[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. All right, thank your Bibles if you would and turn with me to Matthew chapter 3.
[0:11] Matthew chapter 3. I'm excited to be with you today, excited to have the Word of God open before us. And today we're going to find out what the Bible says about baptism.
[0:22] What does the Bible say about baptism? You attend a Baptist church, unapologetically a Baptist church. Vision Baptist Church. And you may say, well, what does that mean?
[0:34] We're really an independent church or a non-associated church. We're not hooked up with anybody else. We're just an independent church, an independent Baptist church.
[0:44] And we're a Baptist church. And one of the doctrines that got us our name is baptism. And you may have been baptized and may not have an understanding about baptism. Or maybe you haven't been baptized and you should be baptized.
[0:58] And so as you go through the Bible today, you may learn that. In this chapter that you just read with Robert, seven times the word baptized is mentioned in these short verses.
[1:09] And 17 verses. And we will go over this, I think, until you really do understand what the Bible teaches about baptism. So let's have a word of prayer. And then we will go to Matthew chapter 3 and verse 6.
[1:23] Father, I love you. And I thank you for the chance to be here. Now I pray, God, that you would help us to understand what you believe, what you want, what you teach about baptism.
[1:34] And I pray that you would help us to practice what you teach. I pray that you would help us to allow the Bible to be the only rule of faith and practice. I pray that you help us not to decide things based on convenience or based on personal ideas or convictions.
[1:50] But on what does your Bible say. And I will give you praise and honor and glory for all that you do. In Jesus' precious name. Amen. Matthew chapter 3 and verse 6, if you would.
[2:01] The Bible says, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. There's this guy named John the Baptist. And he is baptizing.
[2:11] And he's baptizing in the Jordan River. So what I'd like to do to begin our study of baptism is to talk about some Bible examples of baptism. I want you to run the Bible with me and look up different verses that he talks about baptism.
[2:26] And let's see what truths are taught in those verses. Let's see what illustrations are given. Let's see what ought to happen. Now I was saved on May the 6th, 1962.
[2:38] I was baptized one week later on May the 13th, 1962 in Mill Creek right outside of Wrigley Baptist Church. If you go to Lyle, Tennessee, you really won't be able to find it.
[2:50] But if you look hard enough on an old enough map, you can find Wrigley, like Wrigley Spearmint Gum. It had nothing to do with that. But that was the other town. My church is Wrigley Baptist Church. And I was saved and baptized.
[3:01] I was baptized, or getting baptized was a strange thing to me. I didn't really understand it. I remember getting saved. I was almost 8 years old. And on the way home in the vehicle, I asked my parents, I said, Now if I die before next Sunday, do I go to hell or not?
[3:17] And my dad said, Of course you don't go to hell. Baptism doesn't save us. Baptism is simply a symbol. And he gave me an explanation that a 7-year-old, almost 8-year-old might have understood.
[3:29] And so I have, over the years, we've baptized. Baptized hundreds of people over the years. And you ought to know what the Bible says about baptism. And you ought to be able to explain it to others.
[3:41] You ought to be able to examine your own life and make sure you have been baptized biblically. And to check that out. So go with me, if you would, to the first example that we're going to find here. And that is in Matthew chapter 3.
[3:52] And that's John the Baptist baptizing. John the Baptist is called a baptizer. John the Baptist because he's a baptizer. He would baptize no one who had not made a firm decision.
[4:05] If you came to John and said, I'd like to be baptized, he'd say, well, whoa, whoa. Let's stop here and think. We're going to have to make sure you are a worthy candidate of baptism.
[4:18] Look at verse 6 and underline in your Bible. He said they were baptized confessing their sins. They came knowing who they had been, knowing that they were confessing their sins, and knowing that they were repenting of their sin, and knowing that they were turning to Christ.
[4:35] In verse 8, Matthew chapter 3, in verse 8 he said, You need to bring forth fruit, meet for, fit for, worthy of, shows your repentance.
[4:45] They were to live lives that showed that they had truly believed in Jesus. It is an important thing in a New Testament church that baptism isn't some ritual that we do.
