View Article BIBLE BAPTISM

BIBLE BAPTISM

(from the Breath of Life Series by C. D. Brooks)

transcribed and edited by Derek Morris

Our subject tonight is “Bible Baptism.” What kind? Bible. That’s the kind we believe in, isn’t that right? In His parting words to His disciples, Jesus said these words in Mark 16:15-16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” If it sounds to you like baptism is important, would you say Amen?

 Now, it’s not enough to be baptized man’s way, is it? Just like it’s not enough to keep man’s commandments. Amen? We want to be baptized God’s way. We want to understand and experience Bible baptism.

It was Christ Himself who placed such a great emphasis on baptism. It is the door to His church. But it is much more than just a physical experience; it is an outward expression of an inward change. Now, the Lord’s already converted you. You’ve already surrendered your life to Him. If you haven’t, you got no business being baptized. Amen? He’s already converted you. Baptism is a public confession that you are on the Lord’s side. We need that. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him also will I confess before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.” Would you say Amen? And so baptism is an outward sign of an inward conversion. It is a public confession.

Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” That sounds necessary, doesn’t it? Now, it may be impossible for some to be baptized. The thief on the cross couldn’t come down; he was sentenced to death. It was impossible for him to be baptized, and so Jesus, imputing His righteousness to that thief’s account, gave that dying thief credit for His own baptism in the river Jordan. Though he was never able to be baptized himself, he will be saved by grace. Would you say Amen? But he is the exception. The Bible says when you have the chance and you hear the Word of God and the Holy Spirit draws you, and you make up your mind to follow the Lord, baptism is necessary.

In Acts 22:16, Ananias is speaking to Saul (later named Paul), who had just met Jesus on the Damascus Road. Saul fell down on his knees and gave his life to Christ. He was converted. Would you say Amen? Saul the persecutor was to become Paul the preacher. When he arrived in Damascus, Ananias, seeing this change, said to him, Acts 22:16: “And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

 On the day of Pentecost, after Peter had preached his greatest sermon about Christ and His truth, the hearers came to him and said, Acts 2:37: “‘Men, brethren, what shall we do?’ And Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.’”

Ladies and Gentlemen, baptism is a requirement of God, and Christians who love to please the Lord should never have any quarrel with what the Lord requires. Now, if a preacher or a church or a denomination requires something, then you have a right to kick, but when the Lord requires it, when the Lord says do it, it is wise to do what the Lord says.

The Bible says that there are some things you need before you’re baptized. You need to confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness. Would you say Amen? Proverbs 28:13. The Bible says, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth his sins shall have mercy.” No, that isn’t what it says. The Bible says, “Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have mercy.” Now, let’s say Amen.

Confessing without turning your back on it isn’t worth a dime. Make no mistake about it, Ladies and Gentlemen. There are people who go to confessional; there are people who pray all the time, “Lord, forgive me. Lord, forgive me.” And as soon as they’re done, they go off and do the same thing again. They are wasting their breath. True repentance is not only sorrow for sin; it is rejecting sin. It’s turning away from sin. Now, if you plan to be baptized, before you get in the water there is some preparation of the heart that is necessary. You need to turn your back on your old way of life, turn your back on known sin, and turn your life fully over to Jesus Christ. Would you say Amen?

One of the problems in the church is you’ve got too many folks getting baptized who have never changed sides. After they’re baptized, they cause havoc in the church, and they let everybody down; the church would be better off without them. You’ve got to make a decision that you are on the Lord’s side now. You’ve got to repent. That’s why Peter said, “Repent, and then be baptized.” Otherwise you just go down into the water a rebellious sinner and come up a wet, rebellious sinner. Would you say Amen?

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.” The things you used to think about, you don’t think about any more. There’s a difference in the way you talk. There’s a difference in the way you act. You’re different. That doesn’t mean you’re never tempted. The Devil’s still after you, but you’ve made a decision that you belong to Jesus now. If you’re not ready to live right, you ought not to be baptized.

There is no magic in the water. Don’t think that you can hold onto your sins until the day of your baptism, and then somehow the water will just wash them all away, whether you like it or not. There is no magic in the water. Unless you let Jesus take away your sin before you’re baptized, the water isn’t going to make any difference.

The Bible says there is something else that needs to be done before you’re baptized, some other preparation. Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus is speaking. The Bible says, “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 thing whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

Jesus said, “Go ye therefore and teach.” Do what? Teach. Before you baptize, you need to teach. That’s what Jesus said.

Well, Lord, what should we teach them?

Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded. Teach them what I want them to do. Don’t you dare baptize folk who don’t know what they’re doing. How can they represent Me, no matter how sincere they are? How can they act like Christians, when they don’t even know what a Christian is? Go, teach, then baptize.

So if someone comes to you and says, “All you have to do is say I love Jesus and then you can be baptized,” don’t listen to them. Jesus said go and teach them first. Let them know what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Let them know what’s expected of them. “Teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” And so Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” He that believes in Me and in My word, but not just an intellectual consent, not just talk, not just show, but he who is willing to live for Me. He who is willing to follow My teachings. He who is willing to obey My Word. Would you say Amen? And when you’re willing to do that, then you’re ready to follow the Lord all the way and be baptized. I believe there’s somebody here tonight ready to go all the way with Jesus, am I right?

Now, I want you to listen carefully. Every time God gives beautiful truth, the Devil comes up with a counterfeit. God gave marriage; the Devil came up with common law and adultery. God gave the Sabbath; the Devil came up with the first day of the week, and in some countries Friday. Jesus gave grape juice as a pure symbol of His shed blood; the Devil came up with fermented wine. You take communion twice in a day, you’ll get tipsy. It’s blasphemous. And then the Lord said, “Baptize” and the Devil came up with sprinkling and pouring and infant baptism.

Now, I know I’m showing you things in the Bible that you never knew. And you’re learning things you have never been taught before. Don’t just believe it because I say it. If you accept it just because I say it, as soon as you listen to someone else you’re going to swallow what they say. You’ll be like a reed in a windstorm, shaken and driven by every wind. But when you go and look at it in your Bible and you say, “Aha, here it is!” you’ll become like a tree that shall not be moved.

The word “baptism” in our Bible comes from the Greek word baptidso, and it was a word that was used long before John the Baptist came along. It was a word used by the textile industry. When they had woven their cloth, they dyed it. When they took the cloth and dropped it in vats of hot dye, they would take sticks and push it under the surface. The word used to describe that process was baptidso. When they saw John the Baptist pushing folks under the water they called him “John the Baptizer.” That’s what baptism means: to put under. If you don’t immerse the person in water, if you don’t put him under, you’re not baptizing, because the word means to plunge or to immerse. If it’s clear to you that sprinkling or touching with wet fingers is not baptism, would you say Amen?

Let’s look at Mark 1:9. The Bible says, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.” Now, in case you don’t know, Jordan is a river. It says He was baptized of John in Jordan. John the Baptist was out there in water and Christ was baptized of him. Verse 10: “And straightway, coming up out of the water . . .” Is that clear? Now, the Bible says that Jesus left us an example that we should follow in His steps. He was in the Jordan; John baptized Him, immersed Him, and the Bible says when He came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.

He came up out of the water. You cannot come up out of the pretty little baptismal fonts that sit in the front of many churches holding about half a gallon of water. Would you say Amen? Christ was immersed, and He told His disciples to baptize those who would be His followers.

Over in Acts 8, Philip came in contact with a statesman from the country of Ethiopia. This eunuch worked in the court of Queen Candace; he was in charge of the royal treasury. He believed in the true God of heaven and had come to Jerusalem to worship. Let me just pause to say this: God has His people throughout the world and in all different walks of life. Would you say Amen? Whether we’re rich or poor, black or white, wherever we come from and whatever our station of life, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Would you say Amen?

This Ethiopian eunuch is a Bible student. He loves God’s Word and he wants to do God’s will. He is longing for the coming of the Messiah. God sends Philip to meet him, and to explain to him the prophesy of Isaiah 53. In verse 35 of Acts 8 we read:

 “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?’ 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.”

Philip went down into the water with the Ethiopian and baptized him.

The Bible refers to this baptism, this putting under the water, as being buried. In Colossians 2:12 the Bible says, “Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Over in the book of Romans, chapter 6:3-4, Paul expressed it in these words: the Bible says, “Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death. Therefore we are buried”--we are what? “We are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father; even so we also should walk in newness of life.” When you bury someone, you don’t just sprinkle a little dirt on them; you put them down under. Would you say Amen? That’s baptism, the Bible way--being buried in the watery grave that we might rise to walk in newness of life.

I heard one time that Robert E. Lee, General in the Confederate Army, said that his mother “died” seven years before he was born. The family was mourning, and they were preparing to bury her when suddenly she sat up. She was not dead. She was in a coma, and they thought she was dead. In those days they didn’t embalm, and it’s just as well, because if they had, she would have really been dead. But the point I want to make is this: When we’re baptized, it’s a confession of our decision to let the old way of life die; I mean really die not just pretend, and be buried in the watery grave.

