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Sunday School

Lesson 12: Believer’s Baptism by Immersion, Overview

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David Capoccia

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

Baptism is a beautiful ordinance given by Christ, and we are called to understand and practice it faithfully. This lesson examines what the Bible teaches about believers’ baptism by immersion — what it is, who should administer it, who should receive it, how it should be done, and what it signifies. The Scriptures consistently show that baptism follows a profession of faith, is performed by immersion in water, and serves as a rich, multi-faceted testimony of spiritual realities accomplished by Christ.

Key Lessons:

  1. Baptism is not a means of saving grace but an obedient testimony of a believer’s faith in and union with Christ, symbolized by immersion in and rising from water.
  2. The New Testament pattern is unmistakable: belief in Christ always precedes baptism, making the concept of an unbaptized Christian foreign to Scripture.
  3. The mode of baptism — immersion — is not a matter of indifference but is essential to preserving the rich symbolism of death, burial, and resurrection with Christ.
  4. Baptism carries seven interconnected testimonies: repentance and faith, union with Christ, union with the triune God, cleansing from sin, escape from divine judgment, new overcoming spiritual life, and inclusion in Christ’s church.

Application: We are called to take baptism seriously as a matter of obedience — both the act of baptizing and being baptized. Those who have believed but not been baptized should pursue it. Those who have been baptized should live consistently with its testimony by walking in holiness and committed church membership.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does understanding baptism as a testimony of union with Christ deepen your appreciation of what happened at your own baptism?
  2. Why is the mode of baptism (immersion vs. sprinkling/pouring) important for preserving the meaning of the ordinance?
  3. How should the connection between baptism and church membership shape the way we think about our commitment to a local body of believers?

Scripture Focus: Acts 2:38-41 (baptism after repentance and faith, inclusion in the church), Romans 6:3-5 (spiritual baptism into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection), Matthew 28:18-20 (the Great Commission commanding baptism of disciples), 1 Peter 3:18-22 (baptism as a testimony of deliverance from judgment), 1 Corinthians 12:13 (baptism into one body).

Outline

Introduction

Our year-long series, or at least the ministry year-long series on defending doctrinal distinctives. If you remember, this course is part theology, part apologetics, in which the elders of Calvary systematically tackle the most controversial yet crucial doctrines that we teach at this church.

Now, we’re resuming where we left off at the end of 2025 with a slight schedule adjustment. I told you that we have periodic Q&A elder Q&As throughout this course, but we had to push that back a little bit because of the snow day that we had at the end of December. We’re going to do the next module which I’m teaching and then one more after that, and about midway through the course we’ll have our first Q&A session.

I think that is going to be at the beginning of February. If you still have some questions that haven’t quite been answered or maybe come to your mind as you think about some of the topics we’ve already covered, let the elders know so that we can consider it and perhaps answer it in the upcoming Q&A.

But today, we are talking about the topic of baptism. This is a subject of immense confusion and controversy in the Christian church. This is one of the reasons why we have a baptism class or a pre-membership class because inevitably when people come to our church, not all of them but many don’t quite understand baptism, their need for it, what it’s all about, what does it signify.

There are divisions within Christianity, some pretty stark divisions within what’s called Christianity today over baptism. Is baptism necessary for salvation? How should baptism be done? To whom should baptism be administered?

This is not a new problem. This is not a modern issue. It is one that has pervaded the church throughout its history. In the reformation period, there’s confusion about baptism. In the medieval period and even in the early church, there is confusion about baptism.

So, it is important that we come to this topic. What’s interesting is that though there’s a lot of confusion and controversy about baptism, the Bible is clear. The Bible is clear when it comes to baptism, and that’s why the elders have taken a stance on it here at this church.

We hold to what you see in the Sunday school lesson title: believers baptism by immersion. Believers baptism—the theological term for that is credo baptism—it is to be administered to believers only. Paedobaptism is the idea that it can be administered to children.

We don’t hold to that. And we do hold to by immersion, not sprinkling or pouring. Actually being immersed or dipped in water is the proper mode of baptism.

Now today I want to overview from the scriptures why we take this stance. Next week I’ll deal with some of the common questions and objections to our stance on baptism.

Here’s our agenda. We’re going to answer five questions in today’s class, Lord willing. What is baptism? Who should baptize? Who should be baptized? How should a person be baptized? And then what does baptism mean? Let’s ask for the Lord’s help and blessing as we explore this topic.

Lord God, baptism is a beautiful ordinance that you’ve given to us. It is a beautiful opportunity for testimony, a beautiful picture of the gospel. But help us to appreciate that. Help me to be able to explain it and help us to understand. Help us, Lord, in our own experience of baptism or when we see others being baptized, be reminded afresh of just how beautiful your salvation is. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What Is Baptism?

Okay, let’s start going through these questions. What is baptism?

Baptism was historically preceded by certain types of baptism. Christian baptism was historically preceded by Jewish proselyte baptism, kind of going into the intertestamental period where Gentiles who wanted to no longer remain at a distance from worshiping God could become Jews.

There’s a certain process of doing that. Part of that process involved being symbolically washed, symbolically cleansed of their sin and uncleanness to be an acceptable worshiper of God. And like I said, part of the process, part of the ritual was an immersion or a washing into water, a ritual bath.

John the Baptist also famously—you could see from his name—had a baptism that was similar to Christian baptism, a baptism of immersion but specifically called a baptism of repentance. Building on that idea of Jewish proselyte baptism, he’s saying you Jews need to be clean too. Don’t think, “Oh, only the Gentiles need to be washed from their uncleanness.”

