BAPTISM (with PowerPoint slide outline)
[ Opening
slide - date, or black, etc. ]
[ Slide
titles of previous lessons on Faith, Repentance and Confession]
In our
sermon series, we studied Faith, Repentance, and the Good Confession.
[ Baptism]
It
logically follows that our next sermon in the series should be on Baptism. It is very probably that in the minds of some
is the question,
[ Why?]
Why
another sermon on Baptism? Some think
that this subject has been discussed and debated for hundreds of years, and in
the minds of many religious minded people, it has never been settled. Why then continue to disturb the minds of
people with it? This objection involves
a serious mistake.
[ Man
and woman thinking]
It may
be true, that in the mind of many the issue is not settled; that is, everyone
has not come to the same agreement in regard to baptism. But in another, and a very important sense,
it has been settled thousands and thousands of times. It has been settled in the minds of men and
women who realize they have to give an account to God in the great day of
judgment. And let me say to those of you
who are here today, there is a necessity laid upon you, and you cannot avoid
it, that you must also settle the question in your own mind and for the sake of
your own soul.
[ Baptism
required for membership ]
Up
until less than 50 to 75 years ago, when a number of religious bodies in the
Some
may answer, “No, Brother Gann,” the question was settled for me by my parents
when I was an infant, and they baptized me.”
Even this does not enable you to escape the necessity for you to decide
for yourself before God whether you will be satisfied with that as your obedience to this divine command
from God. It is imperative that you
consider it, because we will all give an account to God in the day of judgment.
[ Baptism
]
So,
don’t be impatient with me when I propose we look at this subject afresh. But be willing to open your mind, and just
hear what is presented today. Whatever
position a man may take, whichever side of this controversial question he stands
on, every one of us should be willing to listen candidly, to weight the issue
fairly, and to decide the question intelligently.
[ Greek
New Testament and page ]
But
one man may say, “According to my understanding of this controversy, it
requires some knowledge of a dead language called Greek, in order to render an
intelligent decision as to what baptism is; and as I am no scholar, I think God
will not hold me to an account if I should happen to decide in
incorrectly.” Well, my friend, it is a
mistake to suppose that it requires scholarship in any dead language to
determine what baptism is.
[
English New Testament ]
And,
friend, it is possible that every man who has ordinary common sense can take
his own English New Testament, and learn from a careful study of it, what God
requires of him in order that he may live a life well pleasing in the sight of
our Maker.
What
course then is a man to take, who knows only his English, to learn this subject
and settle in his mind the issue of “baptism”?
[ Picture
of an older man ( J.W. McGarvey) ]
A good many, many years ago, I read of man who
made this remark: “If my mind were unsettled in regard to baptism, I would take
this course:
[ Read
All the New Testament ]
–I
would take my own New Testament, and beginning at the first chapter of Matthew,
I would read it all the way through,
[ Watch
for the subject ]
watching
for that word “baptism”; and everywhere I found it,
[ Examine
the context ]
I
would examine carefully the passage in which I found it,
[ Put
it all together ]
and
learn all I could about it; and when I got through I would put all of this
together, and I would make up my mind on the whole subject of baptism that
way.
[ This
is the Lord teaching me ]
Then I
would feel sure that it was God teaching me, and that he would approve my
decision.”
That
remark has had a great impact on me through the years. I think it is a great way to study any
subject, and the proper way. It does not
involve arguments on the subject by other men.
It involves nothing but listening to the utterances of God’s word,
forming our own conclusions, and then following the course taken from the
scriptures themselves.
[ the
Bible ]
Now if
that is not a safe procedure, I don’t know what is. You may imagine it a very big task to read
the book through and through, and noticing the passages we’re concerned with,
but it’s not nearly a big a task as one may imagine. I propose that we study our subject today
just this way, but you may think well the preacher is going to keep us here till
[ Bible
and a blank yellow note pad ]
We are
going to begin at the very beginning of our New Testament, but before we do,
there’s one other thing we need to do to prepare our mind. If you want to investigate any subject
without prejudice, we need to remove from our mind ALL that we think we know,
or have heard from men, or have imagined about our subject, and come to this
investigation as if the subject were absolutely a new one, which we have never
heard a word about “baptism” in our life.
