By Pastor Edwin H. Binder
A Scriptural Look at Baptism
On the Occasion of the Baptism of Emmanuel Jaden Bradbury
May 28, 2007
God Promises a Savior
TEXT: NKJ Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to
your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will
call." 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be
saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word
were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Our text comes at the end of Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit has come to the group of gathered believers, and Peter, filled
with the Holy Spirit, stepped into the streets of Jerusalem and preached.
Peter was preaching to Jews from all over the world, and many found Christ that
day. Today we consider the same promises Peter was talking about; we are
promised the gift of the Holy Spirit. We approach God with our baby
Emmanuel Jaden Bradbury with the promised hope of the gift of the Holy Spirit
and the heavenly-inheritance of Christ our Lord. None of us would be here
if we didn’t believe in the hope and power of salvation. However, since we
cannot communicate with Emmanuel, how can we be sure he knows what is happening?
Let’s review the story of the friends that brought a paralytic man to Jesus for
healing.
NKJ Mark 2:3 Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four
men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they
uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down
the bed on which the paralytic was lying. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said
to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."
The paralytic’s faith is not discussed, yet Jesus grants the paralytic man
healing because those who brought him had such strong faith. It is our
faith that brings hope and cleansing for Emmanuel. Now let us consider the
act of baptism in accordance with God’s Word.
If we are going to consider the Sacrament of Baptism, we need to begin in the
Old Testament. God created Adam and Eve, the two of them walked in the
garden Paradise without knowledge of good and evil. They walked the garden
with God, and they were God’s people. God gave Adam and Eve one command:
“DO NOT EAT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL”. Adam and Eve
could not obey that one command, and after their fall into sin at the temptation
of the devil, the perfect world of Adam and Eve became a world containing good
and evil. God threw them out of the garden and separated them from God.
There has been conflict ever since; good and evil cannot coexist in the world
without conflict. We need only consider Adam and Eve’s children, Cain and
Abel, for evidence of this truth. Some men in this world belonged to God,
and some were of the devil. Good and evil cannot coexist without conflict:
Cain killed Abel.
After Adam and Eve fell into sin, God promised a Savior.
NKJ Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between
your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His
heel."
This promise was extended through God’s servant Noah when God destroyed the
earth and the sinful people on the earth.
NKJ Genesis 6:17 "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to
destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything
that is on the earth shall die. 18 "But I will establish My covenant with you;
and you shall go into the ark -- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives
with you.
After the flood God chose Abram, and continued the promise of a Savior through
Abram.
NKJ Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From
your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I
will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you
shall be a blessing.
God Marks those who are Members of His Covenant by Circumcision
When God made His covenant with Abram, He instructed Abram to circumcise every
male member of his household (age eight days and older).
NKJ Genesis 17:10 "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you
and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be
a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 "He who is eight days old among
you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born
in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your
descendant. 13 "He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your
money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an
everlasting covenant. 14 "And the uncircumcised male child, who is not
circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his
people; he has broken My covenant."
Circumcision was an act of obedience to God. Parents circumcised their
children motivated by obedience to God, and adults submitted to circumcision as
a sign of their obedience to the commands of God. What does any of this
have to do with baptism? God made a covenant with Abraham; and God’s
people were marked by circumcision. Those not circumcised were “cut off”
or separated from God. Circumcision was the sign of God’s people in the
Old Testament: if you were circumcised, you were God’s. Today the
sign of God’s people is baptism.
NKJ 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the
unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made
alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in
prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering
waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few,
that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype
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, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and
authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
God despised the sin of the world, and He destroyed that sin by destroying
everyone on the earth except Noah and his family. Man and his relationship
with God were preserved through the faith and works of Noah. In the New
Testament, Peter’s first letter to the church tells us that the world itself was
baptized and that Noah and his family were saved. God washed away the sins
of the world by washing away the sinners. Perhaps this can help us to
understand Jesus’ words to His disciples:
NKJ Luke 12:50 "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I
am till it is accomplished!
When Jesus hung on that cross He had the sins of the world upon Him. Could
that be the baptism He speaks about in Luke? God washed away the sins of
the world with the great flood, and Jesus washed away the sins of this world
with His blood on the cross. This all makes sense when we consider the Old
Testament description of the ceremonial declaration that a man who was a leper
had been healed. (Leprosy in the Scriptures could be any of a number of skin
diseases that could infect others; some were cured, and God gave directions for
reinstating a cured leper into the camp of Israel)
NKJ Leviticus 14:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "This shall be the
law of the leper for the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the
priest. 3 "And the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall examine
him; and indeed, if the leprosy is healed in the leper, 4 "then the priest shall
command to take for him who is to be cleansed two living and clean birds, cedar
wood, scarlet, and hyssop. 5 "And the priest shall command that one of the birds
be killed in an earthen vessel over running water. 6 "As for the living bird, he
shall take it, the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and dip them and
the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water.
7 "And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the
leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose in
the open field.
When Jesus died on the cross, blood and water came from His side.
NKJ John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and
immediately blood and water came out.
Is all this a coincidence? I think not. Furthermore, I don’t think
it is a coincidence that the Holy Spirit came upon Christ in the form of a dove
during His baptism.
NKJ Matthew 3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be
baptized by him. 14 And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be
baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" 15 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. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up
immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He
saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And
suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased."
God Marks His People in the New Testament with Baptism
Jesus instituted baptism of God’s people.
NKJ Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
"teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Therefore, baptism is our New Testament equivalent to circumcision in the Old
Testament. We are baptized in obedience to God’s Word. Consider Old
Testament circumcision, the act was performed on babies at eight days old.
Parents had faith that God’s promise was true—those that were circumcised were
God’s people; those that were not circumcised were cut off from God’s people.
Circumcision was a sign of the covenant between God and man, and baptism is the
God’s covenant of grace. Paul made that clear in his discussion concerning
the relationship of husband and wife and Christ and the Church.
NKJ Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with
the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she
should be holy and without blemish.
Should We Baptize Babies?
Consider God’s Word. What does the Bible say concerning baptism of
children? The apostles baptized from the day of Pentecost (when the
believers received the Holy Spirit for the work of the Church). Hear the
Word of God at the end of Peter’s first sermon.
NKJ Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to your
children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved
from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received his word were
baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Mark wrote this in his gospel.
NKJ Mark 10:13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch
them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw
it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to
Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 "Assuredly, I
say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will
by no means enter it." 16 And He took them up in His arms, put His hands on
them, and blessed them.
In David’s Psalms he tells us that even babies are sinful from conception.
NKJ Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother
conceived me.
Jesus tells us that unless we are born of the water and the Spirit we cannot
enter God’s Kingdom.
NKJ John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born
of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 "That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
In Luke’s account of the blessing of the little children, Luke specifically
mentions the bringing of infants to Jesus for blessings.
NKJ Luke 18:15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them;
but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to
Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for
of such is the kingdom of God. 17 "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."
Therefore, we should baptize believers of all ages. Jesus is clear in His
teaching concerning God’s love for children, and the judgment of those who cause
a child to sin.
NKJ Matthew 18:2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst
of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and
become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4
"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven. 5 "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name
receives Me. 6 " But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me
to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and
he were drowned in the depth of the sea.