The words “baptize” and “baptism” are found about 100 times in the New Testament. That makes the subject important. We believe that baptism is so important that we are pleased to call our selves “Baptists.” And that is contrary to the trend of many churches today, which are hiding and dropping that title. We are like John, who happily accepted the title as his own sir-name, “John, the Baptist.” If my parents had named me John instead of David, I think that I’d like to call myself “John the Baptist.” “David the Baptist” just doesn’t have the right ring to it. The words “king” and “David” go together better than “David” and “Baptist.” There are several tracts in our rack that deal with baptism. I have quite a few books in my personal library that deal with baptism. We have people who refuse to attend our church, because of the stress we place on scriptural baptism. That says almost as much as the number of baptisms that we have in a year. We think that baptism is important.
But, I have heard that there are people who misunderstand our emphasis on baptism. I have been told that there are people who think that we believe that unless you are baptized by a Baptist church you are condemned to hell. That is not what we believe. That is what Campbellites believe about their baptism, but not what Baptists believe. That is what Catholics and a lot of Protestants believe and practice, but we do not believe that. Baptismal salvation, baptismal regeneration is a Satanic lie. That lie has probably sent more people to hell than any single lie that Satan has ever concocted.
Never-the-less we still think that baptism is very, very important. It is an act of identification, an act of coronation and an act of appreciation all rolled up into one. And I’d like you to think about these things this evening, as we look back at the Lord Jesus’ baptism.
Like that water-mark, baptism acts as a identifying stain upon the life of the person being baptized. Whereas the face of Ulysses S. Grant can be found in the paper of the $50.00, and some other dead presidents can be found inside the paper of the new $100s and $20s, when someone is baptized, they are marked by the authority of the group who baptized them. If the baptism is scriptural the face stained into that life is that of the Lord Jesus. And in a sense the voice of the Father comes down from heaven and says: “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”
Now, what does this have to do with the Lord Jesus and His baptism? One of the things that we see here is that Christ Jesus had convictions about baptism.. I know that Lord had convictions about baptism because it cost Jesus something be baptized. Among other things, it cost the Saviour the time and energy to make that long walk into Judea. The exact place of Bethebara is debated – it could been 20 miles from Nazareth. Then on the other hand it could have been as far away as 60 or 70 miles. Whatever it was, it is safe to say that the Lord spent 1 to 3 days walking to the site of His baptism. I can’t say that His feet got blistered and sore, because those people often did a lot of walking. I can’t say that the hot Judean sun gave him head-aches or sun-stroke. I can’t say that He was nearly robbed at knife-point by band of highway-men. But I can say that He walked, and walked, and walked just to be baptized by the only man in the world authorize to administer baptism – John the Baptist. That tells me that Jesus felt that this was important – that He had convictions about it. It also tells me He couldn’t start His ministry without first giving this watery testimony. This baptism was necessary in order to “fulfill all righteousness.” Nothing would deter Him, and nothing should deter His disciples.
And then, do you know what the preacher did when the Lord finally arrived? That silly Baptist tried to talk the Saviour out of that baptism entirely. John said, “Whoa there cousin, I don’t feel right about baptizing you. It would be more appropriate for You to baptize me. How can the lesser baptize the greater?” I’ll tell you how the lesser can baptize the greater – by the authority of God. Today, long since John, I believe that the authority to baptize lies today in God’s church. It is not vested in me, even though I have been ordained by one of the Lord’s churches. It is not vested in me, even though I am usually the one who does actual dipping around here.
Putting that aside for a moment, I hope that my relationship to any candidate for baptism might, in a weak fashion, be like that of John to Jesus. I pray that I might someday baptize another Elijah, Daniel, Isaiah, or Paul. In other words, I hope that someday I might be privileged to baptize someone to be used of God more greatly than myself. John expressed dismay that Christ asked him to baptize Him. Some day I’m going to be bold enough to try to talk someone out of baptism. I’d like to see if they are stubborn enough to demand it. “See here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? I am a repentant believer in Christ, with a burning desire to obey the Lord’s command. Can you conscientiously refuse me baptism and church membership?” I’m afraid to try it, because I’ve found that 90% time its harder to get people into the baptismal waters than it is to get them into the dentist’s chair.
I know that Jesus had convictions about baptism, because the dampness of the pool followed Him. John 3:22 says that just as John baptized Christ Jesus, so were Jesus’ disciples baptizing. And they did so under the direction and authority of the Lord. Then in the Lord’s commands to His church we see it once again. Matthew 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” That command was given directly to the Lord’s church, and only the churches that descended from that church have the authority to continue applying that ordinance.
Did Christ change His mind about baptism, after His ascension into Glory? Not if Acts 9 shows us anything, for he ordered Ananias to baptize Paul. Our Saviour still has convictions about the ordinance of baptism today.
