Believer's Baptism

Q: What does the Bible say about believer's baptism?

The Bible teaches that believer's baptism is a command of Christ for those who have faith in Him. In Luke 12:8-9, Jesus emphasizes the importance of confessing Him before men, which includes the act of baptism. Paul also affirms in Romans 10:9 that confession of Jesus as Lord is essential for salvation, and this confession is outwardly expressed through baptism. Baptism serves not just as a symbol, but as an essential step in a believer's public acknowledgment of their faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know believer's baptism is true?

Believer's baptism is affirmed through the teachings and commands of Jesus and the practice of the early church. The significance of believer's baptism is rooted in the command of Jesus found in Matthew 28:19-20, where He instructs His disciples to baptize those who believe. The practice is consistently evidenced in the Book of Acts, where every conversion to faith in Christ was followed by baptism, demonstrating the early church's understanding of baptism as a believer's public confession of their faith. Furthermore, the apostle Paul reiterates in Acts 8:37 that belief must precede baptism, reinforcing the notion that baptism is reserved for those who truly confess their faith in Christ.

Q: Why is baptism important for Christians?

Baptism is important as it publicly declares a believer's faith and obedience to Christ's command. Baptism serves as a significant rite of passage for Christians, symbolizing their identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as articulated in Romans 6:3-4. It is an outward expression of an inward transformation, reflecting that the believer has died to sin and risen to a new life in Christ. Moreover, as stated in Luke 12:8-9, our Lord promises that those who confess Him publicly will be acknowledged before the angels, thus highlighting baptism’s role as both an act of obedience and a public witness of faith.

Q: What does the Bible say about the mode of baptism?

The Bible teaches that baptism should be by immersion, symbolizing burial and resurrection. Scripture consistently supports the practice of baptism by immersion rather than sprinkling or pouring. Matthew 3:16 describes how Jesus was baptized and 'went up straightway out of the water,' indicating immersion. John 3:23 reinforces this by mentioning that John the Baptist chose locations with 'much water' for baptism. Additionally, Romans 6:4 illustrates baptism as a burial with Christ, emphasizing that to be baptized is to be submerged, which represents one's death to sin and resurrection to a new life.

