Matthew 28:19-20
Nearly everything in life requires that we take a first step. If you want to find a job you have to take the first step and fill out a job application. If you want to buy a house you have to first find one you like and can afford. If you want to earn a postgraduate degree you have to first secure your undergraduate degree. If you want to drive a car you have to first past the drivers test. Life is full of first steps in many different areas.
As there are first steps in our natural lives there are first steps in our spiritual lives, as well. After a person is saved, his first step is to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism as our text indicates. You really can’t go far in God’s kingdom until you have taken this FIRST STEP.
Four things this text teaches us…
- Baptism is for believers only.
- They become disciples and then they follow the Lord in baptism and instruction according to Matthew 28:19.
- People received the Word and then were baptized in the early church (Acts 2:41).
- Examples: Those who responded to Phillip’s message were baptized (Acts 8:12), the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized after believing (Acts 8:38), the same is true with Paul (Acts 9:18), the Caesarean gentiles (Acts 10:48), Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), The Philippian jailer (Acts 16:32-33), and Crispus (Acts 18:8).
- This precludes infant baptism since an infant can’t make an informed choice of his own to believe on the Savior.
- Baptism is for all believers…no exceptions.
- Matthew 28:19 does not excuse any believer from being baptized.
- Never assume that because in some places water baptism is not expressly stated as taking place that it means that not all believers were baptized.
- Looking at the whole of Scripture you can only conclude that all believers were baptized after their salvation even though a few do not have recorded the specific incidence of their baptism. Baptism was so closely associated with a person’s conversion it was assumed that anyone receiving Christ would be baptized as the examples above demonstrate.
- Baptism was performed soon after salvation.
- Baptism is the first step of obedience for believers.
Baptism throughout the Scripture refers to immersion.
- There are three common forms of baptism.
- There are those who sprinkle or pour water on the head. These two methods bear some similarities as to their method and will be considered together since the evidence of Scripture is clearly on the side of the third method.
- The third and Biblical method for baptism is to immerse converts in water.
- The word translated “baptize” means “to dip,” “immerse,” or “submerge.”
- Sprinkling did not emerge as the generally accepted mode of baptism until the thirteenth century. [Enns, P. P. (1997, c1989). The Moody handbook of theology. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press.]
- The earliest mention of sprinkling comes in the late second century. [Karleen, P. S. (1987). The handbook to Bible study : With a guide to the Scofield study system. "This book is intended as a companion to the Scofield Reference Bible"--Pref.; Includes indexes. New York: Oxford University Press.]
- There is a specific Greek word for “sprinkling” but not one time does the Bible use the word in reference to baptism.
- In previous centuries sprinkling was reserved for the sick or those too weak to be immersed. [Enns, P. P. (1997, c1989). The Moody handbook of theology. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press.]
- The Easton’s Bible Dictionary makes an incredible statement when it says, “In the New Testament there cannot be found a single well-authenticated instance of the occurrence of the word (Greek word for baptize) where it means immersion.” [Easton, M. (1996, c1897). Easton's Bible dictionary, Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.]
- It is clear that this is an incorrect statement when your look at the context of how people were baptized.
- “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ” (Matthew 3:16)
- Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch…“So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” (Acts 8:38)
Tell the story of my baptism…“I’ve been double dipped with sprinkles on top.”What is the meaning of Scriptural baptism?
- Baptism concerns identification
- Baptism identifies the new believer through this public confession of faith with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- Baptism has the effect of identifying a person with the one in whose name or by whom they have been baptized as can be seen in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.
- The Christians in Corinth could not call themselves Paul’s disciples because he had not baptized them nor were they baptized in his name.
- The Corinthians, though, had wrongly become factious by saying they were baptized by certain leaders and were identifying themselves with that leader rather than Christ. Baptism meant identification!
- Obviously they understood that baptism identified them with the person in whose name they were baptized.
- Israel was identified with Moses because of their “baptism” in the Red Sea.
- What does 1 Corinthians 10:2 mean?
- The Israelites were not literally immersed in the Red Sea since they crossed over on dry land.
- The Red Sea did not sprinkle on them as they passed through.
- Their baptism unto Moses identified them with the one who, with God’s direction, saved them from the armies of Egypt…Moses.
- Baptism meant identification!
- Jesus identified Himself with mankind when He submitted Himself to John’s baptism.
- When a person obeys the Lord and is baptized in Christ’s name he identifies himself as being a disciple of Christ.
- Robert K. DeVries shows the significance of the identification of baptism.
“Among educated Hindus, Moslems and Jews, total defection or apostasy from their respective faiths to Christianity comes only when the Christian convert submits to baptism. It is a mark of absolute identification with the Christian faith.” Then he says, “Would to God this were true throughout the world.” [Robert K. DeVries, “The New Testament Doctrine of Ritual Baptism” (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1969), 181]
- Arthur L. Farstad writes concerning the identification of baptism.
“While attending an inter-denominational Christmas service at St. George’s (Anglican) Church in Jerusalem some years ago, I was told by my host that the pleasant, middle-aged couple sitting in front of us was Jewish. They obviously were enjoying the lovely music, the biblical readings, and the spirit of joy. There are many such people, attracted to various aspects of Christianity (often the cultural byproducts—art, music, and architecture) yet unwilling to take a difficult stand in a non-, un-, or often anti-Christian environment.
