Alright guys, if you've got your Bibles, please turn back to John chapter 1.
John chapter 1.
Now, I didn't plan to preach on baptism, I'll be preaching on baptism today.
It's just simply that the occasion calls for it, that I've been asked by a few people if they can be baptised today.
So before we even do it, I think it's good to go through the doctrine of baptism.
I know it's a very basic doctrine, but still I think there's a lot of good truths that we can learn by covering that topic once again.
And it's my aim as a new church that we would just go through some of these fundamental truths, some of these fundamental doctrines that we hold as a church,
so that way we all understand at least what I believe, and I'm hoping you're on the same page,
but if you have any questions you can feel free to ask me about some of these very foundational doctrines.
But the first thing that might come up, I mean if you've read your Bible from cover to cover,
you'll notice that in the Old Testament, people weren't getting baptised.
There wasn't this believing, getting saved, and then this process of getting dumped into the water.
Nothing like in the New Testament church that's been brought to our attention.
So the first thing I just want to show you is where did baptisms come from.
And no, it's not the Roman Catholic Church, it's not some false religion, it's the Word of God.
It tells us here in John chapter 1 verse 6, look at John chapter 1 verse 6,
John chapter 1 verse 6, it says,
This is referring to John the Baptist.
We call him the Baptist for a reason, because that was his highlight.
That was the thing that he came and brought into the New Testament era, was this process of baptism into the water.
Then verse number 7 says,
So what is salvation?
That when we see Jesus Christ, when we understand the Gospel and what He's done for us,
that we would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And John the Baptist came to bear witness of that.
And the baptism that he came, that he was sent by God to do, brings witness of that fact.
When we do baptism, this is not about salvation.
You know, H2O is not going to get anybody saved.
It's the blood of the crucified one.
It's He who took on our sins upon the tree.
He who died for us was buried for three days and three nights and rose again from the dead.
And then you put in your full faith and trust on Him alone,
not on your church, not on me, not on your religious practices and ordinances.
No, it's all faith on Jesus Christ alone.
That's the truth of the Gospel.
It's a very simple truth.
It's called a free gift for a reason, and it's salvation forever, guaranteed to be in heaven forever.
So then what is baptism?
If we don't need to be baptized to be saved, why do we do it?
Well, for the same reason, it bears witness, it bears record of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we're going to go through that in a moment.
Look at verse number 32. John chapter 1, verse 32.
Because John came to bear witness of Jesus Christ, right?
Verse 32 says,
And John bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
I don't know if you remember the story of Jesus being baptized.
He goes into the river, right?
And then the Spirit of God comes and descends upon him.
And then verse 33 says,
And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water.
The same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remain on him,
the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost.
So John the Baptist knew, wow, God the Father had told me this is the one that's coming,
and when I see that Holy Spirit bodily as a dove descend upon him in baptism,
then I'll know that's the one that I've come to bear record of, come to bear witness of.
But we know even before this, he knew who he was.
Before that, obviously, because Jesus Christ was the cousin of John the Baptist.
And of course Mary would have expressed what God had revealed to her through the angel Gabriel
that this would be the saviour of the world,
which is why later, when Jesus Christ was walking before his baptism,
that John was able to point him out and say,
Behold, the Lamb of God would take away the sin of the world.
John the Baptist knew very well that that was the saviour,
but it's when the baptism of Christ took place that the confirmation took place
that had been revealed to him by God the Father.
So that's the beginning of baptism, John the Baptist.
Point number two, what does baptism represent?
People have different ways of doing baptisms, don't they?
They have the immersion under the water, they have the sprinkling or the pouring,
and I don't know, if there's something else, let me know.
The dunking, they get little babies and they dunk them under the water.
It's not the most nice thing to do to a little baby.
But what does baptism represent? If you guys can turn to Romans 6.
Romans 6. Romans 6, verse 1.
Romans 6, verse 1.
So after we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, after we're saved,
we should strive to live a life that's holy and pleasing to God.
Not for salvation, but so we can have a right fellowship with God.
And then look at verse number 1. Romans 6, verse 1.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin?
You know, as believers, as Christians, as people that are saved,
even though our sins have been paid for by Jesus Christ,
does that mean we should just continue to sin?
What does it say there? That grace may abound?
God forbid, verse number 2, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?
Know ye not that so many of us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ,
were baptized into his death?
So what does the baptism represent?
Being baptized in Jesus Christ represents there his death.
We know that Jesus Christ was dead, buried for three days and three nights,
rose again from the dead, right?
And then look at verse number 4.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death,
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,
even so we should also walk in newness of life.
So the baptism represents death, but then also the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
the new life that we ought to walk in, the newness of life, okay?
