Amelia Church of Christ - Christian Church in Amelia, OH near Cincinnati in Clermont County

Back in the ‘70s, Waylon Jennings released a song called Luckenbach, Texas. The whole idea of the song is that a couple had gotten all caught up in the rat race and their relationship was dying as a result. And so Waylon sings, “Maybe it’s time we got back to the basics of love.”

That’s exactly what this short, new series is designed to do. Take us back to some of the basic teachings in God’s love letter, the Bible. Our series is called “What’s the Big Deal?”

Brian Morrissey taught a session during our 9:30 hour this morning entitled, “What’s the Big Deal About the Bible?” If you missed the session, it’ll be posted on our website this week. Through his teaching, we learned that it makes logical sense to believe that the Bible is God’s Word. We don’t have to “check our brain at the door” when we come to faith. We can be logical, critical thinkers and still be people of faith.

Since it does make sense to believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then it logically becomes the source of our belief system. Our beliefs about God, about life, about eternity are all rooted solely in the Bible.

In the last two teaching sessions in this series, we’re going to go to the Bible to try to answer our main question: “What’s the Big Deal?”

This morning, we’re asking a key faith question: What’s the Big Deal About Baptism? The Christian Church or Church of Christ has been stereotyped. “All they care about is baptism. They never talk about anything else except baptism.” If you’ve been with us any length of time, you know that this just isn’t the case. But, this doesn’t negate the fact that baptism is still a big deal.

There’s a lot of disagreement about baptism among Christian people. Different groups and denominations believe very different things about baptism. This morning, we’re not going to ask any church council or denomination to answer our baptism questions. Instead, we’ll look to God’s Word alone for the truth about just why baptism is or isn’t a big deal. We’re going to do that in a question and answer format. We don’t have time to answer every question someone may have about baptism, but we’re going to answer three of the major baptism questions that are circling about today.

First question: what’s the big deal about who is baptized? Can anyone be baptized? Can I baptize my baby, my cat Fluffy, or my dead aunt Margaret? Some of those questions sound crazy, but there is theology out there that allows for all of those scenarios.

So what does the Bible say about who should be baptized? Jesus said in the book of Mark, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16, NIV)

Jesus gives the prerequisite that must come before someone is baptized: faith. He didn’t say, “Whoever is baptized will be saved.” He said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.”

It can be confusing to wade through all the different beliefs that are floating out there concerning who should and shouldn’t be baptized. But it becomes a lot clearer when you begin with the words of Jesus. Faith always precedes baptism. If someone has faith in Jesus, they are a candidate for baptism. If they do not have faith, they are not a candidate for baptism.

This disqualifies your cat, Fluffy. It disqualifies your dead aunt, Margaret. Animals and dead people cannot have the faith required for baptism. And here’s where it gets more controversial. This teaching of Jesus also means that infants are disqualified for baptism.

Our Catholic friends would take issue with this, but we have to remain true to the Bible. And Scripture is clear on this. Think about it.

The Bible tells us that teaching must precede baptism (Matthew 28:19-20). Infants cannot be taught.

The person must believe before baptism (Mark 16:15-16). Infants cannot exercise faith.

The person must be convicted of their sin before they’re baptized (Acts 2:37-38). Infants can’t be convicted of sin.

The person must be repentant (Acts 2:38). Infants cannot repent.

The practice of infant baptism isn’t found anywhere in the New Testament. In fact, it is a practice that is contrary to very clear Biblical teachings. This is why you won’t see an infant baptism here at ACC.

So this brings up the age-old question: If infants can’t be baptized, then how young is too young? How old does a child have to be before they’re baptized?

The Bible doesn’t give a specific age requirement, so we have to use Biblical principles to answer the question. The answer is that it depends on the child. If the child meets the Biblical criteria for baptism, then they can be baptized.

Several years ago at another church, a mom came to me and told me that her young daughter wanted to be baptized. I was pretty skeptical about the girl’s level of faith and understanding, so we got together to talk. I started asking her some basic questions. I asked her to tell me what a sin is. She couldn’t answer that one, so I simply said, “Is a sin good or bad?” She said, “Umm….good?” The girl wasn’t ready, and although it didn’t make mom very happy, I wouldn’t baptize her.

While there is no pass/fail test to gauge a child’s readiness, there has to be a certain level of faith and understanding. If your child cannot tell you in their own words why Jesus died on the cross, if they can’t express what sin is, if they can’t explain why they want to be baptized, then they’re not ready to make this commitment. It would be Scripturally irresponsible to baptize them.

Another common baptism question that you’ll hear: What’s the big deal about how I’m baptized?

In the movie Forrest Gump, Forrest meets a Cajun fellow named Bubba. Bubba grew up working on shrimp boats and he has a great love for shrimp. He tells Forrest, “Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sauté it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.”

Bubba teaches us that there are all kinds of ways to prepare shrimp. But no matter if it’s barbecued, boiled, or baked, it’s still shrimp. It’s all different versions of the same thing.

That is really the same approach a lot of people take about baptism. There’s all different ways to do it, but really it’s just different versions of the same thing.

So this is the question: Are there different, legitimate ways to be baptized? The Christian community seems to say yes. Baptism can be performed by sprinkling a little water on the person, by pouring water on the person, or by dipping the person under water.

Once again we want to go to the Bible to answer the question. Proponents of sprinkling or pouring usually argue that the Bible actually doesn’t specify any particular mode of baptism. But it is obvious that the early church dipped people completely under water when they baptized them.