I invite your attention today
to the book of Luke. I'm going to be reading from
Luke chapter 12, verse 8 and 9. Luke 12, 8 and 9. Now, this is my subject today,
and I hope you'll just pull up a chair there and sit and listen. I'm going to talk about something
that needs to be talked about, and something that you need to
hear. and a subject that needs to be dealt with. My subject
today is Believer's Baptism. Believer's Baptism. Now let's
listen carefully and see what God says about this subject,
Believer's Baptism. In Luke chapter 12, verse 8 and
9, the master said, Also I say unto you, that whosoever shall
confess me before men, him, shall the Son of Man confess before
the angels of God, but he that denieth me before men shall be
denied before the angels of God." Paul the Apostle wrote in Romans
10, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, And believe in thine heart that
God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. Now what is it to confess Christ?
Our Lord said, Whosoever shall confess me before men. Paul said,
If thou shalt confess with our mouth Jesus to be Lord. Now what
is it to confess Christ? Well, I brought a message on
this subject several years ago, and I showed you four things
that I believe are involved in confessing Christ. One of them
is baptism, and I'm going to deal with that more fully today. But I put three others with it.
There are four things that I pointed out that are involved in confessing
Christ. Now, thou shalt confess Jesus
Christ to be Lord. Now, what is it to confess Christ?
Well, first of all, it's to believe Him in your heart. That's where
the work takes place, first of all, before God. Here is where
these matters are resolved before God, in the heart. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. God looks on the heart. He said,
God does not look on the outward countenance. He's not impressed
with the outward duties and deeds of men. God looks on the heart.
He says, my son, give me your heart. As a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he. Out of the heart proceeds evil
thoughts. These are the things that condemn
a man. You see, our Lord said, these religious people, they
call me Lord with their lips, but their hearts are far from
me. And God looks on the heart. So this is where the work of
confessing Christ is resolved before God. We believe the Word
of God. We believe Christ. We believe
the Gospel. We believe in our hearts. That's
right. In our spirits. Secondly, to
confess Christ is to identify with the things of Christ. To
be identified with the things of Christ. To be identified with
His Word. It's to love His Word, to believe
His Word, to embrace His Word, to study His Word, to delight
in His Word. It's His Word. And because it's
His Word, I want to be identified with it, because I'm identified
with Him. It's to identify with His church.
It's His church. It's the church which He purchased
with His own blood. It's His body. And therefore,
because it's His church and His body, then I want to be a part
of His church and a part of His body. And it's His people. He
said, this is my commandment that you love one another as
I loved you. I don't want a true believer, a man who confesses
Christ, will be identified with God's people wherever they are,
whomever they are. Our fellowship is with the Father
and with the Son and with His people. And it's a fellowship
of kindred minds and kindred hearts. And we want to be identified
with all that is of God. We want to stand up and be counted.
I tell people wherever I go that I have a flag, an American flag,
on a 20-foot pole in my front yard that flies continuously
because that's the flag that is the banner and ensign of my
nation, which I love. And I want everybody to know
I love the United States of America. I thank God for this country.
I thank God. And the more I travel in other
countries, The more I thank God for this country and its freedoms
and its blessings. And I want everybody to know
that I strongly support this nation. And that's the way a
believer is. David said, I was glad when they
said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. He said, I'd rather
be a doorkeeper in God's house than to dwell in the tents of
the wicked. I want to be identified. So to confess Christ is, first
of all, to confess Him in your heart. And secondly, it's to
be identified right now in this life on this earth with that
which is of God, the things of God, His word, His church, His
people. Thirdly, to confess Christ is
to walk before Him and before the world in godliness, in truth. The scripture says, as you have
therefore received Christ, so walk ye in Him. Don't let us
profess to believe on Christ and by our lives to deny Him.
Here's a man that is a boss, an employer, and he says he believes
the gospel, and yet he mistreats his employees and doesn't treat
them fairly or pay them well. That's denying Christ. Here's
a workman, says he's a Christian, and yet he's a lazy workman and
a A thieving workman and a troublesome workman, that's denying Christ.
Here's a husband that mistreats his wife, that's denying Christ.
A wife that's not obedient to her husband and claims to be
a Christian, that's denying Christ. Parents, children, integrity,
honesty, the way we live confesses Christ. And if we don't live
in a way that will glorify Christ and in keeping with His Word,
we're denying Christ. We're denying by our action what
