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Matthew 28:16-20

INTRODUCTION: We are starting a new message series today called: “Why Do We . . . ?” Over the next five weeks we are going to be looking at why do we do certain things as a church. Why do we baptize? Why do we have church membership? Why do we give to the local church? Why do we spend so much time singing during our worship services? Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper? This will be a brief series, but I trust both practical and profitable as we look at each of these topics together. This morning we turn our attention to baptism. Our opening passage from Matthew this morning is one of the key passages in the Bible about baptism and the importance of baptism. [Read and pray.]

Shortly after a recent seminary graduate had assumed his first pastorate, he and his wife went to visit his family. His mother sensed that her daughter-in-law was unhappy, but not wishing to interfere, she pretended not to notice. As they were leaving, she heard her daughter-in-law say, “All right, we can go by the church and you can practice baptizing me just one more time. But remember this — when you have your first funeral, you are not going to practice burying me!”

Why do we practice baptism in the church? Why is baptism so important? Why do we baptize adults, and why do we fully immerse them under the water? Why do we dedicate infants, and is that different from baptism? What does baptism have to do with salvation? There are a lot of questions surrounding baptism, and my hope is that today’s message will answer many of them for you.

Baptism is one of two ordinances that our Lord Jesus gave to the church while he was still here on earth. The second ordinance is the Lord’s Supper, which we will talk about at the end of the series. Out of these two ordinances, baptism is a one-time event, whereas the Lord’s Supper is a repeated event. There are many different views on baptism, and not all Christians agree on all the particulars. However, I believe the Bible gives us some very clear instruction concerning the meaning and practice of baptism in the church. And so we will look at a number of passages today as we seek to determine what the Bible says about baptism. And the very first question I would like to address is this: Why should you be baptized?

I. Why should you be baptized?

    A. You should be baptized because Christ commands it. (Matthew 28:19; John 14:15)

Why should you be baptized? Well, you should be baptized first of all because Christ commands it. We just read the passage from Matthew 28:16-20, which is often called the Great Commission. These were some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he returned to heaven. After establishing his universal authority in heaven and earth, Jesus then gave the command found in verse 19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Jesus commands the church to baptize those who choose to follow Jesus. Baptism is not optional for the church or for the believer. It is at the very heart of Christ’s commission to the church.

A church that does not baptize believers is defying a direct command of Christ. And a believer that chooses not be baptized is also disobeying Christ. Andreas Kostenberger in his essay on “Baptism in the Gospels” writes this:

“Baptism is an essential part of Christian discipleship. This is clear from the “Great Commission” passage, where disciple-making is said to consist of baptizing converts and of teaching them to obey the commands of Jesus. An obedient church will take to heart the risen Christ’s command to engage in mission and evangelistic preaching, seeking to engender conversions that ensue in baptism, instruction, and Christian growth. On an individual level, those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and have repented of their sin must be baptized as part of their Christian discipleship.” (Andreas Kostenberger; Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ [ed. Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright]; “Baptism in the Gospels,” pp. 33–34)

Here in the United States the importance of baptism is sometimes watered down – excuse the pun – but in other countries people seem to have a greater understanding of the importance and the necessity of baptism. For example, when a Muslim in the Middle East is baptized as a Christian, they are often disowned by their family. Christian baptism is viewed as the ultimate betrayal of Islam, and those who are baptized as Christians are often considered dead by their family and friends. Or they could end up actually dead. In some Muslim countries Christian baptism of a former Muslim is viewed as blasphemy and is punishable by death under the country’s blasphemy laws. And yet despite the risks and costs, believers still choose to be baptized. Why? Because Jesus commands it. It is an essential part of Christian discipleship.

Jesus said in John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” (John 14:15) That includes the command of baptism. In fact, baptism is one of the very first commands of Jesus that we should obey as a new believer. The Bible presents baptism as the first step of discipleship. Why should you be baptized? You should be baptized first of all because Christ commands it.

    B. You should be baptized to demonstrate that you are a believer in Christ. (1 John 2:3; Acts 18:8)

Secondly, you should be baptized to demonstrate that you are a believer in Christ. A Christian demonstrates his faith in Christ through his obedience to Christ’s commands. 1 John 2:3 says: “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (1 John 2:3)

Now that does not mean that we will suddenly become perfect as Christians. We will still stumble and fall and sin along the way. I think of the young man who asked the pastor as he stepped into the water to be baptized, “After this I won’t be tempted anymore, right?” To which the pastor responded, “I would have to hold you under a whole lot longer than normal for that to happen!” So John doesn’t mean that we will suddenly become perfect as Christians. But he does mean that one of the ways we know that we have truly believed is that we now make every effort to obey Christ’s commands. The command to be baptized is a command that you either obey or disobey. There is no middle ground. Either you have done it, or you have not. John says, “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”

Although you should seek to obey all of Christ’s commands, obeying Christ’s command to be baptized especially demonstrates your faith in Christ, because baptism and faith go together. There are many verses we could turn to in the Bible that link baptism with belief, but let’s just look at one for the moment. “Many . . . who heard him believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8) Do you see how naturally in this verse baptism follows belief? The New Testament everywhere assumes that once you believe in Christ, you will be baptized as a public demonstration of your belief.

