IS BAPTISM FOR ME?

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.    Acts 8:37

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:  Acts 2:41

Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.  Acts 16:30-33

CONCLUSION: Baptism is for believers only.

---

WHY SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED?   

1.  Commanded by Christ

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Matthew 28:19

2.  Christ our example.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.  Matthew 3:13

3.  Believer shows obedience

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:  Acts 2:41

CONCLUSION: We are baptized to obey the command of Jesus Christ.

---

HOW SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED?

Baptism by immersion pictures our position with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.  Romans 6:3-5 

1.  Baptism is with water.  

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water:  John 1:26

2.  Baptism is by immersion (under the water). 

 Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan.  Mark 1:9

And straightway coming up out of the water… Mark 1:10

…….they went down both into the water…..Acts 8:38

CONCLUSION: Only baptism by immersion pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

---

WHEN SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED?

Following salvation.

….when they believed……..they were baptized……Acts 8:12

……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.  Acts 8:36-37

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  Acts 2:41

See also Acts 16:25-33

CONCLUSION: Baptism follows salvation, immediately, if possible.

---

WHAT IF I REFUSE TO BE BAPTIZED?

Disobedience: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.  James 4:17

Loss of testimony: If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  John 8:31

Loss of fellowship: Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  John 15:14

Abb Thomas Ministries – Copyright 1972

Used with permission.

---

Note:  Please be aware that this article deals strictly with water baptism.  The Bible teaches that all true believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit at the time that they trust in Him as their only hope of salvation.  When studying the Scriptures and encountering baptism, always think Spirit baptism first unless the context of Scripture indicates otherwise.  Those who believe in baptismal regeneration do not make a distinction between the baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptism.  The Bible does.

---

Buried in the likeness of His death, raised in the likeness of His resurrection!

And God spake all these words, saying,

1.  I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3.  Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5.  Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

6.  Thou shalt not kill.

7.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8.  Thou shalt not steal.

9.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10.  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

 Exodus 20

 

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain (empty).       James 1:26

The issue here is not changing one’s speech.  A person can change his/her speech for the better and still die and go to hell.

The issue is the heart.  Jesus said that we speak out of the abundance of the heart.  He said that it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of the mouth.

Jeremiah declared: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  Jeremiah 17:9

The tongue reveals the condition of the heart.  It is the heart that needs to be changed.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 36:26

A changed heart makes a new creature.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.                                                II Corinthians 5:17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  John 3:16

…….Consider it to be so…… 

………….righteousness delivereth from death. Proverbs 10:2b

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.  For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.  For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath 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.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.  For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  Romans 10:1-13

The deliverance of salvation is threefold:

To be saved is to be delivered from the penalty of sin. 

To be saved is to be delivered from the power of sin. 

One day (when we enter heaven), to be saved will be to be delivered from the very presence of sin.

Our deliverance depends upon our receiving His Righteousness.

 

 

 Politicians have been using “Jesus” to advocate their position on certain issues by asking the question: What would Jesus do!?  

This question has been effective because of an acceptance by contemporary Christianity of cultural definitions applied to Jesus’ teaching.  Imposing cultural understanding upon the teachings of Christ reflects a lack of biblical knowledge and understanding.   Cultural understanding reflects the wisdom of the world which is diametrically opposed to biblical teaching. 

What I mean by cultural understanding is how the culture defines biblical words.  The word for love in our culture certainly does not resemble the agape love of Scripture.  

When someone says I am a Christian, we should ask him/her; what do you mean by that?  There are all kinds of ideas floating around in the culture concerning the how and what of becoming a Christian.  The culture says all faiths are acceptable.  The Jesus of Scripture says; I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me.  That statement by the Lord is pretty exclusive.  The Jesus many believe in is not the historical Jesus whose teachings are contained in the Bible.  

An example of how politicians manipulate issues is gun control.  Liberal thinkers will challenge Christians by asking; What would Jesus do?!  That’s a you-got-me-now! question to many  who have bought into the cultural conception of Jesus.  Of course He is the Prince of peace and He has commanded us to love one another, so He must be against guns?!  What can we say to that?  How about; what does He (Jesus) have to say on the matter?

Then said he (Jesus) unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one. Luke 22:36

When the Lord sent out the disciples the first time, He told them not to take any money, food or extra clothing.  When He sent them out in Luke 22 He told them to take money, and to sell their garment and purchase a sword.  The word for sword in this passage is the same word that was used for the weapon used by the Temple guards and the Roman soldiers.

What we can say is that Jesus would tell us to go out and buy the same weapon(s) that the police and the military use and defend ourselves. 

Another example is the issue of immigration.  Liberal thinkers show pictures of illegals with children and ask; What would Jesus do?! 

Israel in the Old Testament was a theocracy.  That means they were ruled by God and Jesus is God.  Do you know the requirement for becoming an Israelite in the Old Testament?  An individual from outside the nation had to change religion to become an Israelite. That is certainly not a politically correct thing to require.

Maybe asking, what would Jesus do, is not so good an idea, if you really don’t know what He would do?

So what’s the point?  The point is, if you know your Bible you will be less prone to being manipulated or intimidated by the world, the culture, political correctness and/or false teachers.

…..let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….