[4:57] It's not some ordinance that we do that we just do to everybody that comes. It is for people who have realized that they have sinned against the Holy God, realized that they deserve to go to hell, realized that Jesus died on the cross to save them, and that they have placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
[5:16] John baptized in the Jordan River. Look, if you would, at Matthew chapter 3 and verse 5. Matthew chapter 3 and verse 5. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan, the river, and were baptized of him in Jordan, in the Jordan River, confessing their sin.
[5:39] They came and they were baptized in water. And when they got baptized, they came up out of water. Look, if you would, at Matthew chapter 3 and verse 16.
[5:50] The Bible says, And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of the God descending like a dove and lighting on him.
[6:02] So if you can understand, John's got him. John puts him under the water, And as he comes up out of the water, God begins to speak and say, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
[6:13] He was baptized. He was immersed. He was put below water. Actually, the word baptized does mean immerse, submerge, stick in water.
[6:24] That's what it means. So whenever you hear the word baptized, that's what's going on. In John chapter 3 and verse 21, another verse talking about how John the Baptist baptized. Here's what it says about him.
[6:36] And John was baptizing in Enon, near to Salem, because there was much water there. And they came, and they were baptized. He was baptizing there because there was a lot of water.
[6:49] He said, There's a lot of water here, so I can do some baptizing. That doesn't mean he went down to Sam's, and got a big pack of bottles, and came out with about 48 bottles of water, and said, I got a lot of water.
[7:02] Show up anywhere. He was at a place where there was a lot of water. So John the Baptist baptized. And he baptized where there was a lot of water. And he wouldn't baptize you if you hadn't really made a decision.
[7:14] If you had not truly made a decision, if you were not truly making a confession, and if you were not living a life that said, I not only say it with my mouth, but I am living it out, he wouldn't baptize you.
[7:28] Jesus gives us an example of being baptized. Look, if you would, at Matthew 3, verse 15. Matthew 3, verse 15. John's down there baptizing, and Jesus shows up.
[7:42] And when Jesus shows up, he comes up to John and says, I want you to baptize me. And John says, Whoa, I know who you are, and I should be baptized by you.
[7:53] You shouldn't be baptizing me. And Jesus responds in Matthew 3, verse 15. Jesus answering, said unto him, Allow it to happen. Suffer to be so.
[8:03] Go along with this. For that's how we do what's right. For it fulfills all righteousness. And then John allowed him. John allowed him to be baptized. He was doing what was right.
[8:16] When Jesus got baptized, how did he get baptized? He got baptized by immersion. He got baptized in a river. Look, if you would, in Matthew 3, verse 13.
[8:29] Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. He said, Oh, John's down at the Jordan River, and he's baptizing people, and I'm going down there to get baptized by him.
[8:44] That means there was a lot of water. There was in no way, can you imply, there was pouring or sprinkling from this idea of going down to the river.
[8:55] He came up out of the water when he was baptized. Look at it, Matthew 3, verse 16, right there in front of you. It says, And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were open.
[9:09] He was in the water, and he came straightway up out of the water. And as he came up out of the water, the Father was pleased. And verse 17, one of the most famous verses in the Bible, the Bible says in verse 17, This is, God spoke and said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
[9:29] The whole Trinity was there. All the Godhead. God spoke in heaven. The Holy Spirit, like a dove, not a dove, but like a dove, descended, and Jesus was there.
[9:39] God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And baptism was blessed by God when Jesus got baptized. Now take your Bible and go with me, if you would, to Acts chapter 2, and verse 41.
[9:52] Acts chapter 2, and verse 41. In Acts chapter 2, and verse 41, the church is really starting to take off.
[10:03] It had been started in an embryo form under the leadership of Jesus Himself. They had already had a treasure. They were already having church discipline. Matthew chapter 18. It was a very small group, and everybody was turning away.
[10:17] But on the day of Pentecost, God comes down in great power, and the church is going to explode and become a great church. And in Acts chapter 2, and verse 41, the Bible says, Then they that gladly received His word were baptized.
[10:32] And the same day there was added unto them about 3,000 souls. I want you to take your Bible, I want you to mark these things and underline them. Because somebody might ask you why you're a Baptist, and they might ask you why you got baptized, they might ask you why you believe in baptism.