Baptism is like a Christian’s identity badge. It says to the whole word, “Hey, I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who came into the world to take away the sins of the world. I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose again. I am personally trusting Jesus to forgive my sins and to be my Lord and Savior. I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I demonstrate my faith in him by being baptized in his name.” A person who refuses to be baptized is refusing to identify with Jesus Christ, because that is what baptism is all about. It is God’s ordained way for you to identify with Christ. Faith is invisible, but baptism is visible. It is a visible sign that you have put your faith in Christ.

Next week when we look at church membership, we will see that committing to membership in the local church is God’s way for the believer to identify with the church of Jesus Christ. Similarly, baptism is God’s way for you to identify with Christ himself. When you are baptized, you are saying, “I belong to Christ.” When you become a church member, you are saying, “I belong to Christ’s body or church.” Baptism means publicly identifying with Christ. Church membership means publicly identifying with Christ’s church. And so baptism and church membership really go together. They are the two biblical ways that you visibly and publicly identify with Christ and his church.

Why should you be baptized? You should be baptized because Christ commands it. And you should be baptized to demonstrate that you are a believer in Christ.

II. Why do we baptize by immersion?

The second question I would like to address this morning is why do we baptize by immersion? Not all churches baptize by immersion. Some churches baptize by sprinkling or pouring. Perhaps that’s how you were baptized. Now, I don’t think there’s anything necessarily wrong with that. It is more important that you are baptized than how you were baptized. But I do believe we should baptize by immersion whenever we can. Let me give you three reasons from the Scriptures why.

    A. The word baptize means “to immerse.” (2 Kings 5:14)

First of all, the word “baptize” means “to immerse.” Baptize comes from the Greek word, “baptizo,” which means “to immerse” or “dip under water.” For example, the word “baptizo” was used to describe someone dipping the point of their pen into an inkwell, or of a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea. It is the word that was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe Naaman dipping in the Jordan River seven times (2 Kings 5:14 LXX). There are other Greek words that mean “to pour” (ekcheo) and “to sprinkle” (rhantizo). But “to baptize” means “to immerse.” So that is the first reason why we baptize by immersion, because that is what the word actually means.

    B. Every baptism described in the Bible was by immersion. (Matthew 3:16; John 3:23; Acts 8:38-39)

A second reason why we baptize by immersion is because every baptism described in the Bible was by immersion. Jesus’ baptism was by immersion. We read in Matthew 3:16: “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.” (Matthew 3:16) Remember “baptize” means to fully immerse or go under the water. Jesus was baptized or immersed under the water, and then he came up out of the water.

John the Baptist – who came before Christ and baptized Christ – John baptized people by immersion. We read in John 3:23: “Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.” (John 3:23) When John got ready to baptize, he went and found a place in the river where there was plenty of water. If you are just sprinkling or pouring to baptize, any part of the river will do. But, if you are immersing people, if you are placing them under the water, you need to find a place where there is plenty of water, where there is some depth to the water so that you can properly baptize by immersion.

In the book of Acts we read of Philip sharing the good news about Jesus with a eunuch from Ethiopia. “Both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:38-39) This passage also describes a baptism by immersion. They went into the water; they came up out of the water. Not every baptism in the Bible is described for us. Sometimes we just read that the person got baptized. But every baptism in the Bible that is described was by immersion. We don’t find any examples of baptism by pouring or sprinkling in the Bible.

    C. Immersion best symbolizes death, burial and resurrection. (Romans 6:3-4)

There is a third reason why we baptize by immersion, and that is because immersion best symbolizes death, burial and resurrection. You might wonder what death and resurrection have to do with baptism. Well, this is part of the meaning behind baptism that we are taught in the Scriptures. For this we turn to Romans 6:3-4: “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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.” (Romans 6:3-4)

Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again. When you put your faith in Christ, you are united with Christ by faith. You share spiritually in his death, burial and resurrection. This is where baptism comes in. One of the truths that baptism symbolizes is the fact that a believer has been united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. That’s what Paul is saying in Romans 6. If you were baptized into Christ, you were baptized into his death. You were also buried with him through baptism. And just as Jesus rose from the dead, so you too have been raised to new life. Some day you will also experience bodily resurrection, when you are raised to be with Jesus forever in heaven.

Well, if baptism is meant to symbolize your death, burial and resurrection with Christ, what manner of baptizing best portrays that symbolism? Immersion does. Going under the water symbolizes death and burial. You are cut off from oxygen and life. You have been buried under the waters of baptism. And then as you come up out of the water, it is a beautiful picture of coming out of the grave and rising to new life. You don’t get that same picture from pouring or sprinkling. Only immersion preserves the picture of death, burial and resurrection that baptism is meant to symbolize.

Even the founders of the various church denominations agree that baptism by immersion is what the Bible teaches and what the early church practiced. Martin Luther wrote: “I could wish that such as are to be baptized should be completely immersed into water, according to the meaning of the word and to the significance of the doctrine.” Although Calvin allowed for both pouring and immersion, he wrote: “It is evident that the term “baptize” means to immerse, and that this was the form used by the primitive church.” John Wesley wrote in a sermon on Romans 6:4: “We are buried with him – alludes to baptizing by immersion according to the custom of the early church.”

