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Sometimes the question arises, Do I need to be re-baptized? On one hand, that sounds like a strange question; on the other, you will find there are many people who have been baptized more than once—in some cases many times. But is that ever warranted by the scriptures? In Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul writes of seven things, each of which there is one.

Ephesians 4:3-6 “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

The word baptism here simply means an immersion, an overwhelming and the word is used in reference to different types of baptism in the Bible. There was the baptism of the Holy Spirit, for example, which the apostles received on the Day of Pentecost. There was the baptism of fire, which the Jewish religious establishment received in AD 70, the destruction of Jerusalem because of their rejection of Christ. There is the baptism of suffering and so forth. But there is only one baptism commanded for men to obey and that is the one that Jesus commanded in the Great Commission; that is, baptism in water for the remission of sins. That baptism is commanded of all who believe in Christ and this is the baptism that all who have obeyed the gospel have in common. It is to only occur once and that is immediately when one believes in Christ and repents of past sins. It is in this one baptism that our sins are washed away, at which time we become children of God, born of water and of the Spirit, and we receive the washing of regeneration.

So, would there ever be a need for one who believes they have been baptized to be baptized again? If so, why? That will be our study today: should you be re-baptized?

Jesus commanded His disciples to go and teach or make disciples of all nations.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching 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.”

In the book of Acts, we read how the apostles set out to fulfill the Lord’s commission by preaching Christ, and we read where multitudes of people were baptized when they came to believe the gospel. Baptism was never treated as an unimportant incident or optional thing in the New Testament, as some seem to treat it today. Rather, it is commanded of all who would be saved. I repeat, it is a command of the Lord Jesus Christ of all who desire to be saved (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, I Peter 3:21…) I suppose the overwhelming majority of religious people, denominations, and various religious bodies practice what they call baptism in some form or for some varied purpose. In fact, it would be difficult to find someone who professes to be a Christian who would say that they simply don’t believe in baptism in some way. I would venture to say that if you consider yourself a Christian, you have been baptized at some point along the way or you underwent something that you believe was baptism at some point in your religious life.

I want to narrow this down very clearly and finely. The issue at hand is not do you believe in baptism?. I’m fairly confident that if you believe in Christ, then you believe that baptism plays some role in your life. And I will say that if you have never been baptized in water but claim to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, you should immediately know that something is wrong because baptism is a direct commandment of the Lord and His apostles. It is impossible to obey God and refuse to be baptized in water.

John 3:5 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

So, baptism plays a part in the conversion of the sinner to Christianity. We see that evidenced throughout the book of Acts. If you have not been baptized and you believe that Jesus is the Christ, and you are willing to change your life in repentance, you immediately need to be baptized into Christ without any delay. You need to be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). But usually the question is not, Do you believe in baptism? The questions are usually, What do you believe about baptism? What do you believe baptism is for? When and how were you baptized? What was the reason behind your baptism? There are many ideas and doctrines today concerning baptism. The role that it plays either in salvation or the Christian life is a subject of great debate, varying widely from church to church. But only one approach to baptism can be correct in the eyes of God because the apostle Paul said in our text that there is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). Therefore, I believe it makes a difference what we believe about baptism and why and how we practice it. One reason I believe this is because of an account that we read about in Acts 19.

Acts 19:1-3 “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.”

This was in the miraculous age of the first century when in the absence of the completed scriptures, the apostles would lay hands on the new disciples from place to place and impart the gifts of the Spirit so that through those gifts, the church could be edified and learn and preach the truth in the absence of the written New Testament as we have it today. Paul wants to know if these believers at Ephesus have received these gifts since the time of their conversion.

Their response was startling to Paul. It told Paul a great deal about where they were. They knew nothing about what had transpired on the Day of Pentecost or in the house of Cornelius, for example. They didn’t know that the Holy Spirit had come and brought the kingdom of God to earth. The immediate signal to Paul was that they had not been sufficiently taught about Christ and the fact that His kingdom had come. They were still relying on the preaching of John the Baptist and had gone no farther than that, even though what John pointed forward to had already been fulfilled.