Come
with your mind like a sheet of blank paper, ready for God to write on it
whatever you find in His holy word.
Let’s propose then, that we have never before heard the word “baptism”
uttered before in our life.
[ Greek
lexicon crossed out ]
When we come to the word, we will not turn to
any Greek lexicon,
[ Bible
commentaries crossed out ]
nor
any commentary by men,
[ English
dictionary crossed out ]
or any
English dictionary, but we will pause, reflect upon it,
[ Bible
emphasized ]
and see if the Book itself explains it to us;
and if so, we will have God’s definition of it.
[ Matthew
]
Now we
begin at the first chapter of Matthew, and after reading the long list of
names, and the account of the birth of the Lord, and his childhood,
[ Matthew
3:5 ]
in the
third chapter the writer introduces John the Baptist; and in verses 5 and 6 we
read this: “Then went out unto him
[ “Baptized”
underlined ]
Why,
there is a word here I’ve never seen before; I’ve never heard of it. I wonder what it means– that these people
were baptized by that man in the river
[ “in
the river
I
would like to know what it means, but I believe I will let the New Testament
itself explain it to me. I do not know
what was done to those people by John, but can I learn anything about it in
this passage?
[ Picture
of the River
Yes,
they were baptized in the river
So let
us read on and see if we can learn more.
[ Matthew
In
verse 11, the same John says to his audience,
[ “with
water” ]
“I indeed baptize you with water unto
repentance, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I; whose shoes I am
not worthy to bear. He shall baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Here is our strange word again, and this time John says, “I baptize you
with water.” Well, there is
another thing we learn about it– that water and not wine, or milk, or honey, or
any other liquid, but water is used in this ordinance.
[ Matthew
We
read on, and in the same chapter, at verse 13 we read these words: “Then cometh
Jesus from
[ “straightway
from the water” ]
Then
he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was
baptized, went up straightway from the water.”
Well,
we see what he did when he was through with the baptizing– he “went up
straightway from the water.” But that is
all. It does not tell us what the
baptizing was. As regards the act itself
that is called baptism, we are still very much in the dark. From this whole chapter we learn only this–
that when John baptized it was in the river Jordan; that he used– in some way,
we don’t know how– water; and that after Jesus was baptized he went up
straightway from the water, showing that he had been down in it, but that is
all we learn, so we read on.
Our
curiosity is aroused now, and chapter after chapter, page after page we turn,
and we do not find our word again it its literal sense, until we come to the
last chapter of Matthew,
[ Matthew
28:18-19 ]
and in
28:18-19 we read: Jesus came to them and spake to them, saying, all authority
hath been given to me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit?”
Here
is our strange word again, and what do we learn about it here? Why, that those men were to baptize in all
the nations.
[ baptize
in all the nations ]
It was
to be a universal thing.
[ “into
the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit ]
And
they were to baptize those being made disciples into the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
[ a
universal thing, and a solemn thing ]
Well,
it is becoming interesting. We can see
it was a very solemn thing, and it is to be universal. We wonder more than ever about this subject.
[ Mark
]
We are
through with Matthew now. We will begin
in Mark. We may have to read the whole
New Testament through before we gt our question answered.
[ Mark
1:4 ]
We
haven’t read but four verses in Mark til we read: “John came, who baptized in
the wilderness and reached the baptism of repentance unto the remission of
sins.” Here is another report of John
baptizing. In Matthew we found that he
baptized in the river
[ baptized
in the wilderness ]
That puzzles us a little.
