Title: BAPTISM: MORE THAN JUST A SYMBOL

Text: Acts 2:36-41

Date: 8-27-06.am

Introduction:

The Baptist Faith and Message makes this statement about baptism: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

Virtually all Christian churches or groups since the time of Christ have practiced this ritual. Southern Baptists have strongly held that baptism is a public expression of the inward reality of having been united with Christ. His death represents our death to self, and his resurrection represents our having been raised as new creatures who are no longer under the curse and enslavement of sin (Col 2:12). We have viewed baptism as an act of obedience (which is why we refer to it as an ordinance) and as a symbolic event (which is why we have rejected the term sacrament). However, we also need to understand it is more than just a symbol.

WHAT is the meaning of baptism?

A celebration of the grace of Christ. (Colossians 2:9-15)

Col 2:9-19

9        For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

10      and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

11      and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

12      having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

13      And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

14      having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us {and} which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NAS)

• He died on a cross as our substitute.

• He rose from the grave as our Savior.

Rom 4:25 Because of our sins he was given over to die, (substitute) and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God (Savior). (TEV)

Baptism is therefore a celebration of the grace we have already received in Christ.

Mark 16:16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. (NAS)

A proclamation of the glory of Christ.

It says He is the head over all rule and authority; (Col 2:10)

•       In Your Life

•       In the church

•       To all the world.

An illustration of the Gospel of Christ. (Romans 6:1-4)

Rom 6:1-4

1        What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?

2        May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

3        Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

4        Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (NAS)

• Into the water = Identification with His death.

• Out of the water = Participation in His resurrection.

HOW should I be baptized?

We believe immersion is the biblical way to baptize. baptizo (bap-tid'-zo); to immerse, submerge; to make overwhelmed (i.e. fully wet);

• Jesus was baptized this way. (Mark 1:10) Came up out of the water

• New Testament church leaders baptized people this way. (Acts 8:36-39)

• This is the best illustration of the Gospel. (Romans 6:1-4)

WHY should I be baptized?

To follow the example of Jesus. (Matthew 3:16-17)

To obey the command of Jesus. (Matthew 28:19) No way to separate baptism from our commitment to Christ we can’t baptize unless we have first been baptized.

To unite with the family of God. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

Eph 4:4-6

4       {There is} one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

5       one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6       one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (NAS)

Many people wonder why baptism is a requirement for church membership in a baptist church. Baptism is not primarily a church membership issue but an obedience issue

Church Membership per se is not mentioned in the Bible but when we say membership what we mean – we have made a covenant, a commitment not only to Christ but to other believers, that we are united in our love for Jesus and our willingness to love and support one another and committed to support and encourage one another to accomplish the mission of Christ in the world.

Paul is this passage is stressing the unity of the body. Baptism is the act that unites us a believers, regardless of who we are. When we are baptized we publicly identify ourselves with Christ but we also publicly identify ourselves with His church particularly the local church.

That why it is extremely significant for church membership. No, it’s not a membership issue it’s an obedience issue but it is the symbolic act that unites us as a body of believers in a local congregation.

WHO should be baptized?

Anyone, everyone who has repented of their sin and placed their faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. (Acts 2:38-41)

Baptism is a symbol, but it is much more than just a symbol. Baptism is the very first test of our obedience and commitment to Jesus Christ.

It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. (BF&M)

WHEN should I be baptized?

As soon as…

• You place your faith in Christ. (Acts 8:12, 36-38; 9:18; 16:15, 33;

18:8; 19:5)

• You can best publicly proclaim your faith in Christ.

The Bottom Line…

Baptism is a symbol not a sacrament. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to faith in the final resurrection of the dead.

But it is more than just a symbol – It is declaration to the world that you belong to Jesus.