So, Paul asks them what they were baptized for if it wasn’t in view of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit as Peter had preached back at the beginning on the Day of Pentecost. Their answer was John’s baptism. Now, John’s baptism was not inherently wrong. After all, John the Baptist was a messenger of God sent before Jesus Christ to prepare the Jewish people for the beginning of Christ’s work and the establishment of His kingdom. John’s purpose was to be the harbinger of Christ and His kingdom, to point God’s people toward this kingdom that Christ was soon to establish after His death and resurrection. You see, the nation of Israel was a spiritually dead, corrupt nation at the time that Christ came into the world. Their hearts were hard. In order for Jesus to plant the seed of the kingdom there and have anything grow from it, He had to have the hardened soil broken up, you might say. He had to have the field made ready. That was John’s job. He went through the wilderness of Judea preaching a fiery sermon in which he told people it was time for them to wake up, to repent of their sins, to return to God. You see, he was preparing them for the preaching and the work of Jesus Christ so they would be receptive to it. When the people determined to repent of their sins, they were baptized by John in view of forgiveness of sins that Christ was about to bring to the world.

There was nothing wrong with all of that. It was all according to God’s plan. That baptism was scriptural in mode; it was an immersion in water. It was even for the remission of sins in a prospective sense; that is, looking forward to Christ who would come to take away their sins. John was sent by God to preach that message and baptize for that purpose. The problem here in Acts 19 was that we’re past the ministry of John, but there were still some disciples of John, such as Apollos, who did not understand that the kingdom of Christ had now come and that the things that John’s baptism had pointed forward to had been fulfilled and had become reality. Apollos was preaching but knew only the baptism of John (Acts 18:25). These disciples of John were therefore preaching a baptism that was behind the times, you might say. It now served no valid purpose since Jesus by His authority had commanded the baptism of the Great Commission.

Well, what was Paul’s response to them?

Acts 19:4-5 “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

He didn’t say, Oh well, it’s all just a misunderstanding. It doesn’t really matter because you were baptized to obey the Lord. No, he explained to them that Christ, who John pointed forward to, had come. Then they were re-baptized, if you will. Notice that they had already been immersed in water and when they did so, they believed that they were obeying God and doing His will. But their baptism was not acceptable to God at that time. They were therefore baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, meaning by the authority or under the commission of the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles. They submitted themselves to the one baptism of the New Testament age.

Among other things, that tells me that there are cases where re-baptism is called for because the first is invalid for one reason or another. Let’s look at some reasons why a person would need to be baptized again. I hope you’ll think seriously about this in view of your past baptism.

Let me clear up a few misconceptions first. A person doesn’t need to be re-baptized because as a Christian they’ve since sinned and they want a ‘do-over’ so to speak. The Bible never teaches that. If a person has become a Christian by being baptized into Christ and he sins, which of course we will from time to time, the answer to that is to confess our sins to God and as a Christian ask God to forgive us of our sins.

1 John 1:8-9 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

We don’t have to be baptized again simply because we’ve sinned or messed up since becoming a Christian. One should not be re-baptized in order to cover an unscriptural situation. Sometimes we get ourselves into very difficult spiritual conditions or situations and people think that the way to sort it out or get it all straightened up is to be baptized again. The Bible doesn’t teach that either. One should not be re-baptized for sentimental reasons. One should not be re-baptized because they know more now than when they were baptized. All of us who are Christians have grown, hopefully exponentially, in our faith and knowledge of Christ since becoming Christians. All it takes for one to be scripturally baptized is a simple, trusting, yielding, surrendering faith in Jesus and a willingness to learn of Him, follow Him, obey Him, and grow in Him. You’re not going to have all the answers when you become a Christian and that’s not a reason to be re-baptized because all of a sudden you know more about the Bible than you did at that time.

There ARE reasons that I believe re-baptism is warranted and necessary. First of all, any person who was sprinkled or had water poured on them in place of baptism really has not been baptized at all in the eyes of God and needs to be baptized correctly, scripturally. That’s because neither sprinkling nor pouring are forms of scriptural baptism. Some denominations have replaced or substituted these in place of immersion, but these are not baptism according to the scriptures. In fact, these are not baptism according to the very definition of the word. The Greek word that has been transliterated into our English Bibles is the word baptizo, which simply means to immerse, submerge or plunge. It means to overwhelm. It never means to sprinkle. Regardless of what element may be specified or implied by the scriptures in any given context, the act of baptizing means to immerse or overwhelm a person in that substance or element.

For example, the apostles were not “sprinkled” with the Holy Spirit; they were overwhelmed or immersed in power. The same is true with water in the case of Bible baptism. It is a complete covering in water. When the Ethiopian nobleman of Acts 8 heard Philip preach Jesus to him, he immediately wanted to be baptized. He obviously knew what the word meant when Philip used it in his discourse along the road because as they passed an oasis of water, he asked Philip if he could be baptized.