No, you do too. You also are at odds with your God. You also are unclean, and unless God makes you clean, you cannot enter into his kingdom. So repent from the heart and testify of that by going through this ritual bath, this ritual immersion, and saying, “I am unclean spiritually, but God can make me clean.”

Now, Christian baptism is similar to these, but not exactly the same. And I’ll explain more throughout this lesson. Here’s our statement of faith when it comes to our stance on baptism: Christian baptism by immersion is the solemn and beautiful testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior and his union with him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is also a picture of fellowship and identification with the visible body of Christ.

So you see a little bit there of what baptism is in terms of its literal enactment but also what it means. I have a slightly shorter definition which I’ll build on a little bit later in the class: Christian baptism is the obedient testimony of a new believer’s faith in and saving union with Christ. Notice the idea of union. That’s going to be really important, as symbolized by the believers being immersed in and raised up out of water.

“Christian baptism is the obedient testimony of a new believer’s faith in and saving union with Christ.”

Who Should Baptize?

Now, how many people are needed for baptism?

At least two. Yes. You cannot baptize yourself according to the scripture. But who should baptize?

Well, what does the Bible say?

Interesting that you say that elders, pastors. Does the Bible say that specifically?

Actually, the Bible just says believers.

“Actually, the Bible just says believers.”

The main place where we get instruction for this is actually the great commission. Matthew 28:18-20. These verses. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Now this meeting with Jesus on a mountain in Galilee, it is a word spoken primarily to his apostles. But they would only be leaders in what Jesus is calling all Christians to do. Leaders in the efforts of what all Christians do in the whole great commission. And notice it’s not just a one-part commission, but three-fold. They are to make disciples. They are to baptize. And they are to teach everything that Jesus commanded. So if Christians are called to do one part, it makes sense that they’re actually called to do all three parts.

Significantly, there is one instance in the Bible of someone being baptized, one verifiable instance in the Bible, someone being baptized by a non-pastor and non-apostle. Does anybody know where that is?

Right? So Glenda has it that Philip, who is he, has a certain role, a certain special role. He’s appointed as one of the seven to take care of some of their practical needs of serving widows in the Jerusalem church, but otherwise he doesn’t have an official position yet. He is led by the spirit to evangelize an Ethiopian eunuch and then baptize him.

Believers Can Baptize, But Best Practice Is Church Leaders

That is significant. It shows that baptism doesn’t always need to be by a pastor and doesn’t always need to be in a church context.

However, almost all other instances of baptism in the Bible are by church leaders and they are before other believers, which makes sense, and we’ll see this more at the end of the lesson. The testimony of baptism fits best in the context of the church, in the context of a church gathering. The baptizer really should be someone who can represent a local congregation’s affirming a new believer’s salvation testimony and inclusion into the church.

“The testimony of baptism fits best in the context of the church, in the context of a church gathering.”

And who functions best as this kind of representative? Like what you said at the beginning, Glenda? An elder. A pastor elder of the church saying, “We believe that this person is truly saved and we welcome him into the number of the redeemed.” The bottom line here is that individual Christians can baptize anywhere, but the best practice is baptism in a church assembly. Not necessarily a church building, but a church gathering by church leaders, and that’s why we do it that way here. Now a related question: what if there later turns out to be a problem with the baptizer?

What If the Baptizer Later Falls Away?

What if that person later—it’s not known at the time the baptism takes place, but what if that baptizer later is found to be in sin or found to turn to heresy or found to apostasize from the faith? Does that make whatever baptisms he performed invalid?

No. Why? Because the baptizer is merely a chief witness and facilitator. He does not specially impart some kind of divine power, some divine grace, some divine approval. God is the one who ultimately does that.

“The baptizer is merely a chief witness and facilitator. God is the one who ultimately does that.”

The baptizer is just a facilitator towards that end. So even if a baptizer turns away from the faith, that baptism is still valid because it is performed in obedience before God. And do note that baptizing is a matter of obedience.

Baptizing Is Also a Matter of Obedience

We sometimes think being baptized is a matter of obedience. And that’s true.

We’ll say that in just a second. But also, baptizing is a matter of obedience. If we as a church are to say, “Oh Jesus has a thing called baptism in the Bible, but it’s not that important. You don’t really have to be baptized. You just got to believe,” no. The scriptures say that we’re called as a church and certainly as the elders of the church to baptize as well as teach everything that the Lord commanded. Now, I’ve already alluded to the answer to the next question. We talked about what is baptism, who should baptize, but who should be baptized?

“Baptizing is a matter of obedience, not just being baptized.”

Who Should Be Baptized?

This is where a lot of the controversy is. But the biblical answer should be obvious. Who should be baptized?

Only believers.

Only those who are able to testify genuinely of the spiritual realities that baptism signifies.

“Only those who can testify genuinely of the spiritual realities that baptism signifies.”

Because baptism is fundamentally a testimony. If you can’t testify genuinely, then you can’t be baptized or you shouldn’t be baptized. As I alluded to before, this is a matter of obedience also, but this time for a new believer. A new believer should seek to and as God provides, actually be baptized. And we can see this in at least one passage: Acts 2:38.

This is at the end of the sermon given by Peter on the day of Pentecost. Peter said to those who were cut to the quick and asking what must we do? What must we do to be saved? Peter said to them, repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I’ll say a lot more about this verse throughout today’s class, but notice the beginning part of it. How should someone respond to the gospel according to Peter?

