5.2.09
“Do I Have to Be
Baptized?”
The Short Answer
No. God will never force you to be baptized. At the same time, Scripture tells us that “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who
does not believe will be condemned.”
(Mark 16:16). So, if we
want Jesus to carry our sins and our condemnation, and we want to live forever,
then YES we should be baptized.
The Who
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through
baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:3, 4
We are
baptized into Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
We forever become a part of Him, and He becomes a part of us.
The How
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came
from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” Matthew 3:16, 17
If we
follow Jesus’ example, baptism is done with lots of water, and it’s done by
immersion in that water (dipping).
The Wow
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil. And when He had
fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the
tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these
stones become bread.’” Matthew 4:1, 2
The fact
is, life doesn’t become easier after
you’re baptized; it becomes more
difficult, simply because the devil will now consider you to be a
significant threat to his kingdom of darkness, and he will throw everything he
has at you. That’s what he did to Jesus,
right after His baptism.
So don’t
be surprised . . .
But, life
also becomes beautiful, blessed, invincible, and full of
discovery as you begin your walk with Jesus.
The Where
This is
not about the location of your baptism—you can be baptized at any place that
has lots of water. The where has to do with where you need to
be looking, after you are baptized.
Don’t
look at people! ………..
Look at
Jesus.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,
and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1, 2
Looking
unto who? Jesus. He’s the One who give us faith and endurance.
Illustration:
look a little higher….
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are
more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD,
I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the
young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and
chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to
him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with
blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of
Elisha.
2 Kings 6:16-18
What if
Jesus would have kept His eyes on the religious folks in His life, instead of
His Father in heaven?
So, when
you see a church member doing or saying something that you know is violating
the baptismal vows that you took, or violates something you’ve read in
Scripture, look a little higher……look to Jesus.
Don’t get caught up in complacency or carelessness. Look a little higher……look to Jesus.
Jesus
will give you faith and strength and hope and endurance, to live for Him.
The Why
This has
to do with why we are baptized. First of all, it’s so we can receive the
cleansing from sin that God promises.
It’s part of His plan for us. But
secondly, we are baptized into the
Jesus has
set it up so that we basically find our spiritual calling in the context of the
church. The church provides the
assistance, the confirmation, the empowerment, and some of the resources so
people can do what the Lord as calling them to do, by way of service.
We are
saved for a reason. We are saved to
serve. The Lord gives us spiritual gifts
upon our baptism. It may be the gift of
teaching, or the gift of hospitality, or serving behind the scenes, or any
number of things.
Let’s say
you are a mechanic. And you are baptized
into Christ Jesus. You become a part of
His church. He may bless you in such a
way that you are given the ability to share your love of God with your
customers and co-workers, in such a way that they become disciples of Jesus
too. This is the gift of
evangelism. It’s a spiritual gift that
the Holy Spirit of God gave you upon your baptism……..
Transforming
of work, of every-day life…..
The When
When
should you be baptized. That’s a very
good question, and it’s been talked about a lot through the centuries. The short answer: right now. Here is a tank of water, right now is the
time. Do not hesitate.
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture,
preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.
And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being
baptized?”
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went
down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the
water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no
more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:35-39
Now is
the day of salvation—now is the time to enter into life, to receive Jesus as
Savior and Lord of your life—there is no better time than right now. Here is water. What hinders you from being baptized?
And don’t
think for a minute that I wouldn’t jump right back into that baptistry, just to
have the privilege of baptizing you into Christ. I’m fairly spontaneous, you know.
Any
takers?
You see,
this man that Philip was led to had been studying about Jesus from the book of
Isaiah, in the Old Testament. Isaiah
talks a lot about the coming Lamb of God who would give His life for our
sins. He talks about a Suffering
Servant, Jesus. When Philip connected
the prophecy to Jesus Christ, the man was ready give his heart and life to
Jesus, because he recognized the basics of salvation.
So,
that’s the main thing right there. Do
you realize that Jesus has died and been resurrected for your sins? Are you willing to accept Him into your
life? Then, for you, the when of baptism is right now. No need to wait
or put it off.
Jesus
said also that people who are preparing to be baptized should be taught the
things that He has given us in the Bible.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19, 20
So, it’s
good to learn the basics of what you’re getting yourself into, right? I mean, if you are preparing to join a
particular organization like Rotary, or a business club, or an association, or
a women’s organization, or whatever, you try to find out what they stand for,
and what they believe, right?
It’s the
same for the church. God wants us to
understand the basics of what He considers to be central Bible teachings, as we
prepare for baptism. Now, that doesn’t
have to take a millennium either. It can
happen in a very short period of time.
It depends on how much you already come to the table with—how much you
already understand.
But
there’s no doubt at all that baptism is not something we should postpone or put
off. It’s really the beginning of an
exciting, wonderful life with Jesus Christ.