Acts 8:35-39 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. 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? 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. 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. 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.”

Besides that, baptism is a form or likeness, a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:3-4 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore 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.”

Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

How would sprinkling or pouring represent those events? The answer is that they don’t and they’re not an acceptable form of baptism. Sprinkling for baptism originated after the apostolic era for the sake of the sick and dying, and later when some came to erroneously believe that babies are sinners and need baptism, it was then used as a way to supposedly baptize them. The fact of the matter is that babies are not sinners and they are not in need of being baptized. They are not accountable before God. Baptism is for those who can believe (Mark 16:16) and for those who can repent of their sins (Acts 2:38). An infant can do neither. Friend, if you were sprinkled in place of baptism—no matter what the circumstance—you need to be baptized scripturally.

Also, if you were not baptized for the forgiveness of your sins, you need to be baptized again. When the apostle Peter preached the gospel on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2, he was asked by his hearers what they needed to do in order to be forgiven and be saved. Peter had convicted them of their sins by preaching Jesus to them.

Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?”

Listen carefully now to Peter’s answer.

Acts 2:38 “Then 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.”

The overwhelming majority of preachers and denominations today DO NOT believe that baptism is for the remission of sins. They do not. And they do not baptize people in view of that purpose although the vast majority of preachers will advise baptism at some point if asked, and most will acknowledge that it is an important step to some degree. But the question is, Is baptism for the remission of sins? Peter says it is. The question is, Can my sins be washed away without calling upon Christ in baptism? Ananias says they cannot and will not.

Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Baptism is how you call on the name of the Lord and it is where the blood of Jesus washes your sins away. The question is, Can a person have a new life in Christ without being baptized? Paul said he can’t.

Romans 6:3 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore 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.”

When do we walk in newness of life? After we’re raised up together with Him in the waters of baptism. That’s what your Bible says. The question is, Can a man be “in Christ” without being baptized? Paul answers that question. He says you can’t.

Galatians 3:27 “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Verse after verse contradicts the popular, widespread views of baptism today, which means that most people are baptized for some other reason besides what the Bible teaches people should be baptized for. Most are taught that baptism is important but unessential. They are taught that it is in response to the forgiveness of sins already obtained and not FOR the remission of sins. The Bible says it is FOR the remission of sins.

Friend, if you believe that baptism is a church ordinance, you don’t really understand what the Bible teaches about baptism. It is not an ordinance of the church for Christians to keep; it is an act of submissive faith that the sinner must submit to in order to wash in the blood of Jesus Christ and to receive God’s grace, to enter into a relationship with Him and come forth to walk in a new life.

Finally, if you were baptized to join a denomination, you need to be re-baptized. The Bible teaches that baptism identifies us with the body of Jesus Christ…

1 Corinthians 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…”

…But not in the way that most people think. You see, in baptism, we are forgiven of our sins and are therefore saved through faith in Jesus Christ. The result of that is that we are considered in the eyes of God and considered by the Lord to be one of His, which means to be part of His church. We become a part of His family, a member of His kingdom, His church. We have been called out of sin and added to the assembly of believers by God Himself. Our names have been written in the Lamb’s book of life and that makes us citizens of His kingdom, members of His church.

What most denominations teach today is that baptism is merely an ordinance of the church to gain membership in their particular denomination. They think a person is saved well before they are ever baptized into their denomination. That’s not the sequence according to Acts 2 and other passages as well. In many cases today when a person believes he is saved, a church will vote and decide whether or not to receive him into their membership by the rite of baptism. But the Bible teaches nothing of the sort. It is strange to me that men think it’s alright to put baptism at the door of their denomination, but they won’t allow Jesus Christ to put baptism at the door to His church.

Friend, baptism is not an ordinance of the church for those who are already saved merely to allow membership into some denomination. It’s not up to you, me, or anyone else to allow or disallow you a membership in the body of Christ. Christ does the adding and subtracting. He adds those who are saved at the very moment they are saved. The very fact that they have been saved makes them a part of the church and that is the connection that baptism has to membership in the church. When a man or woman is baptized for the remission of sins, the Lord then adds him/her to the church that you read about in the Bible (Acts 2:41,47).

