Mount Isa Baptist Church

“Believer’s Baptism”

The early church took Believer's Baptism seriously, and they encouraged all believers to publicly profess Jesus as Lord and Saviour of their lives and be baptised. Acts 2:8: “Repent and be baptised.”

Who can be baptised? Acts 8:36-38: And as they passed along the way, they came on some water. And the eunuch said, See, here is water, what hinders me from being baptized? 37 Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, it is lawful. 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 both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch. And he baptized him. There is one and only one prerequisite, one condition to our being baptized, and that is that we openly, unashamedly confess our faith in Jesus as the Son of God, our Savior. There is no other condition.

THE REASONS FOR BAPTISM:

1st: To follow Jesus’ example: Mark 1:9: “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth & was baptized by John in the river.” His example of humility is one that we should follow.

2nd: To obey Christ’s command: Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” He says here in this passage that we are to firstly make disciples of all nations. Second, to baptise them and then teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded.

3rd: To display outwardly what Jesus has done in our lives: Acts 18:8: “…many of the people who heard Him believed & were baptized.” Acts 2:41: “…those who received His word were baptized.”

What about the believer who has not been baptised?

If you have not been baptised with true believers’ baptism:

Ø You have not been taught properly.

Ø You aren’t willing to humble yourself

Ø It doesn’t matter to you.

Ø You refuse to be baptised because you don’t want to put your life on record that way.

Ø You are hiding in the church as an unbeliever.

Apart from those, there is no reason or category where you would fall into as to why you would not want to follow the example of the Lord Jesus and be baptised.

1. What is baptism?

It is a service in which a person is immersed into water. Two verbs in the New Testament support this idea: “Bapto,” used 4 times in the New Testament, which simply means “to immerse or dip into.” It would be used when you dip a cloth into dye so that it was totally submerged, so that it would be fully coloured by the dye. Then there is an intensified form of the word “Bapto” “Baptizo” which occurs 77 times in the New Testament, which means “to dip completely or immerse.” The noun “Baptisma” is always used in the New Testament when a person is confessing Christ, being immersed fully into water. So, when you are talking about the verb and noun, they all refer to a complete submersion in water. Baptism allows the believer in Christ to openly identify with Christ, who died, was buried, and who rose again on his behalf. It is a public testimony to say I have identified with Christ. In baptism, going in the water allows the believer in Christ to signify his own death, burial, and resurrection and say I will live for Christ. You go under the water like you were dead and buried, and you come out of the water like you were raised in newness of life. Spiritually, you died to self, were buried, and raised in new life. Now the baptism portrays symbolically what happened in your spiritual new birth.

So, how Should Christians be Baptized? By full immersion in water. Without immersion, the picture is lost. No other mode except immersion gives the picture of the death, burial, and resurrection. Immersion baptism is the single, correct, biblical method.

How is baptism a witnessing opportunity for us? According to Romans 6:1-4, our baptism is a witness to the saving work of Christ in our lives. When we see a believer walk into the water, go under the water, and come up from the water, we are seeing what Jesus did to save us. Baptism is a dramatic representation of Christ's work of atonement. Baptism is also a witness of what happens at salvation. Romans 6:3 declares that in salvation we have been “baptized into Christ Jesus” and “into His death.” Baptism symbolizes that as Christ died, was buried, and rose again, so the believer has died, has been buried to self, and now has new life in Christ Jesus. Baptism symbolizes that he or she is a new creature in Christ.

When are you ready for baptism?

The Bible teaches that as soon as you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Saviour!

Acts 2:41: “Those who believed [PREREQUISITE]…were baptized & added to the church THAT DAY – about 3000 in all.”

No reason to delay! Delay only gives Satan more time to plant seeds of doubt & fear.

Have you truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior? If not, NOW is the time!

If you have accepted Christ but have never been baptized, NOW is the time!