we claim with our lips. And so to confess Christ is to
confess Him in your heart. It is to be identified with His
people, with His Word, and it's to walk in such a way that men
see your good works and glorify your Father. You know, it says
in the Scripture that these people took note of the disciples, that
they'd been with Jesus. How'd they know they'd been with
Jesus? They talked like He talked. They walked like He walked. They
loved like He loved. They lived like He lived. They
treated others like they want others to treat them. That's
how you confess Christ. And then fourthly, to confess
Christ is to follow Him in believer's baptism. Our Lord gathered His
disciples about Him after He died on the cross for our sins,
our substitute, our sin offering. And after He'd been buried and
rose again, He gathered the twelve disciples about him before he
ascended back to the Father. And he said to them, Go ye into
all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved. And he that believeth not shall
be damned. He said it to them. He said, All authority is given
to me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore and make disciples
of all nations. baptizing them and teaching them
to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. So our
Lord commanded the disciples to go preach the gospel, make
disciples, and baptize them. Now I want to show you in my
message today the privilege of baptism. It's a privilege. The importance of baptism, the
significance of baptism, and the beauty of baptism. Now, why
should a person be baptized? Well, here's reason number one.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized by immersion. That's right, the
master himself, the Lord Jesus Christ was baptized. Let me read
it to you in Matthew 3, verse 13 through 17. Then cometh Jesus
to Jordan, the Jordan River, unto John to be baptized of him. But John protested. And he said,
I have need to be baptized of thee. In other words, you're
so far above and beyond me and more excellent than I, that I've
got no right to baptize you. I should be the one being baptized.
And Jesus answered and said to him, now listen, suffer it to
be so. For thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
John the Baptist and told him to baptize him because he said,
it's important that I fulfill all righteousness. What's he
talking about there? Well, our Lord was born of woman
because you and I were born of woman. Those whom he represented
were born of woman. Our Lord was born under the law.
Why? Because we're born under the law. Our Lord was circumcised
according to the law of Moses. Our Lord went to the temple.
He was taken to the temple as a child, according to the law
of Moses. He kept the Passover and went to the synagogue on
the Sabbath day, kept the Sabbath day and the tithe and the tribute,
and was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. You see, John
was saying to the Lord Jesus, You're so far above me and more
excellent than I, that you should be baptizing me. But the commandment
of the Father is, upon all who repent, and believed to be baptized. So Christ came to John and he
said, the commandment is upon my people and those whom I represent
to be baptized. So to identify with them, I suffer
to be so to fulfill all righteousness. That's what our Lord was doing,
fulfilling the will and the word and the commandment of his father
for his people. Everything that's required of
us Demanded of us and commanded of us Christ fulfilled Everything
and I tell you if there's no other reason to be baptized.
This is enough the Lord commanded it That's why the Lord Jesus
was circumcised. It was a commandment of God in
the Old Testament That's why he went to the synagogue. There
was nothing preached there They rejected him, but he went on
the Sabbath day. It was commanded of God and He
came to this river to be baptized of John because it was commanded
of God, the baptism of repentance. And he was identified with his
people in every way, in all points as we are tempted, tried, yet
without sin. All right, secondly, we confess
our Lord and believers' baptism because our Lord commanded his
disciples, his preachers, to go preach the gospel and to baptize
people. That's what he said you go listen
Matthew 28 go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and
Teach them to observe all things whatsoever. I've commanded you
to observe baptism to observe the Lord's table to observe worship
all of these things In Mark 16, 15, go ye into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved. And that's what the disciples
did. They did as they were commanded. Read the book of Acts, all the
way through the book of Acts. They went everywhere preaching
the gospel, preaching the gospel, preaching the gospel. And everywhere
they went preaching the gospel, they baptized believers. At Pentecost,
there were 3,000 baptized at one day. And everywhere they
went and preached the gospel, people confessed Christ by following
Him in believers' baptism. That was our Lord's command.
The Father commanded it, and the Savior Himself was baptized.
The Savior commanded it and told all of His preachers as they
go preach the gospel. And men become believers and
are converted to baptism. Now, thirdly, according to the
Scriptures, only only believers are to be baptized. We're not
to baptize anyone that's not a believer. He that believeth
