Baptism - The Next Step

A pop music star from the late 2000’s had a song that went off the charts for all the single ladies. And, the chorus chided the non-committal one in a relationship with, “'Cause if you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it, If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it, Don't be mad once you see that he want it, If you like it, then you shoulda put a ring on it.” And, we all know what that song is getting at: that a commitment to a long-term relationship is best demonstrated in marriage, which is what “puttin’ a ring on it” is getting at. However, the ring isn’t what automatically ensures a good relationship. The ring is just an important symbol of what the marriage represents. Unless we’re writing Hallmark movies, a ring usually points to a commitment to another person. The ring symbolizes that your heart belongs to another. 

Last week, we took some time to unpack the Gospel message. I would invite you to remember what stood out to you from your discussion and consideration of last week’s message, because drilling down to what the Gospel is and isn’t is very important work for us to do. We often assume the Gospel message, and when we do, we can easily lose the focus that knowing the Gospel clearly provides. We also invited you to respond to that message with belief. And, I hope you have trusted the good news of what Jesus has done for you. As leaders, we want to keep aligning you to this message that changes everything. 

Today, we are focusing on the issue of baptism. I’ve entitled this session “The Next Step” because we may wonder what it means to be a disciple and how to proceed. When you respond in trust to the Gospel message in Jesus, the next step is baptism. So, we must dig into what baptism involves today. Unfortunately, when an individual becomes a Christian, baptism is often ignored. And, as someone who loves, delights, and consistently goes back to the Gospel message, I see why. After all, baptism isn’t what makes you Christian. It doesn’t seem that important compared to the good news. What do you think causes us to ignore this? We would never dream of not encouraging a new believer to be in God’s Word. But we ignore this step when it comes to being a disciple. Why?

I know there was a season in our body’s history where this wasn’t emphasized. And, you may go after the low-hanging things like, well, no one agrees on baptism. But I think deeper forces are at play. What might some of those things be? Like so many other things in our Christian experience in America, this may be true, in part, because we are an individualistic society and often know very little about true community. We think of our salvation as a personal matter. We don’t see baptism as important because it’s so public. As tempting as it is to “play church, and baptize one another next time we’re at the swimming pool,” we somehow know it’s more than that. Further, most discipleship material bypasses or gives only a token nod to baptism and to the need for the local church to be central in our lives as believers. Yet, in the New Testament, baptism was considered very important. 

As we prepare to think about this today, consider this: what part does baptism play in Jesus’s command to make disciples? Why? Why do we ignore this so often in our culture? What might be the consequences of ignoring this command? Of obeying it? We want to align with Jesus’s way of making disciples, as outlined in the Great Commission. We also need to be aligned with how the early church practiced this. The way of Jesus and His apostles seems to clarify a lot. Therefore, today we intend to unpack what baptism is and press into following Him. Join me as we see 2 ways baptism grounds you as a disciple…

Read Matthew 28:16-20 (This is God’s Word; thanks be to God) 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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.”

2 ways baptism grounds you as a disciple…

Drawing from our passage, we see that making disciples involves helping all the nations come into contact with the good news. We start with the Gospel, but—again, straight from Jesus’s mouth—He doesn’t say take some time and figure out who is in and who is out. He simply says that disciples, as a first step after belief, are baptized. Believer’s baptism also seems to be the practice of the early church. Remember that passage we began with last week, where Peter took the gospel message to the Gentiles? After he proclaimed the message to Cornelius and his house, they received the Holy Spirit, just as Jewish believers had when the Gospel came to them. And, (this is Acts 10…) Then Peter declared, 47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

Evidently, Peter got the memo. Well, we know he did. He was there when Jesus ascended to heaven. And, the practice of the early church was that when someone believed the good news, they got baptized. So, baptism is an initiation practice. It’s the way we enter into something new and show its reality.

A definition may help at this point: “Baptism was a practice of immersing an individual in water. It was symbolic. It symbolized becoming a follower of a teacher or of the teaching he proclaimed. Second, it symbolized identifying with a new way of life, a new people.”

To state it somewhat differently and hopefully clearly:

1) The one getting baptized was publicly identifying with Jesus Christ and His message.

2) Identifying with a new community.

I’m speaking of this identification as a grounding today. It’s a way that you get established in the good news. You get established in the faith you're embracing. And our outline gets to 2 ways baptism grounds you as a disciple…

I. Baptism connects you to our new life in Christ.

This first grounding of baptism is fairly obvious for those of us who have been in church. The second grounding is less familiar, but still true nonetheless. So, first of all, baptism connects us to our new life in Christ. As before, baptism symbolizes becoming a follower of a teacher or their teachings. So, when Jesus invites His followers to make disciples and baptize them, they are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We intentionally baptize them in this name because God is the One who has rescued them. The Father showed us our need for the Son, which was brought to bear in us by the Holy Spirit when we believed. God saves us from where we were to the life He gives through Jesus.

