Matthew 3:13-17
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
15 But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
16 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.
17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Today I want to talk to you about being baptized. Being baptized is part of The Great Commission.
If we look at some of the different religions about baptism we will find that many of them believe in infant baptism.
Infant baptism appeared in church history around the year 370 A.D. In 416A.D. infant baptism was made required by law throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman Catholic Church eventually made infant baptism an official doctrine in 1547 at the Council of Trent. It's statement of doctrine says:
"The sacrament of baptism is administered on adults by the pouring of water and the pronouncement of the proper word, and cleanses from original sin."
The Reformed church says:
"Children are baptized as heirs of the Kingdom of God and of His covenant."
The Lutheran church teaches that baptism, whether of infants or adults, is a means of regeneration.
These and other teaching of infant baptism is nowhere to be found in the Word Of God.
The fact of how much Jesus loves children was evident when He made the statement in
Matthew 19:14
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”
- Baptism as an act of obedience
Some of the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples were the threefold instruction: make disciples, baptize those who believe, and teach them His commands (Matthew 28:18-20). If for no other reason, we baptize because Jesus told us to.
Matthew 28:18-20
Obedience is a characteristic of followers of Christ. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said we should teach new believers "to observe everything I have commanded you." Baptism is an act of obedience both for the new believer and the church. We baptize because we desire to obey Christ's command.
- What do I need to do to be Baptized
- Confess your Sins.
The Bible says of John the Baptist: "Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:5-6. We need to acknowledge that we are sinners and confess our sins to God. If we do, He will forgive us.
- Repent of your sins.
When Peter preached to the people in Jerusalem on Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus, many of them were convicted by the Holy Spirit and asked Peter what they should do. He replied, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38).
- Believe on Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Savior from sin.
When Philip met an Ethiopian and told him about Jesus, the Ethiopian wanted to be baptized. Philip told him, "If you believe with all your heart, you may". And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.....And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he Baptized him" (Acts 8:37-38).
According to the Bible we must be saved before we get baptized.
If you have been baptized in the past by sprinkling of water then I would encourage you to be baptized by submersion in water. Why? Because the new testament tells us to be baptized by immersion in water.
Mark 1:5
Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
This verse in Mark says he baptized IN THE JORDAN RIVER.
- How old do you need to be to be baptized?
You need to be of an age to know what sin is. You also need to know and have faith in Jesus is and that he died on a cross for your sins. Then you must repent of your sins.
Mark 16:16
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
- I was Baptized when I was saved last time.
If you have been living in sin and you just recently come back to Christ then the answer is "Yes" you should be baptized again. In Revelation 2:5 it says "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works over."
Romans 6:4
4 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.
Believers are symbolically buried with Christ through baptism and raised with Him from the dead in order that we may wake up to a new life.