and is baptized. Make disciples and then baptize
them. We don't baptize them before
they believe and before they're disciples. We make them disciples
and then baptize them. They believe and then they're
baptized. Baptism is not for infants. Baptism is not for anybody
as a form or as a ceremony. Believers are to be baptized
now listen carefully listen to our Lord in Matthew 28 listen
to the way He says this he gathered his disciples about him. He said
now all authority is given unto me in heaven and earth go ye
therefore and make disciples and Baptize them and then teach
them Preach the gospel to them. They listen to the gospel. They
believe the gospel. They're converted then they're
baptized Confessing faith in Christ and then you teach them
He said also in Mark chapter 16, he that believeth and is
baptized. And listen to, I want you to
listen to Acts chapter eight. Listen very carefully here now.
Every one of you know this story. The Ethiopian eunuch had left
Ethiopia and gone to Jerusalem to worship. And on his way back
to Ethiopia, he was sitting in his chariot, reading the word
of God, reading the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 53. He was wounded
for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement
of our peace was upon him by his stripes we're healed. You
know and I know that's Christ, our substitute. And the Lord
sent Philip to join that chariot. Philip was the preacher of the
gospel. And Philip walked along beside the chariot, heard the
man reading the scriptures. He said, do you understand what
you're reading? He said, how can I except some man show me?
So Philip got up in the chariot and rode along with him preaching
to him the gospel. This man had never heard the
gospel. Philip preached the gospel to
him, the gospel of Christ, his substitutionary death. He took
the scriptures and preached Christ. He died for our sins according
to the scriptures. He was buried and rose again
according to the scriptures. And as they wrote along, the scripture
says in Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch saw a lake or a river
or a body of water. And he said, wait, here's water. What doth hinder me? from being
baptized. And Philip said, do you know
what Philip said? Philip said, if you believe with all your
heart, you may be baptized. And the man answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So Philip said,
stop the chariot. And they both went down into
the water and he baptized him. You see, this man is not, he's
not ready to confess Christ until he knows Christ. He's not ready
to be baptized until he believes. What was required of the eunuch?
To believe. And all the way through the book
of Acts, baptism always follows believing. It never comes before
believing. It always follows believing.
It's a confession of our faith. In Acts 18.8, it says, Many of
the Corinthians believed, and then they were baptized. Baptism
for believers. And we're not to make a ceremony
out of it, or a beautiful form out of it, or a tradition out
of it, or bring our infants to be baptized. They can't be baptized,
they're not believers. I'm not teaching adult baptism,
I'm teaching believers baptism. Children, I don't know what age,
but children can believe. Paul said about Timothy, from
a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make
thee wise unto salvation. But certainly not infants. Certainly
not inference of a few days old. It's plain from the Scriptures
that he that believeth and is baptized. That the Ethiopian
eunuch asked Philip, may I be baptized? He said, if you believe
with all your heart you may, but not unless you believe. Now
what I'm coming to now is so very important. Please listen
to this. The mode of baptism. in Scripture
is always by total immersion in water. Only. There's no other
baptism taught in the Word of God to confess Christ. Listen
to Matthew 3. Now listen to it. Matthew 3,
16. And Jesus, when He was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water. And the heavens were opened,
and the Spirit of God descended upon Him in the form of a dove.
He came up out of the water. John 3.23, listen to this. And
John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Salem, because there
was much water there. Baptism requires much water,
just like a burial requires much deep grave and ground. In Acts 8.38, Talking about Philip
baptizing the eunuch. He said, see, here's water. What
does hinder me from being baptized? And Philip said, well, you may
if you believe on Christ with all your heart. He said, I do.
So they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch,
and he baptized him. And when they were come up out
of the water, both of them, then Philip was taken away. The whole
point is this. Now listen to me. The whole point
is this. If you read Romans chapter 6,
baptism represents a burial, a burial. The water is a grave. When a person is baptized, he's
put under the water, out of sight, like you bury your dead. You
don't lay them on top of the ground. You don't sprinkle sand
on them. You bury them beneath the ground
and cover them over. And on the resurrection day,
the grave is opened and they come out. Baptism is a burial. It's death burial and resurrection
The water is a grave. Listen to Romans 3. Will you
listen to this verse 3 Romans 6 verse 3? No, you not That's
so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized
