1 Corinthians  1_11-17      Why Baptize?

Rev. David Holwick

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

November 10, 2002

Questions People Ask series



WHY BAPTIZE?


1 Corinthians 1:11-17






My brothers, some from Chloes household have informed for me that there are quarrels among you.  What I mean is this: One of you says, I follow Paul; another, I follow Apollos; another, I follow Cephas [that is, Peter]; still another, I follow Christ.  Is Christ divided?  Was Paul crucified for you?  Were you baptized into the name of Paul?  I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except for Crispus and Gaius, so that no one can say you were baptized into my name.  (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I dont remember if I baptized anyone else.)  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel -- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

(1 Corinthians 1:11-17, NIV)


Listen ... do you hear that gurgling sound?  That gurgling means we are a compassionate Baptist church.  Its not really for our church, its for the Congregationalists.  They built a beautiful new church in Chester but they neglected one thing, a baptistery.  And the reason is that Congregationalists baptize babies.  It turns out that Kevin Fiedler, their pastor, went to my seminary and so he knows that Baptists are right.  And so they decided to have a believers baptism by immersion in our church.  That gurgling sound is the heater which is put in there so when they step in its not 32 degrees Fahrenheit [i.e., freezing].  We are a loving Baptist church.


Baptism is something that many people will associate with us, for an obvious reason -- thats where we derived our name.  We are Baptist.  Theres a lot of humor attached with baptism, perhaps because its a rather dramatic event and a lot of things can go wrong with it.  But it is distinctive for us as it was distinctive for Jesus Christ himself.  As many of you know, he had a cousin 2,000 years ago.  His cousins name was John, better known as John the Baptist, and John started something unique, or at least partially unique.


The Jews at that period did have a baptism service of sorts.  When a dirty pagan wanted to become a Jew they had to wash off all that dirty crud from their former life, so they were baptized.  But John came along and he said, You know what?  In Gods eyes, every single one of you is dirty.  I dont care if youve been a Jew all your life.  You need to be washed.  So he began something that Jesus continued, that baptism is for everyone who says they believe.  You cant just be born (in a human way) into Gods family.  You have to make a decision about it.  And when you make that decision, you show it by being identified with him through that ceremony. 


Baptism has been done to a lot of people down through the years.  Is baptism something you should consider?  It can certainly be a divisive issue.  For many Christians, its required for membership in the church and many other functions.


This week I took my bride on a date night, and we went to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I can tell some of you have seen it as well.  There is one part of this movie that really got my interest.  A young American man wants to marry this good Greek girl, and all good Greek girls go to the Greek Orthodox Church and want to get married there.  The premise of the whole movie is they must get married or her life will be an empty loveless tragedy.


Well, she finds her handsome hunk but he is a Plain Jane Protestant, not even an active Protestant, and her family is heartbroken.  He cant be married in their church because he isnt a member of their church.  So, he submits to their baptism.  They have a little kiddie pool that they put in this beautiful sanctuary, and he kneels in it, and he is wearing what looks like swimming trunks, and they pour water on him and it appears they do a three-fold baptism in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And its only the family watching this, and one of them turns to the other and says, Can you believe the garbage hes putting up with?  Its obvious hes only getting baptized for one reason.  He loves this girl.  Hes not professing any faith in anything.  Its like, if she wants it, Ill do it, so she can have her big fat Greek wedding.  Many people think that we kind of have that attitude.  You know, youve got to do it our way or its the highway.  You want one of our girls?  Well, youve got to get dunked.


Even back in Corinth, baptism divided the church.  As a matter of fact, Paul emphasized how few people he baptized.  The issue wasnt really baptism as much as it was the divisive party spirit that was engendered by that.  But baptism was certainly an issue.  And its still an issue that divides denominations.  As many of you are aware, in the Baptist church, we baptize by immersion.  You give your testimony, and you are thrust under the water.  Other denominations baptize little babies.  Some of you have done it both ways.  How many of you were baptized as little babies?  I see a lot of hands going up.  (Me too.)