And baptism ought to be the first step of obedience.
Sometimes we get saved, like for example me,
I got saved when I was four years old and I got baptized when I was 20, I think, 19 or 20.
A long time, you know?
The reason I took so long, I was afraid that if I got baptized,
God would call me as a missionary to Africa.
For some reason I thought if I did that, that's what God was going to do
and I didn't want to go to Africa.
Thank God he sent me to the Sunshine Coast, it's much nicer there.
That's all good, it's all good.
So it's about walking in newness of life.
Verse number five,
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.
So you see the baptism pictures his death and his resurrection, okay?
This is what it represents.
Verse number six,
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed,
and henceforth we should not serve sin.
So baptism is this step of obedience.
You're recognizing, you're making a public proclamation
that you're identifying physically with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ
and that you're seeking to walk in newness of life.
This is why it's the first step of obedience.
If you read your Bible, and we'll cover this shortly,
you'll know that people got baptized immediately.
As soon as they believed on Jesus Christ, they were saved,
but then they got baptized immediately.
That's an area that, as modern Christians, we kind of fail to do.
We sort of say, ah, that can wait.
We don't need to speed it up or anything like that.
So it's a public identification of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ
and it's the first step of obedience, walking in newness of life.
It's a public declaration that that's what you're going to do.
It's like your wedding ring, right?
If I take off my wedding ring, am I married?
If I lost that down the drain, am I married?
Of course, but the wedding ring is that public declaration.
Someone can see it on that finger, whatever finger that one is,
and identify that that man's married.
It's a public declaration and that's what it means when you get baptized.
You are publicly declaring your faith on Jesus Christ
and in particular his death, burial and resurrection for your salvation.
Now, look at verse number 4 again in Romans 6
because what is the method of baptism?
We spoke about how people can sprinkle or pour or dunk or what.
Why do we as Baptists do the immersion?
And usually back into the water and then brought back up.
Why do we do that? Look at verse number 4 again.
Therefore we are buried with him in baptism into death.
Now, if someone just sprinkled some water on you, is that representing a burial?
Of course not.
If you're being poured water on your head, does that represent a burial?
No.
Normally when you bury someone, you dig six feet under,
then you place a casket in the ground and it gets covered.
So baptism ought to represent that burial.
This is why as Baptists we immerse the person completely underwater picturing that burial.
I'll just read to you very quickly.
Colossians 2.12, it says,
So it's a burial. It's not a sprinkling.
Now, if you can turn back to Matthew. Yeah, you were in Matthew before.
Go back to Matthew. Go to Matthew chapter 3, please.
Matthew chapter 3.
Is it just the burial?
No. We spoke about baptism representing the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Matthew chapter 3 verse 13.
No, we're reading from John. Sorry, guys.
Matthew 3.13. Matthew 3.13. That's where I want you to be.
Matthew 3.13.
We're going to look at the story of the baptism of Jesus Christ again.
It says here in verse 13,
Now, think about Jesus Christ.
Did he really need to be baptized?
I mean, because if baptism pictures salvation, did Jesus need to be saved?
Of course not.
He was the spotless Lamb of God.
He had no sin and he had perfect righteousness.
He kept all the laws of God and never sinned.
But his baptism was a picture of what would ultimately become of his ministry.
Because this really was, his baptism really was the launch of his ministry.
And his ministry would ultimately climax at that crucifixion, the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.
But not only that, Jesus Christ came, obviously, to set an example for all of us.
You know, if Jesus Christ had to get baptized, then how much more should we all to get baptized?
Especially if we identify as Christians, as believers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 14.
But John forbade him.
So if Jesus comes to John, can you baptize me?
John forbade him.
He said, I don't want to baptize you.
I mean, I would feel the same way if Jesus walked through this door and asked me to baptize you.
And I'd be like, whoa, no.
You know, it's a bit weird, right?
It's God.
But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee.
And comest thou to me?
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Suffer, or alloweth, allow it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.
Then he suffered him, or then he allowed him to be baptized.
So notice there that Jesus Christ says, hey, this is a righteous thing to do.
This is something that pleases the Lord, okay?
And it's not just the person getting baptized that is fulfilling that righteousness, but the baptizer as well.
Because Jesus says, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.
Hey, John, you can have a great part in this ministry to come if you were to baptize me.
You know?
But I just want to point out to you, it's a righteous thing.
It's a good thing.
It's something we ought to encourage believers to do if they haven't done it already.
Verse 16.
And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.
So do you see that?
He came out of the water.
So was he sprinkled?
Like did they just go to the shoreline and get some water and sprinkle it on his head?
Or did they just get a cup and pour it on his head?
He came out of the water, right?
