1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:07,360 Concerned in our Bibles? You're 28 and we are on page 27 2 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:09,480 in the book, so you can turn there. 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:14,520 Does anybody need a copy of the lesson for tonight? 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,200 I we have a few copies of them. Maybe you forgot your book or 5 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:19,560 something. Anybody need a copy? 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,640 All right, buddy. Gary, one of the little girls 7 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:32,960 here, and Julie, anybody else? All right, very good. 8 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,160 We're going to jump into this. We'll see how far we get. 9 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:40,640 I've added a few things into it, so maybe you can take some notes 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,680 in the side along with this and some extra verses and things. 11 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:47,640 There's not so many verses that we need to have people 12 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,800 necessarily read tonight. But baptism is very 13 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:53,960 misunderstood by a lot of people. 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:58,080 I think maybe not once you become a Christian and, you 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,680 know, accept Christ as your Savior and then move on to that 16 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:05,120 step of baptism, but I think the world as a whole has, has very 17 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,480 much misunderstood baptism. And a lot of that is because of 18 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:10,360 religion. Religion has made baptism such a 19 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,840 huge important step and made it, you know, the, the salvation 20 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:18,000 experience. And it was never intended to be 21 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,560 a salvation experience. It's the next step after 22 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,280 salvation. And we're going to make that 23 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:25,680 very clear by the things that we talk about tonight. 24 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:30,000 So there are 7, sorry, 6 important questions about 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:31,760 baptism. We'll try to get to them 26 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:32,960 tonight. We'll see what happens. 27 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,120 If not, I'm not going to rush through it just to get to the 28 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:39,440 end unless we're close. And I don't want to keep you all 29 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,440 night. So we'll see what happens and 30 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:42,840 how far we get into this tonight. 31 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,320 But let's have a word of prayer and then we'll jump into it. 32 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:48,280 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness and thank 33 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:49,920 you for an opportunity we have to study your word. 34 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,560 I pray that it would be a help to us tonight. 35 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:54,240 And again, we thank you for all that you do for us in Jesus 36 00:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,920 name, Amen. I meant to mention this and I, I 37 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,920 forget often. I, I've thought about it several 38 00:01:59,920 --> 00:02:02,680 different times. I know we have some of some of 39 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:06,800 you that are newer and maybe have never had this explained to 40 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,880 you before, how to find the verses in the Bible. 41 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:13,600 I know the easiest way is to just memorize the books and you 42 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,040 know exactly, you know how to get to it and what order they're 43 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,600 in and everything else. Sometimes you have tabs in 44 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:22,080 there, sometimes you don't. I don't have tabs in my Bible, 45 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:26,400 but it honestly the Bible most Bibles, in fact, I've never come 46 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:31,480 across one that did not have it. But it has a, a, a table of 47 00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:32,960 contents, if you want to call it that. 48 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,000 But a list in the front of all the different books that are in 49 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,440 the Bible and I can't even find mine. 50 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:41,280 I have a huge my, my mine is a study Bible. 51 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:43,800 So it's got a really big section of study notes at the beginning. 52 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,360 But if you go to the front of your Bible, you'll see the list 53 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,480 of all the books of the Bible, all the Old Testament, 39 books 54 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,600 in the Old Testament and then all the books of the New 55 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:53,840 Testament, 27 books in the New Testament. 56 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:58,720 And all of them will be listed there in in order that they are 57 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:00,600 in the Bible. And then they'll be a little 58 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,280 page number next to each one of those. 59 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,000 There it is for me. But Genesis through Revelation 60 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,920 and like, let's just say my Bible says that the book of 61 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:14,520 Philippians is on page 1339. So you turn to page 1339. 62 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,640 If we're looking for actually, let me just do it with what we 63 00:03:17,640 --> 00:03:19,480 have here. We have Matthew chapter 28. 64 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,880 So to find Matthew 28, you'd go to the front, you'd find where 65 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,960 Matthew is. Mine says that Matthew is on 66 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,520 page 1055. So you turn to page 1055 and 67 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:32,520 then you look for chapter 28 and we're going to be looking at 68 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,720 verses 19 and 20. And that's how you find any of 69 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:40,680 the references in the Bible. And of course, the more you do 70 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:44,080 it, the easier it gets and the more familiar you are with where 71 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:46,280 they are in the Bible and what order they're in. 72 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,560 Every Bible is going to be the same if it's, especially if it's 73 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,440 a King James Bible. But all the books are always 74 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,440 going to be in the same order unless you have a chronological 75 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,480 Bible and then they'll be out of order just a little bit. 76 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,520 But easy to find still, but the exact same way. 77 00:04:01,520 --> 00:04:05,080 So Matthew chapter 28 tonight. And the first question that we 78 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:07,840 have about baptism then is a very important one. 79 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:12,520 What is the meaning of baptism? Well, baptism #1 is the first 80 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,200 step of obedience after believing. 