Some of you, youve only been baptized as baby.  Youve never gone through the Baptist way of doing it.  Well, in our church, well accept people that have been baptized in other denominations.  But if youre only baptized as a baby but you can give a testimony of a genuine born-again experience through faith in Jesus, you are counted on the membership roll as sort of a half-Baptist, what we call an Associate Member.  So we put this stigma on you that lasts for the rest of your life.  You are marked as a substandard Baptist.


You know, there are some Baptist churches which will only accept a baptism done in another Baptist church.  There are others that will only accept a baptism done in their particular church.  So, if you were a fully baptized member of a different Baptist church, that aint good enough.  Youve got to do it our way, by me.  Its gotten to a point that some churches like the Salvation Army dont practice baptism at all.  (You may not realize that the Salivation Army is not just a good little clothing center.  Its actually a church with regular church services.  They preach the gospel but they dont do communion, and they dont do baptism because they feel it divides people.  And they dont want to do anything that pushes anyone away.  So, they just eliminate it all together.)


I know even within our church, there have been issues raised by this and thats why Im bringing this up in this sermon series.  Why do we do baptism the way we do?  Why dont we recognize the way other people do it?   And one common objection that comes up is that if I am baptized in a Baptist church, in effect Im repudiating my family.  I was brought up in a good Catholic family.  They were loving.  They believed in Jesus.  They took me to church every week.  But then youre telling me to go say to them, hey mom and dad, I spit in your face.  Im rejecting all that.  Im going to do it this way.  I am exaggerating, of course, but you get the idea.  Yet there are people in this church who told their parents that they were going to be baptized in a Baptist church and there was anger.  The parents didnt attend the ceremony because they saw it as a rejection.


We have other issues.  If you want to get baptized in a Baptist church, youve got to talk to a whole bunch of deacons.  Who are they to judge your life?  What probing questions are they going to ask?  There is often fear and trepidation on the part of the candidates.  The truth is, our deacons and deaconesses are wimps.  I mean they just fall all over themselves wanting to accept you.  Theres really only one issue that they want to determine: Have you genuinely accepted Jesus as your Savior?  Are you sincere as a Christian?  They dont try to see if youve reached 90% in your obedience and holiness.  Theyre not going to test you on deep theological questions.  Its not really that much of an ordeal but it causes consternation in candidates because they have to tell their story to a whole group of people, and then they are sent out of the room while the deacon board hashes out what they are going to do with you.  People dont like that.


And then to top it off is how we do the baptism itself.  You have to stand in that water and tell the world your deepest personal spiritual experiences [our church asks baptism candidates to give their personal testimony as they stand in the water].  And I know some people think, What if I choke up?  What if I freeze up and no words come out of my mouth?  What if I give my testimony and people rise up and say thats not good enough?  I dont want to go through with that.  Why should I have to go through with that?


Well, certainly one thing we make clear in our tradition is that baptism is not going to get you to heaven.  If you are not baptized but you believe in Jesus, you have all the benefits of heaven that any other Christian has, because the requirement for heaven is very simple in the Bible: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.  Its Gods gift to you.  Its grace.  Jesus says, I have done it.  You just need to accept it.  And that of course is the other side of the coin.  Jesus died on the cross for our sins and response is to believe in him and to repent -- and that makes you a Christian.


A lot of people say you have to be religious and you cant do all the sinful stuff.  Well of course youre not supposed to do sinful things but none of us will ever be perfect.  We will always need Gods grace.  Even the good things we do will not qualify us for heaven.  Righteous acts are our way of saying thank you to God.  Its gratitude.  Its not our entry fee to get in.


Baptism is not required for heaven.  The classic example is the thief on the cross.  One of the guys that was crucified alongside Jesus, he came to his senses.  I think initially he must have been cursing Jesus as the other thief was doing.  But then he said, Wait a minute.  We deserve to be here, he doesnt.  Jesus, will you remember me when you come into your kingdom?  What did Jesus say to him?  Today, you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).  That thief had no opportunity to be baptized and yet he was saved.