And, we’re identifying with a new life in Christ. You might remember that Jesus began His earthly ministry by being baptized by John the Baptizer. Let’s listen in as one of the Gospel writers tells us about Jesus’s baptism. In Matthew 3, John is preaching in fulfillment of the prophet Isaiah. And we get a summary: 11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 13Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

When Jesus was baptized, the Father spoke, the Son obeyed, and the Spirit descended. So, we’re identifying or experiencing grounding as Jesus experienced. We’re being roped into the new life found in following Him. Romans points to that reality of being buried and raised with Christ. And, I love how baptism pictures this. We are buried with Christ in baptism as we go under the water, and as we come up out of the water, being raised to walk in newness of life is pictured. So, baptism connects you to our new life in Christ. It’s not just you Jesus has saved; there is a communion of saints you are joining, who are confessing, with this picture, that Jesus has saved them. Baptism not only connects you to our new life in Christ, but, secondly and finally…

II. Baptism connects you to your new family, the church.

This might be a new insight to some of you: baptism points not only to the new life you have in Jesus, but it also points to the new family you have in this new life, which is the church. 

One scholar, Michael Green, put it this way: “First, believers were baptized into the church. We read that on the birthday of the church, ‘those who received (Peter’s) word were baptized, and there were added that day three thousand souls’ (Acts 2:41). Unless Luke was being very impressionistic, it is clear that someone actually counted these new Christians. Their faces were recognized, their names assimilated. Somebody took an interest in them, and they were baptized into the church. They needed to undergo the rite of initiation that Jesus Himself had inaugurated. They were baptized. That is the badge of Christian belonging, and it should be conferred as soon as possible after the person is clearly committed to Christ. At least, that is what the early Christians believed. They were baptized upon profession of faith.

That’s a provocative thought, isn’t it? After all, like I said in the introduction, baptism is more than just getting wet. It’s saying something. It is confessing Jesus before a group of people. We know this is the case around the world, too. Especially in places where Christians are not the majority, people recognize baptism as a new people or a new family being chosen. Here’s Green again: “Before we leave the controversial subject of baptism, it ought to be noted that baptism is never an isolated act separated from the life of the church of God. It is the doorway into that church, and this is very evident in a Jewish or Muslim community when people are baptized. They can believe in Jesus until the cows come home, and nobody gets upset. It is when they cross the Rubicon of baptism that the insults begin to fly, and usually, the candidates are thrown out of house and home, disinherited, and a funeral is held for them. Baptism is inescapably corporate. It brings you into the Christ in whom others are engrafted. So it should not be administered without the intention of incorporation into the church of God. That is what happened at Pentecost. Those who responded to Peter’s sermon were baptized and added to the church.”

Not only does Acts 2 help us, but we’re also helped in our passage today from Jesus. Remember? Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Like I already mentioned, this is our identification with Jesus and the new life He has given us. But do you see how it’s also pointing us to a new family? We’re not baptized in the name of Jesus alone, but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The mystery of our Triune God is spotlighted to hint at community. Further, the next command is about teaching them to observe all that Jesus commanded, and surely He is with us to the end of the age. When someone is baptized, they are being placed with others to grow as a disciple in the teaching. There’s a way of life they are brought into with others. Jesus never intended for this to be just you and Him together forever. It’s you and all kinds of people (from the nations) who are growing as disciples. 

I think an illustration that might help would be the court proceedings that finalize an adoption. There’s a way of life that this child has known all their life. But with one pronouncement from a judge to finalize the process, the life of that adopted child will change, and the life of that family will change. No longer are they all by themselves. They have a new family. The family’s dynamic changes. Now, they have the back of this adopted one. Now, it’s not business as usual when they come home, but incorporating them into the family and what that means. Baptism pictures a similar reality. Baptism connects you to your new family, the church. 

In conclusion, today we’ve seen 2 ways baptism grounds you as a disciple…

I. Baptism connects you to our new life in Christ.

II. Baptism connects you to your new family, the church.

As we wrap up, let me remind us all that baptism does not save you. We enter into a relationship with our Maker, as we saw last week, by trusting what Jesus has done for us. His perfect life, death, resurrection, and reign are our hope. In Him is our salvation. Are you trusting in Him for the forgiveness of sins? Or are you trusting in an important work like baptism to prove you’re a believer? Today, trust in Jesus.

I would love to have another baptism service soon. Wouldn’t that be incredible for us to hear people confess Jesus and their connection to us as a church family? So, if you haven’t been baptized after trusting Jesus, we’d love to have a conversation about that and help you follow Jesus in this way. Of course, we’re always growing, so maybe today, you are thinking back to your baptism and wishing you had said or done something different. It’s great to grow together. Maybe share with your small group what you’re thinking (and of course, elders are here to help, too). A great application of this message would be to answer this question or two: What would you say publicly if you were to be baptized? Or if you have been baptized, considering today, what would you say? We’re all about knowing Jesus and making Him known as we walk with Him. So, let’s experience the grounding that comes through baptism so that we can be a people who glorify and enjoy God forever.