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The Bible never speaks of a believer in Christ
who has not been baptized.
Hello, I'm Phil Sanders; and this is a Bible study,
"In Search of the Lord's Way."
Today we're going to explore what the Bible
teaches about baptism, so stay with us for an
exciting and important study.
In all the hurry and hustle and confusiuon
of modern living, the Lord has the way.
We believe the Bible is the revelation of His way.
Join us for In Search of the Lord's way with Mack Lyon.
Today's speaker is Phil Sanders
Hello, I'm Phil Sanders and we're here to search
God's Word for the Lord's Way.
God desires that we believe, love, and obey Him.
We want to please God, because we love Him.
The apostle Paul said in Galatians 1 and verse 10,
"If I were still trying to please man,
I would not be a servant of Christ."
And that's why we ask what God says
about every moral and spiritual matter.
We're involved in a search for the truth,
for the Lord's will.
We want nothing more and nothing less.
And we pray that you too are seeking God's truth,
and that's why you've tuned in today.
We want to be a part of your life each week,
so give us that opportunity.
Several years ago a man far from God called me on
a Friday night to come and study the Bible with him.
He said that when he was a young teenager,
he was baptized in a denominational church.
But years later he learned that what he did as a youth
and what the Bible teaches about baptism were different.
This left him confused, and he wanted to know
what the Word of God said.
He desperately wanted to be right with God.
You see, he was in poor health;
and the doctor told him that if he didn't change
his ways, his heart would give out and he would die.
He remembered promises that he had made many
years before and he wanted to do what was right.
Well, I met him the next morning,
and we studied from Scripture what the Bible
says about Christian baptism.
I wanted to share with you what we studied that day.
So today and next week we'll study about
what the Bible says about baptism.
Now, if you want the details of this study,
we offer the information on this program free.
If you would like a printed copy or CD of our study,
mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way,
P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083
or send an e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org.
Or, you can call our toll-free telephone number.
That number is 1-800-321-8633.
Now we also stream this program
on our website at www.searchtv.org.
The Edmond church will now worship in song,
and then we'll read from Matthew 3:13 to 17.
Our reading today from God's Holy Word comes from
Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 to 17.
"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan
coming to John, to be baptized by him.
But John tried to prevent Him, saying,
'I have need to be baptized by You,
But Jesus answering said to him,
'Permit it at this time; for in this way it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.'
Then he permitted Him.
After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately
from the water; and behold,
the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of
God descending as a dove, and lighting on Him;
and behold, a voice out of the heavens, said,
'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"
That is a reading from God's Holy Word.
Let's pray together.
O Father, help us always to do what is fitting and
right in our service to You.
And, Father, may we be obedient to
Your will in baptism always.
In Jesus' name, Amen!
For centuries people have debated the subject of baptism.
We're going to focus on what the New Testament
teaches about Christian baptism.
We want to know how baptism fits with our
conversion to Jesus Christ,
how baptism fits with becoming a Christian.
And we're going to study through the New Testament.
We are limited in time, so we'll move fast and only
make the most important points.
In Matthew 3, Jesus considered it
important to be baptized.
He left his home in Nazareth and walked many
miles to the Jordan River to be baptized by John.
John was surprised at Jesus coming for baptism,
since John's baptism was according to Mark 1,
and verse 4 and Luke 3, and verse 3.
It was a "baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins."
Well, Jesus has never sinned and
He didn't need forgiveness.
John said that he needed baptism from Jesus.
But Jesus said, "Let it be so now,
for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness."
Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness,
and it is the right thing for us to do.
Luke 7, verses 29 to 30 says that anyone who
rejected the baptism of John was
rejecting the purpose of God.
Well, if this is true of John's baptism,
it is even more true of the baptism of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3, verses 16 and 17 says,
"And when Jesus was baptized,
immediately he went up from the water,
and behold, the heavens were opened to him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and coming to rest on him; and behold,
a voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.'"
God approved of this baptism.
Notice that after baptism, Jesus went up from the river.
The water baptism of Jesus took place down in the river.
And John 3 and verse 23 says that,
"John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim,
because water was plentiful there,
(that is there was much water there) and people
were coming and being baptized."
In His last words recorded in Matthew, Jesus said,
"All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always,
to the end of the age"
(Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20).
Now, the apostles made disciples by two means:
first, by baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and second,
by teaching them all that Jesus commanded them.
The idea of a non-baptized disciple or Christian is
never contemplated in the New Testament.
The Lord said in Mark 16, verses 15 and 16,
"Go into all the world and proclaim the
gospel to the whole creation.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Now, two things are necessary to respond to
the gospel and to be saved: faith and baptism.
It is not right to say that one is necessary
but the other is optional.
The Lord included both.
In John 3 and verse 3 Jesus told Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews, " 'Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God.'