[ map
and picture of the
But we
remember something of the geography of the river
[
that
it flows through the barren wilderness of
[ Mark
1:5 ]
Verse
5 tells us, “And there went out to him all the country of
[ “river
Yes,
we were right, it is in the “river
[ Mark
1:8 - “with water” ]
And in
verse 8, John says to the people, “I baptized you with water” but we knew that
before.
[ Mark
1:9 ]
At
verse 9: “It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from
[ “out
of the water” ]
Well,
we learned from Matthew that he went up from the water, and now it says
in Mark that he came up out of the water. So, Jesus, in being baptized, had been down in the water. It looks as if baptism takes place down in
the water, but we still don’t know what it is.
[ Mark
16:15-16 ]
We
read on, and go all the way through Mark to the last chapter before we learn
anything more about it.
[ Scripture
]
In the
last chapter of Mark (
[ universality
and globe ]
Here
is that same idea of its universality which we learned from Matthew, and here
is an additional thought connected with it, that “he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved;” and that adds interest to our investigation. Still, no light is thrown upon the act
itself; and so we must patiently go on with our reading.
[ Luke
]
In the
third chapter of Luke we meet our strange word again, verse 3
[ Luke
3:3 ]
(Luke
3:3). Speaking of John, the text says,
[ Scripture
]
“He
cometh to all the region round about
[ repentance
preceded - ]
If it
was a baptism of repentance, a
baptism which required a man to repent before he submitted to it, and unto the remission of sins it
must have been a matter of supreme importance.
The importance of this subject then grows upon us by the words used in
connection with it, but no light comes yet as to what the particular act itself
was. Remember, we are approaching our
study of this word as if we had never heard it before, and we want the New
Testament itself to show us its meaning, so we read on.
[ John
3:22-23 ]
We
read through Luke and into the gospel of John without additional light. But in the 3rd chapter of John,
vs. 22 & 23 we stumble upon it once
again. “After these things, Jesus came
and his disciples unto the
[ Jesus
baptized ]
So we find from this that not only did John
baptize, and not only did Jesus command his disciples to go into all nation and
baptize, but that Jesus himself baptized at one time.
“And
John also was baptizing in Aenon near to
[ water
]
We
learned in Matthew, also in Mark, that John used water in baptizing.
[ much
water ]
Now we
learn that when he left the
[ Acts
]
We
read on through John without any further satisfaction, and into the book of
Acts; and in the 2nd chapter of that book, and verse 41 we read,
[ Acts
“they that received the words of Peter were
baptized, and there were added unto them in that day about 3000 souls.”
[ Acts
In verse 38 Peter said to them, “Repent and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remissions of
sins.” And so we learn that the
apostles did as Jesus told them– the went preaching the gospel and requiring
men to be baptized to become disciples.
[ Acts
We
read on in the book of Acts, and in the 8th chapter we there find
Philip in preaching the gospel in
[ Acts
In the
same chapter, farther on, Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch are riding in the
chariot together, and Philip is preaching Jesus to him. At verse 36 we read, “and as they went on
their way, they came to a certain water.”
[ water
]
We
have already learned that water was the element used. “And the eunuch said, Behold, here is water;
what hindereth me to be baptized? and he
commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch,
[ went
down into the water ]
and he
baptized him; and when they were come up out of the water,
[ came
up out of the water ]
the
Spirit of the lord caught Philip away.”
We learn something additional from this.
We learn that before the baptizing, the Ethiopian went down into the
water, and that while he was down in the water, the baptizing was done, and
then he came up out of the water.
[ What
was Done? What Happened? ]
We
still have not found a precise answer to our question, “What is baptism?” but
we feel we are getting it hemmed in.
[ Review
Sheet ]
Let’s
review what we have learned and put it all together.
[ River
John
baptized in the river
[ Done
with water]
Baptism
was done with water.
[ much
water ]
John
baptized where there was much water.
[ down
into the water ]
We
read that the one being baptized went down into the water ]
[ Baptizing
was done - whatever that was ]
The
baptizing, whatever that was, was done down in the water
[ After
baptism – came up out of the water ]
and
then we read of him coming up out of the water after it happened. But what Philip did to the Ethiopian eunuch
in “baptizing” him in not answered to our satisfaction just yet.