81 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:18,240 And that's obviously the the most important part of of what I 82 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,839 want you to get tonight. This is the first step of 83 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:26,080 obedience after salvation. Matthew chapter 28, verse #19 84 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:27,920 The Bible says, Go. You therefore and teach all 85 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:30,760 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the 86 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,680 Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all 87 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:37,040 things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with 88 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:42,440 you all way even unto the end of the world, teaching baptizing, 89 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,520 teach all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, 90 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,040 Holy Ghost, and then teach them to observe all things. 91 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:50,600 So you have, you have salvation, you have baptism, you have 92 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,400 discipleship. Jesus commanded baptism, and the 93 00:04:53,400 --> 00:04:57,240 believer is to submit to it as a step of obedience. 94 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,880 What is the significance of baptism? 95 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,040 Where we're going to talk about a few things, but literally 96 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:03,600 you're just getting dunked under the water. 97 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,680 Why do I have to get dunked under the water if it's not 98 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,200 washing my sins away? If it's not, if it's not getting 99 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,320 me closer to heaven, if it's not doing any of those things, why 100 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:13,320 do I need to do it? Well, the same reason we pray. 101 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:16,800 Jesus commanded us to do it. Prayer does not really make 102 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,160 sense to me in a lot of ways because God already knows what 103 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:21,280 we're going to be bringing to him. 104 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,640 He already knows what the answer is going to be, but He said to 105 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,400 do it. So we do it and it and he wants 106 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:28,680 to hear from us. He wants to have those 107 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:30,320 conversations. When I say that it doesn't make 108 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:33,480 sense, I understand what prayer is, but you know, God knows 109 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,680 everything already and He knows that we're going to pray to him. 110 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:38,360 He knows what we're going to say when we pray. 111 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:40,600 He knows that we're going to come and how often we're going 112 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:42,200 to come, but he still tells us to do it. 113 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,280 And so if it's a command that he gives us, then obviously it's 114 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:46,400 something that he wants us to do. 115 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,160 Baptism is the same way He tells us to do it. 116 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:51,360 So it's something that we should do and we're going to see the 117 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:54,440 significance of baptism here as we move forward. 118 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:57,000 First Corinthians, chapter 15. Let's turn over there. 119 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:01,840 First Corinthians chapter 15 and we spent a lot of time talking 120 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:04,560 about this when we cover the section on the gospel. 121 00:06:04,840 --> 00:06:07,760 Baptism not only is the first step of obedience, but baptism 122 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,840 is a picture of the gospel and very clearly in First 123 00:06:11,840 --> 00:06:16,080 Corinthians 15 verse, well one through 4, but verse 3 and 4 124 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:17,920 especially. For I delivered unto you, first 125 00:06:17,920 --> 00:06:21,160 of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died 126 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:23,920 for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was 127 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,520 buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the 128 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:29,680 Scriptures, it is a picture of the gospel. 129 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,040 It's a picture of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of 130 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,920 Jesus Christ, which again, it's sad that we even have to defend 131 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,160 immersion as a mode of baptism. It literally is what baptism is. 132 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,080 And we're going to talk about that in a little bit as well. 133 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,120 But you know, you don't. When somebody dies, you don't 134 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,480 just leave their body laying above the ground and sprinkle a 135 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:52,560 little dirt on them, right? Or even pour a cup of dirt on 136 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:53,160 them. Do you? 137 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:56,560 You dig a hole and you bury them in the ground. 138 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:58,240 That's what that's what death is. 139 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:03,120 That's what burial is. And baptism is a picture burial 140 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:05,040 and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 141 00:07:05,040 --> 00:07:08,280 And so it's another. That's the meaning of baptism. 142 00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:10,760 The third thing that we see here under the meaning is that 143 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,960 baptism shows the believers identification with Christ. 144 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,760 The death, burial and resurrection is only associated 145 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,520 with Christ. No other religious leader rose 146 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:23,560 from the dead the way that Christ did. 147 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:25,480 So it is an identification with Christ. 148 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,280 Let's go over to Romans chapter 6. 