If your baptism was AFTER you thought you were saved, and it was to enter a denomination of your choice, you didn’t understand what baptism if FOR. I would implore you today to investigate this. If you’ve not been baptized scripturally, you need to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

 

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Baptism is an important, yet often neglected subject in the New Testament. The Bible has much to say about baptism, and Jesus made it one of the conditions of salvation by grace through faith along with belief and repentance (Mark 16:16). We mention baptism a lot on this program because the Bible emphasizes it more than many preachers do today and because of the significance that baptism has in the gospel plan of salvation. But for all we can say about baptism and the role that it plays in the heart and life of the believer, there are some misconceptions about what baptism can accomplish. Because of that, I want to spend some time today talking about what baptism will NOT do.

Romans 6 is one of the most exhaustive passages in the New Testament dealing with baptism and the role it plays in our conversion to Christ. We’ll take our text for today’s study from this chapter.

Romans 6:3-5 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:”

Paul says that baptism unites us with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection from the grave. The result is that we can rise from the waters of baptism through the grace of God to walk in newness of life. We’ll briefly discuss that concept today, but I want to spend the majority of our time talking about misconceptions of baptism.

One of the plainest commandments in the New Testament is to be baptized, yet it’s one of the most misunderstood and overlooked subjects in the New Testament. In the book of Acts, every person who came to believe and accept the gospel was immediately baptized in response. It was part of the conversion process. It did not happen months after the fact, it was not an option, nor was it merely a command for Christians to observe at some point in their Christian life. It accompanied and was part of the process of being converted to Christ and being saved. When Jesus commissioned the twelve apostles to go to the entire world and preach the gospel to every person, He told them what to preach:

Mark 16:15-16 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Now, I often hear preachers go to great lengths to explain away those plain words of Christ. But to deny that baptism has anything whatsoever to do with a person’s salvation is to deny what Jesus said and what His apostles said on other occasions as well. Baptism is commanded of each and every person who believes on Christ and repents of sin. When Peter told those who heard him preach on the Day of Pentecost what to do to be saved, he said this:

Acts 2: 38 “…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…”

That word remission means forgiveness. What could be more easily and emphatically stated? Peter said that in order for every person to receive the forgiveness of their sins, they must repent of their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. So, baptism is every bit as essential to salvation as repentance is. If a man can be saved without being baptized according to the Lord’s instructions, then he can also be saved without repenting or turning from sins. It’s just a plain and simple as that.

The Bible lists several things that baptism accomplishes in the heart and life of the penitent believer. For example, we are taught in Galatians 3 that baptism puts one into Christ or into a saving relationship with Him.

Galatians 3:26-27 “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

Now, they weren’t in Christ before they were baptized. When someone says they’re in Christ before they’ve been baptized, they are disagreeing with the apostle Paul. He says that you are baptized into Christ. Peter tells us that baptism is the step necessary to obtaining a good conscience. In speaking of the great flood and how it separated Noah from the sin of the antediluvian age, he says that baptism is the antitype or likeness of that in the New Testament.

1 Peter 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:”

In other words, baptism is not merely a ceremonial washing of some kind—like, for example, the ritual washings of the Old Testament. Baptism is not about washing the outside of the body. Rather, its significance is found in what it does to the inside of a man through faith. Baptism is the answer to the desire for a clean conscience before God. It is the appeal to God for a clean conscience. The resurrection of Christ means that the penitent believer can be raised to a new life, having been cleansed of his former sins in baptism. That certainly agrees with what Ananias told Saul to do. Immediately upon coming to Saul after Saul had met Jesus on the road to Damascus, Ananias told him:

Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

Now, if you don’t have to be baptized to be saved, you can be saved without having your sins washed away. Nobody is suggesting that the water in baptism is actually washing away sins as though they were on the outside of the body. There is no magical or mystical power in the waters of baptism. But the efficacy of baptism is found in the blood of Jesus. We are redeemed, we are saved through His blood which was shed because of His grace. However, we are redeemed by His blood and cleansed by His word when—not before, but when we, in faith, submit to the condition of baptism, which the Lord commanded.

There is much that can be said about baptism and its place in God’s plan of salvation, but for all of that that can be said positively about baptism, there are also several things that baptism cannot and will not do. Let’s look at some of those things in the remainder of our time together.