[ A
solemn and universal thing ]
We see
that baptism a solemn thing, and a universal thing.
[ Repentance
preceded ]
We see
that it was to be preceded by repentance
[ “unto
the remission of sin” ]
And we
read that it was “unto the remission of sins.”
[ Acts
9 - Saul or Paul ]
When w
get into the 9th chapter of Acts, we find that Saul of Tarsus was
baptized, but nothing is said about it to indicate what the act was.
[ Acts
10 - Cornelius ]
And
also in the 10th chapter we read of Cornelius being baptized;
[ Acts
16 -
and in
the 16th chapter of
[ Acts
16 - Philippian jailor ]
then
the Philippian jailor being baptized.
So we
can see assuredly that the gospel was being preached as Jesus had directed it should
be, and that in order to become a disciple of Jesus, one was baptized. But we don’t find any words in these passages
that indicate to us clearly just what was done in that act called “baptism.”
[ Romans
]
So we
read on into Romans, the first epistle in the order in which they stand in our
New Testament.
[ Romans
6:3-4 ]
In the
6th chapter, the 3rd and 4th verses we read:
[ Scripture
]
“Are
you ignorant that all who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
his death?” Ah! There are two new thoughts.
[ Into
Christ ]
When
men were baptized in obeying Christ’s command, they were baptized “into Jesus
Christ”
[ Baptized
into his death ]
and were baptized into his death. The importance of this act called “baptism”
then grows in our mind.
[ Romans
6:4 ]
The
apostles proceeds: “We were buried therefore with him through baptism into
death; that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the
Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.” Now what was that–? What did the apostle say was done through
baptism?
[ “We
were buried” underlined ]
“We were buried with him through baptism into
death.” Let us pause right there a
moment and reflect on this.
[ Review
sheet again: Pointer at “went down into the water” ]
We
have learned before that the person to be baptized went down into the water;
the baptizing was done with the water; then he came up out of the water.
[ Pointer
moved down to “Baptism” and pencil appears ]
[ baptism
- a burial ]
Now we
learn that in baptism the man was buried; and if the water was the element,
what conclusion can we reach than this, that he was buried in the water? This then, at last, explains what the act
was.
[ Bury
a man in water? ]
But if
we had never heard of the matter before, we might ask, ‘Bury a man in the
water?’ and if you leave him there, he
will drown! But he is not left there;
for Jesus came up straightway (immediately) out of the water.
[ Pointer:
came up out of the water ]
Philip
and the eunuch came up out of the water.
Well then, that it was a temporary burial and not a permanent one, would
be our conclusion.
[ Baptism
is a burial of a man in water ]
But
let us not allow anything to rest on mere inferences, however logical, let us
read a little further and see if we can find any light on that particular
point?
[ Colossians
]
[ Colossians
We
read on then, and when we come into the 2nd chapter of the epistle
of Colossians, and 12th verse we have this language:
[ Scripture
]
“Having been buried with him in baptism,
wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who
raised him from the dead.”
[ Picture:
Jesus’ resurrection ]
We
recall that Jesus Christ was buried in the tomb and on the third morning he
came out. “Having been buried with him
in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him” makes our burial in water
[ ...
buried with him in baptism; ... raised with him ]
a
representation of his burial in the tomb, and our rising from the water, of his
rising from the dead.
[ Review:
using picture of the
This
burial explains some of the things that we met with before. It explains why a river like the
[ much
water ]
It explains why much water was needed and such
found at Aenon– enough was needed to bury men.
[ down
into the water ]
It
explains why, before the act of baptism, the person went down into the
water. A man could not be buried without
doing so.
[ baptism
a burial with Christ ]
Baptism
then, is a burial with Christ.
[ come
up out of the water ]
It
explains why, at the termination of the act of baptism, we read of the person
coming up out of the water.