149 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:33,360 Romans chapter 6, Baptism shows our believer with him. 150 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:37,440 It's symbolic of of our death with Christ and of our 151 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:42,400 resurrection to the new life that Christ has called us to as 152 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:46,280 Christians. And again, it's it's why baptism 153 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,200 cannot come before salvation. You don't have that new life 154 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:53,440 until you are saved. Romans chapter 6 and verse #3 155 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:55,720 know you not? There's so many of us as we're 156 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,160 baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death. 157 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,160 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. 158 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,280 That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of 159 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:11,200 the Father, Even so we also should walk in newness of life. 160 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:16,560 So we're baptized in a symbol of a symbolic and symbol of his 161 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:18,920 death. And then we are raised the same 162 00:08:18,920 --> 00:08:22,640 way that Christ was raised from the dead, raised up to walk in 163 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,240 newness of life and to be that Christian that God has called us 164 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,480 to be #4 then baptism is a public testimony before the 165 00:08:28,480 --> 00:08:31,080 world that I believed in Christ and that I intend to live a new 166 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,360 life in Christ. It's an announcement of my 167 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,200 discipleship to Christ. Every baptism in the New 168 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:38,400 Testament was an event that was witnessed by other people. 169 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:42,240 And I think there's a few things here, you know, I've, I've heard 170 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:44,760 people say before, well, I'll get baptized, but I'm, I'm 171 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:46,280 really shy. So I don't want to do it in 172 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,080 front of anybody. I would rather just do it on a, 173 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:51,560 on a weekday when nobody's here. You know, people have asked me 174 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,680 that before. And well, I don't want to get 175 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,920 baptized because I really don't like getting up in front of 176 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:58,560 people. Well, it takes a little bit of 177 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:00,840 humility, right? That's, that's one of the 178 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,760 aspects of baptism as well. The whole purpose of baptism is 179 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,520 to let everybody know I am identifying with Christ. 180 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,320 And if you do it in a closet where nobody can see you, then 181 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:12,560 what's the purpose of the identification with Christ? 182 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:15,000 You are not letting anybody know that you've identified with 183 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,760 Christ. You're not letting anybody know 184 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:19,520 that you've been saved And you want them to know it, right? 185 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,120 It, it takes a little bit of humility. 186 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,800 I don't know, I don't know if Brian remembers this or not. 187 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,000 I was, I was young, I was probably 10 or 11 years old and, 188 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,800 and there was an older lady that had gotten saved and she wanted 189 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:33,400 to get baptized. And so she was up there in the 190 00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:35,920 front and, and big church, you know, we actually had a 191 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,560 baptismal behind the stage there and they had a little curtain. 192 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:42,240 So the curtains opened up and she was standing there ready to 193 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:44,960 be baptized. And and you know, they kind of 194 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:47,000 give a little bit of her testimony and went to baptize 195 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,280 her. And she grabbed down to both 196 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,400 sides and she said, I don't want my hair to get wet. 197 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,360 And he said, well, if I'm going to baptize you, you have to get 198 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:55,920 your hair wet. And she said, I don't want to 199 00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:57,760 get baptized then I don't want to get my hair wet. 200 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,920 And I was like, good, it takes a little bit of humility, right? 201 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,240 Especially for a lady that doesn't want to get wet, you 202 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,160 know. And so I, I say all that to say 203 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:10,600 that baptism is a public testimony to the world, as many 204 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,160 people. And I'm telling you this, I've, 205 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:17,400 I've seen this and maybe you've seen the video here before in 206 00:10:18,560 --> 00:10:20,680 obviously in other countries, they don't have the luxury of 207 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:25,480 having a nice heated baptismal. Well, neither do we, but for all 208 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,840 the people who got baptized the last time, the heater was not 209 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:32,080 working the right way. But you know, they, they, it was 210 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,160 in Russia. And obviously, you know, Russia 211 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:38,960 is, is very cold. And the, the video comes on and 212 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,360 you just see these guys chopping into the ice and there's a 213 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:43,000 little sign sitting there. It's in Russian. 214 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,800 You can't tell what it's saying. They chop a hole big enough for 215 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:48,760 a person and for two people actually. 216 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,320 And here comes the pastor and here comes somebody down to get 217 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:54,760 baptized. Chopped a hole in the ice. 218 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:59,360 I mean, the ice was thick. And the, the interpretation in 219 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,680 Russian of that sign was basically I am committed or 220 00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:05,760 something along those lines. This is, this is my dedication 221 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:08,600 to let people know, not that I'm getting saved, but that I am 222 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,520 saved, that I'll go to whatever lengths I have to go through to 223 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,960 make people, to let people know that I am identifying with 224 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:16,640 Christ. And that's, that's the meaning 225 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:18,440 of baptism. It is a picture of the death, 226 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:23,040 the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ #2 does baptism 227 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,400 make, make somebody a Christian? Does baptism make somebody a 228 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,040 Christian? Well, let me, let me look at it 229 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:30,200 this way. Well, let's read this first. 