into his death Therefore we are buried with Christ by baptism
into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even we should walk in newness of
life. Baptism is not declaring a doctrine. It's not declaring a denomination.
It's not declaring I'm a Baptist. It's declaring that I believe.
When I go down under that water, out of sight, buried, and come
up out of that water, I'm saying that Jesus Christ died. for my
sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried in a grave out
of sight for three days. And He arose. And when I am baptized,
I am saying that I confess that when He died, I died. When He
was buried, I was buried. When He arose from the grave,
I rose to walk in newness of life. It is declaring I am dead
to this world. I am dead to the traditions of
this world. I am dead to the dead works of
this world. And I am buried with Christ.
And I rise with Christ to walk in newness of life. Believers,
baptism, pictures, two things. His death for me. Burial and
resurrection. My death to the world. And I'm
burying this old, this old man. And I'm rising to walk in newness
of life. I'm a new creature in Christ
Jesus. I'm not the same fellow. I'm not walking the same direction.
I'm not running with the same crowd. I'm saying by my baptism
I'm dead. That's what John the Baptist's
baptism was, a baptism of repentance. And the people, the publicans
and sinners and harlots came to John to be baptized, justifying
God, saying God's right when he says we're sinners and we
deserve death. But the Pharisees and religious
leaders wouldn't be baptized. Luke says they wouldn't submit
to the baptism of John, denying the charges of God against them.
But I'm not going to deny the charges of God against me. Baptism for believers. And baptism is a burial. The
water is a grave. And that's what the story is
all about. You see that? That's so important.
Romans 3. You write that down and study it again. Know ye not
that so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, were
baptized unto his death? Therefore we're buried with him
by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of God, even we should walk in newness of
life. Buried with Christ in baptism.
All right, now fifthly, listen carefully, this is the last point.
Baptism is the scriptural way to confess Christ before others. Didn't our Lord say, if you confess
me before men, I'll confess you before the angels of God, before
the Father? Didn't Paul say we're to confess
Christ? Well, this is the way people
in the New Testament confessed faith in Christ. Listen to Acts,
let me read it to you from the Bible, Acts 2.41. They that gladly received his
word were baptized. Acts 8.12, when they believed
Philip down in Samaria, preaching the name of Jesus Christ, when
they believed, they were baptized. Acts 9.18, when Saul received
his sight, he arose and was baptized. Acts 16.14, Lydia listened to
the things spoken by Paul and was baptized. That's what it
says all the way through the book of Acts. The Philippian
jailer was baptized. Cornelius was baptized. The Ethiopian
eunuch was baptized. Everywhere these men went, these
people believed the gospel and they were baptized, confessing
Christ. We have no scripture commanding us to walk to the
front of the church. It doesn't say when they gladly
received his word, they walked to the front of the church and
shook hands with the preacher or signed a card. They were baptized.
We have no commandment in scriptures to shake hands with anybody or
go to an inquiry room or to an altar. It doesn't say, and when
they believed Philip preaching the gospel, they went to an inquiry
room. No, they were baptized, confessing
Christ. Is baptism essential to salvation? No, it's Christ that saves, not
the waters of baptism. But we follow our Lord in baptism
out of obedience to his word and out of a privilege and a
joy to confess our Lord. You see, as far as baptism being
essential to salvation, there are many commandments of Christ
which are not essential to my salvation, my redemption, but
they're precious to me because they're the word of my Lord.
He commands us to love one another. Well, I'm not saved because I
love somebody. I love somebody because I'm saved.
He commands us to be baptized. I'm not saved because I'm baptized.
I'm baptized because I'm saved. And I know there are people today
who make too little of baptism. There are some who make too much
of baptism, it becomes a work. But the Scriptures are clear
on it. It's a confession of His death, burial and resurrection,
and my death, and burial, and resurrection, and walking newness
of life. If you want this message on tape, it's called Believer's
Baptism. On the other side, And Now I'm
Old, from Psalm 37. Send two dollars and we'll mail
it to you. Till next week, God bless you.

Believer's Baptism

What does the Bible say about believer's baptism?

How do we know believer's baptism is true?

Why is baptism important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about the mode of baptism?

Sermon Transcript

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Believer's Baptism

What does the Bible say about believer's baptism?

How do we know believer's baptism is true?

Why is baptism important for Christians?

What does the Bible say about the mode of baptism?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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