The New Testament was originally written in Greek. The Greek word for baptism in the New Testament is baptidzo. The word literally means “immersion.” There are different Greek words for sprinkle or pour and they are never used in a New Testament baptism reference.

So how did we get to where we are today? Partially because most English Bible translators have wimped out. To avoid being controversial, almost all English versions of the Bible do not translate the word baptidzo. If they did, your Bible would use the word “immerse.” Instead, the translators made up a word: baptism. Do you realize that baptism is really a meaningless term? They just took the Greek word, baptidzo, and changed it into something that sounded like English: baptism. In essence, they created a word that had no meaning. And because the word had no meaning, it could be redefined any number of ways.

The point is that the Bible is our only authority on this issue, and the Bible clearly teaches that baptism is done by immersion in water. So this brings up the question, “What about people who are not immersed?”

The only legitimate answer is that it’s not for us to decide. It’s not our decision whether or not God will look favorably on other modes of baptism. God’s grace is bigger than we realize. We can hope and pray for this grace to be extended to people who are not immersed. But ultimately it’s not our call. Judgment is God’s job, not ours. Our job is to simply teach and practice what we know. And what we know is that Biblical baptism is immersion.

A third question that you’ll often hear: What’s the big deal about why I’m baptized? What’s the purpose of baptism? What does baptism mean? What does baptism do?

One more time, there’s all kinds of disagreements among Christians on this question. And one more time, we’re going to cut through all of those and go to the Bible for our answers.

According to the New Testament, when we are baptized, we are clothed with Christ. Galatians 3 says, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:26-27, NIV)

When we are baptized, our sins are forgiven. Let’s look at a couple of Scriptures from Acts. In Acts 22, Paul recounts his conversion experience. He says that a man named Ananias came to him and said, “…what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16, NIV)

In a sermon in Acts 2, Peter said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38, NIV)

Sins are “washed away” and “forgiven” in baptism. It’s a crystal clear New Testament teaching.

Also, when we are baptized, we receive the Holy Spirit. Let’s finish Peter’s statement from Acts 2. “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38, NIV)

So to sum it up: When we are baptized we are clothed with Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we receive the gift of God’s Spirit in our lives. It sure sounds like baptism is a big deal, doesn’t it?

Now here’s where we stand at odds with most evangelical Christians. Most Christians teach that all you have to do is pray a prayer and you are saved. Simply invite Jesus into your heart and you are saved. Baptism comes later. Baptism is just an outward sign of the salvation that has already occurred. They will quote Scriptures that talk about salvation without mentioning baptism.

The argument you will run into the most is the faith-only argument. People will quote Scriptures like Acts 2:21: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21, NIV) And Romans 3:28: “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith…” (Romans 3:28, NIV) They will use these Scriptures to teach that faith is the only requirement for salvation.

So what about that? How do you explain why some scriptures mention baptism in the salvation experience while others do not? You have three options to explain it.

Option #1 – The Bible contradicts itself. Obviously if the Bible is the inspired Word of God as we discussed earlier this morning, this isn’t a viable explanation.

Option #2 – Salvation happens differently for different people. Again, not a good option. God is a just and fair God. He does not put some standards on certain people and not on others. We are all sinners and God’s prescription for salvation is the same for all of us.

Option #3 – Each passage highlights a different aspect of the salvation experience. This is really the only one that makes logical sense. There are salvation scriptures that emphasize faith, there are salvation scriptures that emphasize repentance, and yes, there are salvation scriptures that emphasize baptism. We have to take the New Testament as a package. It is not honest theology to take certain verses and leave others out.

Faith is an integral part of the salvation experience. Without it, nothing else matters. Baptism without faith is nothing more than taking a bath with your clothes on. It just gets you wet. But the Bible does not teach a faith-only conversion experience.

The Bible teaches that there must be faith in Jesus as the Son of God. (Acts 16:31) It says that there must be repentance, which means we decide to turn away from our sin and toward God. (2 Corinthians 7:31) It says that there must be confession, meaning we cannot be ashamed to claim Jesus as our Lord. (Romans 10:9) And it says that there must be baptism, where our sins are washed away and forgiven. (Acts 2:38, 22:16) I’ve included a lot of Scriptures on your outline. We don’t have time to read them all now, but I encourage you to go home and read them this afternoon.

But I do want to read this one. There may be no more straightforward answer to the baptism/salvation question than 1 Peter 3. Peter writes that “baptism…now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ…” (1 Peter 3:21, NIV)

Again, this brings up the question about how we relate to other believers who don’t share our view of baptism. And again, it’s not our job to judge them. First of all, understand that there are a lot of believers who don’t share our higher view of baptism, and yet they are baptized because it is something that Jesus commanded them to do. It’s difficult to find fault with someone who does something because Jesus told them to do it, even if they don’t share our theology on the issue.

But there are other believers who are never baptized. What about that? It’s not our job to judge them. Our job is to simply teach and practice what we know.

The bottom line is that, if you believe the New Testament, then baptism is a big deal. It is the point where we meet God’s grace, we are clothed with Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we are given the gift of God’s Spirit.

And there’s one other thing that we should mention: Baptisms in the Bible were performed immediately. There is no record of someone waiting to be baptized. When a person came to faith, they were immediately immersed into Christ.

If this is a decision you’ve been putting off, you need to realize that this is a big deal. The price has been paid for your sins through Jesus’ death on the cross. The invitation to accept the gift has been made. If you believe it, then it’s time to receive it. We invite you to come this morning.

Mike Edmisten

tags: baptism salvation