230 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,080 Let's let's turn over to Ephesians chapter 2. 231 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:34,800 And then I, I want to explain a couple things here. 232 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:37,640 There's a vast number of people and this is, this is what I was 233 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:39,680 talking about really when I started. 234 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:42,360 There's a vast number of people that believe that baptism makes 235 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:45,880 you a Christian. Roman Catholicism teaches that 236 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,280 Catholics believe that. Greek Orthodox believes that the 237 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:52,200 Church of Christ believes that. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims 238 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,640 typically believe that baptism makes you a Christian. 239 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:57,400 Certainly you could throw the Mormons in there. 240 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:01,080 They are getting baptized for the dead, for the people who 241 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:03,600 have who didn't convert to Mormonism before they died, you 242 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,280 can go into the Mormon temple as a card carrying Mormon and you 243 00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:10,160 can get baptized for somebody who's already died. 244 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:14,400 So obviously they believe that baptism is, is necessary for 245 00:12:14,400 --> 00:12:18,720 salvation, but it doesn't it, it does not mean that baptism is 246 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,160 necessary for a salvation. Personal faith in Jesus Christ 247 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:25,120 makes you a Christian. And, and I've said this many 248 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:27,760 times, true Christianity is not a religion. 249 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,840 It's not following a set of rules. 250 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,360 It's not doing things to hope to have a chance to get to heaven 251 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,720 someday. True Christianity is a personal 252 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:41,080 relationship with Jesus Christ. Baptism is just a picture and a 253 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:45,200 testimony of your faith. Water doesn't save us, right? 254 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,760 If, if, if baptism was necessary to wash away your sins, then it 255 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,680 would be reasonable to say that Jesus was a Sinner and needed to 256 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:55,560 be baptized to wash his sins away. 257 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,760 Why did Jesus get baptized? And I, I saw a children's book 258 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:06,440 that was, that was, was written by a Methodist and very, very 259 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:11,640 plainly it said Jesus, Jesus got baptized because he needed to 260 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,240 have his sins washed away the same way that we need to have 261 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,800 our sins washed away. His blasphemous as you can, as 262 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,840 you can get. Jesus was not a Sinner. 263 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,480 Jesus never sinned or he would have never have been able to 264 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,000 save us. Water does not have any power to 265 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,440 wash away your sins. There's nothing special about 266 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,200 water that has the ability to wash your sins away. 267 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,240 Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that. 268 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,840 So to say that you can go down into the water, get baptized, 269 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:41,640 and then come up clean is such a misunderstanding of what the 270 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,560 Scripture actually is saying when it talks about baptism. 271 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,840 Baptism does nothing to save us. Only Christ can save us. 272 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:53,880 And to say that I need to be baptized in order to be saved is 273 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:56,720 saying that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is not 274 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,880 enough. I need his death plus something 275 00:13:58,880 --> 00:14:03,600 else, right? It's, it's, it's baptism is the 276 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,920 wedding ring, right? Baptism is just a picture. 277 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,320 I wear a ring because I want people to know that I'm married, 278 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:14,360 right? But if I take my ring off, it 279 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:16,800 does not mean that I'm not married, right? 280 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:19,160 I'm still married. I just wear it so that other 281 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,960 people know that I am right. I want, I want people to know 282 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:24,280 that I have a wife. I, I want people to know that, 283 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,920 that I'm not looking for somebody else, right? 284 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:33,200 And so on the day that I got married, I gave my wife a ring. 285 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,200 She gave me a ring. This is just the symbol of our 286 00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,520 marriage, right? And that's exactly what baptism 287 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:42,360 is, right? I'm married whether I wear a 288 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,120 ring or not. I wear a ring because I'm proud 289 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:47,200 of the fact that I'm married and I want people to know it. 290 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:50,680 Salvation is exact. I mean, it is the exact same 291 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:53,440 thing. Baptism is just the ring that 292 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,360 you wear, if you will. Salvation happened. 293 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,200 I'm saved. I'm on my way to heaven whether 294 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,160 I get baptized or not, but I get baptized because I'm proud of 295 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:05,200 the fact that I've accepted Christ as my Savior. 