[10:49] You have seen that Jesus was baptized, you've seen that John the Baptist baptized Him, and was baptizing Him. Now as the church gets started, look at verse 41. Who got baptized?
[11:00] Baptized. They were old enough to understand. Look this way just a second. Look this way just a second. Somewhere along the way, moms and dads decided that they should decide for their children if they could be baptized.
[11:14] Now that wouldn't have worked with John the Baptist because John the Baptist would have said to your three-week-old baby or your six-week-old baby, where are the fruits of your repentance, buddy?
[11:26] And he would have said to the kid, I need to hear a confession. I want to hear you confess that you know you sinned and you sinned against the Holy God and you're trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior.
[11:36] I want to hear a confession. Couldn't have happened. Acts chapter 2 and verse 41, you need to underline, they that gladly received the Word. So they were old enough to hear, they were old enough to hear, and they were old enough to willingly on purpose say, I believe what the Word of God says.
[11:56] They gladly received the Word. They that gladly received the Word were baptized. Underline that. They that gladly received the Word were baptized. They were obviously old enough to understand the Word of God.
[12:10] They made their own choice to be baptized, and they joined up with the church in number that day. Look at verse 41 and underline, and they were added to them.
[12:21] Now you've got to understand, that was a wild thing to do. You've got to understand, this is a fledgling church. It's like, you want to talk church plants? This is like the first church plant. I mean, it's just a handful of people have been meeting.
[12:34] Jesus and His 11 faithful disciples have been meeting. Now they met in the upper room in Acts chapters 1 and 2, they're meeting in the upper room. They're counting women and children now, and they're going to go out, and the Holy Spirit comes out, and great power comes on them, and God speaks, and people get saved, and everybody in the world is saying, you're crazy, we don't like you, you're not like us, you're not preaching Jewish doctrine, and 3,000 people said, I do believe, I confess, I understand, I understand that Jesus was God, I understand that Jesus was God coming to flesh, I understand He died on a cross for me, I understand He was buried and rose again, I understand, and I believe, and I want to get in on it.
[13:16] I want to be baptized, and so they gladly received the word, were baptized, and they were added to their number. Go with me if you would, to Acts chapter 8, and verse 36.
[13:26] Acts chapter 8, and verse 36 if you would. Here's the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. It seems like the Ethiopian eunuch must have been down in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.
[13:39] And while he was in Jerusalem, he hears about all these wild and crazy things that are going on. People are getting saved, lives are being changed, people are being discipled, this church has just blown the doors off the place.
[13:52] 3,000 people were saved and baptized in one day. If you keep reading, they're joining the church by the thousands, and it seems like the Ethiopian eunuch stopped by the local bookstore, and he went in the bookstore and said, I'd like to buy a copy, and he bought a copy of the book of Isaiah.
[14:06] And he was sitting in his chariot on the way back home, and he's reading in the scroll, and he can't understand what he's reading. And there's this guy named Philip who was one of the first deacons of the church, and old Philip loved Jesus, and he would not accept just being a deacon.
[14:22] He said, I am going to do a whole lot more than take care of widows and orphans and meet the needs of church people. I've got to do some preaching. And so he was always doing preaching, and he's down down speaking to some Samaritans, and as he was speaking to the Samaritans, the Lord impressed on his heart to go out in the wilderness.
[14:38] And as he goes out in the wilderness, here comes a chariot by. And so he runs alongside the chariot, and when he gets beside the chariot, he said, Hey buddy, do you understand what you're reading? And the Ethiopian eunuch said, How could I if nobody will explain it to me?
[14:51] So he stopped the car, and Philip jumps up in the car, and they're riding along, and he happens to be reading right about Isaiah, chapter 53, where Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and he's dying for our sins, and Philip preaches Christ to him.
[15:07] Philip preaches Christ to him. And the Bible says, Acts 8, 36, stuff you need to mark down in your Bible about baptism. Acts chapter 8, verse 36, Then Philip opened his mouth, and he began at the same scripture, and he preached unto him Jesus.