[ raised
to a new life ]
We
learn then that baptism is an act in which a man is buried in water;
and
raised again in imitation of the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is done by the command of the Lord Jesus
Christ himself, the blessing which follows is a resurrection to a new life.
[ The
blessing received ]
Let’s
look at the blessings associated with baptism in the passages we have read.
[ A
new life - Romans 6 ]
We are
raised to a new life - Romans 6
[ “unto
remission of sins ‘]
It is
unto remission of sins, so it then
coincides with a man having his sins forgiven just as Peter preached in Acts 2,
“Repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins.”
[ Saved
- Mark
The
blessings from the acts of baptism coincides then with remission of sins and
salvation, just as Jesus had said in giving the great commission in Mark, “He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”
[ Into
Christ ]
Baptism
puts one into a new relationship with Christ.
[ Into
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ]
It is
an act that brings us “into the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy
Spirit” as Matthew records. (Matthew
28:18-19 )
[ BAPTISM
]
If
this is all true my friends, it is the most solemn, interesting and precious
command from the Lord. We can not
overestimate the value of obeying this command from the Lord himself. We can not then speak of baptism as merely an
external act which is not significant nor important, for it symbolized the very
death of our Lord himself; his death wherein he shed his blood for the remission
of our sins (Matthew 26:28) and it pictures our resurrection from the deadness
of sin, to a new resurrected life with Jesus.
Therefore, let my tongue praise the Lord, and let me not speak
despairingly of this divine command for all men to be baptized into the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[ Picture
of
If you
could make a pilgrimage and visit
[ picture
of a garden tomb ]
And if
we could find the garden and know for sure where the garden tomb of Joseph of
Armathea could be found,
[ Picture
of the inside of the tomb ]
and if
you could stretch yourself out in that tomb, in the very niche where Jesus lay,
upon that bare rock, and to have some friend roll a stone over the mouth of
that cave and seal you there where Jesus himself laid, you could imagine
yourself buried with there with the Lord himself. But we cannot do that.
[ picture
turned to back and slowly fades back in to a baptismal scene ]
And we
don’t have to take a pilgrimage to
[ Raised
to a new life ]
we are
lifted out of that watery grave to start a new walk, a new life, just as our
Lord started to walk in a new way when he arose from the dead. It is a sacred and blessed privilege.
[ “Baptism”
and Bible ]
When
we consider this command in the light of the passages that we have read, we not
only see its connection with the burial and resurrection of our Lord, but we
can see that it points to a new life that we are to live in. When one understand this, how can there be in
the heart of any of us repugnance toward this command? Any feeling of disrespect toward it? But only the feeling of a most profound
reverence for it, and for the God and Savior who appointed it?
[ Man
and woman thinking ]
Is
there anyone here this service who desires to submit to this command? My dear friend, you cannot be baptized unless
you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Savior. You cannot be buried with the Lord in that
holy and solemn way, unless you have repented of your sins, and have cast them
behind you. If you have done this; if
it is within your heart today to confess your faith in the Lord Jesus, then it
is your privilege to be baptized into the name of the Father, and the son, and
the Holy Spirit; to receive the blessings that comes with obedience to the
Lord, to receive the forgiveness of sins, and to be enabled to walk in a new
life– a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Does
your heart long for this? Do you hear
the voice of the Lord calling you today?
Do you long for those blessings to which he invites you? Then my friend, I beg you to step out into
one of the aisles, to walk down and met me, and let the desire of your heart be
make known; and confess the glorious name of Jesus, and give your life to him
in obedience to his command to be baptized!
[ Faith
]
Come
in faith believing Jesus to be the Son of the Living God.
Come
in repentance, turning from sin to the way God wants you to live to His glory.
[ Confession
]
Come
to make the good confession of your faith in Jesus.
[ Baptized]
Come
to put on Christ and baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit.
END
[Comment1]“Baptism” p. 109-ff, McGarvy’s Sermons.