Before you get baptized, repent, which is just another way of talking about repent and believe. They’re just two sides of the same coin. Repent of your sin, believe in the gospel, and then be baptized. That’s what Peter says: repent each of you and be baptized.

So that order is significant. You don’t repent in baptism. You repent after baptism. You repent and then you’re baptized. You believe and then you’re baptized. And that’s the same order that we saw in the Matthew 28 great commission, right? Make disciples and baptize them. They must be made disciples first.

“You believe and then you’re baptized. They must be made disciples first.”

The Biblical Pattern: Belief Then Baptism

And not only is this the instruction that Peter gives and Jesus gives in Matthew 28, this is the overwhelming pattern of people converted to Christ in the scriptures, especially in the book of Acts. It’s almost like someone wanted to make this really obvious for us. And I’m going to go through these texts with you so you can hear it. It’s like an incessant drum beat.

Acts 2:41, this is right after the passage I previously read. “So then those who had received his word, that is believed the gospel, were baptized, and that day they were added about 3,000 souls.”

Acts 8:12. “But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike.”

Acts 8:13. “Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip.”

Acts 10:47-48. The context here is Peter has gone to visit the house of Cornelius and some Gentiles who are there with him, gentile god-fearers. He declares the gospel of Jesus Christ. They believe and the Holy Spirit comes upon the Gentile believers in a visible way. And this is what Peter says in response.

“Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he? And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They then asked him to stay on for a few days.”

Now, let me just emphasize again about that verse. Did the Gentiles receive the Holy Spirit before or after water baptism? Before. And what caused them to receive the Holy Spirit? Faith in Christ. Faith in Christ. Received the Holy Spirit and then they were baptized.

Acts 16:14-15. “A woman named Lydia from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshipper of God, was listening to the preaching of Paul. And the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.” In other words, she believed. “And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us.” Again, you see it: “Open a heart to the word.” Baptized.

Acts 16:31-33. “They said, this is Paul and I think Silas in the Philippian jail speaking to the jailer, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who are in his house. And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds. And immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.”

Acts 18:8. “Crispus the leader of the synagogue believed in the Lord with all his household and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”

Acts 18:8: “Many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”

Now you keep hearing references to household in those passages that comes up in controversy too. We’ll talk about that eventually. And then one more passage to put before you as an example. Acts 19:4-5. Paul said, now he’s speaking to those adherents of John the Baptist message in Ephesus, and they had never heard the gospel of Jesus. So Paul says to them, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance telling the people to believe in him who was coming after him, that is in Jesus. When they heard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

So what was it? Belief in Jesus Christ and then baptism.

The Immediacy of Baptism After Faith

Now notice from these verses, how long after a profession of faith until baptism?

It’s very quick. It’s almost immediate.

That’s what the text would seem to suggest, which helps us appreciate a certain idea well said by one commentator.

The idea of an unbaptized Christian is simply not entertained in the New Testament.

“The idea of an unbaptized Christian is simply not entertained in the New Testament.”

You believe, you get baptized. But it is something that always comes after belief.

How Should a Person Be Baptized?

Okay. Go on to our fourth question. How should a person be baptized?

Controversy here. But again, the answer should be obvious from the Bible. How should a person be baptized? By what baptism actually means: by being immersed in water and then drawn up again by another believer.

The Meaning of the Word ‘Baptize’

I say, what’s baptism? Actually, what does baptism actually mean? You say, “What do you mean by that?” Just etymologically, just in paying attention to language, baptism means immersion. The Greek word that is translated “baptizes” is “baptizo,” so it’s just transliterated into English. It means to immerse, to plunge, to wash, or to dip. It’s related to another Greek verb, “bapt,” which means to dip or to dye. To dye, not actually suffer death. And you don’t dye something by merely pouring on it or sprinkling on it. You’re talking about a thorough soak. It gets immersed.

“Baptism means immersion. The Greek word baptizo means to immerse, to plunge, to wash, or to dip.”

And “baptized,” the related word, is the same way. Now granted, there are two times in the New Testament in which “baptizo” is used in the more general sense of “wash.” Mark 7:4 and Luke 11:38, “baptized” is used to refer to the Jewish ritual of purification of hands before eating a meal.

But the other 70 plus times the word is used in the New Testament, it is speaking of a literal or figurative immersion.

And that’s just on the language level.

Biblical Descriptions Confirm Immersion

But this sense is also implied by the context of the word usage in several places in the New Testament. Three in particular: Matthew 3:15-16.

This is Jesus’s baptism. It says, “But Jesus answering said to him, John the Baptist, permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” And he permitted him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water.

And behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on him. Now, that description—he came up from the water—does not make sense unless he was immersed in water.

“He came up from the water — that does not make sense unless he was immersed in water.”

We see similar language used in Acts 8:38-39.

And he ordered the chariot to stop and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. Again, how do you make sense of that passage unless it’s baptism by immersion into the water and out of the water? In fact, the eunuch said, “Look, water. What prevents me from being baptized?” They saw a generous amount of water there, and it was enough for baptism.

One more reference here: John 3:23.

John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salem because there was much water there and people were coming and were being baptized. Now again, why would you need much water unless it’s baptism by immersion?

Evidence from the Septuagint

Also telling is usage in the Septuagint.

The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament that was created in the intertestamental period, around the 200s-300s BC. It contained the Apocrypha. In the Septuagint, the Apocrypha was not recognized as scripture, but as helpful and interesting documents.