[15:23] If you have your Bible, underline this. It all starts with, help me, what's the word? It all starts with scripture. Say that. It all starts with scripture.
[15:33] And not only does it start with scripture, when you open scripture, what do you preach? Jesus. So it all starts with scripture, and what do you preach? Jesus. And he preached Jesus, verse 36.
[15:45] Now he's been reading the Bible, explaining the Bible. He's in the Old Testament. He didn't even have the Gospel of John. He didn't even have the Romans Road. He just used the Bible. Isaiah, and he's preached to him about Jesus.
[15:56] And in verse 36, they went on their way, and they came up on a certain water. It came to a water pool there. And he said, the eunuch said, hey, look at here. There's some water.
[16:06] Why can't I get baptized? And Philip said in verse 37, well, if you believe with all your heart, you can. And he answered, and he said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
[16:19] And so they stopped the chariot, and they went down in the water, and they both got in the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when he was come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord called out, away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, and he went on his way rejoicing.
[16:35] You got your Bible open? Let's look at some stuff. It all started with what? Scripture. And he preached to him, Jesus. And he said, I think I'd like to get baptized. And the question was, why can't I get baptized?
[16:47] And he said, because you can't get baptized unless you believe. Look at verse 37. If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. Look, buddy, this is not something we do.
[16:59] It's not something us Philip evangelists do. This is not something we do at the church just to be doing it. We only baptize people who say, I really do believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, come in flesh, God, down on the cross.
[17:12] Otherwise, I ain't baptizing you. The eunuch looks at him and goes, I believe. He's all right, stop the chariot. They stopped the chariot. He says, I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
[17:23] Look if you would at verse 38. Underline it. They both went down into the water. How many of them got in the water? I can't hear you. How many of them got in the water?
[17:34] Both of them got in the water. Down, down, down, down, into the water. Both, down, into the water. Both, grown men.
[17:45] Philip and eunuch, and the eunuch, and he baptized him. Verse 39, when he got through baptizing him, he came up, out of the water. First, Jesus was preached.
[17:57] So we don't baptize the baptized. We baptize because a person has heard about Jesus and been saved. Then he asked to be baptized. And he was told that he had to believe first.
[18:09] And he confessed that he did believe. And they both went down into the water. You're getting a picture here. I don't know if you've caught on to it. Here's a picture. Baptism is for people who are old enough to understand.
[18:21] Baptism is for people who really understand and believe and put their trust in Christ. Baptism is for adults or people old enough to be baptized. We should actually be careful here in our church.
[18:33] Some of us want to get our children baptized. And sometimes it's you programming your child to say the right words so you can get them baptized because you think there's something in baptism.
[18:44] But baptism was for people who knew what they were getting into. Can you say amen? It was for people who said I know I've sinned. I know I'm going to hell. I know Jesus died for me.
[18:55] I'm putting my faith and trust in Jesus. And I want to be baptized. Go with me to Acts chapter 16 and verse 25 if you would. Acts chapter 16 and verse 25.
[19:07] By the way if you ever do foundations you've probably seen a lot of this. And you get to teach others this and I hope you do. Acts chapter 16 and verse 25. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard them.
[19:22] And suddenly there was an earthquake and the foundations of the prison were shaken and all the doors opened and everyone's handcuffs and chains fell off of them. And verse 27.
[19:33] And the keeper of the prison woke up out of his sleep and he saw the prison doors open and he drew his sword to kill himself. Because as the keeper of the prison if the prisoners get away he's going to have to die.
[19:45] And he just soon did not kill him painfully. He'll just commit suicide. And Paul cries out and says hey! Hey! Don't kill yourself! We're all still here! And he comes and gets a light and he comes running and he's trembling.
[19:58] He can't believe the prisoners didn't get away. And Paul and Silas and he says sirs. Look if you would in verse 30 underline it. Sirs what must I do to be saved?
[20:11] You are the two weirdest cookies I've ever had in my prison. Listen. I put you in jail and I beat you. And while you were in jail beaten your backs are bleeding your bodies are hurting you guys been singing.