First, I want to stress that baptism cannot save a person who does not believe and will not repent. Baptism is worthless if it is not accompanied by, motivated by, and submitted to in faith. The act of baptism is worthless if it is not accompanied by a resolve to turn away from sin and turn to Christ. Baptism is not some magical act that mysteriously removes sins. We are regenerated at the time of baptism, but it is not the water of baptism that somehow magically or mysteriously causes that regeneration. That regeneration comes from faith in Christ at the time of or in the act of baptism, which is obedience to His word. It is a necessary and logical step of obedience that can only follow one placing their faith in the Lord and deciding to turn away from their sins in repentance.

While the Bible teaches that a person cannot be saved without baptism, it also teaches that a person cannot be saved without believing in Jesus and turning from past sins (John 8:24, Luke 13:3). Sometimes people try to turn the Lord’s words against themselves in Mark 16:16. Let’s look at that verse again.

Mark 16:16 “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…these two things are joined together by the word and. Then He says, but he that believeth not shall be damned. Some like to say that since Jesus did not say he that believeth not and is not baptized shall be damned, that means that baptism must not be necessary for salvation. Friends, that is not what Jesus is saying at all. He is showing the importance of faith—not the insignificance of baptism. You see, faith must always come before baptism. Otherwise, baptism avails nothing. Nobody is suggesting that baptism accomplishes something aside and apart from faith. So, Jesus is simply placing faith in the proper sequence. It should be a given that if a man does not believe, then he will have no desire to be baptized. Therefore, it was unnecessary to mention baptism in the negative reference. One man put it this way regarding the unbeliever and baptism: he wouldn’t if he could, couldn’t if he would, and it wouldn’t do him any good if he did.

So, belief and baptism are inextricably tied together. That’s one reason why infant baptism is unscriptural and invalid. Babies don’t have the capacity to believe anything, much less that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, so they are not candidates for baptism. Neither is any grown person who does not believe. Being dunked in water will not magically save anyone. But when scriptural baptism is coupled with faith, it’s a beautiful thing and it results in God forgiving that person’s sins and it places them into Christ—all through that person’s faith in Him.

Secondly, baptism does not give a person a license to sin. In fact, quite the contrary. That may seem like a rather obvious thing and you might think it absurd to even suggest that, but many people never stop to think about the fact that baptism is to mark a change of life. If a man thinks that being baptized will simply clean the slate of the past and let him go on living a sinful life, and that God will suddenly look at his sin differently because he’s been baptized, that man is woefully deceived. Baptism, by its very design and nature, demands repentance of the person who is baptized. Remember what Paul said:

Romans 6:4-6 “Therefore 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

So, in baptism, a man is determining that he will cease sinning and come into a new relationship with the Lord and the former things are left behind. The reason that was so significant for Paul to point out was because there were those who were misunderstanding Paul’s preaching on grace. The Roman letter is a textbook on salvation by grace through faith and what that means. Paul proves that despite the sin of man, God manifested His grace to fallen man and the result is that through faith in Christ, who came to save man, we can obtain this righteousness and salvation that God in His grace offered. But the result of Paul arguing this was that some argued in turn that if our sin caused the grace of God to be shown, why not just continue in sin so that more grace could abound?

That sounds absurd to us, doesn’t it? Yet, we’ve sort of changed the argument today to suggest that God’s grace simply covers everything and that once we’re saved…well, we’re all just sinners anyway, so a person is saved whether he changes his life or not. On a practical level, that’s just how some people treat baptism. There are those who obey the Lord in baptism, but they don’t see the need to make any changes in their lives. Friend, if you’re not born again and a changed life is not the result, then baptism won’t do you any good whatsoever.

Romans 6:1-4 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore 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.”

So, baptism will not save someone who does not repent, and it certainly does not give us a license to go on in sin. Rather, it calls us to give up our sin and live a new and sanctified life. If a man has been a thief, baptism needs to mark a change and he must stop stealing if baptism is to avail him anything. If a man is a philanderer or fornicator, he can be forgiven of every sin he has ever committed, but he must leave his sin behind. If it was wrong before he was baptized, it is just as wrong after he’s baptized.

Thirdly, baptism will not remove the consequences of sin. I’m afraid some people might get that idea. You know, we mess up our lives through sinful living, and then some hope that baptism will turn back the hands of the clock and take away scars of the past and all of the problems that their sins caused. We need to be careful that we don’t confuse the guilt of sin with the consequence of sin. The only consequence of sin that obedience to the gospel removes in this life is the spiritual penalty of death and eternal doom. It removes the penalty of sin and the power of sin. The blood of Jesus can remove any and every sin, but it doesn’t remove the consequences of sin that we reap in this life through the choices that we’ve made.