296 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,960 I'm proud to identify with Christ, and I want people to 297 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:11,680 know that I have been saved and I'm identifying with Christ. 298 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:14,960 So I get baptized as the symbol to let people know that that's 299 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,960 the decision that I've made right now. 300 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:22,440 Here's the danger in putting baptism in front of salvation. 301 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:27,600 Let's just say that I decided that I'm old enough now, and I 302 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,200 feel like I should be at an age where I should be married. 303 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,760 So I walk down to the jeweler and I go and I buy a wedding 304 00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:35,760 ring. And I pick out the one that I 305 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:37,520 want, and I stick it on my own finger. 306 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,560 And I start walking around telling everybody that I'm 307 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:44,440 married. No wife, no nobody at home 308 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:46,880 waiting for me. But I go to work and I say, 309 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:49,240 yeah, the wife wants me to go home tonight. 310 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:51,080 So unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to go out with you 311 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:52,640 guys. She's cooking dinner and I got 312 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,520 to get back home, Right? And you go home to an empty 313 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:00,320 house and, you know, you walk around, you're playing with it 314 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:01,840 in public. So people know that you're 315 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,320 married because you want everybody to know that you found 316 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,360 somebody for you, but you're not married. 317 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:09,480 And you know what's going to happen? 318 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:10,600 Eventually it's going to come out. 319 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:13,480 People are going to find out that you just bought a ring and 320 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,440 stuck it on your finger and pretended to be married. 321 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,760 And you don't actually have a wife, right? 322 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,640 That's what baptism is. Without salvation. 323 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:25,400 You can pretend all you want to to be a Christian and you can 324 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:28,560 show up at church and you can say, well, I can't do that 325 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,560 because Christians don't do those things, right? 326 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,320 And you can pretend all you want to, to be a Christian, but just 327 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,840 because you get baptized and pretend to be a Christian does 328 00:16:38,840 --> 00:16:42,120 not mean that you are one. You've got to come to the 329 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,560 marriage alter 1st and get married to then put the ring on 330 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:48,280 your finger and wear it legitimately right. 331 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,720 And then the same way we come to Christ for salvation, and then I 332 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,520 get baptized as a way to say that I am this, you know, 333 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:59,240 getting baptized before salvation is putting the wedding 334 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,280 ring on before you've ever been married and trying to make 335 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,560 everybody else think that you're a Christian, trying to make 336 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:08,160 everybody else think that that that you've that you've done it 337 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:09,800 the right way. Trying to make everybody else 338 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:11,960 think that you know that you're under right heaven or whatever 339 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,640 else it is that you're trying to convince people that you know 340 00:17:14,640 --> 00:17:17,960 that you're doing baptism can do nothing to save you. 341 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:20,359 The same way that going to a jewelry store and buying a ring 342 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:22,720 and put it on your finger makes you married, right? 343 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,440 It can't do anything for you. You putting that wedding ring on 344 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,599 does not make you married. It's just the symbol that you 345 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:30,040 are. And so, you know, you wouldn't 346 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:31,360 wear a ring without being married. 347 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:33,160 You shouldn't be baptized without being saved. 348 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:34,640 It's, it's just as simple as that. 349 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:36,120 That's the way that the Bible explains it. 350 00:17:36,120 --> 00:17:38,880 Baptism is just a picture of salvation. 351 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:43,480 And so there's a lot of, there's a lot of religions out there who 352 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,440 say that you have to be baptized in order to be saved. 353 00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:49,480 But that is putting the sanctification in front of the 354 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:53,480 justification, right? You're doing everything you can 355 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,200 to live a sanctified life, doing everything you can to live the 356 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:01,640 way that a Christian would live. But you've never been justified. 357 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,440 You cannot truly live a life of sanctification until you've been 358 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,080 justified, until you've experienced justification. 359 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:15,280 And an easy way to to understand what justification is, is just 360 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,400 as if I'd never sinned. I come to Christ. 361 00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:23,360 I accept Him as the only payment for the penalty of sin that I 362 00:18:23,360 --> 00:18:25,880 have to pay. He died on the cross to pay for 363 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,160 my sins. I come to him and I ask Him for 364 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,560 that forgiveness. I ask Him for that salvation 365 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,040 that only He can give me. I'm justified because now I can 366 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:37,960 stand before God just as if I'd never sinned. 367 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:40,160 That's how God sees me when he looks at me. 368 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:46,360 And then I can get baptized and then I can begin that process of 369 00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:49,840 living a life of sanctification. I cannot do it in any other 370 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:51,880 order. Just like I can't live my whole 371 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,560 life not married and then get married at the end of my life 372 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,960 and pretend that I've been married my whole life, right? 