Alright, let's open back up to
John chapter 3. I pray the Lord will bless this.
I do not want to preface this. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. So I'm not going to. I pray the Lord will bless this,
okay? As we go through these books in the Bible, we go through
each chapter, we go through each verse, every issue that we have
in this life will be brought up, every single one of them.
Every question that we have will be answered, every single one
of them. As we go chapter by chapter and
verse by verse, every single question we have will be answered. We're going through John, and
we've come to verse 22, which talks about baptism. So that's the subject we're gonna
look at, baptism. Verse 22 says, After these things
came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea, and there
He tarried with them and baptized. And John also was baptizing in
Anon near to Salem, because there was much water there. And they
came and were baptized, for John was not yet cast into prison. Now, I believe that baptism is
a confusing subject to many believers. I think it is. It was very, very confusing to
me for a long time. I've had other people talk to
me about it and ask questions about it. It's confusing. We
spend a lot of time proving in this Word that baptism is not
salvation. But with that being said, in
the Lord's time and by His will and by His purpose, I want to
get a baptistry here. Why? If it's not salvation, if
baptism is not salvation, why should I be baptized? That's the title. Why should
I be baptized? Here's the answer. Here's the
reason. Our Lord God said so. That's all we needed. Hold your
place right here in John 3 and let's go to Matthew 28. Matthew 28, look at verse 19. Our Lord said, Go ye therefore
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you, And lo, I'm with
you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. He commanded
it. He commanded it. So in our text,
John 3 verse 22, it says, After these things came Jesus and His
disciples into the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them
and baptized. They traveled from town to town,
And they preached the gospel, and many believed, and they baptized
them. That's what they did. But notice
this, in my Bible, at the word baptized, right here in verse
22, I have a reference in my margin for that, and it says
to go to chapter 4, verse 2. And that says, Though Jesus Himself
baptized not but His disciples." Our Lord never baptized anybody,
not one person. That's important to know. I think
it's interesting that we're about to go under here, talking about
baptism. That's important to know. That's
very important to know. If baptism was salvation, the
Lord would have done it. His name is Savior. And the Savior would have done
it. But He didn't. He didn't do it. Now we said last Wednesday night
that the first time baptism appears in the Word of God is in Matthew
chapter 3. If baptism is salvation, then
everybody in the Old Testament went to hell. First time it appeared
was in Matthew 3. That thief on the cross that
the Lord said, today you're going to be with me in paradise, he
didn't make it. He wasn't baptized. If baptism
is salvation. But baptism is not salvation. It is not salvation. Through
God's Word, we're about to see what it is, okay? Our text here
in John 3 verse 22 says, After these things came Jesus and His
disciples into the land of Judea, and there He tarried with them
and baptized. Matthew Henry said about this
verse, Many a weary step He took to do good to souls. Many a weary step He took to
do good to souls. He went from town to town, and
He preached, and He caused people to believe, and He baptized them. Now we talked about this morning,
I told you I was thinking about the fact that of all the times
He could have come, He could have come in a much more luxurious
time. He chose to come and walk from
town to town. Our Lord is so good. Verse 23
says, And John also was baptizing in Anon near to Salem, because
there was much water there, and they came and were baptized. Much water was needed to do this. Much water. They were not sprinkling. You don't need much water for
that. They were not pouring it on anybody. You don't need much
water for that. The name baptism means dip, immerse. That's what it means. And our
Lord, it says in Matthew 3.16, when He was baptized, He came
up straightway out of the water. He went all the way under. That
is how they baptized. Verse 23 says, And John also
was baptizing in Anon near to Salem, because there was much
water there, And they came and were baptized, for John was not
yet cast into prison." John baptized up until the time that he was
cast into prison. And the reason he did that is
because he was commanded to. Look over at chapter 1, verse
33. John said, "'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 remaining
on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."