The wonderful thing about baptism is that we can rise up out of that watery grave a new creature and the guilt of every sin we have ever committed is gone forever. We are a new creature in Christ. But that doesn’t mean that earthly consequences do not remain. The Bible teaches that the way of transgressors is hard (Proverbs 13:15). That’s because sin bears bitter fruit. There is no way around the fact that there is a heavy price to pay for sin in this life.

Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Paul didn’t say he might reap or he could reap or it’s likely he’ll reap—but that he shall reap as he sows. That means it’s a sure thing. God’s law of the harvest is immutable: the seed of sin planted in the garden of life invariably reaps a harvest of bitter fruit. Baptism doesn’t change that. Many the forgiven Christian is living with the scars of a former sinful life. The longer they lived in sin and the deeper in sin they went, the worse those scars are. Those scars take many forms, but they’re there nonetheless and baptism does not remove them.

If you’re looking at baptism as a way to get you out of trouble with the law or to get rid of any evidence of a sinful life, you’ve misunderstood the purpose of baptism. But here’s the good news: despite the price tag that must be paid as a natural consequence of sin, the new beginning that salvation affords will turn the tears of sin and sorrow into pearls of wisdom, joy and gratitude that come with the knowledge of how great our sins were and how even greater the grace of God is. When David was forgiven of his awful sin, he said, “Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee” (Psalm 51:13). Sin will leave its consequences whether you are saved or not, so why not find forgiveness and let the life of the past be a stepping stone to a life of humble service and righteousness? God’s grace is sufficient even as we struggle with the thorns that sin has left behind in our earthly lives.

Fourthly, baptism will not relieve a man of further responsibility to God. I have baptized people, as other preachers have, for whom I had great hopes concerning what they might become in the Lord’s church, but not knowing their hearts because they never truly yielded their lives to the Lord in the process. As Jesus one time said, they only endured for a little while then fell away (Luke 8:13). They went back to the world, in other words. Baptism marks a lifelong commitment to Christ and it’s only the beginning of a person’s responsibilities to Christ and His church. Some people feel very good about themselves because they go down and get themselves baptized, and they feel they’ve just settled the account with God and that’s all there is to it. But that’s not all there is to it. Baptism is the beginning, the pivotal point.

Colossians 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”

When do we rise with Christ? We’ve already seen that it’s in baptism (Romans 6:3-5).

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

You see, Christianity is not just a profession to be made; it’s a life to be lived. So much so that Jesus admonished us to count the cost before becoming His disciple. It is not an easy road and it certainly is not something that just consists of being baptized. Baptism marks the beginning of a new life in and for Jesus Christ and our lives belong to Him and not ourselves from that moment forward. Baptism does not relieve anyone of any further responsibility to the Lord. If you’re considering obeying the Lord in baptism, I hope that you will count the cost and understand that you are committing your whole being to the Lord for the rest of your life. That’s a wonderful thing to do. That’s the best investment of your life, your heart, your soul, your time, your talents and your treasure that you will ever make, I promise you that. But be advised that baptism is a commitment to the Lord.

Finally, I want to say that baptism will not earn anyone their salvation. Despite the fact that baptism is a condition to salvation, it is not a meritorious work. Man cannot boast in baptism. A man earns nothing in complying with the Lord’s command to be baptized. Salvation is because of, and thus by, God’s grace through obedient faith.

Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”

The Father sent Jesus to the cross because He loves us and He was motivated by that fact alone. Now, we owe our salvation to Him and ALL to Him. He paid it ALL. Only Him and only His blood were able to pay the debt that no one nor anyone else’s blood was able to pay. God expects us to place our unconditional faith in His Son in order to be saved, and a part of that faith is following Christ in baptism for the remission of our sins. Such is not a work of merit, but a work of faith, a response of faith.

Think about it this way: in baptism, a man isn’t doing anything. He’s merely yielding and submitting to something that Christ asked him to do. I like the way Paul put it:

Colossians 2:12 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”

You see, God does the work in baptism. Baptism is the way in which we put our faith in Christ to save us. We’re not placing our faith in ourselves, as some allege; we’re placing our faith in Christ and His power to save in baptism. Have you been baptized into Christ for the remission of sins? If not, you need to be, and we’d be glad to help you take that great step today.

 

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