373 00:18:56,960 --> 00:18:58,680 Doesn't work that way. That's not the order that it 374 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:00,520 happens in. You get married, you put on the 375 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,640 ring, and then you work at your marriage, right? 376 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,920 That's how it goes. You get saved, you get baptized, 377 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:08,040 and then you work at living the way that a Christian ought to 378 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,720 live. Justification, baptism, 379 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,800 sanctification, that's the order that those things go in. 380 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,360 And baptism is the first step in that process after you've been 381 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,360 saved. So good works don't save us, 382 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,480 religious rituals don't save us. These things follow salvation, 383 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,600 but it is personal faith in Christ that saves us. 384 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:30,520 Salvation is a free gift of God's grace. 385 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,680 And in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 and 9, it says, for by 386 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,200 grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of 387 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,400 yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of 388 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:41,680 works, lest any man should boast. 389 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:45,320 If I could add even one word to it in order to be saved, that 390 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,840 means it's not a free gift. And by the way, if I can do 391 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:52,080 anything to lose my salvation, and that means I'm doing 392 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,480 something to keep it, I can't do anything to keep my salvation. 393 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,720 We're not on eternal security. We will talk about that, but. 394 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:03,360 Basically, to add anything to salvations, to say that Christ 395 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:07,640 is not enough. If I, if I have to accept Christ 396 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:12,120 as my savior and do this or anything else, that means that 397 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:16,920 his death alone is not enough. And that's a very, that's a very 398 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:22,000 serious accusation to make. It's Christ plus nothing or you 399 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,440 have nothing and that's that's baptism is literally just a 400 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:28,640 picture to show that. And by the way, that kind of 401 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,320 eliminates all of the arguments in favor of infant baptism, 402 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,400 right? If a bait if you baptize a baby 403 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:40,000 number one, I don't know if I've ever seen a baby actually get 404 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,720 immersed right. It'd be a pretty dangerous 405 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,160 thing. More than likely they they just 406 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:45,760 sprinkle a little water on that baby. 407 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:50,640 But if, if accepting Christ is a personal relationship with him, 408 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,600 how can a baby make a decision to accept Christ and have a 409 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,240 personal relationship with him when he has no idea what's even 410 00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:58,920 going on? Right. 411 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:03,200 And, and for my entire salvation experience to be my mom telling 412 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:06,480 me that when I was a baby I got baptized and I have no knowledge 413 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,720 of it and no memory of it and no recollection of it. 414 00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:12,200 That's a very dangerous spot to be in. 415 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:15,680 That's not a personal relationship at all. 416 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:20,320 If I didn't make the decision to initiate that relationship, 417 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,600 there's nothing personal about that at all, right? 418 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,160 It's just religion. And religion is very different 419 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,400 than relationship. The religion is the part that's 420 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,840 been added by man. The relationship is what was 421 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,560 initiated by Christ. So here's a couple verses. 422 00:21:35,560 --> 00:21:37,800 Then what about Mark 1615 and 16? 423 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,840 And what about Acts 238? Because there are there are like 424 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,720 the Church of Christ and some of these other false churches that 425 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,320 claim that baptism is a necessary part of salvation and 426 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:52,160 they have the proof for it. Two of their favorites are Mark 427 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:56,200 1615 and 16 and Acts 238. So let's go look at those. 428 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:06,680 By the way, any perceived, any perceived discrepancy in the 429 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:10,800 Bible is just that. It's perceived there is an 430 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,480 explanation for all of it. And most of the time all it 431 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:16,960 takes is reading the Bible into context and comparing scripture 432 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:19,520 with Scripture. The Bible is not going to 433 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,000 contradict itself. So if it if it says one thing 434 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,760 and then it appears to say the exact opposite, it's not a 435 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:28,520 contradiction. It's your perception of what 436 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:32,680 that passage is saying. And Mark chapter 16 verse 15 and 437 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:36,920 16 is one of those. And he said unto them, Go ye 438 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,240 into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 439 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:43,760 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he 440 00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:45,280 that believeth not shall be damned. 441 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,080 OK, sounds very much like the Bible is saying there that you 442 00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:51,280 have to believe and be baptized in order to be saved, right? 