Why do we baptize by immersion? The word “baptize” means to immerse. Every baptism described in the Bible was by immersion. Immersion best symbolizes death, burial and resurrection.

III. Why dedicate instead of baptize infants?

The last question I would like to address today is this: Why dedicate instead of baptize infants? If we don’t baptize infants, does that mean we are against children? Well, of course not. We love children here at PCC! Does it mean we don’t want God’s blessing on our children? Of course not! God does not withhold his blessing from children just because they are not yet baptized.

We are a community church, and so there is a variety of belief on this subject even within our own congregation. But I firmly believe that instead of baptizing babies, we should dedicate them. We dedicate our children to the Lord, and we dedicate ourselves to Christian parenting. Dedication of infants has strong Scriptural support, whereas baptism of infants does not.

Many people struggle with this area of teaching on baptism, because they come from a church or family tradition where the babies are always baptized. It is unthinkable to them that they would not baptize their baby boy or girl. But this is one of those areas where we have to make sure that we are following what the Bible teaches and not just our church or family tradition.

    A. There are no examples of infant baptism in the Bible.

So why do I believe we should dedicate our infants rather than baptize them? Well, first of all because there are no examples of infant baptism in the Bible. Each week I put together an outline of the message for you in the bulletin. I usually put a Scripture reference next to every point in the outline. But if you look at today’s outline in your bulletin, you will notice that there is no Scripture reference next to this point. You know why? Because there are no Scriptures to reference! There is nothing to put there. There are no examples of infant baptism in the Bible.

    B. Repentance and faith are necessary before baptism. (Acts 2:38, 8:12, 10:47-48, 18:8)

A second reason why I believe we should dedicate our infants rather than baptize them is because the Bible teaches that faith and repentance are necessary before baptism. Look at the following verses:

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

“But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12)

Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 10:47-48)

“Many . . . who heard him believed and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8)

In every case, repentance and faith come before baptism. An infant is not capable of repentance or faith. Therefore, I do not believe we should baptize infants. A person should not be baptized until they have reached an age where they can truly repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism comes after repentance and faith, not before.

    C. To guard against false assurance of salvation. (Titus 3:5)

And then a third reason why I believe we should dedicate our infants rather than baptize them is to guard against false assurance of salvation. I have spoken to so many people over the years who think that they are saved because they were baptized as an infant. They somehow think that their baptism has saved them. What does the Bible say? Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:5) We are not saved by any righteous act that we do, including baptism, but simply by God’s mercy as we put our faith in Jesus Christ.

Baptism does not save anyone. It never has, and it never will. Baptism is a sign that you have already been saved. Salvation comes first, then baptism. Sadly, too many people equate their baptism with salvation, and as a result they have a false assurance of their salvation. I do not want to give anyone a false assurance of salvation, and that is another reason why I believe we should dedicate infants rather than baptize them. If you were baptized as an infant, but you have never given your life to Jesus Christ, do not rest on your baptism. It will not save you. Only Jesus Christ saves. You need to put your faith and trust in him.

CONCLUSION: So how do we apply today’s message? Well, it depends. The first question you should ask yourself is, “Have I been baptized?” If you have been baptized, then you need to ask yourself, “Am I living out my baptism? Am I continuing in my faith in Jesus Christ that I publicly professed when I was baptized?” If not, then you need to recommit your life to Christ. As a baptized believer you made a life commitment to Christ, and you need to walk that out.

If you have not been baptized, then you need to ask yourself a different question. “Why not? Why have I not been baptized?” If it is because you are not yet a believer in Jesus Christ, then that makes sense. You should not be baptized until you have first become a Christian. If you are not a believer this morning, please know that God offers you salvation and forgiveness of sins through his Son, Jesus Christ. And so this morning I would urge you not to be baptized, but to put your faith in Jesus Christ. First comes repentance and faith; then comes baptism.

But if you are a believer in Jesus, and you have not been baptized, why is that? We have seen from Scripture this morning that baptism should be your first act of discipleship in obedience to Christ’s commands. Why have you not obeyed Christ in this matter? Or as a man named Ananias once said to the apostle Paul in Acts 22:16: “What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)

Some people may wonder, “Well, if I was baptized by my parents when I was a child, does that count?” Let me say that if your parents baptized you when you were an infant, I am sure they did it with the very best of intentions. I am sure they did it because they felt it was the right thing to do and perhaps even something that God required of them. But as we have seen from the Scriptures today, being baptized as an infant is not the same thing as being baptized as a believer. Infant baptism is really a dedication of the child by the parents, whereas believer’s baptism is a public declaration of your own faith in Jesus Christ. And so if you were baptized as an infant, I would encourage you to view that more as your dedication to the Lord. And I would instruct you to be baptized as a believer out of obedience to Christ’s command and as a public demonstration of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Baptism is God’s way for you to publicly identify with Christ. Church membership is God’s way for you to publicly identify with the church. Let me encourage you to make both those commitments today.

© Ray Fowler

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