So in verse 31 right there, that's why he said, I am come baptizing
with water. That's why I'm baptizing with
water. It is an outward show of an inward work. That's what
it is. It's an outward show of what
the Holy Ghost of God has done to a person inwardly. Alright,
now why should I be baptized? Two reasons. The first one is
it's scriptural. The Lord was baptized Himself
and He has commanded us to be baptized. And the second reason
is my heart greatly wants to. I want to. I actually want to
be baptized again. And again. And again. Now I'm not going to, but my
heart wants to. I want to. I love baptism. I
say, baptism's not salvation. And I mean that, but I love baptism. We're about to see the reasons
why. All right, we're gonna go through this word and see what
it has to say about baptism. Turn with me to Acts chapter
one. This is what it felt like to
be inside the ark. Acts chapter 1 verse 5 says,
For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. It's coming real
soon. In Acts chapter 2, Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost
and verse 37 says, Now when they heard this, They
were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest
of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter
said unto them, Repent and be baptized. every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." That's what he said
to do. Repent and be baptized. They said, we believe. We believe. We hear the Word and we believe
it. Now what should we do? Repent
and be baptized. It's a commandment of God. Go
to Acts chapter 8. Verse 12 says, But 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. So baptism is for both men and
women. Now we assume that, but it's
good to see it in Scripture. And they were baptized because
they believed the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name
of Jesus Christ." What it means for this man, Jesus, to be the
Christ. It means He's God. And they said,
we believe that. Now, in this same chapter, the
Lord calls us Philip's path to cross with an Ethiopian eunuch.
And Philip preaches the gospel to him from Isaiah 53. Christ
and Him crucified. Look at verse 32. It says, The
place of the Scripture which he read was this, He was led
as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before his
shearer, so opened he not his mouth. In his humiliation his
judgment was taken away, And who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the
earth.' And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee,
of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other
man? Then Philip opened his mouth,
and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way,
they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here
is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized?" What doth hinder me to be baptized? What he's saying is, I love what
I'm hearing. I love this man. I love what he's done. What doth
hinder me to be baptized? Verse 37 says, 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. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still, and they went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." I want to be
baptized again. I really do. Look at chapter 9, verse 18.
This is the Apostle Paul's conversion. It says, there fell from his eyes as it
had been scales. And he received sight forthwith,
and he arose, and he was baptized." Chapter 10, verse 44. This is Peter preaching
to Cornelius and the soldiers that were in his company. Chapter
10, verse 44 says, While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy
Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And what that
means is this, when it says the Holy Ghost fell on all them,
it means they believed. That's what it means. That's
the job or the work of the Holy Spirit. He causes men and women
to believe. So it says, "...while Peter yet
spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard
the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished
as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was
poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." This gift of believing
the Word of God. Verse 46, "...for they heard
them speak with tongues." And that means they heard a real
language, real words. They didn't hear jibber-jabber.
They heard it with their own ears in a language that was known
to men, and they understood, it says in verse 46, they heard
them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can
any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which
have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And He commanded
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they
Him to tarry certain days. All right, now turn to Acts 22. I believe this is very important.
Acts 22 verse 1 says, Paul says, Men, brethren, and fathers, you
hear my defense which I make now unto you. And when they heard
that He spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence
as He saith. I am verily a man which am a
Jew, born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, yet brought up in this
city at the feet of Gamaliel." That's the man I was trying to
think of. "...and taught according to the perfect manner of the
law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God." I learned, and I
was zealous. He says, "...as ye all are this
day." Verse 4, "...and I persecuted this way." And what he means
is, the way that I now believe. I persecuted this way unto the
death." I killed people. "...binding and delivering into
prisons both men and women, as also the high priest doth bear
me witness, and all the estate of the elders from whom also
I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring
them which were there bound unto Jerusalem for to be punished."
And it came to pass that as I made my journey, and was come nigh
unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great
light round about me. And as I fell unto the ground,
and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest
thou me? And I answered, Who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw
indeed a light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice
of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do,
Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus,
and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed
for thee to do. And when I could not see for
the glory of that light, it physically blinded him. being led by the
hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus, and one
Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report
of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and
said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour
I looked up upon him, and he said, The God of our fathers
hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just
one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt
be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
And now, why tarryest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash
away thy sins. Calling on the name of the Lord.
Paul knew the Scriptures. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees.