443 00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:56,400 Well, here we are taught that baptism is closely associated 444 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,280 with believing, but it is separated from salvation itself. 445 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,920 The Sinner is not damned because he doesn't get baptized. 446 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:03,440 He is damned because he doesn't believe. 447 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,080 And the wording is very precise and very important. 448 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:11,680 Baptism is an evidence that the person has truly believed. 449 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,680 Those who claim to believe in Jesus but refuse to be baptized 450 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:17,720 are not true believers. Jesus said that those who love 451 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:19,760 him will obey him. And we don't need to turn over 452 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:21,920 there. But John chapter 14 and verse 23 453 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,600 says that now we're going to, we're going to talk about both 454 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,080 of these in a second, but let's go over to Acts 238 and look at 455 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,360 this. So we understand where we're 456 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:31,360 coming from. Believes and is baptized. 457 00:23:31,360 --> 00:23:34,280 OK, That's that's, that would maybe sound like it's saying 458 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,680 that you have to be that you have to believe and you have to 459 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,520 be baptized in order to not be damned to hell, right? 460 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:42,800 Well, obviously the Bible is not saying that. 461 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:50,080 It's saying that belief is or unbelief is the damnation, not 462 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,640 the unbaptism or the not baptized. 463 00:23:54,560 --> 00:24:00,320 Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. Then Peter said unto them, 464 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:05,560 Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus 465 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:09,240 Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the 466 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,280 gift of the Holy Ghost. The believer does not get 467 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,240 baptized in order to be forgiven for his sins. 468 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,680 He's baptized because he has been forgiven. 469 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,760 Think about it like this. If somebody says I need to take 470 00:24:22,760 --> 00:24:28,960 some ibuprofen for a headache, are you going to take ibuprofen 471 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:33,360 in order to get a headache or are you taking ibuprofen because 472 00:24:33,360 --> 00:24:37,680 you have a headache, right? It's a small word that word for 473 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:41,800 I need, I need some aspirin for my headache, right? 474 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,000 This is what the Bible look Acts chapter 2 and verse 38. 475 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,680 Everyone of you repent and be baptized, everyone of you in the 476 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,160 name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. 477 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:57,800 So their interpretation of that passage is repent, be baptized 478 00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:00,080 so that you can have the remission of sins, right? 479 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,040 If I take aspirin for a headache, am I taking aspirin 480 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,920 because I want to get a headache or am I taking aspirin because I 481 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,920 have a headache, right? Repent and be baptized, everyone 482 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:12,880 of you in the name of Christ because of the remission of 483 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,840 sins, not in order to get the remission of sins, right? 484 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,720 That that word is very, very, very small, obviously, but it 485 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:23,160 carries a lot of weight to it. Repent and be baptized, every 486 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,360 one of you in the name of Jesus Christ because of the remission 487 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:30,600 of sins, not in order to get the remission of sins very small, 488 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,000 but obviously a very big difference. 489 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,680 So the expression for the remission of sins could mean in 490 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,800 order for your sins to be forgiven or because your sins 491 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:41,360 have been forgiven, right? And the same way that I 492 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:43,560 explained it, somebody can say, well, I think you're wrong. 493 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,240 I think what it's actually saying is this, well, let's look 494 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,040 over there. In Luke chapter 5, there's a 495 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:52,440 similar expression that's used in the way of because your sins 496 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:54,520 have been forgiven. The exact way that I just 497 00:25:54,520 --> 00:26:00,040 explained it, Luke chapter 5, Luke chapter 5, and verse #13 498 00:26:01,720 --> 00:26:06,160 This was a leper that was coming to be cleansed of his leprosy, 499 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,160 or Christ cleansed of his leprosy, and now he had to go 500 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,360 show himself to the priest. And so the Bible says, and it 501 00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:15,200 uses the same exact phrasing here. 502 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:20,600 Luke 513 And he put for this hand Jesus, and touched him, 503 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,480 saying, I will be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy 504 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:28,280 departed from him, and he charged him to tell no man, but 505 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,800 go and show thyself to the priest and offer for thy 506 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:35,960 cleansing, according as Moses commanded for a testimony unto 507 00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:37,480 them. The leper was instructed to 508 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,400 offer himself to the priest. For thy cleansing mean that he 509 00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,560 had already been cleansed by Christ, right? 510 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,720 It wasn't in order to get cleansed, right? 511 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,280 That same word. For for thy cleansing, go show 512 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,680 yourself to the priest in order to get cleansed. 