Now, let’s return to that water-mark on the $50 bill. It’s purpose is to thwart counterfeiting. No one has the authority to print money except duly designated representatives of the Federal Reserve. When a person is baptized, they not only testify of their union with Christ by faith, but they also put on the stain of the group who baptized them, the church who baptized them. They become identified with their baptizers. And not just anyone or any church has Heaven-sent authority to immerse people in water. Churches which christen babies, have no authority to do so, and their baptism is not heaven-authorized. Churches which lie to people about the forgiveness of sin, and how it is obtained are not God’s churches and nothing that they do is God-ordained, including their baptism. Churches which have human founders and dates in history when they commenced their ministries, are not churches founded by Christ, and have no authority to baptize or even to preach the gospel. Churches which over time have forsaken the foundational doctrines of the Bible eventually have their authority to serve Christ revoked, and they then have no right to baptize people. This is illustrated in Revelation 1-3 where the Lord Jesus talks about removing their candlesticks.
Calvary Baptist church feels so strongly about baptism that we will not acknowledge the baptism of churches which we feel do not have the Lord’s authority to baptize. And that includes many so-called “Baptist” churches. We feel so strongly about these things that we are unashamed to be called “ana-baptists” – rebaptizers. If someone wants to join this church from another Baptist church, they must be willing and able to prove that their old church believes what we believe, especially about the ordinances. Baptism involves the authority of God as much as it does the new life of the person being baptized.
Baptist is an identification – identification with Christ, and with the church doing the baptizing.
Scripture says that when the fullness of time was come, “God sent forth his son, made of a woman….” When the Lord Jesus was born He began a long journey to a throne, higher than he had ever used before. That road contained 30 years of obscurity, 3 years of ministry, and a few hours of human perversity, He was crucified, and was buried, but then then raised to life once again. Finally a few days later he ascended into Heaven to sit upon the throne at the right hand Father. There is a sense in which the coronation which began His great ministry of man’s redemption was his baptism. The Holy Spirit descended upon him, like a dove might flutter down and light upon a branch. The Father spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The baptism of Jesus marked the beginning of His ministry of revelation and redemption.
When we consent to the public ceremony of baptism, there are many similarities to that of a coronation. Now, since most you are yankee rebels, you might not appreciate pomp and ceremony of Elizabeth’s coronation. You cannot imagine how many eyes, from every corner of the globe were on Westminster Abbey that day back in 1952. There were 10’s of 1000s lining the streets of London, and the Cathedral was jammed with invited guests. When that crown was placed on Princess Elizabeth’s head, she began her reign as Queen of the British Commonwealth.
When a child of God, is taken through the waters of baptism, his ministry as a servant of God officially begins. Just like that of the Lord Jesus. There is no indication anywhere in the New Testament that anyone should have any sort of ministry before he is baptized. He really has no business trying to give glory to God until he is baptized. And like the coronation, there is some ceremony, there is some excitement, there is even a bit of pomp and circumstance. It is a glad day, a great day, a victorious day. It is a day which brings out the smile of God. And like coronations, baptisms are public, visible, audible sorts of events. It ought to be impossible to keep a person’s baptism quiet. But the day of baptism is only a day of beginnings – it is not an end in itself. The Lord doesn’t merely look into the earthly records to see if you have been baptized. He checks to see if you began to serve Him after you were baptized. That is one of the things that baptism declares. That is the place where even the ministry of the Lord Jesus began.
For us baptism is an act of obedient love to God for His gracious salvation. Forgiveness of sin, and cleansing from all iniquity is the greatest of all gifts and of all miracles. The healing of the blind man or the leper is a poor illustration of spiritual cleansing and cure. For a person who has bee born again from spiritual death, not to be filled with an overwhelming love and gratitude is an anomaly. God’s love was expended upon an enemy when he redeemed me. “God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” “God is rich in love wherewith he loved us. Even when we were dead in sins.” Baptism is the very least that I can do to glorify the name of the One who delivered me from sin. It is an act of love for the Saviour and for salvation. And it was an act of love by the Saviour when He was baptized.
It is also and act of appreciation for the church which is administering the ordinance. What an honor it was to John to be able to dip his Saviour into the Jordan. He felt totally unworthy – and in one way it was true. But Christ insisted – what a blessing. When you submit yourself to the hand of pastor and he lowers you into the water and raises you up again, it is a testimony which says: “I give myself into and unto the ministry of this church.” It is a testimony which says, “Thank God for the ministry of this church.” “I want my life to count for Christ through this congregation, until the Lord moves me somewhere else.” It says, “I appreciate this house of God.”
Some argue that the baptism of the Lord Jesus was completely different from the baptism of a disciple of Christ. I don’t believe that for a moment. The four points for scriptural baptism are the same – The administrator was God ordained and authorized for that ministry. The method was by immersion in water. It had nothing to do with the salvation of the person being baptized. And it illustrated what salvation was all about – the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.