Baptism is not required for salvation.  And I would say church membership is not required to be a Christian.  So, the issue naturally arises, why should we ask for more?  Should salivation be the only thing required?  In some churches thats exactly the situation.  They dont have any demand for baptism and some dont even have membership itself anymore.  They just want to know that youre saved.  Now as Baptists we understand salivation is critical, salvation is where you start -- but thats not the totality of your Christian life.  When you become a Christian you start living a life of obedience.  And among the main commands that Jesus has for us is baptism.  It says in the end of Gospel of Matthew in Chapter 28, Go and make disciples of all nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  And thats why we and really just about every other Christian group has been practicing baptism for 2,000 years, simply because Jesus tells us to do it.  It doesnt get you into heaven, doesnt necessarily make you a better Christian, but we do it because Jesus wants us to do it.


In the book of Acts there are many instances of baptism.  In fact every new group that comes into the church, it emphasizes that they received the Holy Spirit and then they are baptized in water.  Paul, himself, is baptized three days after he was struck down on the road to Damascus.  It took a few days to really congeal in his mind whether or not to be Christian, but when he made that decision, he was baptized.  It is interesting that in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, he downplays baptism.  He says Im not called to baptize.  Hes not saying its a bad thing to do, but he is emphasizing that preaching the gospel must be the real focus.  Some leaders in Corinth were using baptism to pull people into their own little clique.  It was a personal power play.  Paul says that is all wrong.  Christians have always realized its not who baptizes you that matters but the name youre baptized into.  So, if I baptize you and you find out later that Im just a total hypocrite and a jerk, it doesnt affect your baptism one bit because Jesus is the one who made your baptism worth something.


Now what happens at baptism?  This is where there are numerous interpretations among Christian groups.  Some groups believe that baptism essentially makes you into a Christian.  Even if you are a baby the spiritual grace that is imparted through baptism makes you a Christian; the water is almost magical in that regard.  Other groups, which we belong to, believes baptism is really like a special kind of skit.  We are dramatically acting out something that describe what God is doing inside of us.  If you want to use the big theological words, its the difference between a sacrament and an ordinance.  A sacrament is a ceremony that imparts holiness.  Its like the water itself has special power.  An ordinance is a ceremony, mandated by Jesus, that portrays a spiritual event but does not produce the inner reality; only our faith and Gods power brings that about.  Communion is the same way.   We dont believe the bread and juice have any power in and of themselves.  They dont make you holy, but they remind us of the salvation Jesus gave his life to procure for us.  Baptism does the same thing.  It cannot produce that reality if that reality is not first inside of you.


Baptism is more than a rite of passage.  For early Christians, baptism was always dramatic.  Many people had not heard of Jesus before and the evangelists proclaimed the power of his words and deeds.  People heard this, realized this Jesus could save them from their sin, and professed their faith in him.  When they were baptized, many in the town would be looking on.  You were joining a dynamic movement of people.  Baptism was a bold decision back then.


Now, we come to our day.  Many of us are brought up in Christian families.  We go to church our whole lives.  We kind of ease into the faith or may be just never ease out of it.  And so its just part of life.  As a matter of fact, even with Baptist churches, you can get to that point where youre in the 7th or 8th grade and the pastor said were going to have a class on baptism.  You go to the class.  You followed the herd into the baptistery, and it is done to you.  It is a ho-hum experience rather than earth-shattering.


Some churches preferred to make baptism a mass event.  A little while back there was Pentecostal group called The United House of Prayer for All People.  They claimed to have 3.5 million members.  They were having a big church conference and to make it special they gathered 2,000 candidates for baptism in the parking lot of a church in Charlotte, North Carolina.  They turned a fire hose on them.  It was hooked to a hydrant and was turned to a fine mist so it didnt hurt people.  There were firemen there overlooking the whole thing, and they baptized them all just in one big swat.  Just like that.  I know theres people in this church that would prefer to be baptized like that.  You just hide in the crowd, get soaking wet and its done.


But one of the things that we stress in our church is that conversion is a serious matter.  Its hard, a very personal thing.  And maybe you need to be more serious about your own spiritual commitment.  For some of you, perhaps your religion is mostly stuff you have just not come to reject.  Youre bought up in all of it.  You said, yeah I have accepted it.  I havent turned against it so I guess its still there.  Maybe thats your faith.  If you think about it, why are you here?  Are you here because your parents are sitting beside you, maybe in the pew behind you?  Maybe theyre dead but their ghost is sitting on your shoulders saying you better be in church or youre a rotten kid, no kid of mine.  Perhaps, being here is just your habit.  Youve done it every week.  People expect you to be here.  But if you could be anywhere else with no backlash, no bad ramifications, where would you be right now?