Nicodemus said to him, 'Well,
how can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter a second time into his
mother's womb and be born?'
" Jesus answered in verse 5, "Truly, truly,
I say to you, unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he cannot (cannot) enter the kingdom of God."
Now, every writer in the early church,
all of the early church fathers agreed that this
new birth of water and the Spirit in
John 3 and verse 5 is water baptism.
In fact, no one said otherwise until the 1500s.
The idea of a person being born again before he is
baptized is simply not found in Scripture.
On the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 Peter and
the apostles preached the first gospel sermon.
In the sermon Peter made a charge against the people.
"Let all the house of Israel therefore know for
certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ,
this Jesus whom you crucified."
Well, Acts 2 and verse 37 to 39 says: "Now when they
heard this they were cut to the heart;
they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles,
'Brothers, what shall we do?'
And Peter said to them, '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.
For the promise is for you and for your children and
for all who are far off, everyone whom
the Lord our God calls to himself.'
" These guilty people asked what they should do
because they felt the sting of their sin of
crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peter said they needed to repent and be baptized in
the name of Jesus in order to have the forgiveness of
their sins, and they would receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
Both repentance and baptism
precede God's forgiveness.
Some say one ought to be baptized because their
sins are already forgiven, but this idea ignores the
context and must be read into the passage.
They're not asking what to do after they are forgiven
but what to do to be forgiven.
Remember the phrase "for the forgiveness of sins; " well,
it was used of John's baptism in Mark 1
and verse 4 and also in Luke 3 and verse 3.
But it is also found in Matthew 26 and verse 28,
where the Lord says, "for this is my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins."
Jesus poured out his blood so that
people might have forgiveness.
Now, Peter was there when Jesus said
this just fifty days before.
It's not an accident that he uses this very phrase
in reference to repentance and baptism.
Some recent translations make Acts 2:38 even clearer.
God's Word to The Nations for instance says,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the Name of Jesus Christ so that
your sins will be forgiven."
The New Revised Standard Version says,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ so that
your sins may be forgiven."
The International English Bible says,
"Change your hearts and each one of you must be
immersed by the authority of Jesus the Messiah,
so that your sins may be forgiven."
Now, Acts 2, verses 40 and 41 shows this even stronger.
It says: "And with many other words he bore
witness and continued to exhort them, saying,
'Save yourselves from this crooked generation.'
So those who received his word were baptized,
and there were added that day about three thousand souls."
Those who were told to save themselves were baptized!
Now, apparently three thousand of these people
understood this message and gladly
did what Peter told them to do.
They understood what to do and why they needed to do it.
Next we looked at Acts 8 and verse 12.
The Bible says, "But when they believed Philip as he
preached good news about the kingdom of God and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women."
They baptized men and women,
but not infants or small children.
They baptized people who were old enough to believe
in the name of Jesus Christ and to repent.
In Acts 5 and verse 14 the Bible tells us that the
believers were added to the Lord,
both men and women.
The words for men and women speak of males and
females of full age and stature.
They could believe and they could repent.
They could responsibly make decisions for themselves.
Acts 8 also tells of Philip and the Eunuch,
the Ethiopian Eunuch.
This eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to
worship and was returning home.
Well, in his chariot he was reading
from the book of Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit told Philip to join the eunuch
in his chariot; and Philip ran to him and asked,
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
And the eunuch replied, "Well, how can I,
unless someone guides me?"
And the place that he was reading is
Isaiah 53, verses 7 and 8.
Acts 8 and verse 34 to 38 says this: "The eunuch
answered Philip and said, 'Please tell me,
of whom does this prophet speak?
Of himself or of someone else?'
Then Philip opened his mouth,
and beginning from the Scripture he
preached Jesus to him.
And as they went along the road they came to some
water; and the eunuch said, 'Look! Water!
What prevents me from being baptized?'
[And Philip said, 'If you believe with
all your heart, you may.'
And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God.' ]
And he ordered the chariot to stop;
and they both went down into the water,
Philip as well as the eunuch;
and he baptized him."
Now, Philip preached the gospel of Jesus to the Eunuch.
And apparently, preaching the gospel meant preaching
baptism, because as soon as Philip finished,
the Eunuch asked, "What prevents
me from being baptized?"
They both went down into the water.
Philip baptized him, and they came up out of the water.
Now, whatever baptism is, it happens when people go
down into water and before they come up out of it.
Baptism, that word, is actually a very specific term;
and it means immersion.
Some translations no longer use the English
word baptism anymore; they translate the
Greek word baptizo as "immerse."
Baptism is a dipping, an immersion in water.
Baptizo is never used to speak of sprinkling or pouring.
Other words in Greek describe those actions.
The word for sprinkle is rhantizo,
and the word for pour is cheo.
Philip didn't do either one;
he immersed the Eunuch.