[20:25] I've been in my bedroom listening you wouldn't let me sleep because you're singing how great thou art. And you're singing the power of the cross. And you're singing all these songs nothing but the blood. And he said you're singing these songs and now the prison doors are open and you could have run and you didn't run.
[20:42] He said I need to know something about what you got. What do I have to do to be saved? Look at verse 31. And he said they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
[20:58] And so guess what they did? They took him to the scriptures. Look at verse 32. And they spake unto him the what? They spake unto him the what?
[21:09] Help me. The word of the Lord and all that were in his house. And the guy got up and he washed their stripes and he got baptized.
[21:20] Same story. Another different chapter different verse but same story. Guess what happens? It started with scripture. They preached Jesus. He changed.
[21:30] He repented. The guy who beat them before now has them sitting in his kitchen with their shoulders, their arms over on the table. And he's got a soapy rag with some warm water and some medicine.
[21:46] And he's cleaning up their backs. That's repentance. He's saying man I was so wrong to beat you. I was so wrong to beat you. And they said let's go get baptized. He got saved.
[21:56] He asked. And he took it. No mention was made of baptism when he asked about being saved. He said what do I got to do to be saved? Sirs what do I have to do to be saved? You got to believe in Jesus and be baptized.
[22:10] That's not what they said. That's not what they said. Because salvation is never based on believing in Jesus and anything. Salvation is never based on believing in Jesus and anything.
[22:21] It's based on believing in Jesus. You believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you say amen right there? You don't have to come to church. You don't have to do anything. You're believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
[22:32] But to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ do you understand what you're doing? You're saying what I have been doing and who I have been and the road I have traveled is the wrong road. It's not who I am anymore.
[22:43] And I want to turn from who I am and who I have been. I want to turn to Jesus. I want him to be first. And that's what happened. Paul doesn't mention baptism.
[22:56] He doesn't mention works. He doesn't even mention prayer. He said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And he got baptized right away. I'll stop right there to say those are some stories.
[23:09] These are the best stories I could come up with to show you baptism. In the Bible, baptism is a regular thing. And there's some basic truths that you should have in your heart about baptism right now.
[23:24] Baptism always comes after at least two or three things. Let me see if I can help you remember what they are. Number one, it starts with the scriptures.
[23:39] And number two, we preach from the scriptures. We preach Jesus. Then a person realizes they've sinned, confesses their sin. They're saying, I've turned from my sin and I've turned to Jesus.
[23:50] They believe Jesus. And then they are baptized. So it starts with, I need to know what God says. I need to know what the Bible says. And once I know what the Bible says about Jesus, then I believe that Jesus is the only way.
[24:05] By the way, you know what you repent of when you get saved. We're going to get into all this in Matthew chapter 3. We'll get into it because he's talking about repentance. You know what you repent of? You repent of your sin.
[24:16] You repent of the fact that you have willfully rebelled against the holy God and said, God, I'll live life my way. You repent of that. But for many of you, you repent of your goodness.
[24:28] Because since we live in the southeast United States of America, most of us have been good all our lives. And we think because we're good that we'll go to heaven when we die. I mean, we are Pharisees if there ever were.
[24:43] Jesus says to the rich young ruler, says to Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said, keep the Ten Commandments. That was supposed to show him he was a sinner. He should have gone, I can't.
[24:56] I've tried. I've been messing up my whole life. But he was a Baptist from Georgia. And so he said, keep the Ten Commandments. My goodness, buddy.
[25:06] I got a bunch of stars at Sunday school for being the best Ten Commandment keeper there is. I'm a Ten Commandment keeper. I'm a good guy. You don't have to worry about me.
[25:17] That's what old rich young ruler said. And so Jesus said, go sell all you have, give it to the poor. And the guy said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You want me to give up my stuff? That's a different ballgame.
[25:27] I'm not going to do that. So baptism is a picture in the Bible of what's happened in your heart. Yesterday, I had the privilege of standing before a couple hundred people and performing the wedding for Jason and Charity Richel.
[25:45] And they've come here to our church. Jason's a missionary to Burkina Faso. And so now Jason and Charity are missionaries of Burkina Faso. And yesterday we had a wedding service.