He was zealous toward God. And God came to him and turned
the light on. And then he told Ananias, you
go tell Paul, what are you waiting for? Arise and be baptized. When God reveals the truth to
a sinner, what must that sinner do? Believe him? and confess Him. We are not baptized
just for the sake of being baptized. We're not. The commandment is
not believe Him and get in water. That's not the commandment. The
commandment is believe Him and confess Him. Confess Him. All right, now, I'm gonna wrap
it up soon, I think. Let me show you that in Ephesians
4, okay? Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians 4 verse 1 says this,
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called. We need to walk
worthy of the vocation that we've been called to. Verse 2, he says,
with all lowliness, we need to be low and humble. And meekness, we need to be meek. With longsuffering, we need to
be longsuffering toward each other. He says, forbearing one
another in love. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Now watch this. He says,
there is one body. When you were in religion, some
of you have told me that before you were in religion. I'm very
thankful to the Lord that He caused me to grow up under a
man that preached the truth. He was once in religion, but
God saved him before I was born, my dad. And I grew up in the
truth, and I thank God for that. But some of you came up in religion. When you were in religion, Were
you in the true body of Jesus Christ or were you just in religion? Really? Alright, now he goes
on to say there's one body and one spirit. When you were in
religion, there was some kind of spirit there. Everybody was
jumping and hollering or everybody was pouring ashes on their head
or something. I don't know. Some kind of spirit
there. Was it the one true Holy Spirit of God? Alright, he says,
one body, one spirit, even as you are called in one hope of
your calling. There's one hope of your calling. When you were in religion, you
professed salvation. You said, yeah, I'm saved. I
go to church. Was it by Christ alone? Or did you have to add
something to it? Verse 5 says, There is one Lord. When you were in religion, they
preached a Jesus. Was it the Lord Jesus Christ? He says, There is one faith. When you were in religion, you
believed something, right? Everybody believes something. Is it what you believe now? Is it what you believe now? And
then he ends verse 5 by saying, there is one baptism. When you were in religion, more
than likely, they got you baptized pretty quick. My guess is you
were baptized. Was that baptism a confession
that Christ alone, His death, His burial, and His resurrection
is absolutely positively my only hope of salvation? I died in
Him. And I have risen with Him. Why should I be baptized? I want to close with 1 Peter
chapter 3. 1 Peter 3 verse 18 says, For Christ
also hath once suffered for sins. The just, that's Christ. For
the unjust, that's me. That He might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.
By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison, those
who were bound, which sometimes were disobedient, when once the
longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark
was a-preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved
by water." And let me tell you what that means. Eight souls
were saved by water. What that means is, eight souls
went into the water just like everybody else. They all went
into the water. But eight souls went in inside
the ark. And so it says, eight souls were
saved by water. The like figure Whereunto even
baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh." When you go down in that water and you come out,
it didn't wash off one sin. But the answer of a good conscience
toward God. By the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, who is gone into heaven and is on the right hand of God,
angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto Him. Baptism is not salvation, but
it is the answer of a good conscience toward God. Now let me illustrate
that, and I do promise you I'm going to close. I'm on a dating
illustration kick right now. You dated different people. I
dated different people. Hannah dated different people. And you really cared about them.
You really did. And some of those times, you
thought you were in love. You thought you were. Until love
literally punched you in the heart. And for the first time in your
life, you knew what real, true love was. For the first time,
you loved another person more than you love your own self.
Man, the greatest illustration of that is a child. But relationship. Lay down your life love. Now try telling a person who's
experienced that, you cannot be in love until you get married. A wedding ceremony is what will
actually produce love. Do you know what they're going
to tell you? You, my friend, are wrong. I have it now. The marriage ceremony is not
in order to produce my love. The marriage ceremony is a result
of my love. Now is a marriage ceremony important? Absolutely. God will not allow
two people who are in love to live in open sin together. They must confess each other
in marriage. They must. God has commanded
it. So it is with those who fall
in love with the Lord Jesus Christ. Their heart hurts. And their conscience will not
rest until they confess their love. That's what baptism is. Now Paul said in 1 Corinthians
1 17, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. We
began this in John 1 by saying true baptism is the job of the
Holy Spirit. I'm not called to this church
to baptize people. So right now, I don't want to
point anybody to baptism. Nobody. But I do want to point
you to Christ. And if He baptizes somebody into
His Spirit, and they fall in love with their Savior, and want
to confess their love to Him in the sight of God and man,
So be it. Who am I to hinder true love? Why should I be baptized? Why
should I not? I believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ is God. I believe His Word. I'm commanded
to and I want to. Lord, cause me to confess you. That's what I want. That's my
desire. Alright, may the Lord bless that. Let's stand together.