In Acts chapter 9 we find Saul of Tarsus who
persecuted the church relentlessly.
And on his way to Damascus,
he was blinded and encountered the Lord Jesus.
Verses 4 to 6 say that, "he fell to the ground,
and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting Me?'
And he said, 'Who are You, Lord?'
And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,
but get up and enter the city,
and it will be told you what you must do.'
" Now, not one word of this account of Saul on
the road suggests that he is saved.
In fact, we know that he is not saved at this point.
He has got to go to Damascus and
be told what he must do.
Verse 9 says that Saul is without sight for three
days, and he neither ate nor drank.
Saul was in shock.
You see, he had been persecuting Jesus who
really was the Son of God and risen from the dead.
And though blind in sight, he had his
spiritual eyes opened to the truth.
He was zealous for Judaism and thought he was doing
the right thing to persecute the church,
but Saul of Tarsus was wrong.
In 1 Timothy 1 and verse 15 he calls
himself the chief of sinners.
So in verse 11, Paul is in Damascus,
and he's on a house on a street called Straight,
and he is praying.
Paul must have prayed more fervently
than he had ever prayed in his whole life.
He was blind, and he was humble,
and he was penitent for all the evil
that he had done to the church.
This broken man desperately wanted to be
healed and to be right with God.
But he must wait to do what he will be told.
You see, even fervent prayer didn't bring about
the washing away of his sins.
We will find that out.
Now, this might shock you, but stay with me on this.
Some people ask people to say a sinner's prayer with them;
you know that's how they think that they are saved;
and they promise them salvation when they pray.
But Acts 9 says absolutely nothing about a sinner's
prayer bringing salvation and freedom from sin.
In fact, Saul is not yet saved;
and we can know this from the Bible.
If you open your Bible with me to Acts 22 and
verse 13 Paul tells of Ananias who came,
Paul said who "came to me, and standing near said to me,
'Brother Saul, receive your sight!'
(Now, some say the word "brother" means Saul is a
Christian, but Ananias is just referring
to him as a fellow Jew.
You see, Jews called each other "brother.")
And then verses 14 to 16 says: "And at that very
time I looked up at him.
And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed
you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One,
and to hear an utterance from His mouth.
For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what
you have seen and heard.
Now why do you delay?
Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,
calling on His name.'
" Now, Ananias told Saul that he must "be baptized
and wash away your (his) sins,
calling on the name of the Lord."
If Saul was saved on the road or if Saul was saved
by prayer, he wouldn't need to
wash away his sins in baptism.
Now, at the Sanders house, we wash dirty clothes.
We don't wash the clean ones.
The washing of baptism is necessary because our
souls need cleansing by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Let's pray together.
Heavenly Father, we pray that every person will
take seriously the things that
we have talked about today.
And, Father, may we be obedient to Your will.
In Jesus' name, Amen!
Many refer to being baptized as a work.
It is indeed a work, but not a work that we do.
You see, we're saved by grace through faith
according to Ephesians 2 and verse 8.
Baptism is not something that we do,
but something we choose to have done to us.
The command is to be baptized.
Now, the one baptizing does the work;
and the one being baptized is acted upon.
And just as the one baptizing does the
physical work, so God does the
saving in a spiritual work or act.
You see God is the One who washes away your sins.
God is the One who forgives and
causes us to be born again.
God is the active One in baptism and we are the
passive ones receiving His kindness and grace.
Baptism is never something that's done all by itself.
Without exception, those who were baptized in the
New Testament first heard the
gospel preached and believed it.
Baptism without faith is useless;
this is why we don't baptize
people who do not or cannot believe.
The Lord also wants us to confess our faith before others.
In addition to faith, the Lord also expects us turn
our lives around in repentance.
We must leave sin and give our
heart in service to the Lord.
When people have confessed and repented,
then they are ready to be baptized.
This is the time that God washes away their sins by
the blood of Jesus Christ.
And we'll have more to say about these matters next week.
We hope that today's study of Christian baptism has
blessed you or challenged you to think.
If you want a free printed copy or CD of this message,
mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way,
P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083
or send an e-mail to searchtv@searchtv.org
Or, you can call the Search office
toll-free at 1-800-321-8633.
Now, our programs appear on our website at
www.searchtv.org.
We offer Bible Correspondence courses
that will help you to learn more about God and
His will for your life.
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go along with our programs.
You can download them before the program on our
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Now, we won't hassle you for money or put you on a list.
We don't do that.
We do ask that you please worship with a
church of Christ in your area.
You see, they're the reason that
we don't ask for money.
And if you are looking for a church home, call us.
We'll be happy to help you find one.
Now, churches of Christ love and they want guests,
and you'll be glad that you
went and worshiped with them.
We'll be back next week, Lord willing.
So keep searching God's Word with us and tell a friend.
God bless you and we love you from all of us at
In Search of the Lord's Way.