Why did I mention that to you? Because baptizo is used in both the Greek translation of the Old Testament and in the translation of the Apocrypha into Greek. Four times we see baptizo used in the Greek Septuagint. It’s once used as a metaphor for overwhelming terror in Isaiah 21:4, which fits with the idea of immersion.

Twice it refers to taking a ritual bath for cleansing in Judith 12:7 and Sirach 34:25. That’s part of the Apocrypha.

But most significantly, baptized is used once to translate the Hebrew word in 2 Kings 5:14 for the Syrian leper Naaman submerging himself seven times in the Jordan. The English text of the Hebrew that we have in our Bible, 2 Kings 5:14 says, “So he went down and dipped himself.” The Greek translation of the Old Testament says, “He baptized himself seven times in the Jordan according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”

So hopefully you’re getting a pretty unified impression from both the scriptures and in documents related to the scriptures that baptize means immersion.

“The Greek translation says ‘he baptized himself seven times in the Jordan’ — baptize means submerging.”

It means dipping. It means submerging.

If you start with just that, if you keep with what the Bible says, there’s no controversy here. Baptism equals immersion in water. Now, yes, Ezekiel 36:25 does prophesy, and this is God speaking: “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” But this is a reference to Old Testament purification rituals, not a foreshadowing of Christian baptism.

There’s actually a lot of language of water cleansing throughout the Bible. You can’t just say, “Oh, look, here’s water. This must be baptism.” You need to be a little bit more careful than that.

Where Did Sprinkling and Pouring Come From?

Now, you might ask, if not from the Bible, where did the practices of sprinkling and pouring for baptism come from?

Does anyone know the answer?

Dwayne, that’s not a bad thought. Dwayne mentioned when infant baptism emerges, baptizing babies, maybe sprinkling became the preferred mode there. I’ll say more about that in just a second, but any other ideas as to where sprinkling and pouring came from?

Does it come from Catholic teaching? In a way, yes, but maybe not the way you think of it.

Actually, sprinkling and pouring was an accommodation for extreme circumstances that is mentioned in the second and third centuries. The Didache, kind of like a handbook for those about to be baptized, goes over Christian doctrine and was produced in the second century. It mentions that if there’s not enough water around to do baptism by immersion, then pouring is okay.

It doesn’t say that. What I want to say is it’s clear that immersion is the way that you should do it, but it says if it’s impossible to immerse, then I suppose you can pour.

Now, that’s not scripture. That was just what a Christian handbook said in the second century. In the third century, we have a couple of different Christian leaders who were sick and old. And so in those extreme circumstances, they were granted to be poured over rather than immersed.

I think it was Cyprian or one guy in the third century who’s extremely sick and he’s like, “I really can’t do it.” And they’re like, “Okay, we’re just going to put water all over you rather than immerse you in water.” Now, this was highly exceptional and it was frowned upon by most Christians at that time.

They’re like, “That’s not real baptism.” But some people did allow for it in highly exceptional circumstances.

But the problem is if you allow for one exception, then that encourages allowing for other exceptions. And that’s exactly what happened. More and more over time, more and more people were granted exceptions for baptism.

And if you think about it, if it’s valid in one instance, why shouldn’t it be valid in others? And it’s not like baptism by immersion is extremely convenient, right? Today, it’s not so bad because we have modern plumbing and we have baptismals and things like that.

But if you’re not in a place that has baths ready to go, or if you’re in a cold climate like northern Germany, Scandinavia, the British Isles, Russia, suddenly sprinkling and pouring sounds like a much more attractive option.

“If you allow for one exception, that encourages allowing for other exceptions. And that’s exactly what happened.”

Mediterranean climate, okay, maybe not so bad. But when you get into those colder climates, do we really have to do immersion?

That being said, immersion was the dominant mode of baptism for most of the Middle Ages, even of children. Yes, even infants were being immersed.

In 1311, the Roman Catholic Church officially made the mode of baptism a matter of indifference. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re sprinkled, poured, or immersed. Any of those are valid before God.

Nevertheless, immersion never left the Eastern Orthodox Church, who today still practice triple immersion even for infants. They dip three times except for special health situations.

What Does Baptism Mean?

That’s where apparently, from what we can understand historically, sprinkling and pouring came from. Yet mode is not really a matter of indifference. Rather, the mode of baptism is a crucial part of clarifying the truths that the symbol of baptism represents.

So now we come to our final question here. What does baptism mean? What is the significance of baptism? What’s actually happening? What does it mean?

Baptism is not in itself a means of spiritual cleansing or of saving grace. Being baptized does not save you. It does not contribute to your salvation. Hopefully that should be clearer after the last two lessons we had in this course where Mark was leading us on what is the gospel, what is required for salvation: repentance and faith, not baptism. No work is necessary for salvation or gives saving grace.

Rather, baptism is, as I said at the beginning, an obedient testimony of faith in and union with Christ.

“Baptism is an obedient testimony of faith in and union with Christ.”

It’s a symbol. It’s a memorial. It’s a testimony of faith in and union with Christ. In a way, it’s very similar to the Lord’s table. The Lord’s table does not give you saving grace. It doesn’t keep you saved, but it is a symbol. It is a memorial of salvation and of your participation in it.

Now, the Bible expounds on the implications of the testimony of baptism in several places and it shows us the different facets of the testimony that baptism represents. I’m going to give these to you. I’ve categorized these into seven different testimonies that are communicated in baptism. They overlap a little bit. Not everybody groups it into these categories, but I think this is helpful.

I put it into seven. These are just implications of that statement that I put there on the slide: a testimony of faith in Christ and union with Christ.