[25:57] I'd like you to know that the wedding service that we had yesterday was practiced. We practiced it. It was so funny. Jason came to me. They were out in the hall before they went in.
[26:08] And, you know, one of the customs is you're not supposed to see each other before you get married on the day of the wedding. Is that right? I said, oh, well, they were in the hallway. And I said, you're not supposed to be able to see each other. They said, we already had a picture.
[26:19] Maybe we saw each other there. And she says, how are we going to kiss? They want to make sure they look funny when they kiss. And he said, well, let's practice. And I'm like, you ain't supposed to practice yet.
[26:31] I ain't said you could kiss the bride. So they were in there going. So they figured out which way they liked the best. Now, what is that? Come on. But you see, here's what baptism is.
[26:42] Baptism is a lot like that wedding service yesterday. When I said, who gives this woman to be married? It wasn't like I was going, anybody in the room going to do that?
[26:53] We already had a guy planned to do that. Her daddy was standing there. And then when I looked at him and I said, do you take her? He didn't go, well, what are the conditions? It was like, get on with us. He told me when we started.
[27:04] He said, you can move this thing along a little quickly if you want. You know? Because it was already real. Are you with me? So when you get baptized and you're standing at Baptist Street and you're doing what's going on here, you're saying, hey, I have believed, Mr. Phillip, I'm riding down the road in the chariot with you.
[27:23] And I have already believed. So there's some water. Can I get baptized? And Phillip says, slow down, buddy. Slow down. I've got to make sure you believe. And the unit looks at him and says, yes, I believe.
[27:34] He said, all right, stop the chariot. Let's do it. It's midnight. It's midnight. It's midnight. That guy gets saved. The jailer, the keeper of the guard, he gets saved at midnight. And he's washing their wounds.
[27:45] You know what? He said, can I get baptized? And here's what Paul said. Well, you can't get baptized on Sunday morning. No, Paul said, you really believe, buddy. Come on, we'll go find some water and get you baptized. So baptism is not about getting saved.
[27:59] It's about showing something that's already happened. So let me give you number two that you might write down somewhere. Why should a person get baptized? It's obvious baptism is in the Bible. Can anybody deny that we've seen quite a bit about baptism?
[28:11] Is it in there or is it not in there? Say amen if it's in there. It's in there. You saw it. So why should you get baptized? Because Jesus gave the example and it pleased the Father.
[28:23] That's the best reason of all. Because Jesus gave the example and it pleased the Father. I want you to know something. Jesus didn't get baptized to wash away any sin. In Spanish, I shouldn't tell you this story.
[28:39] It's a dumb story. Unless you understand Spanish. But in Spanish, the word for sin is pecado. And the word for fish is pescado. It's one letter different.
[28:50] And I would say at a church preaching way out in the country. And this guy came up to me and we're standing there next to their baptistry they had out there. It was a holding tank for water. They use it to bathe and everything else. It was not just a baptistry.
[29:01] And we're standing there and he looked at me and he said, that tank is full of pecado. Well, I knew it wasn't full of pecado. So I thought maybe I didn't hear that right. So I said, did you say pescado?
[29:13] Did you say fish? He said, no, I said sin. And I looked at him and I said, how could it be full of sin? He said, you know, that's where they come here to wash away their sins. And that's not where we go to wash away our sins.
[29:26] We go to Jesus to get our sins washed away. It's the shed blood of Jesus on a cross. That's purely a symbol. Say amen. So who should get baptized? Jesus didn't need to get his sins washed away.
[29:39] He was saying, watch this. Hey, John, baptize me. Baptize me. This is going to show people what's right. It's going to fulfill all righteousness. Baptize me, John. All the scriptures are coming true.
[29:50] Everything's happening now. Baptize me, John, to show them what's right. And when he got baptized, the father said, ask my beloved son. And I am well pleased. We should get baptized because we see many examples of baptism in the New Testament church.
[30:05] When they got, why do we wear rings? Why in the world do we wear wedding? You know, I've been married for 40 years. And when I married Betty and I put this ring on, it wobbled around on my finger.
