BIBICAL BAPTISM
Acts 8:26-40
26 And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.
Intro:
What does the letters in Baptism stand for?
1. The B stands for Believer. You only get baptized if you are a believer of Christ and accept Him as the Son of God!
2. The A stands for Atonement. You have been atoned by the blood. You are at one with God.
3. The P stands for Purification. Your sins have been washed away, and you are clean on the inside.
4. The T stands for Testimony. You have a testimony that Christ has saved you.
5. The I stands for Illuminating. You have had the light of Christ to shine in your life through salvation.
6. The S stands for Submerged. You have been submerged in the blood of Christ, and in baptism you will show an outward demonstration of what has happen inwardly by being submerged in the water.
7. The M stands for Meaningful. Your baptism should mean something to you. It is not a joke. It is not for show. Instead, it is magnificent, majestic, and grips your inner soul with the Spirit because it means so much to you what the Lord has done for you!
Now let’s look at this story and understand Biblical Baptism.
Body - Biblical Baptism
I. THE PREREQUISITE OF BAPTISM
A. Tune In the Message!
Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
1. The Eunich Read the Pages
2. The Eunich Requested the Preaching
B. Trust In the Messiah
Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
1. He put his trust in the Scriptures and believed!
2. He put his trust in the Savior and believed!
** Before you can be baptized, you must have tuned in the message and trusted the Savior!
II. THE PLAN OF BAPTISM
Acts 8:38 -39 38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
A. Notice the Involvement
1. The Clergyman - Every baptism in the Bible involved God’s man doing the baptism. We do not baptize ourselves, nor by just members of the church. God set up baptism to be administered by God’s man.
2. The Converted - Those who have been converted should follow Christ in baptism.
B. Notice the Immersion
1. He went Under (Under the blood)
2. He went Up (Everything has changed.)
III. THE PURPOSE OF BAPTISM
A. The Command of the Christ
Matt. 28:18-20 18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
1. The Lord tells us to Believe
2. The Lord tells us to Baptize
B. The Command of the Church
Acts 2:38
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 10:47-48 47Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
C. The Command of the Conscience
1 Pet 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
**Baptism does not clean our crimes (our sins).
**Baptism does clear our conscience. When we follow the Lord in baptism (those who are able and can), we know we have done exactly what Christ, the Church, and our Conscience has told us to do.
IV. THE PICTURE OF BAPTISM
1 Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
It is an outward expression of an inward experience.
A. Notice the Death (The death of the old man)
Rom. 6:1-3
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
1. The old wickedness of life is dead.
(Salvation buries your old wicked life.)
2. The old ways of living is dead.
(Salvation buries your old ways of living.)
3. The old worldliness of loves is dead.
(Salvation buries your old worldly loves.)
B. Notice the Deliverance
Rom. 6:4-5
4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Baptism shows the world . . .
1. I’m a Changed Person
2. I’m a Christian Person
3. I’m Christ’s Person
Close
1. Way too many people have been herded through the baptistery and the creeks without ever accepting Christ as their Savior.
2. Only the Lord and you know if your baptism represented something factual (meaning it is a fact that you have been saved), or something false.
3. When you got baptized, did you have something to rejoice about after the baptism like the Eunuch did? Or, was your baptism representing a false claim?
4. You can go to heaven without a baptistery baptism, but you cannot go to heaven without the blood baptism!
5. Make sure you have been baptized in the blood of Jesus and your sins are washed away!