Testimony 1: Repentance and Faith in Christ

Okay. What does that mean and how did the scriptures explain it? Number one, baptism is a testimony of repentance and faith in Christ. I’m going to refer to certain key texts and I’m going to be highlighting certain parts of those texts for you and explaining these different testimonies.

So baptism is first of all a testimony of repentance and faith in Christ. Going back to Acts 2:38, Peter said to them, “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” As we already noted, baptism comes after a profession of faith in Christ. That is repenting and believing in Christ. Thus, baptism is itself a sign of that. If you see somebody baptized, you automatically know, “Oh, he must have repented and believed because that’s what it’s a sign of. That’s what happens right afterwards.”

Baptism comes or is supposed to come immediately after repentance and faith.

“Baptism comes after a profession of faith in Christ — it is itself a sign of that.”

So baptism is a sign of that. And again, Matthew 28:19 has that connection too. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them.” Okay? Hey, if he’s baptized, that’s a sign he’s a disciple of Jesus, which means he repented and believed. So testimony of repentance and faith in Christ, baptism is a sign of this conversion. But number two, baptism is also a testimony of union with Christ.

Testimony 2: Union with Christ

Going back to Acts 2:38, Peter said to them, “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Have you ever thought about that phrase, baptize in the name of Jesus Christ?

What does that mean?

We might think that’s just about authority, right? We have phrases like “stop in the name of the law,” which means I’m telling you to stop on the authority of or with the authority of the law behind me. And so we might think that’s what Peter’s talking about here. I’m telling you to be baptized or I’m going to perform baptism on you with the authority of Jesus. I have the authority of Jesus behind me. Or we might even say that in being baptized, you’re placing yourself under the authority of Jesus. It’s in his name. It’s under his approval and authority.

And those are true conceptually, but it’s more than that. Baptizing in the name of Jesus is tantamount to being baptized into Jesus. Baptism represents spiritual immersion into Jesus. That is union with him.

“Baptism represents spiritual immersion into Jesus — that is union with him.”

Baptism does not bring about this union, but it testifies of this union already having taken place by faith. You say, “I think you’re stretching that phrase too much, Pastor Dave.” Well, let’s look at another passage.

Romans 6:3-5. Paul says, “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Spiritual Baptism into Christ’s Death, Burial, and Resurrection

Now, this is a key text for understanding the significance and the testimony of baptism. But something important to realize here is that Paul is speaking about spiritual baptism and not physical baptism in this passage.

He’s talking about spiritual baptism into Christ. Notice well, maybe you don’t have the text in front of you, but if you think about my reading of it in Romans 6:3-5, Paul says that we are baptized into Christ Jesus. That is spiritual union with Jesus. You are made one with him, you are attached to him, and he to you. And Paul further explains that this means that you are baptized spiritually into every part of Jesus’ salvation work. You are baptized into his death and his burial and his resurrection.

What does that mean? Well, that means that Jesus suffered your death, the death that you deserved for your sin. So you don’t have to. You died it through him.

But it also means that you have spiritual and eternal life that you didn’t have before because you also rose through him.

Union with Christ. Baptism into Christ is how all the work of Jesus’ salvation is applied to you.

“Union with Christ is how all the work of Jesus’ salvation is applied to you.”

Water Baptism as Symbol of Spiritual Baptism

And water baptism is just symbolic of this reality.

Water baptism is a symbol of the spiritual baptism that has been accomplished for you in Christ.

That’s why that’s the significance. One other verse that says the same thing: Colossians 2:12.

Colossians 2:12 is kind of in the middle of a statement, but it’s Paul writing, “Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised up with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Here again is another text that’s talking about spiritual baptism rather than literal water baptism. But notice, thinking back to what I just read, what is it that joins us to Jesus?

According to Colossians 2:12, what joins us to Jesus and thus to his death, burial, and resurrection? I’ll read that statement to you again: “Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead.”

So what is it that joins us to Jesus and to his death, burial, and resurrection? It’s faith. That’s what he said: raised up with him through faith in the working of God.

So faith is what joins us to Jesus. And being joined to Jesus means we’re joined into every aspect of salvation work.

And again, water baptism is a fitting picture of this being immersed into and made one with Christ. And not just immersion in general, but all the parts of immersion more specifically. You are united to Jesus’ death and symbolically you go down into the water. You’re united to Jesus’ burial. You go and stay under the water. And then you’re united to Jesus’ resurrection. You come up out of the water.

“You are united to Jesus’ death — you go down. His burial — you stay under. His resurrection — you come up.”

Baptism is a fitting symbol. It is a fitting testimony of the spiritual reality, the spiritual baptism of Christ, baptism into Christ and to the parts and components of Jesus’ salvation work. Now that has more implications and I’m going to explore more of them with you in just a second.

But one implication is number three.

Testimony 3: Union with the Triune God

Baptism is a testimony not just of union with Christ but of union with the triune God.

Going back to Matthew 28:19, emphasizing a different part of the verse. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We’re not just baptized into the name of Jesus, but into the name of the whole Godhead, which means what?

Well, similar to what I said before, it’s not just that God gives authority to baptize in the name of the whole Godhead. And it’s not just that a person baptized is brought under the authority of the whole Godhead, but that the one baptized is made to intimately associate with and yes, even become one with the triune God.

“The one baptized is made to intimately associate with and become one with the triune God.”

You are immersed not just into Christ, but into God. And that only makes sense because Jesus is God. Jesus is one member of the Trinity. So if you are one with Christ and Christ is one with the Father and the Spirit, then you are too, which explains and fits with another statement that we see back in Acts 2:38.