Because he was picturing the death, burial, and resurrection.
And lo, look at, let's continue reading verse 16.
And lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove.
We read about that before.
And lightened upon him.
So we have God the Son being baptized.
We have God the Holy Spirit descending upon him as a dove.
And then verse number 17.
And lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Who said that?
If the voice from heaven saying, This is my Son, that would be God the Father.
So when we see the baptism of Jesus Christ, we see the Trinity.
We see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
And I believe that's important for later. We'll cover this later on.
But you don't need to go into the water to be baptized.
The fact that Jesus Christ came out, the point I want to show you is that this is an immersion that took place.
This isn't just some little sprinkling or pouring that took place.
Look at John... I'll read it to you guys quickly. Sorry, I'm getting confused between John and Matthew.
John 3 verse 23. I'll just read it to you quickly.
It says, And John also... John the Baptist...
And John also was baptizing in Aenon, near to Salem, because... Why? Why was he baptizing there?
Because there was much water there.
Pay attention to those words.
There was much water there, and they came and were baptized.
So why do you need to go to a place of much water if all you're going to do is get a cup of water and sprinkle it on someone's head?
The reason you go to a place of much water is again because it's going to picture that burial, that immersion.
And then the coming out of that water, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So I believe baptism by immersion... By the way, I don't like going back to the Greek.
But if you go back to the Greek, the word baptizo means immersion.
I mean, if you don't know the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the reason why there was a split with the Orthodox Church...
Well, one of the reasons, one of the main reasons, is because the Greek Orthodox knew how to read Greek, and they said, well, baptism means immersion.
And why are you sprinkling when it means immersion?
So the Greek Orthodox got that bit right, but then they got everything else wrong anyway.
But anyway, I'm just telling you, that was one of the main reasons to cause a split between the Roman Catholics and the Orthodox.
So the next question is, when do we do it? When should we be baptized?
Should we follow Kevin's example and be baptized 16 years later?
That's pretty bad, eh? 16 years later. Anyway, let's have a look.
Look at Acts. Turn to Acts, please.
Acts, chapter 8. Acts, chapter 8, verse 36.
Acts, chapter 8, verse 36.
I love this story. This is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, if you know the story.
So, Philip comes to the Ethiopian eunuch, he gets him saved, right?
And then, let's look at verse 36.
And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water.
And the eunuch, so the eunuch that got saved, said, see, here is water.
What doth him that mean to be baptized?
Look, there's water over here. What's stopping me from getting baptized?
What would stop someone from getting baptized?
Is it your age? Is it your clothing that you're wearing?
What would stop you? Let's have a look.
And Philip said, verse 37, and Philip said,
If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
So what's stopping someone from being baptized?
You've got to first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Again, you need to be saved, salvation, by grace through faith and not of works,
not of your own merits, but based fully upon the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.
And then he said, if you believe that, if you place your faith on Christ, then thou mayest.
Then you can get baptized.
So if you've been saved, you've placed your faith on Christ,
but have not yet been baptized, there's nothing stopping you.
If you haven't told me yet, and you can acknowledge that faith,
hey, might as well do it today. We'll have the water ready.
Or we'll do it some other time if you don't want to.
I don't know who needs to get baptized exactly. I haven't spoken to all of you just yet.
But some of you do.
Look at verse 38, Acts 8.
And he commanded the chariot to stand still, and went down both into the water.
Both of them went into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
And when they were come out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,
that the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
So, in these early days, the Holy Spirit, we don't get many stories like this,
but Philip was snatched by the Holy Spirit, like transported, from one place to the other place.
And I kind of feel like that today, because I did a baptism in the Sunshine Coast,
and now I'm in Sydney, to do another baptism.
I think it's the same thing, right? But instead of the Spirit of God, it's the, what is it? Jetstar.
Jetstar, right?
Anyway, so, the question was, when should we be baptized after salvation,
once you've believed in the Lord Jesus Christ?
And I would say, as soon as possible, you know, immediately.
Please turn to Acts 16, you're in the book of Acts already.
Turn to the book of Acts 16, verse 14.
Acts 16, verse 14.
Again, should we follow the example of Pastor Kevin?
No, don't follow my example.
Acts 16, verse 14.
A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us,
whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of God.
So this is a reference that she believed, because you've got to believe before your heart.
Her heart was opened, she received the Gospel.
And then look at verse 15.
And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying,
If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there, and she constrained us.
So how long did she wait until, you know, to get baptized?
Immediately, right?
It doesn't even tell, like, she believed, her heart was opened, she gets baptized.
Immediately.
Look at Acts 18.
Acts 18.
Couple of chapters over.
Acts 18, verse 7.
