There are many different ways and many different churches that

all baptize differently

But what does the Bible say?

What does Jesus teach?

How should we be baptized?

We're now going to open the word of God

and see what Jesus said about baptism

If you were to knock on the door of a dozen different churches and ask about

baptism

you could easily receive a dozen different answers

one church may say; well we baptize three times face forward

another church may say; well we practice baptism by pouring - we pour a little water on

the person

another church might say;

we practice infant baptism by sprinkling

another one may say; well our method of baptism is by immersion one time

another church may say; we practice baptism by the laying on of hands

and some may say that they use a few drops of oil

another church may tell you that they baptize with a little bit of salt

there's another church that will baptize you any way you want to be baptized

another church practices the baptism of desire

that's just the fact that you want to be baptized, that's all that's necessary

and in the USA and Hollywood, they have even baptized a person with rose petals

so you see there are many many ideas about baptism

but what does the Bible say we need to do?

we need to peel away any preconceived ideas that we have

and open our hearts and our minds and see what the word of God has to say about it

about what He says

should take place at baptism

Jesus commissioned his disciples to go and baptize in His name

and we see this all through the New Testament

Peter replied; repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness of your sins

and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

so Christ gave a command

that his disciples were to go out and they were to baptize people in His name

and when they did that then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

it continues on in Mark, and says this:

he who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not

believe will be condemned

so the Bible places great importance on it

it says that the individual who believes and is baptized will be saved

and it continues...

Philip has been preaching in Samaria

and he makes it clear

that we should be baptized

so these people heard the message

they heard what Philip had to say

and it says that as they accepted Jesus Christ they were baptized

and God has given us instructions as to how this should take place

He who believes and is baptized will be saved;

but he who does not believe will be condemned

now baptism itself won't save you

a person has to believe

it says; He who believes and is baptized will be saved

so baptism is very important

in fact Jesus spoke to Nicodemus

a Pharisee, one night, and He said these words:

Jesus answered:

Most assuredly I say to you; unless one is born of water

and the Spirit

he cannot enter into the kingdom of God

when it says; except that a person is born of water, it's referring to baptism

unless he is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of

God

God puts great, great importance on being baptized, so let's see what the

scripture says about individuals being baptized

and how that takes place

Peter puts this importance on it

There is also an anti-type which now saves us

baptism

not the removal of the filth of the flesh

but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus

Christ

so here Peter makes a comparison

in verse 20 of 1 Peter 3

it talks about the flood

it says how those people stepped out in faith

they got into the ark by faith

up until that time it had never rained

but it was through faith that God brought them over to the new world

the old world had been destroyed by the flood, and it brought them into the new one

so it's talking about when a person is baptized by faith

it moves him to a new experience with Christ

it puts great importance on the fact that you and I need to follow the Lord

in baptism

some people say

well that's fine, but how am I supposed to be baptized? is there some way, some method

that the scripture teaches concerning baptism?

people study their Bibles different ways

some people mark their Bible, some people underline them, or write in the margin

but if you underline

I want to give you some words to look at concerning baptism that show us there is

only one way

now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water

there

and they came and were baptized

now it says that John was baptizing in Aenon near Salim

because there was much water there

the picture you are looking at is the Jordan

but don't think the Jordan is that big all the time, because it's not

I used to think that the Jordan was a great huge river because of songs like

Roll Jordan, Roll

and I had this picture that it was a great big river

but there are places where you can step across the Jordan

so it's not always a big river

but John was baptizing in this place because there was plenty of water there

so baptism requires much water

the scripture tells us about the baptism of Jesus

and it's His example we should follow

when he had been baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water

and behhold the heavens were open to Him

and He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him

so it says that Jesus was baptized in the Jordan

and it says as He came up out of the Jordan

so to come up out of would mean that He had been immersed under the water

probably one of the clearest examples in all of the Bible on baptism is the

is the one found in the book of Acts concerning Philip

now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying arise and go toward the south along

the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza

this is desert

so he arose and went

and behold a man of Ethiopia

a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians

who had charge of all her treasury

and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning

and sitting in his chariot he was reading Isaiah the prophet

now this man was a believer in God

that's why he's in Jerusalem

he's there for the purpose of worshipping

and he's now on his way back home to Ethiopia

so here he is riding along in his chariot and he's reading Isaiah the prophet

and it says that whilst he's doing that

Then the Spirit said to Philip

go near and overtake this chariot

so Philip ran to him and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah and said

Do you understand what you're reading?

and he said: How can I unless someone guides me?

and he asked Phillip to come up and sit with him

so he stops the chariot and the two of them are riding along and now Philip is

going to explain to him what he's reading in Isaiah

then Philip opened his mouth

and beginning at this scripture

preached Jesus to him

now this man is reading Isaiah 51 to 53

but he doesn't fully understand what he's reading

so Philip explains the meaning of the scriptures to him

now this man believes in God

and faith takes hold

as he understands what Philip is saying

now as they went down the road they came to some water

and the eunuch said: See, here is water

what hinders me from being baptized?

then Phillip said

if you believe with all your heart, you may

and he answered and said

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

no question, he accepts Jesus in full faith

he said: I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God

and now you have one of the best examples of baptism in all the scripture

so he commanded the chariot to stand still

and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water

and he baptized him

they stopped the chariot

it doesn't say that Philip stayed on the shore

it says that both he and the eunuch got into the water

and he baptized him

now when they came up out of the water

the spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more

and he went on his way rejoicing

it says they both went down into the water and Philip baptizes him

it makes it very, very clear

the Greek word for baptize is "baptiso" which means "to be put under"

so when it says that Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him

in Greek it means to be put under

so the scripture is absolutely clear as to the manner

the way in which a person is to be baptized

it makes that very clear

what does baptism mean to you and me?

well this gives us an idea of what it means

but Jesus answered and said to him:

Permit it to be so now

for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

then he allowed Him

Jesus has come to John the baptist and said: John,

I need to be baptized

and John said

Lord I'm not even worthy to untie your shoes let alone baptize you

but Jesus said

Permit it to be so now

for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

talking about baptism

did Jesus need to be baptized?

did Jesus need to have His sins washed away?

no, he was baptized as an example

you may say: well wasn't the example of the disciples good enough?

Why did jesus need to be baptized?

why did He say to John:

John, permit it to be so now

for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness

well you see the scripture tells us clearly what baptism represents

it has a very definite meaning

in the book of Romans it has this to say about baptism:

or do you not know that as many of us

as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

so it tells us that baptism represents the death of Jesus Christ

as a person is baptized

at he's placed beneath the water

it represents his death

therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death

that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father

even so

we also should walk in newness of life

it not only represenst the death of Jesus Christ, it also represents His

burial

that's what it says, we are buried with Him

as the person is placed beneath the water it represents the burial of Jesus

Christ

it continues and says

but it also represents a resurrection

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death

certainly

we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection

so baptism represents the death

the burial and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, it also represents something

in our experience

you see when I'm baptized it represents the death to the old man of sin, that's

what it represents

that's what Paul was talking about when he said: I am crucified with Christ

nevertheless

not I, but Jesus Christ lives in me

you see it represent the death of the old man of sin, it represents that all