for “Team Jesus”!
Let others know who saved your soul – and that he can save theirs as well!
Let’s Pray.