[30:15] But I have since gained about 500 pounds. And now I wear a permanent ring where that thing eats into my skin. Why do we wear a ring?
[30:25] We wear a ring. It's a custom. It's a way to speak out publicly about what's happened. And in the Bible, when people got saved, they got baptized.
[30:38] That's right. When they got saved, they got baptized. I've got plenty of examples of that. I've got another good reason you should get baptized. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 28, 18 and following, the Bible says the following.
[30:50] Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all nations. And look at the words behind my head. I'm sure they're up there for you.
[31:02] Matthew chapter 28, verse 19. Look at the words. Baptizing them. Baptizing them. So when I got down to proof, sometimes the people would say to me, why do you baptize? I said, because I was sent down here to baptize.
[31:16] He said, all power is given unto me. All authority is given unto me. Go and teach all nations. And baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. And teach them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you.
[31:29] Did you know that in the Bible, when Jesus was setting up his church, he said this, I have all right to tell you I'll do anything I want to tell you to do. And here's what I want to tell you to do. Go tell everybody I died on a cross.
[31:40] Go tell the whole world that God came down in human flesh and died on a cross that was buried and rose again. Teach all the nations about that. And when you teach them that, you baptize them.
[31:51] And when you baptize them, you baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. That's what I want you to do. And then you get them together in a church and you teach them to observe all things whatsoever I've commanded you.
[32:03] It is your way to publicly identify with Christ. To publicly identify yourself with Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17, the Bible says, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
[32:20] Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. You see, what happens is it's the day this drastic change takes place.
[32:30] I got saved. And now I'm going to picture that in my baptism. We were having a meeting of the missionaries that I work with.
[32:41] And we have a young lady who you should know. Her name is Hannah Shreve. And she used to be Hannah Littlefield. And I looked at her and I said, Hey, Hannah Littlefield. And she said, You mean Shreve?
[32:53] And I said, Does it ever feel funny to call yourself Shreve? She said, Yes, there still does sometimes. She was Hannah Littlefield for a long time, like 20 years or whatever. She was Hannah Littlefield.
[33:06] But there was this one day we stood her up in public. And we said, Well, as of today, you are Hannah Shreve. And so what happens is she identified publicly.
[33:18] Like yesterday, I had the privilege of saying, Let me be the first to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Jason Richel. And that was an identifying time.
[33:31] And when you get baptized, it's your identifying time. It's you saying, Hey, I'm with him. Hey, I'm with him. I was an old person, but the old person's dead.
[33:42] And I'm a new person, and old things have passed away. And behold, all things have become new. The Bible says in Romans 6, verse 3, Know ye not that so many of us, as we're baptized into, put a circle around, into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death.
[34:00] Baptism is a picture of being identified with him, put into his death. That's our way of saying, I'm one of them. I'm in. I've been baptized. Now, who should get baptized?
[34:12] It's only for believers. Baptism is not for anybody but believers. And it isn't really baptism unless you have already believed.
[34:24] One of the problems in a lot of our movement is that somebody got you to pray a prayer when you were six, and you got baptized, and then later on you realize you weren't really saved, and you prayed a prayer, and you got saved, and you know that this is the day you really got saved, and that's the day you got baptized.
[34:39] Well, actually, that's the day you got wet. Because if you take my wedding band and put it on, you aren't married, unless there's a real meaning to it. So baptism is only baptism with meaning when it comes because you are publicly stating, I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior.
[34:56] I am living a new life. I am following Jesus Christ, and I want to be identified with Him. It's a public profession of your faith in Christ. It's a testimony that you've turned from one way of life to another.
[35:09] You should get baptized if you want to be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ, His people, the church, and His teachings. Just let me explain something to you. You say, well, why do you say that?
[35:21] I don't say that. He says that. He says that. Baptism was a big deal. Baptism is a picture of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
[35:34] You know, when we baptize somebody, they stand up there in front of us, and when they stand up there, the picture is this person is the old person. They die, and they are buried, and they are raised to walk in newness of life.
[35:48] It's a picture. It's a picture. The old Austin, the old Austin buried, and the new Austin raised to walk in newness of life. I'm just saying to you, I walked in here, Charity Bennett, and I walk out of here, Charity Rischel.