I can imagine that even a sincere Christian would rather be fishing right now.  But I also know that if you are a committed Christian, if salvation is important to you, you will seek out a church.  This week I was visiting someone and we were talking about salvation.  They said, well, you know, I can be a Christian and not be in a church, can I?  And I said thats absolutely true but if you are a Christian of any seriousness, you will seek out fellowship.  Youll want to be around other Christians.  You will want to be spiritually challenged.  Because the first thing that happens when you drift away from fellowship is you start losing that sharpness, that edge, that commitment.  Maybe faith is still deep in your heart but as Christian you should want more than that.  Faith should be at the center of all you are about.  When a person is truly saved, it should change their spiritual perspective.  Its not something you havent gotten around to rejecting.  Its something you have chosen.  It matters to you.


Baptism has power.  It is a witness to other believers and to a wider community.  I know that some of the baptisms that we have had in this church, we have people in this water you never expected to see in the water but they went.  And there have been tears as people shared deep things about their past.  It can be very emotional.  It reminds us of where we once were as a young Christian.  Maybe reminds us of where we need to be again.  But every time we have a baptism, weve always had people in the church watching who are family members or friends or maybe even church attenders who havent accepted Jesus.  Maybe their concept of being a Christian is warped or they think it just means being a nice person.  But their hear someone elses story of how they were saved and a light goes off in their own mind and they decide they need it too.


In Guayaquil, Equador, a bus driver named Jorge was hired to transport a small house churchs seven candidates for baptism outside the city for the event.  Hes driving them along and theyre singing all these songs and they were singing so enthusiastically.  Anyone who has been to Haiti or the Dominican Republic or Bolivia, you know what their singing is like.  This bus driver had never heard singing like that.  He actually turned back and said, this is great.  Do you mind if I pick up some of my family members because I really want to share this.   And so he turned about and got his family and they all piled in and theres a whole bus load of his family and this church, and they get out to the river and they get down to the river bank, and they go into the water.  They sing more songs.  They baptized these seven people and when theyre done they looked and theres Jorge standing in the water.  Hes got this tears running down his cheeks and hes saying, I know Im a sinner.  Can I be saved?


So right then the deacons of the church went up and talked with him and they decided he did want to be saved, and they baptized him right there in front of his family and these other Christians.  On the bus ride back he said, I feel a special fire within me!  I want my family to come to know Christ as well!  Can you come to my house and start a church there?  They did.  It was fifty-ninth home church that theyve established in 10 months in that area.  It is because people are seeing something real.


Baptism is a witness.  Whether its in a church or whether its outside, baptism will always reveal the power of God to those who are watching.  And sometimes its not just revealing it to outsiders or to our friends, maybe it reveals Gods power to us.  Now the way our church does baptism you have to give your testimony and that concerns people.  Sometimes I think their concern is they wonder. do I really believe this stuff?  Its not something to be done lightly.


As I watched that movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding and saw that young man going through it and looking at his young fiancée, I thought that really wouldnt happen in our church.  As soon as he heard he had to say something Im sure he would freeze up.  What do you want me to say?  That would give us an opportunity to get to a deeper level.  Baptism requires a personal commitment.  And thats not our churchs decision, thats Jesus decision.  I will accept a baptism from any Christian tradition as long as this person has professed their faith in Jesus as their savior prior to the baptism.  I dont care if theyve been sprinkled or if a fire hose was used.  I dont even care if someone was baptized as a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox.  What matters to me is they have professed faith in Jesus to take away their sins, they are trusting in his blood alone to save them, and then theyre baptized.