Acts 2:38 again: Peter said to them, “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Now it is appropriate that the Holy Spirit indwells those who believe in Christ. Why? Because if by faith you are immersed into Christ, then Christ also immerses himself into you by the Holy Spirit.

But as the Father and Spirit are in the Son, so the Father and Spirit are in us.

So baptism then is not only a testimony of having received the Holy Spirit but even more broadly of fellowship with the whole Trinity by spiritual union.

Testimony 4: Cleansing from Sin

You following me so far? Baptism is a sign of repentance and faith, but also being immersed into Christ and really being immersed into the trinity and the trinity being immersed into you. More implications of this union. Baptism is also a testimony of cleansing from sin.

Cleansing from sin. Back to Acts 2:38.

Peter said to them, “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” This verse has a little bit of controversy because it sounds like baptism itself brings about your forgiveness.

That’s not what the verse is saying.

More on that next week. Yet, don’t miss what the verse is saying. There is a clear connection between baptism and forgiveness. Baptism and cleansing. And that makes sense, right? It is water, right? And these types of things, they are almost always associated with cleansing.

Just as water washes off dirt, baptism is a fitting symbol of our sins being washed away by Christ’s sacrifice.

“Just as water washes off dirt, so baptism is a fitting symbol of our sins being washed away by Christ’s sacrifice.”

Baptism itself doesn’t wash away the sins, but it is a symbol of your sins being washed away by faith in Jesus.

Another verse that says the same thing, a new one this time: Acts 22:16. This is Paul giving his testimony before one of the Roman dignitaries talking about how he was converted. And one of the things he says in recounting it was I can’t remember if this is the man who went to Paul or if this is the spirit itself.

But Acts 22:16, someone says to Paul, “Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” Again, this verse could be taken to support the idea that baptism saves you, but that’s not so.

Nevertheless, that phrase is significant: get baptized and wash away your sins. Baptism is an appropriate symbol of cleansing from sin by faith in Jesus.

Testimony 5: Escape from Divine Judgment

Number five, baptism is a testimony of escape from divine judgment. Escape from divine judgment. New text here. 1 Peter 3:18-22.

I’m giving you the context here because otherwise the statement on baptism is going to sound really out of place.

Peter writes, “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water, corresponding to that baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers have been subjected to him.

1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism now saves you — not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience.”

Okay, here’s another verse that sounds like baptism is necessary for salvation. We got to come back and talk about that idea next week, but that is not so.

There is nevertheless a very unexpected analogy here. What is compared to what in verses 20 and 21 of 1 Peter 3 when he says corresponding to that?

What’s the correspondence?

Okay, so it does have to do with the spiritual realities of death in the flesh being made alive in the spirit.

But let me read to you the relevant portions again. Verses 20 and 21 of 1 Peter 3.

Who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water corresponding to that baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay, what’s the correspondence? Noah and the people in the ark being brought safely through the water and what? Okay. Now, it’s interesting that I heard someone say Christ, but actually specifically in this text is baptism.

Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. Not Christ now saves you. Baptism now saves you. Okay. What?

The Ark and Baptism: Deliverance Through Water

Just as the ark represented salvation from God’s judgment, so does baptism.

Peter quickly clarifies, it’s not the cleansing by water. It’s not that itself which saves you, but what such signifies, which is what he says: an appeal to God for a good conscience. And what is that? It’s faith. It’s another way of speaking about saving faith, repentance and faith. Baptism is the symbol of that, and thus he can say baptism now saves you. In short, baptism is a powerful testimony of deliverance from God’s holy wrath and consequently of now having a clean conscience.

Just as the ark was safely brought through the water, so the baptized person emerges from the water forever safe by faith in Jesus Christ.

“The baptized person emerges from the water forever safe by faith in Jesus Christ.”

So it’s like when you see the person come out of the water, you’re like, he’s made it through. He’s made it through the judgment. He’s safe, just like the ark was brought safely through.

Hallelujah.

Testimony 6: New Overcoming Spiritual Life

Yeah. Amen. Hallelujah. It’s not just others. That’s us too, right? If we believe. Number six. Baptism is also a testimony of new overcoming spiritual life. And we’re going back to Romans. I’ll show you the context of that verse that we talked about earlier. Romans 6:2-4.

I should have read verse one too.

Basically, Paul asks, “Should we who have died to sin continue to live in it?” Verse two: “May it never be. How should we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?

Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” The context of this discussion of spiritual baptism in Romans 6 is about living a life of holiness.

Paul’s point is that spiritual baptism and union with Christ means that we have died to sin and that we live to God.

“Spiritual baptism and union with Christ means that we have died to sin and that we live to God.”

It isn’t just that Jesus accomplished paying for the penalty of sin by his death and that we’re united to Jesus in that aspect of his work, but that this frees us from the power of sin in our lives.

Water baptism is a symbol of this reality.

A person testifies when he’s baptized not only that he has been saved, cleansed, and made eternally alive by Christ, but that such has had an effect in his life so that he can live holy and obedient now.

He walks in newness of life because he has eternal life by union with Christ.

And then one more testimony here.

Testimony 7: Inclusion in Christ’s Church

Number seven, baptism is a testimony of inclusion in Christ’s church. And this is one we don’t want to forget.

Acts 2:41. Acts 2:41. So then those who had received his word. Back to the day of Pentecost, Peter’s sermon. Those who had received his word were baptized. And that day there were added about 3,000 souls.

Added. Added to what?