And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justice,
one that worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue.
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house, with all his family.
And many of the Corinthians herein believed, and were baptized.
So, really, the right practice in the New Testament.
Believe, you're saved, and then get baptized.
Acknowledging, you know, publicly, that you've believed on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, if you're still in Acts, please go to Acts chapter 8.
Acts chapter 8.
Acts chapter 8, verse 12.
And when they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized, both men and women.
That is for all.
Men and women.
Acts 16.
Go to Acts 16.
I'm telling you to turn there, just because it's all in Acts.
It's easy.
Acts 16.
Acts 16, verse 30.
And this is probably one of our favorite verses, or favorite passages.
If you're going out and knocking doors, and preaching the gospel to people.
This is surely one of my favorite passages.
And I think if you haven't memorized, you know, verses 31 and 32, you really should.
You know, if you want to be an effective soul winner.
Because it makes it so crystal clear.
But look at Acts 16, verse 30.
It says,
This is a Philippian jailer.
He's asking,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
What must we do to be saved?
The baptism?
No.
We made that point that baptism does not save you.
What saves you?
Verse 31.
And your family.
If your family believes, they too will be saved.
And then verse 32.
And to all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized.
He, and all his, straight away.
Or straight away.
Okay?
So, this isn't just the Philippian jailer that got saved, and got baptized.
It's his whole house.
You know, be it his wife, and children, and, you know, if he had servants.
Everybody that made up his household, heard the gospel, believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
was saved, they know they're on the way to heaven, there's nothing they can do to lose it.
Then, they all get baptized.
They all got baptized immediately that very same night.
You know, there are some people that say,
Well, my child, should my child get baptized?
And I would say to you, if you as parents are saved, if you know the gospel,
and you can confirm that your child knows the gospel,
then I believe your child should be baptized.
Now some people say to the pastor, or to the bishop, they'll say,
Can you please check with my child first?
But here's the thing, who's going to know the child better?
You know, the pastor, or their parents?
Obviously the parents.
And sometimes when you have the pastor ask the child,
they're going to be nervous, and not know really what to say.
But you know, they probably know the truth, they just don't know how to express it,
to someone that they're not fully comfortable with.
Okay?
So I truly believe if you have children that need to get baptized,
as parents, that's your call.
You know, God's given you the authority over your children to make that decision.
Just like we saw that Philippian jailer, his home household got saved.
You know, that was confirmed.
And so just be mindful that if you have children that want to be baptized,
you know, if the parents are saved, I'm happy to take your word.
Okay?
But the question then becomes, well, what if by accident,
someone gets baptized, but they weren't saved?
Like later on, they grow up, you know, in life, they become a teenager or an adult,
or just anybody, really, you know, gets baptized,
and then they realize later on, hold on, I wasn't even saved!
I wasn't even trusting Jesus Christ, you know, alone, through faith,
and none of my works or anything else.
What then?
Well, let's pick up the story here in Acts 19.
Acts 19 gives us a great story about this.
Acts 19 verse 2.
It says, so this is Paul finding a group of disciples,
and Paul, he said unto them, so Paul said unto them,
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
So I don't know if you know, if you all know this,
but when you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
you're born of the Holy Ghost, you're born of the Spirit,
and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in you, okay?
So he's asking the question,
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard,
whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Well, I don't know, I've never heard of the Holy Ghost,
is what they're saying.
So obviously they got baptized,
but they haven't really, they didn't listen to the preaching, right?
Because, and actually I'll keep reading.
Verse number 3.
And he said unto them, unto what then were ye baptized?
And they said unto John's baptism.
Verse 4.
Now John the Baptist, remember, he came inside the baptism.
He came to testify of Jesus Christ.
He came saying, and I'll see, let's keep reading.
Verse number 4, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Verse 4.
Verse number 4, unto John's baptism,
and that they should believe, sorry, I read something.
Then Paul said, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance,
saying unto the people,
so did John just baptize people willy-nilly?
No.
What did he say to them?
What did he preach to them?
That they should believe on him that should come after him,
that is, on Christ Jesus.
So John was preaching this, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, and then they would get baptized
when they did believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But these guys, because if you know,
John the Baptist was baptizing thousands of people.
Obviously he's not going to be able to sit there and figure out everybody,
you know, are you truly saved?
And it's probably these people on occasion
just got baptized because they saw everyone else getting baptized.
I mean, thousands of people,
hundreds coming to the river, getting baptized,
and they probably thought, wow, to be right with God,
we need to get baptized.
But they had not yet received the Holy Ghost.
Paul had to explain to them,
he came preaching that you need to believe in Jesus,
meaning they hadn't heard that,
they hadn't understood that for whatever reason, okay?