What about the fact that these churches and the majority of them have baptized babies?  I, myself, experienced that in my nominal Presbyterian family.  From a biblical standpoint, what was done to me was really a dedication service.  They did it in the name of Jesus.  That was really their intent and even when Roman Catholics baptize a baby, they dont really say this is a Christian.  Theyre really saying I hope he becomes a Christian.  Thats why they have confirmation years later.  And my feeling is why not just do it the way the Bible tells us to do it from the start?  You believe and then youre baptized.  Belief and baptism are always associated together in the New Testament, no exceptions.


There are some things that baptism cant do for you.  The Bible stresses that the water itself has no magical power.  In Matthew 3:7-9 it says without repentance, youre not going to get saved even if youre baptized.  In 1 Peter 3:21, it says it is not the water washing your body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God that saves you.  It is not the water but power of God than converts you and makes the salvation (and baptism) effective.


Theres something else thats important.  Baptism doesnt make you a Christian and it wont make you a better Christian.  I think we all have seen someone get baptized and say all the important things and then their life falls flat.  Jerome Engel is Southern Baptist preacher who was attending a church convention down South.  He was strolling along the seawalk in Charleston, South Carolina, watching fishermen throw in their lines.  It got his interest so he sat down and watched this guy pull in a big fish.  Jerome said that this was the most repulsive-looking fish hed ever set eyes on.  It was a cross between a toad and bullhead.  He didnt know much about fishing so he asked the fisherman, What kind of fish is that?  They call that a Baptist fish, suh.  A Baptist fish? asked the preacher.  Yes, suh, replied the fisherman, throwing his catch back in the water.  They call them that because they spoil so quick after you take em out of the water.  (#5674)


What a humorous indictment.  Yes, everyone makes these great proclamations in the water but when you take them out they turn rotten and ugly.  Now we know thats not what is supposed to happen after baptism.  In genuine baptism, we are identifying ourselves with Jesus Christ.  Thats the essence of it.  Many people take the next step and identify themselves with a particular church.  Baptism and membership doesnt have to go together but it often does.


You need to ask yourself, what about me?  What is my commitment to Jesus?  Whats my commitment to this group of believers?  If you want to sit in our pews week after week, you dont have to put a dime to the plate, you dont have to talk to anyone, you dont have to do anything.  Thats fine as long as you are exposing yourself to the gospel.  But when you heard the good news about Jesus, you have a decision to make.  Are you going to believe it? And all I can say is what Jesus says.  If you believe it, take the next step.  Identify yourself with him publicly through baptism.  Identify yourself with a Bible-believing church and live for Christ the rest of your life.  Thats what baptism is all about.





Pulpit version:


Rev. David Holwick  ZI                Questions People Ask topical series

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey                            

November 10, 2002

1 Corinthians 1:11-17


WHY BAPTIZE?



  I. Our baptism tank is full this morning.

      A. Congregationalists will use it.

          1) Pastor Kevin Fiedler knew we would have a baptistry.

          2) No one from our own church has requested it this week...


      B. Baptism is the distinctive mark of our denomination.

          1) We get our name from it.

          2) Much humor is attached to it.


      C. Baptism also a distinctive mark of Jesus.

          1) His cousin John started the tradition, Jesus continued it.

          2) Their baptism was not just for outsiders coming into

                Judaism, but for Jews too.

              a) Is it for you?


II. Baptism can be a divisive issue.

      A. Required for church membership in most traditions.

          1) "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - fiance must get baptized in

                order to marry Greek girl in her church.

          2) "Can you believe what he has to put up with??"


      B. Note how it divided the Corinthian church.

          1) Paul has to emphasize how FEW people he had baptized.

          2) Issue of baptism divides our denominations.

              a) Our church accepts baptisms from other Protestants.

              b) Some Baptists accept only other Baptists.

              c) A few only accept those baptized IN THEIR CHURCH.

          3) (This is reason Salvation Army, which is a actually a

                church, doesn't practice baptism.)


      C. Common objections to baptism.

          1) It repudiates my family.

              a) Many were baptized as babies, myself included.

              b) Does baptism here mean the traditions you were brought

                    up in are totally wrong?

                  1> Your parents might feel that way.

          2) We have to talk to deacons.

              a) Who are they to judge us?

          3) We have to speak to congregation.