The church. The people of God. And even that local assembly in Jerusalem.

You see, Acts 2:41 shows us there’s not just a connection between faith and baptism. You believe, you get baptized.

But also, there’s a connection between baptism and being added to the church.

Baptism is not just a symbol of being joined to Christ, but also of being joined through him to Christ’s people.

“Baptism is not just a symbol of being joined to Christ, but also of being joined through him to Christ’s people.”

Baptism Means Being Joined to Christ’s People

And this is what 1 Corinthians 12:13 says. “For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one spirit.” Now, here’s another passage talking about spiritual baptism into Christ. But if you heard from 1 Corinthians 12:13, notice that this baptism involves being joined into one body. He says, “All of us were now baptized into one body.” Which body?

It is the church, but it’s the body of Christ. That’s another way that the church is described.

We are made into one body in Christ with all believers. And that again makes sense, right? If baptism is a testimony of spiritual union with Christ and Christ is united with all his people, then baptism must necessarily be a testimony of being united to all of Christ’s people.

Because if you’re united to Christ, you’re united to his people.

So that’s why I say water baptism symbolizes what the reality of spiritual baptism into Christ is. And being plunged into Christ by faith, you are plunged into his church.

“If you’re united to Christ, you’re united to his people.”

And hopefully that makes you appreciate even more why I say that baptism’s best take place in a church context and conducted by a church representative because it is a symbol of a person being joined to Christ’s church.

Summary of the Seven Testimonies

So then to sum up what I said and to repeat the main statement I said earlier, baptism is an obedient testimony of faith in and union with Christ.

In water baptism, a person testifies.

Number one, I have repented of my sin and I believe in Jesus Christ. Number two, I am now immersed in him and I benefit from his entire salvation work.

Number three, through him I am immersed into the triune God and I have God’s spirit. Number four, I have been washed clean of all my sins. Number five, I have passed safely through the waters of God’s judgment. Number six, I now have God’s overcoming life in me to walk in new holiness. And number seven, I have been immersed into Christ’s body, the church, to grow with the brethren.

Aren’t those beautiful testimonies?

Aren’t those wonderful realities to be able to declare?

And do you see then why what I covered earlier in the lesson must be true.

Baptism is administered by believers to believers by immersion.

Any other approach simply does not fit with what baptism means.

“Baptism is administered by believers to believers by immersion. Any other approach does not fit with what baptism means.”

If you try and make it you baptize non-believers, all these testimonies are meaningless.

Or if you say we’re just going to do sprinkling. No, you lose the whole picture. Where’s the immersion into Christ? Where’s the immersion into his people? Where’s the washing away of sins?

So that’s why these things matter.

Anyways, so now you’ve heard the overview explanation of our stance at the church. We do hold to believers baptism by immersion because we believe that’s what the scripture teaches. And hopefully you see some of that now, too.

But next time we’re going to get into some common questions and objections to this position. And we’ve already raised several of them in today’s lesson.

Questions such as, “What about those Bible passages that make it sure sound like baptism is necessary for salvation?

What about those references in the New Testament to whole households being baptized at once? Doesn’t that mean that infants and children were also baptized?” And if my earlier baptism, maybe one of you are thinking this or heard people say this, if my earlier baptism wasn’t completely biblical, I was baptized as an infant or I was baptized by sprinkling or pouring or I was baptized by somebody who doesn’t follow the faith today. Should I get baptized again?

Would it be wrong if I got baptized again? We’ll try and deal with those questions and a few more next time. Got a few minutes at the end of today’s lesson without broaching some of those topics that are going to need a little bit more time.

Questions and Discussion

What questions do you have based on today’s lesson? Yeah, Glenda, where did it come about in your church? Okay. In your church now that you have to have like baptismal lessons before you’re baptized, when it because Philip baptized the Ethiopian right away. I believe in teaching, but where did it come about that not what Philip did right away and what we are doing now by teaching people about the church doctrine?

That’s a great question, Glenda, and it is one I’m going to have to tackle in the next lesson because that’s one of the immediate disjunctions that you see between maybe what we talked about today and what we do today.

They got baptized immediately after profession of faith. Why do we wait so long? Why do you have to go through a class? Why do you have to be all assessed before baptism? I will say this, and again we’ll say more about this next time.

That document I mentioned earlier, the Didache, which mentions that in extreme circumstances you can pour rather than immerse. It’s actually a handbook for people who are going to be baptized. And I can’t remember if it’s in that handbook or somewhere else.

The idea was that if you were a catechumen, if you were somebody being prepared for baptism, you would go through a year of theological training and instruction to make sure you really understood salvation and baptism before you got baptized.

So that’s not to say, “Oh, what we do today is totally right.” That’s not scripture. The Didache is not scripture. But it does show you that even in the second century, people were concerned about people being baptized too quickly.

So, more on that next time. Yeah, Dwayne.

So then in light of all this, would you say that for a Christian not to be baptized would be sin?

Good question, Dwayne. Would I say based on this that a Christian not being baptized is sin? I think you have to grant that implication because baptizing and being baptized is a matter of obedience. We call baptism an ordinance.

This is something that Jesus ordained for his church. If you say, “I don’t care about baptism. I don’t really need baptism,” you’re disobeying Jesus. Now, you say, “Well, I want to be baptized, but my church won’t let me, or I got to go through this whole class first.”

Well, understand that looking to do things the right way, especially in submission to your elders, that is obedience to God. You say, “Okay, well, the Lord knows my heart. I desire to be baptized. I don’t have an opportunity to be baptized right now, but while I wait to be baptized, I’m not in sin until they baptize me.” No, your sincere desire to be baptized and your pursuit of that is also obedience.

