Lesson Series
10 Good Reasons to be Baptized
Series: 10 Good Reasons...10 Good Reasons To Be Baptized
1. Because God says baptism saves us from eternal destruction.
Today you will hear countless voices in the denominational world, teaching baptism as the first thing a person should do after they are saved. Yet this is exactly opposite of the clear wording that surrounds the commands to be baptized—commands that place salvation, remission of sins, forgiveness, and sins being washed away after the act of baptism and not before it.
- Mark 16:16: Salvation is placed after baptism, not before it.
- Acts 2:38: Forgiveness or remission of sins is placed after baptism, not before it.
- Acts 22:16: Having one’s sins washed away is placed after baptism, not before it.
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Mark 16:16 |
Faith and Baptism |
Saved |
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Acts 2:38 |
Repentance and Baptism |
Remission of Sins |
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Acts 22:16 |
Baptism |
Sins Washed Away |
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Acts 2:41,47 |
Baptism |
Added to the Church |
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Romans 6:3-5 |
Baptism |
Walking in Newness of Life |
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Galatians 3:26-27 |
Faith and Baptism |
Being a child of God |
2. Because of the essentiality God places upon baptism.
In Ephesians 4:4-6 we find such assertive statements as, “There is one body”, “one Spirit”, “one hope”, “one Lord”, “one faith” and “one God”. All these, the Holy Spirit, our hope, our Lord, our faith, our God are obviously and absolutely essential, yet in the mix we also find another essential: “one baptism”.
3. Because God says faith in Jesus is not enough.
Certainly faith in Jesus is absolutely essential if one is going to be saved (John 3:16). Yet faith that moves no farther than just a mental conviction never saved anyone, or as the apostle James put it, "...man is justified by works and not by faith alone" (2:19,24). Men who clearly believed in Jesus but did not confess Him (John 12:42-43) were not saved. The same would be true of people who believe in Jesus but refuse to repent (Acts 17:30), or refuse to be baptized (Luke 7:30). To put it another way, faith without baptism is just as meaningless as baptism without faith.
4. Because God shows us that sincerity and prayer are not enough.
In Acts chapter 9 Saul of Tarsus sees Jesus (Acts 9:5) and then spends a period of time praying (9:11) obviously being reflective, convicted and sorrowful (9:9). Yet when Ananias arrives to share with Saul "what he MUST do" (Acts 9:6), Saul had not already been saved even after his sincere repentance, having faith and praying, for Ananias says Paul still had sins that needed to be removed, “And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16).
5. Because baptism is the natural response of a honest heart who has heard Jesus preached.
We see this by comparing what Paul preaches in Acts 8:35 with what the Eunuch says in response in Acts 8:36: "35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” In the first verse Philip preached Jesus to a man and in the next verse the same man is eagerly wanting to be baptized. How could anyone then, really "preach Jesus" to a person unless he or she has shared the truth that God says we need to be baptized to be saved. Jesus Himself plainly taught such in Mark 16:16.
6. Because baptism is found consistently in the Biblical cases of conversion.
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Mark 16:16 |
Hearing/Faith |
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Baptism |
Salvation |
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Acts 2:38 |
Hearing/Faith |
Repentance |
Baptism |
Remission of Sins |
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Acts 8:12 |
Hearing/Faith |
|
Baptism |
|
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Acts 8:36-38 |
Hearing/Faith |
Confession |
Baptism |
Rejoicing |
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Acts 9 |
Faith |
Repentance |
Baptism |
Wash away sin |
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Acts 10 |
Faith |
|
Baptism |
|
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Acts 16:15 |
Hearing/Faith |
|
Baptism |
Faithful |
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Acts 16:30-34 |
Hearing/Faith |
|
Baptism |
Having |
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Acts 18:8 |
Hearing/Faith |
|
Baptism |
|
7. Because of the obvious urgency associated with baptism.
- Peter urged the people on Pentecost—and those convicted by his message were baptized that day: Acts 2:40-41
- The Eunuch was immediately baptized right after Phillip taught him about Jesus: Acts 8:36-38
- Ananias considered a three day delay to be much too long.
- Cornelius was immediately baptized.
- So was the Jailor: Acts 16:33
8. Because baptism is what God uses to unite us with our Savior.
Want to have a personal relationship with Jesus? What could be more personal than the language God associates with the experience of baptism. In Romans 6 Paul says that we are baptized into “His death”, are buried with Him in that baptism and are then raised with Him (Romans 6:3-5). There is the "spiritual experience" that unites us as one with our Savior. (To argue that one is saved prior to baptism does not fit with this or any other passages, for why would one need to be buried with Him if one was, by faith alone, already spiritually alive and walking in newness of life? In Romans chapter 6, walking in newness of life is placed only after baptism).
9. Because baptism is essential to being born again and entering the Kingdom of God.
When Jesus spoke of the absolute need of being born again, He mentioned being born of water (John 3:5). When the Eunuch heard about Jesus, he connected being saved with the element of water (Acts 8:36), and Peter commanded Cornelius to be baptized in water (Acts 10:48). Near the very end of the New Testament Peter spoke of being born again by the word of God (1 Peter 1:23-25) and then tied our salvation to the water associated with baptism (1 Peter 3:21).
10. Because Jesus is Lord and is entirely worthy of our love and trust.
If one really believes that Jesus is Lord, there should be no problem in accepting the Lord’s clear statement, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved”. (Mark 16:16). If one really believes that Jesus is Lord, there should be no problem in accepting Peter’s statement, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). If we really want a personal relationship with Jesus then it does not get any more personal than simply and joyfully accepting what He taught, for that is the evidence He Himself has chosen to show how much we love and trust Him (John 14:15).
Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.net
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net