                 (baptism candidates in our church give their personal

                  testimony during the ceremony)

              a) Public speaking is not a #1 thrill for most people.

              b) Our testimony is a personal thing and hard to share.

                  1> What if I choke up?

                  2> What if I freeze up?

                  3> What if they don't think my story is adequate?


III. What is required for salvation.

      A. Believe on the Lord Jesus.

          1) God's gift: grace to be saved..

          2) Our response: believe in Jesus and repent.

          3) Salvation is something we possess now and forever.

              a) Good deeds and religious acts are our way of saying

                    "Thank You" to God.

              b) They are not our entry fee for heaven.


      B. Baptism not required for salvation.

          1) Classic example of the thief on the cross.     Luke 23:40-43

          2) Church membership not required for salvation, either.


      C. Should we ask for more?

          1) Is baptism a meaningful distinction, or a barrier to

                the sincere?

              a) Some churches have dropped it as a requirement of

                    membership.

          2) Life is more than just being saved.

              a) Christians are to continue living in obedience.

                  1> We are to obey the full gospel, not just the

                        entrance requirements.

              b) Jesus commands us to baptize, so we do it.    Matt 28:19

                  1> Many instances of baptism in gospels and Acts.

                      A> When they ran into new believers, they checked

                            on whether they were baptized or not.

                  2> Paul does not repudiate baptism, but only the party

                        spirit it can produce.

                      A> He himself was baptized a few days after his

                            conversion.


IV. What happens at baptism.

      A. Different Christian groups put various meanings on it.

          1) Some believe it makes you a Christian.

              a) Even if you are a baby.

          2) Others see it as a special kind of skit.

              a) We are dramatically portraying what God is doing

                    in our heart.


      B. Difference between sacrament and ordinance.

          1) A sacrament is a ceremony that imparts holiness.

              a) Baptism makes you a Christian.

          2) An ordinance is a ceremony that Jesus commands us to do.

              a) There are only two: baptism and communion. (& feet?)

              b) These ceremonies are symbolic and meant to

                    dramatize inner spiritual realities.

              c) They cannot produce this reality if it is not

                    inside you already.


      C. It's more than a rite of passage.

          1) For early Christians, this change was often dramatic.

              a) The message of Jesus was new and bold.

              b) They were joining a dynamic movement of people.

          2) For us, baptism is often reduced to a routine expectation.

              a) You are in the eighth grade, get baptized with the

                    rest of the herd.

              b) It can become ho-hum rather than earth-shattering.


                 A few years ago a Pentecostal group called "The United

                    House of Prayer for All People" held a large baptism.

                 They gathered 2,000 candidates in the parking lot of a

                    church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

                 Then they turned a fire hose on them.

                 It was hooked to a hydrant and set on a fine mist so

                    no one got hurt.

                 Firemen oversaw the event to ensure everyone's safety.

                                                                   #15781

                 Some of you here might prefer that impersonal approach!


      D. Maybe we need to be more serious about conversion.

          1) If your religion is mostly stuff you don't reject,

                you are not serious enough.

          2) Why are you here?  Because of your parents?  Habit?

          3) If you could choose without any backlash, would you be

                somewhere else right now?

          4) When a person is truly saved, their perspective about

                spiritual issues changes.  It matters to them.


  V. The power of baptism.

      A. It's a witness to other believers, and to community.

          1) Many Christians are deeply moved when they hear the

                baptism testimony of a new Christian.

              a) It reminds us where we once were.

              b) ...maybe where we should be again.

          2) Those who aren't saved can get a realistic idea of what

                becoming a Christian is all about.


             In Guayaquil, Ecuador, a bus driver named Jorge was hired

                to transport seven new Christians to a place outside of

                   the city for baptism.

             During the drive, the Christians joyfully sang praises to

                God.


             Their enthusiastic singing intrigued Jorge, who was not a

                Christian.

             Describing the singing as "very contagious," he asked if

                the Christians would allow him to return to the city so

                   his family could listen too.

             He drove the believers to his home, where the group sang

                several praise songs for his family.

             After the singing, Jorge's family joined the entourage to

                the baptism.


             At the river, two house church leaders baptized the seven

                new believers.