And that they identified the baptism of John.
It wasn't a baptism that represented Jesus Christ,
it was kind of like, oh, that was John's baptism, okay?
Verse number five.
When they heard this,
they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Okay?
So, the point is this.
If you were not saved and mistakenly got baptized,
well, what happened here?
Once they understood, oh, we need to believe in Jesus Christ,
they got baptized again.
Because, I mean, what's the danger of getting baptized?
We should try to avoid it if possible, right?
We shouldn't just try to be baptized whenever we want,
we should try to avoid it,
make sure they definitely understand salvation,
definitely understand the gospel.
But if a child, let's say, gets baptized,
but then later on they realize that they weren't saved
and they were just parroting or repeating things,
but they didn't really understand it,
then, just like this story, they can be baptized again.
Okay?
So there's nothing wrong with getting baptized again,
but the process is very clear.
First, salvation, then baptism.
And baptism by immersion.
Okay?
Now, a lot of people in this day and age have been baptized
in the sense of sprinkling or pouring as a baby.
And then later on they believe in Jesus Christ and get saved,
and they think, well, I don't need to get baptized
because I got baptized as a baby.
But no, that baby never understood the gospel.
That baby didn't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay?
And that baptism is not the baptism of the Bible anyway.
Okay?
Because it's supposed to picture the death,
the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So I want to quickly go through a couple of passages here.
The next thing that I want to cover here,
is baptism a requirement for salvation?
Because, again, there are a lot of religions in this world that say,
no, if you want to go to heaven and be saved,
you must be baptized.
So let's go through a couple of passages that they use to teach this.
Okay?
Now, you guys turn to John 3.
Actually, let me have a look at this.
Sorry, guys.
Acts 2.
That's why I wanted to keep you guys in Acts.
Sorry.
Acts 2.
Let me just show you a few verses that are used to support baptism for salvation.
Acts 2, verse 37.
So on the day of Pentecost,
50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
the apostles and many of Jesus Christ's disciples
were empowered by the Holy Ghost.
They were fueled by the Holy Ghost.
And if you remember, a special miracle took place.
They were able to speak in other languages,
and they were able to preach the mighty works of God
in those other languages.
They were able to preach the gospel in these other languages.
Okay?
And then Peter rises up and preaches to a number of the Jews.
He gets up and preaches to the Jews.
Look at verse 37.
Pay attention to those words.
Okay?
Because they had crucified the King of Kings.
They had crucified the Messiah.
They had crucified the Savior.
And they were preached.
What did we do?
What do we do?
You know, what shall we do?
Verse 38.
Then Peter said unto them,
Wow.
So this sounds like, in order to have remission of sins,
in order for our sins to be forgiven and done away with
before the presence of God and crucified with Christ,
it says here that we need to repent.
And I haven't preached on repentance yet,
but we'll get to that at some point.
But that's when you place your faith on Christ,
whatever your faith was before,
whether that was your works or your false religion,
you place all your faith on Christ alone.
That's repentance.
That's the change of your faith on Jesus Christ alone.
Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
They'll say, see, baptism for remission of sins.
But the thing is,
that remission of, sorry, that the word for there,
for the remission of sins,
can mean two different things.
Yes, it can mean that to have remission of sins,
you need to get baptized.
Okay?
But it also means because of.
Okay?
So when you think about it,
I don't know if you, you know, in the wild, wild west,
you know, when people would put up posters
and they'd have some burglar, you know,
and they'd put wanted, wanted for murder,
you know, and maybe a prize of, you know, $5,000
if you find him.
Wanted for murder.
Now what does that word mean, for there?
Wanted for murder.
Do the authorities want him to commit murder?
Is that why they want him?
Or they want him because he had committed murder.
They wanted him because he had committed murder, right?
And that's the same way that the for is being applied here
is that in the name of Jesus Christ,
for or because of the remission of sins.
So because someone has repented, placed their faith on Christ,
has had the sins remitted of,
because of that, they ought to get baptized.
Okay?
It's not that baptism is required for salvation.
Otherwise, we'd have to throw out hundreds of Bible verses
to make that, make that sense.
But another way to explain that,
and another way to explain that,
you guys are in Acts, aren't you?
Yeah.
Go to Acts chapter 10.
Acts chapter 10, verse 43.
Because you might say,
well, Kevin, you're just playing with words there, you know.
Does for really mean because of?
Well, if we can't compare the Bible with Bible,
we can compare scripture with scripture,
we can compare spiritual with spiritual,
we'll see that baptism is not what remits the sins from your life.
Acts chapter 10, verse 43.