So when the preacher baptizes someone, he goes down with them into the water and lets them gently down under the water. That symbolizes a burial, the Bible says. Then when you bring them up it symbolizes a resurrection to walk in newness of life.

Even as I speak, many of you are saying to yourselves, I was never baptized that way. What happened? Why doesn’t my church administer Bible baptism? I’ll tell you why. I was reading just today from the book Faith of Millions by Father John O’Brien. He says the method used for baptism up until the thirteenth century was immersion, and that makes sense. That’s the way Jesus was baptized. That’s how the disciples baptized. That’s what the word baptism means. That’s Bible baptism! Would you say Amen?

Well, what happened? The Church introduced pouring or sprinkling. Why? I’m quoting (page 154): “The Church now follows the uniform custom”--the uniform what? “the uniform custom of infusion, because we find it the most convenient and practical method.” You see, it wasn’t only God’s holy Sabbath day that the church claimed to change. Here we see that Bible baptism is tampered with. Why? To make it more convenient. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m more concerned about doing God’s will than being convenient. What do you say? I’ll tell you why it is more convenient. In the sixth century when the priests began to wear fabulous vestments they didn’t want to get in the water any more. Pride became more important than principle.

There was another error that crept into the church: infant baptism. History records that the idea of infant baptism didn’t even begin to take hold until five hundred years after Christ had ascended to heaven. Go to your library and read it. It has its origins in paganism. It’s directly opposed to what the Bible says. We read earlier the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20: Jesus said, “Go ye therefore and teach all nations, and then baptize them.” Go therefore and do what? Teach. How can you teach a little baby, only days old? If that’s clear, would you say Amen? The Bible says you’ve got to believe; you’ve got to make a conscious decision, and then you should be baptized. Jesus specifically waited until manhood before He set the divine example by being baptized. Now christening, or infant baptism, is pretty because babies are cute, but it is error; it is not God’s way. It is not Bible baptism. It will not do. Jesus said teach, believe, and baptize, immerse, and you shall be saved.

Go home and check in your Bible. There is not a single text that talks about infant baptism. Now, Jesus was dedicated as a child. He was presented to God, and a special prayer was said for his parents. That’s Biblical. We have had the privilege of having our sons Christopher and Jonathan dedicated as babies. They were very special services, when the blessing of God was asked upon their lives and upon us as parents as we seek by God’s grace to bring them up to know God and to love Him and to serve Him. It was a beautiful service. It will be my greatest joy, when Christopher and Jonathan reach the age when they can make an intelligent personal decision for Jesus Christ, to see them baptized. They won’t be saved just because mom and dad want them to be saved. We’ve all got to make a personal commitment for ourselves. Would you say Amen? Then we should not tarry, but arise and be baptized. It’s one of the most important decisions you will ever make, for Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”

Well, how must I be baptized? Is it okay to do it the way man says? Will that be sufficient? No, my friends, we ought to obey God rather than man. You must experience Bible baptism. You must obey God’s word. Would you say Amen? I want to tell you something: Coming up soon in connection with this Prophecy Seminar is going to be a beautiful baptism. I believe there are many here tonight who are going to take their stand for the Lord. There are many here tonight who want to go to heaven. Am I right? He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; baptized the Bible way; baptized according to the teaching of Jesus. That’s what it’s all about. Make a public confession of your new found faith in Jesus. Jesus said, “If you confess Me before men, I’ll confess you before My Father.” I’ll speak for you. I’ll save you.

If it’s clear what Jesus wants you to do, would you say Amen? You’ve heard the words of Jesus tonight. Are they plain? Then let the Holy Spirit touch your heart. Let’s make a decision to go all the way with Jesus. What do you say? If you want grace to go all the way with Jesus tonight, I want to ask you to stand up with me right now as we pray.

Blessed Lord, we thank you for the plain truth about Bible baptism tonight. It’s new to some of us. But it’s not Your fault, Lord, that men haven’t preached the truth, but rather tradition, and man’s ideas. Lord, out here tonight are men and women, boys and girls who need to make a decision that they’re going to go all the way with Jesus and be baptized. I’m begging You, in the name of Jesus, to talk with them. Nobody is going to force them to do anything. They’ve got to decide. But time is short. Jesus is coming soon. If you’re going to take your stand for Christ and His truth, do it now. We don’t even know if we’re going to get home alive tonight. O Lord, give us good sense, that we might choose life and not death, that we might choose heaven and not hell, because we beg it in Jesus’ name. So Lord, speak to our hearts until we have yielded fully to you. I pray in Jesus’ name. Let everyone say Amen.