             When they finished, they noticed Jorge standing in the

                water.


             "I am a sinner," Jorge said.  "Can I be saved?"


             The church leaders shared the gospel with Jorge, who then

                prayed to receive Christ.

             Then Carlos, one of the church leaders, baptized him

                right there in the river.


             As everyone filed back onto the bus, Jorge said,

             "I feel a special fire within me!

                I want my family to come to know Christ as well!

             Can you come to my house and start a church there?"


             The new house church is the 59th meeting place God has

                started in Guayaquil in the past 10 months.

                                                                   #19207

      B. It's a witness to ourselves.

          1) To go through with a public baptism requires a degree of

                seriousness that we should not water down.

              a) It is not something done lightly.

              b) I can't imagine the "Greek Wedding" movie scenario

                    here - we don't "do" a baptism to you, you

                       participate fully in it.

              c) (Jewish girl who wrote article on transforming humans

                    with bat wings, ran from her Episcopalian baptism)

          2) Baptism should require a personal commitment.

              a) We safeguard this by requiring the deacon interview

                    and your testimony during the ceremony.

              b) I will accept a baptism from any Christian tradition

                    as long as you personally expressed your faith

                    in the saving work of Jesus upon the cross, and the

                    baptism was done in name of Father, Son and Spirit.

              c) If baptism was something that was just done TO you,

                    it was really a dedication ceremony.

              d) Real baptism should be done the way the Bible describes.


VI. What baptism doesn't do for you.

      A. Bible stresses that the water itself has no magical power.

          1) Matthew 3:6-8  - without repentance, it is meaningless.

          2) 1 Peter 3:21   - not the water, but the faith.

              a) The power is from Jesus, unleashed due to our

                    repentance (faith) and acceptance of his salvation.


      B. It doesn't make you a perfect Christian.

          1) We are often disappointed when someone is baptized but

                doesn't act like a Christian.

          2) This must be a common occurrence.


             Jerome Engel, a Southern Baptist preacher, was strolling

                along the seawalk at a church convention in Charleston,

                   South Carolina, one day.

             He saw a fisherman fishing, and stopped down to watch him.

             Presently the man made a catch and pulled in a repulsive

                looking fish...

             It looked like a cross between a toad and a bullhead.

             Not knowing much about fishing, Engel asked the man,

                "What kind of fish is that?"


             "They call that a Baptist fish, suh," the man replied.


             "A Baptist fish?" asked the preacher.


             "Yes, suh," replied the fisherman, throwing his catch back.

             "They call them that because they spoils so quick after

                you take 'em out of the water."

                                                                    #5674


VII. What do YOU need to do?


      A. Identify yourself with Jesus.  (baptism)


      B. Identify yourself with this church.  (membership)



=========================================================================

SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


# 5674  "A Baptist Fish," author unknown, from Chestnut Collection in

           Holwick's Database.


#15781  "Sprayed With A Firehose," by Rev. David Lemmons, LemmonsAid;

           http://www.hcis.net/users/dlemmons, contained in

           Fredericksburg Collection of Holwick Database.  Original

           article is by Mark McWhorter from The Electronic Gospel

           Herald, Vol. 1, Issue 19, October 7, 1998.


#19207  "Joyous Singing Draws Lost Bus Driver To Christ," by Brittany

           Jarvis, Baptist Press, http://www.baptistpress.org/;

           May 31, 2001.


These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,

absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

=========================================================================


An interesting article that espouses a position that is stricter than

mine.  My main objection: if the understanding of the baptizer matters,

what about those who are baptized by pastors who later fall into sin or

apostasy?  The Donatist Controversy of the early church established the

principle that a sacred ceremony derives its authority from God Himself

and not from the holiness of the pastor.  (The Donatists argued any

baptism was null and void if it was performed by a priest who later

surrendered Bibles to the persecuting Roman authorities.]



HOLWICK'S ILLUSTRATION COLLECTION        ID Number: 18906

SOURCE: Internet: Baptist Press (with Crosswalk.com);

   http://www.baptistpress.org/

TITLE: What Should A Baptist Make Of Other Baptisms?