“We call baptism an ordinance — something Jesus ordained for his church. To not care about it is to disobey Jesus.”

But to go back to your question, Dwayne, to not be baptized and to not care about being baptized, that would definitely be sin. Now, does that mean you can’t be saved? No. But this, like any other matter of command from Jesus in the Christian life, it is a matter of obedience. Denny, yeah, even though you probably didn’t say this, but I always thought that baptism was also a public proclamation of your faith. You’re doing this in front of family, church, and so it’s a public thing. Something that happened internally, now you’re pronouncing externally.

Yes. So Danny makes a good point. There is a public aspect of baptism. And I do want to say more about this next time because how public does it have to be? Again, we can go back to the Ethiopian eunuch and be like, he wasn’t in a church and there weren’t other Christians around.

It was just Philip and the eunuch. Well, first of all, it wasn’t just Philip and the eunuch. You think that this really important eunuch is traveling by himself? I think the text even mentions there are other people with him.

So it’s not like it was totally alone. But there is something exceptional about the Ethiopian eunuch. We don’t want to build our whole doctrine of baptism based on that one instance. It’s kind of a special case.

Nevertheless, from the way we see baptism being administered in the rest of the book of Acts, yes, it is before the church. It is in some sense public. Now, was it before all the enemies of the church? No, not necessarily. And I don’t think you have to say, “Well, you’re in a Muslim country and you get converted to Christ, you need to go be baptized in a very public way, as everybody knows.” No, I think that’s not only foolish, but not required from the scriptures. But you do need to make it known to some assembly of brethren that you belong to God.

Can’t just be like, “I’m going to go baptize myself so I can be obedient to God,” or “I’m just going to find one random believer and be like, can you baptize me and then we’ll call that done and just move on with my life.” No, you’re missing the whole point of what baptism is. Baptism means inclusion into Christ’s church.

How can you rightly testify of that if you’re not with the church in some meaningful way? So, yes, there is some public aspect to this, though not necessarily in the widest sense possible. I think we have time for one more question.

Lea, well, it’s not a question, it’s a comment, so you won’t have to wait till next week to address it.

But it’s showing, this lesson is showing how much obedience is a part of it. Not just because it’s a step of obedience and God says Jesus said to do it, but all the other things that go along with what it represents. And it makes me think about people who even do believe in immersion baptism by immersion.

If you’re not following all the other ones, it seems like there’s a big disconnect between you believe that you are baptized by immersion, but you don’t necessarily have to be part of the church. You’re still like a lone ranger doing whatever you want in your own way. Or though on the opposite end, that well, I’ve been baptized Presbyterian, so like you just been baptized into the church and that’s it.

And so I’ve been in churches where believers baptism by immersion was the practice, but the testimony is all about, “Oh, when I came to this church, then I really…” It was just so much more about the church than about Christ and about faith.

So just my comment is that all those points really, it’s a full rounded thing more than just the one thing.

Yeah. Okay. So that’s a good comment, and I tried to go back to the slide, but I accidentally went forward and ended the presentation. But yeah, it’s baptism is not just like you said a testimony of one thing.

I joined the church or I joined Christ. It’s those things together. And also I have repented and believed and I am pursuing Christ in greater and greater obedience. If you get baptized and then don’t actually follow Christ, what is that?

Or if you get baptized and don’t join the church, you’re contradicting your baptism. That’s actually one of the changes that we made. I can’t remember if it’s in the last ten years or more, where it used to be that sometimes people who would believe and they would come to our church and they say, “I’d like to get baptized.”

And we’re like, “Well, we want to baptize you. We want to help you obey the scriptures and be a good testimony.” They get baptized and then they leave our church. Like, wait, baptism is your testimony of joining Christ’s church, even expressing that in a local church.

Where did you go? So that’s why baptism is for our church connected with membership because you say if you get baptized, well, the scriptural pattern is you join the church. And if you’re not ready to join this church, well, we think you should get baptized wherever you’re going to join.

“If you get baptized and don’t join the church, you’re contradicting your baptism.”

So that’s why we do it that way here.

Anyways, I think that’s all the time we have for today. If you have other questions, you can let me know afterwards, either by email or talking to me. I have a list of anticipated common questions that I’ll look to go over next time. But if you have other questions that you’d like to make me aware of, either for the next lesson or for the Q&A, please do so. I appreciate your participation today.

Closing Prayer

Allow me to close in a word of prayer.

Heavenly Father, triune God, we are amazed at the gospel. As we think through again what baptism is and how it should be done and what it signifies, wow, Lord, we are amazed at what you’ve done for us, God. You have made us one with Jesus Christ. You have made us one with the whole Godhead. You have cleansed us from sin. You have delivered us through the waters of your judgment and you have given us a new overcoming spiritual life and joined us to your whole people.

These are wonderful blessings and God, we are glad as we have had opportunity to testify of them in baptism. But Lord, whether we are going to get baptized or we think back to our old baptism, these things are still true.

So God, we give you thanks. And Lord, we do long to see others baptized. Not because that itself will confer some sort of saving grace, but that will be a testimony, God, of what you’ve already done in their lives and a reminder to the whole church of how good your gospel is.

So God, as you see fit, I pray that you would provide for more conversions, more deliverances from death, Satan, and sin, more passing through the waters so that we can behold that again. But regardless of that, God, we give you praise and pray that you’ll bless the

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