It says, to him, speaking of Jesus Christ,
to him give all the prophets witness that through his name,
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
So how do we get our sins remitted of?
Through the baptism?
No.
Whosoever believeth in him,
which would be consistent with everything else
that we've seen in scripture so far, so far.
Okay?
So it's believing that remits us of sin,
but then because we've been remitted of sins,
we ought to be baptized,
picturing what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Turn to the book of Mark, please.
Mark 16.
Mark 16, verse 15.
This is one time that Jesus Christ had given his disciples
the great commission to go into all the world
and preach the gospel.
It says here in 15, Mark 16, 15.
And he said unto them,
Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
So what's the instruction that we've been left to do by Jesus Christ?
To preach the gospel, correct?
All right.
And then look at verse 16.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
Whoa, hold on.
Do we need to be baptized then to be saved?
Is that what the Bible's teaching us here?
No, of course not.
From what we've already seen,
it's just believing in Christ that gets us saved,
not the baptism, right?
So how do we explain this?
Well, what's being said?
Well, think about this.
If you've been saved by Jesus Christ,
and then you get baptized
because you're representing his death, burial, and resurrection,
are you still saved?
Of course you are, all right?
If I were to believe on Jesus Christ,
and then I went and, I don't know, ate McDonald's.
There's a McDonald's around here somewhere.
Am I saved?
Of course, okay?
Because salvation is the believing, okay?
But look at the rest of it.
Look at the rest of verse 16.
But he that believeth not shall be damned.
So what is it that damns a man to hell?
What is it that condemns a man to hell?
He that believeth not.
It doesn't say he that believeth and doesn't get baptized.
So there there's a confirmation that it's a lack of faith,
it's a lack of believing on Christ that damns you to hell,
meaning that it's believing on Christ that gets you saved.
So that's how we can understand that passage
that's often used to teach that baptism
is a requirement of salvation.
Now let me show you another passage.
I think you should turn there.
1 Corinthians, if you know where that is.
1 Corinthians chapter 1.
I want to drive this home
because I don't really want to preach
a lot of sermons on baptism, all right?
We'll get a good one out of the way,
and hopefully I answer a lot of your questions.
But if you have any other questions, you can ask me.
1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 11.
Because again, what were we told to do by Jesus Christ?
To preach the gospel, right?
We want to get people saved.
1 Corinthians 1, 11.
It says,
For it have been declared unto me of you, my brethren,
by them which are of the house of Chloe,
that there are contentions among you.
Now this I say, that every one of you saith,
I am of Paul, and I am of Paulus, and I am of Cephas,
and I am of Christ.
Is Christ divided?
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
So this church had these divisions.
They were following their favorite preachers,
and then they wouldn't get along with the people
that didn't like their preacher.
They had their favorite preacher.
That one had Paulus, that one had Peter,
that one had Paul.
They were followers of man,
causing divisions in the church, okay?
Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul?
Look at verse 14.
I thank God that I baptized none of you,
but Crispus and Gaius,
lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
And I had baptized also the household of Stephanus,
besides I know not whether I baptized any other.
So guys, I baptized a few people.
You know, Stephanus, the household of Stephanus,
and Crispus and Gaius.
So maybe less than ten people.
But besides that,
he's not had baptized anyone else there in that church.
Look at verse 17.
For Christ sent me not to baptize.
So what did Christ send Paul to do?
To baptize?
No, that's not why he came, right?
That's not why God sent me.
But to preach the gospel.
Not with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
So God sent Paul to preach the gospel,
and not to baptize.
So if the gospel is the power of salvation,
and we get saved by believing the gospel,
then how can baptism get you saved
if it's not part of the gospel?
Because if it was part of the gospel,
then Paul would have had to baptize believers to be saved.
So we can see that the gospel does not include baptism.
It's your faith.
Your faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And I'll just quickly read to you from Luke 23.
Very quickly, the thief on the cross.
Remember when Jesus Christ was crucified,
and there were two thieves,
one on the right hand and one on the left hand,
and one rejected Christ?
But one of them said to Jesus Christ,
in verse 42, Luke 23 verse 42,
and he said unto Jesus,
Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
So what did this thief do?
He looked at this dying Jesus
who had been mocked and spat on
and whipped and crucified, bleeding.
The Bible says he didn't even look like a figure of a man.
He was so beaten.
And this thief was able to look at Jesus,
and then he was able to say,
what did he say to him?
Remember me.
Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
He recognized that Jesus was the king.
He recognized that he was the king
of the kingdom of God,
and he didn't know how to express his faith
besides, Lord, remember me.
He had put his faith on Jesus Christ
that very moment.
This guy's crucified.
Is he going to get baptized?
Of course not.
He's going to die soon.
But look at verse 43.