[36:02] Now, the truth is, that decision was already made. In fact, as you better remind me, I never signed a marriage certificate. They ain't married yet. But anyway, formalities, amen?
[36:13] And so, listen, you get baptized to identify that baptism is a picture of grace and how God takes a sinner and makes him into a new person.
[36:30] When should you get baptized? And I will close. When you're old enough to understand and make your own decision. It is a farce. It is a farce.
[36:42] When your parents do anything to get you to heaven. Like baptizing you or getting you to take the Lord's Supper. Because nobody, God has no grandchildren.
[36:56] Only children. You're either born again or you're not. You know, tell me how many times over the years I've had people come to me and they've said, Pastor, I just got saved. Would you baptize my kids?
[37:07] And I said, well, if they've been saved. And they say, no, they've not been saved. And I said, well, I can't baptize them. They say, I don't want to go to hell. Please help me. Please help me. But water doesn't keep anybody out of hell. Amen.
[37:19] So you better be careful that when do you get baptized? You should get baptized once you know you're saved and you're giving a public testimony of what Jesus has done in your heart. Only when you realize that your baptism gains you no merit with God.
[37:34] No merit. No brownie points with God. It's only done as a revelation of something that God has done in your life. The only reason. Let me ask you this.
[37:44] If you did not get married in a church, there's probably somebody in this room that got married before a justice of the peace. Are you more married or less married than the person who spent a million dollars on their wedding at a fancy church?
[37:57] It has nothing to do with it. That has nothing to do with it. If you were married before justice of the peace, you're just as married. Well, here's the deal. You're getting baptized because you are making a public statement.
[38:10] You're getting baptized because you know that nothing comes. God's not going to look up at him and say, put two more points in his basket. That's not what happens. All the points were taken care of by Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
[38:25] You're only revealing something that's happened. If you have been christened or had water poured on you, then you should follow a Bible pattern. If you have believed since you were baptized, you should get baptized.
[38:38] I met Betty. This last story. I met Betty. And I liked her. I'll just be honest with you. I thought I saw somebody really special. And I come to find out she was from a group that she was baptized or christened as a baby, baby baptizing.
[38:57] And then when she got 12, she went through the little classes that said she could be a member of the church. And they poured a little bit of more water on her. And then she got saved when she was like 18 years old. She got saved. A girl came into the dorm and was excited and telling her about people getting saved at this meeting.
[39:12] And Betty, my wife, started crying. And she didn't even know why she was crying. She just knew that these stories were really touching her heart. And so the girl, seeing Betty Christ, said, I know what's going on with you.
[39:24] And she ran out and she got some scriptures. And she come running back in with some scriptures. And she opened the Bible and began to preach Jesus to her. And my wife was sitting there. And this girl, her name was Diane.
[39:35] She took her through these scriptures and she preached Jesus to her. And Betty trusted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior there. Later on, we were beginning to become very good friends and dating.
[39:46] And I said to her, you know, if you really want to serve Jesus, you'll have to obey him in the baptism and follow him in baptism. Because he talks about baptism. Not about getting water poured on you when you're a baby.
[39:59] Not to get water poured on you when you're 12 and your mom and daddy wants you to. And all the other little kids are getting their little certificates. No, you get baptized because you trusted Jesus. Did you?
[40:09] Yes, she did. And I still remember the day I stood at the back of Fellowship Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia. And Pastor Billy Kitchens baptized the girl that would soon become my wife. And I'm telling you this morning, this baptism is an important thing.
[40:23] Not for salvation. Not to keep you out of hell. But to identify you with Christ. To follow his example. And to obey him. And if you've not been baptized, you should take that step.
[40:34] Father in heaven, I love you. And I praise you. And I thank you for the chance of preaching your word and speaking for you. I pray that your word would be glorified and magnified. I pray that people will make decisions this morning that will bring honor to your name.
[40:47] And I pray, God, for those in our church that have never been baptized biblically and scripturally, that they would make a decision that they will be baptized. This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia.
[40:59] For more information, log on to www.visionbaptist.com, where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.