Only if that couple received water baptism would they be likely to receive hostile attention from the Israeli community. The same holds true in many cultures. The world, at least, recognizes Christ’s badge as being water baptism. Unfortunately for sincere and practicing believers in many communions, untold millions of nominal Christians have received the badge…without ever having personally received the Savior.” [The Grace Evangelical Society. (1990;2002). Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Volume 3 (Vol. 3, Page 8). The Grace Evangelical Society]
Someone has said, “Baptism is like a wedding ring: they both symbolize transactions. A wedding ring symbolizes marriage, just as baptism symbolizes salvation. Wearing a wedding ring does not make you married any more than being baptized makes you saved. To extend the parallel, if a person, especially a woman, does not wear a wedding ring you can almost always assume that the person is not married.
So it is in the New Testament times. If a person was not baptized, you could probably assume that he or she was not a believer. On this we must be clear: baptism is a symbol of salvation and only a symbol. But, like a wedding ring, it is such an effective symbol that it should never be taken for granted.” [Green, Michael P., 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, p.27]
- A person unwilling to follow the Lord in believer’s baptism raises questions as to why he is unwilling to identify himself with Christ.
- Baptism implies dedication
- Baptism has a forward look to its observance.
- When a person submits to baptism it means that he is declaring his willingness to live for Christ in a sometimes-hostile world.
- Baptism is not only a demonstration of faith it is also a promise of faithfulness.
- Those who were baptized with John’s baptism followed the teaching and instruction of John (Acts 19:1-5).
- Jesus perpetuates the understanding that baptism includes commitment (John 4:1).
- Our text, Matthew 28:19 indicates that the reason for baptizing people is because they have chosen to be Christ’s disciples and follow Him faithfully.
“A converted native was to be baptized in a river. The missionary took a long spear with him into the swift current to steady himself. Inadvertently he stabbed the foot of the convert beneath the water. The man neither spoke nor moved. After the ceremony when the accident was discovered, the convert was asked why he had kept silent. “I thought it was part of the ceremony,” he replied. In a way he was right. Baptism should be an external expression of willingness to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ in whose Name the believer is baptized.” [Zodhiates, Spiros, Illustrations of Bible Truths, p.41]
- Disciples of Christ are people who are willing to follow His example and His Word no matter what the cost may be to them. This is declared through their baptism.
- Baptism permits association
- The New Testament knows nothing of church membership without baptism.
- Acts 2:41 indicates that all of those who were added to the church at Jerusalem were baptized on the day of Pentecost.
- Baptism was assumed by everyone in the first century to be the first step in the new believer’s life and was spoken of in the same breath as placing one’s faith in Christ.
- Acts 8:36-38 shows that all who believed assumed that baptism would immediately follow salvation.
- To refuse baptism is the equivalent of refusing to be publicly identified with Christ.
- If a person is unwilling to be publicly identified with Christ in baptism, which is his first step of obedience to Christ, how can a church be sure of his obedience in other matters of discipleship?
- If you want to be associated with a local church, which is something God commands us to do, then we must be willing to submit ourselves to the ordinance of baptism. In so doing we become associated with others in the church who are followers of Christ.
- Baptism signifies preparation
- Baptism prepares us for usefulness in the Lord’s service.
- How can a Christian who is disobedient in obeying the first step of a new believer (baptism) have God’s fullest blessing on his/her daily life?
- Disobedience in any area of our lives hinders God’s work through us, but never is that more so than in the matter of baptism!
- If you miss the first step it is certain you will never develop properly in your spiritual life.
- If you don’t take your first step how can you go on to walk with the Lord!
- It is true in any sport that if your fundamentals are not sound then it is unlikely that your performance will be sound.
- Jesus in being baptized shows the aspect of preparation that results from baptism.
- When John the Baptist objected to baptizing Jesus, He said He must be baptized, “to fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)
- This is the equivalent of Galatians 4:4 that says, “born of a woman, born under the law.”
- Jesus did not need John’s baptism of repentance because He was sinless but He submitted to baptism because He had to meet all of the requirements of the law.
- Jesus did not need circumcision to symbolically put away the sins of the flesh as discussed in Colossians 2:11, but it was done to meet the requirements of the law.
- Jesus did these things, which included baptism, because in doing so He fulfilled the law.
- Thus Christ was prepared for His greater work of redemption.
- We can never be fully prepared for usefulness to God until we take this first step in our Christian lives.
Conclusion:A certain man thought that by being immersed he could find salvation. A friend of his had quite a time explaining to him that it was not so. But this man insisted that, as water would purify the body, so water consecrated by a minister…would purify the soul. Finally, to demonstrate that baptism did not mean regeneration, the friend decided upon an object lesson. “Here,” he said. “If I take an ink bottle, cork it tight, put a string around the neck, and drag it through the river, how long will it take to clean out the inside?” The answer was obvious, “You will never in the world clean it out that way.” We must understand that no outward act will ever cleanse us within…baptism is an outward act that demonstrates to the world what has already happened in our hearts…” [Zodhiates, Spiros, Illustrations of Bible Truths, pp. 212-213]
- What hinders you from being baptized?