And Jesus said unto him,
verily I say unto thee,
day shall thou be with me in paradise.
That very day he had placed his faith on Jesus,
he was guaranteed of salvation.
He couldn't get baptized.
So we want to make sure that we understand
the difference of salvation,
which is just faith on Christ,
death and resurrection,
and baptism,
which is just a public declaration
or confession that you have put your faith on Christ.
Let's not get those two things confused.
Now, let me think.
Where can we turn to?
Well, some of you should have been in 1 Corinthians.
I'll get you to turn to 1 Corinthians 10,
but I'm not going to read from there just yet,
just so you can turn there and be ready.
1 Corinthians 10,
and I'm going to talk to you just very quickly
about the Old Testament.
So I said to you that in the Old Testament,
people weren't getting baptized
like we do in the New Testament days, right?
But what's amazing about the Bible
is that the New Testament is often pictured
in the Old Testament,
in some type of shadow,
some type of foretelling,
some type of imagery,
and it's often expressed and explained to us
in the New Testament.
So some of you guys know the story.
Let me have a look,
make sure I've got the right reference here.
Yeah, I'm sure a lot of you guys know the story of Noah,
Noah and the flood of Noah,
when God destroyed the earth with a flood,
with water, okay?
Now, when you're reading that in the Old Testament,
you're not really thinking about baptism, right?
You're thinking about God's wrath
upon the wickedness of man,
destroying mankind,
except for Noah and his family.
But I'll just quickly read to you from 1 Peter 3.18.
You guys stay in 1 Corinthians 10,
but I'll just let them get through this quickly.
1 Peter 3.18.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins
the just for the unjust
that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh
and quickened, or being raised again by the Spirit,
by which also he went and preached unto the Spirit in prison,
which some time were disobedient,
and once the longsuffering of God waited
in the days of Noah,
while the ark was a preparing, wherein a few,
that his eight souls were saved by water.
The like figure,
so the like figure of Noah's ark,
which saved these people from the flood,
which passed through that water,
and these people didn't drown,
whereas the rest of the world obviously drowned,
it says,
Whereunto even baptism doth also now save us,
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So baptism in the Old Testament,
we have a picture of that in Noah's flood,
whereas most of the world were killed during that flood.
It's a really sorry story for the wickedness of man,
but yet they were eight that were saved by water.
And of course baptism pictures the salvation.
So I just want to show you that there are images
or typology in the Old Testament
ultimately revealing to us this practice of the New Testament.
And you might say,
Well, what does it mean there that they were saved by the ark?
No.
The ark was a picture of their salvation.
A lot of the Old Testament saints,
a lot of the things of the stories
were stories or types of something in the New Testament.
And I'll just prove that to you very quickly in Genesis 6-8.
It says,
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
How were we saved?
By grace through faith.
And before the flood,
Noah had found grace in the sight of the Lord.
And then in verse 13,
And God said unto Noah,
The end of all flesh is come before me,
for the earth is filled with violence toward them,
and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
So I'm just going to show you that God's grace fell upon Noah.
He was saved by grace through faith
prior to the flood even happening.
But the ark was a picture of salvation
and the fact that it passed by the water
is a picture of baptism in the New Testament.
Now it's not only that story,
but 1 Corinthians 10, I hope you're there now,
verses 1 and 2.
Do you know the story of Israel
when they were delivered from Egypt?
When Moses came and God put his plagues upon Egypt
and the children of Israel who were enslaved by the Egyptians
were able to come out of Egypt, right?
Now if you remember the story,
not only did they come out,
but then the Egyptian armies tried to kill them,
or tried to capture them once again at least.
And then what happened?
The Israelites were caught at the Red Sea
and they couldn't progress past the Red Sea.
So what's the miracle that God did with Moses?
Do you remember that?
He took his rod, he put it into the water
and God passed those waters
and they were able to cross the Red Sea on dry land.
Do you remember that?
So as they passed through,
there were walls of water that they were passing through
in the Old Testament.
Look at verse number 1, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1.
It says,
Moreover, brethren,
I would not that ye should be ignorant
how that all our fathers were under the cloud
and all passed through the sea.
That's that Red Sea when they passed through
and were all baptized unto Moses
in the cloud and in the sea.
So this sea,
yes, I mean they weren't dumped
and immersed like we do today,
but the fact that they passed through the water,
those walls would have had,
in a sense, had them immersed,
they would have passed through
and that was a picture of baptism.
I believe them coming out of Egypt
was a picture of salvation
because if you know the story
that was the blood of the Passover lamb
which represents the blood of Jesus Christ,
then they were free,
they were able to get out of Egypt
so they pictured salvation
and then they were baptized through that Red Sea.