AUTHOR: Mark Coppenger

DATE: 3/11/2001


EVANSTON, Ill. (BP) -- To the average ear, "alien immersion" may sound

like some sort of Martian exercise, but to Baptists, it means church

controversy and denominational discipline.


When I interviewed for a Baptist state convention position, the

committee asked me whether folks immersed in other denominations should

be baptized for membership in a Baptist church.  In other words, "What

if their immersion were alien?"  I answered that they should be baptized

if their baptism was not baptistic.  The answer sufficed, and I think it

holds up.  Let me explain.


Some say that only Baptist baptism "counts," and that those who haven't

received it should be rebaptized.  They reason that Baptists are the

only true church and that only her ordinances are valid.  But I think

this can lead to absurdity.  A graduate student friend of mine, a

Mennonite, was interested in joining the church in which my wife and I

were members.  When he spoke to the minister, he found that he needed to

be rebaptized even though he had undergone believer's baptism by

immersion.  The requirement for rebaptism was particularly curious since

it was the Anabaptists, in which tradition the Mennonites work, who

taught Baptists how to baptize.


On the other side are infant baptizers, whether Lutheran, Catholic,

Episcopalian, Presbyterian or Methodist.  These people put water on a

baby, with varying shades of meaning.  And at these, a true Baptist

balks.  Not only is it spiritually vacuous to put ceremonial water on an

infant.  It is spiritually dangerous, in that all parties involved can

get the impression that something spiritually substantial has occurred.


But what if someone receives believer's baptism by immersion in a

tradition that honors infant baptism?  Is it enough that their

particular baptism was not an infant baptism?  My answer has been that

the understanding of both the baptizer and the baptized are crucial.

Whatever the candidate meant, it is also important to ask what the

baptizer meant by what he was doing.


The New Testament speaks repeatedly of "John's baptism," a baptism of

repentance, as distinguished from the baptism of the Apostles, a symbol

of new life in Christ.  A particular baptism is tied to the

administrator and to the meaning he attaches to what he is doing.


If one were to come to me from a Lutheran church, I would note that

Lutherans take a sacramental view of baptism.  The Lutheran apple of the

Reformation didn't fall that far from the Roman Catholic tree on this

issue.  They teach that baptism affects faith in the recipient, even if

he or she is a newborn, and that is emphatically not a Baptist

understanding.


So I would ask the Lutheran to submit to our baptism.  Luther's baptism

is not John Smyth's baptism.  We are in Luther's debt for his advancing

such doctrines as salvation by faith alone, trust in Scripture alone,

the priesthood of believers, the sacredness of "secular" vocations, but

we are not in his debt for his understanding of baptism, for it is

essentially pre-Reformation.


Does this make a big deal of baptism, attaching unwarranted importance

to its Baptist application?  Actually, it's just the opposite.  It is

those outside the Baptist tradition who have attached more or different

weight to baptism than it warrants, and we are concerned that we

distance ourselves from those baptismal traditions.  On our account, the

act of faith in Christ is the thing, and those who conflate it with a

water ceremony do that saving faith a disservice.  And how can we trifle

with such a significant misunderstanding?


Of course, we believe that baptism is our duty and that the genuinely

saved seek it.  It is a wonderful occasion for worship.  It is a

striking picture of saving change and eternal prospects.  It is distinct

from United Methodist adult immersion in that it is obligatory rather

than optional.  But it is not sacramental.


So what shall we make of other immersions?  If they are truly alien,

then Baptist baptism is in order.  If they are baptistic (or New

Testament), then they stand, and the person may join on the basis of a

statement of faith without rebaptism.  This would apply, for instance,

to folks baptized in Evangelical Free or Bible churches.


This account displeases those who insist on the exclusive validity of

baptism in a Baptist church.  It also displeases those who've been

baptized as adults in infant baptism traditions.  But the question

stands, "Does it displease God?"  I think not.


Does this mean we cannot cherish and work with Christians who affirm

infant baptism?  Not at all.  It simply means that collegiality is not

indistinguishability.


__________________________


Coppenger is pastor of Evanston (Illinios) Baptist Church.  Other

columns by Coppenger may be viewed at listen.com and

comeletusreason.com.



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