Just once again reinforcing the fact
that baptism comes after salvation.
Okay?
Now the last thing that I want to talk about,
I just added this,
just to the tail end of this sermon
and that's because there's a lot of talk these days
about what should we say when we baptize someone.
Should we say,
I baptize you in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
as we read earlier
and actually what I'll get you to do,
let's have a look at this.
Yeah, if you go back to Matthew 28,
just so you have a reference,
Matthew 28 verse 19.
What should we say when we baptize an individual?
Now this wasn't such a controversy in the past
but lately it seems to have crept up
that people want to baptize someone
in the name of Jesus only.
Okay?
Now if you ask me,
Kevin, are you against that?
Well, sort of.
I wouldn't do it.
I don't think it's the right thing to do
but if you've been baptized in the name of Jesus only,
I personally would not expect you
or require you to get rebaptized once again.
Okay?
As long as it didn't bother your conscience.
If your conscience was clear
that you had understood that salvation
was by grace for faith,
because in reality,
baptism just represents
the death-bearing resurrection of Jesus, right?
And again, it kind of depends
on the church which baptized you
because some people say,
well, we're baptizing in the name of Jesus only
because the name of Jesus is the name above every name
and so we're baptizing by that authority of that name.
Okay, I don't agree with that either
but that's okay
but then you have other groups of people
that will baptize the name of Jesus only
because they also believe
that's the Father's name,
God the Father's name,
God the Son's name,
and God the Holy Spirit's name.
Okay?
But remember when that Ethiopian eunuch got baptized?
What did he confess?
I believe that Jesus is who?
Jesus is the Son of God.
Okay?
And so the reason why I would not baptize someone
in the name of Jesus only
is because I believe
and I believe the Bible clearly teaches this
and if you have any questions,
you can please ask me.
The name of Jesus only applies
to the Son of God.
Okay?
So if we're baptizing in the name of Jesus only,
then we're only recognizing
one person of the Trinity.
We're not recognizing in that baptism
God the Father
or God the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
Now again,
bring back to your remembrance
when Jesus Christ was baptized,
who was present?
You know, why did...
and this is revealed to us in a number of passages.
You know, God makes sure that we understand
that when Jesus was baptized
that there was a voice of heaven
saying, this is my beloved Son
in whom I am well pleased.
That was God the Father being revealed
and the Holy Spirit coming upon him
as a dove,
bodily as a dove.
You know, we see the Trinity there
with the baptism of Jesus.
And so if Jesus Christ came to set our example,
I believe that our baptism
should also represent the Trinity,
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
Which is why, you know,
I believe we ought to baptize
in the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit
and not in the name of Jesus only.
Okay?
Have a look at Matthew 28 verse 19.
Matthew 28 verse 19.
So this is Jesus Christ giving us
the Great Commission
shortly before he's resurrected
into heaven
and he says to his disciples,
Go ye therefore
and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost.
Okay?
So Jesus Christ makes sure he mentions
the three-fold nature of God.
But then some people will say things like this.
And I'm only bringing this up
because, you know,
a lot of you are aware of this controversy.
Otherwise, I really wouldn't spend
too much time on this.
But I'll just read to you very quickly
Acts 2 verse 38,
which we read before,
where Peter now asks,
What shall we do?
And Peter said unto them,
Repent and be baptized,
every one of you,
in the name of the Father.
In the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins.
Remember that one?
Being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
So the question comes up,
Well, how can we do it?
In the name of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit
or in the name of Jesus Christ?
Well, one thing that you'll understand
when you've read your Bible,
especially the New Testament,
one thing you'll come to understand
is that word name
and even if you look this up
in your dictionary,
it's not just a personal name.
Okay?
A name can also mean authority.
You know, someone says,
you know, a police officer says,
you know, stop in the name of the law.
You know, are they saying stop
because by the personal name
that the law has?
No, they're saying stop by the authority
or by the power that I hold
as a police officer,
you know, of the law.
Okay?
So name also means authority.
So when we read a passage
like Acts 2 verse 38,
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ,
what I believe,
you know, to make these passages
work together,
what I believe is being referred to here,
and I believe this very strongly,
is that it's the authority
that we ought to be baptized by,
by the authority of Jesus Christ.
Okay?
And what authority did Christ leave us
in the Great Commission
to baptize in the name of the Father
and of the Son and Holy Ghost?
Okay?
So if you have any questions about that,
please ask me.
You know, when I do baptisms,
it'll be in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
and I've got some of the issues
behind the name of Jesus,
but now's not the time to go through that.
Otherwise, that's another one or two sermons
to get through.
But that's what I've got for you tonight.
Let's bow and break.