513 00:26:53,240 --> 00:26:56,200 Or go show yourself to the priest, because you have been 514 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,360 cleansed, right? It's the same word and you can 515 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:02,160 you can you could say that the interpretation could be made 516 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:05,320 both ways. Are you going to get cleaned or 517 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,160 you going because you're clean? Well, it's he's going very 518 00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,240 obviously by the context of this passage, he was going because he 519 00:27:12,240 --> 00:27:14,760 was clean. And I think the same exact 520 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,080 interpretation is what we find in Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 521 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:23,720 because of not in order to. So we know that this meaning, 522 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,560 this is going on to the next page, page 28. 523 00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,360 We know this is the meaning of Mark 16. 524 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,000 We know it's the meaning of Acts chapter 2 by comparing Scripture 525 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,080 with Scripture. The apostle Paul said that it is 526 00:27:35,080 --> 00:27:39,600 the gospel of Christ that saves Romans 116 for it is the power 527 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,280 of God unto salvation. And he taught that baptism is 528 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,760 not the gospel. By the way, then let's turn over 529 00:27:45,760 --> 00:27:47,720 the First Corinthians chapter, chapter 1. 530 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,560 I want to give you a couple more verses here that we know for a 531 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:54,520 fact by the Word of God that baptism is not necessary for 532 00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:57,000 salvation. It's not only that verse, It's 533 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,080 not only these verses that are left open for interpretation 534 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,160 that would tell us that baptism is not necessary for salvation. 535 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,280 And I think first Corinthians chapter 1 is one of the most 536 00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:10,840 powerful verses that we have, really kind of the whole passage 537 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:14,280 there. But verse #17 actually, let's go 538 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:15,960 back. Let's go back into this. 539 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,880 Is Paul talking to the Corinthians there? 540 00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:23,520 And he says this in verse 12. Now this I say that everyone of 541 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,880 you saith I am of Paul and I am of Apollos and I have Cephas and 542 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,440 I have Christ. Is Christ divided? 543 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,560 Was Paul crucified for you or were you baptized in the name of 544 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,640 Paul? I thank God, I thank God that I 545 00:28:34,640 --> 00:28:38,200 baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius. 546 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:42,200 If baptism is necessary for salvation, do you think Paul 547 00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:45,480 would be so thrilled that he never LED anybody to Christ? 548 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,400 I'm so thankful that I didn't lead any of you to Christ by 549 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,960 baptizing you. So thankful that none of you 550 00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:55,160 came to know Christ as your Savior by being baptized. 551 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,000 They will Christmas and Gaius, those two, but unfortunately 552 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,920 they got saved because I baptized them, right? 553 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,280 It's it's it's ludicrous to say that Paul would be thrilled that 554 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:07,840 he didn't baptize any of them because baptism was a part of 555 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:11,040 salvation, right? He says, I thank God that I 556 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,960 baptize none of you but Crispus and Gaius, lest any should say 557 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,040 that I had baptized in my own name and I baptized also the 558 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:18,960 House of Stefanus. Besides, I know not whether I 559 00:29:18,960 --> 00:29:21,080 baptize any other. But here's the important part 560 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:26,120 verse #17 for Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the 561 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:29,520 gospel, not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ 562 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:32,280 should be made of none effect. Do you see the important 563 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:34,400 distinction there at the beginning of verse 17? 564 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:41,640 Christ sent me not to baptized, but to preach the gospel. 565 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,880 If baptism was part of the gospel, then what Paul's saying 566 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,280 here is a is a contradictory statement. 567 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:50,720 Christ sent me not to preach the gospel, but to preach the 568 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,640 gospel. If baptism is part of salvation, 569 00:29:53,640 --> 00:29:57,680 you have to say that, right? Baptism very clearly is not a 570 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:00,280 part of salvation. And Paul is very clearly saying, 571 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:03,960 my mission, what I've been given to do is not to go baptize 572 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:05,880 people. It's to share the gospel of 573 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:09,240 Christ. Very, very distinct between 574 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,320 sharing the gospel and seeing somebody get saved and then 575 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,720 seeing somebody get baptized. Let's, let's look in verse, 576 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,760 sorry, chapter 15, First Corinthians chapter 15. 577 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:20,920 And we've already been through this. 578 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:22,160 We've already looked at all these things. 579 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:23,680 But here's this distinction again. 580 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:29,040 First Corinthians 15, one through 4, the gospel in a 581 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:30,920 nutshell. And I want you to see how many 582 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,080 times baptism is mentioned here. Moreover, brethren, I declare 583 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,400 unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also 584 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,280 you have received, and wherein you stand, but by which also you 585 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,800 are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless 586 00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:46,120 you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first 587 00:30:46,120 --> 00:30:47,680 of all that which I also received. 588 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:49,000 How? That Christ died for our sins 589 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,360 according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He 590 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:53,360 rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures. 591 00:30:53,360 --> 00:30:58,000 And that ye must be baptized in order to be saved Doesn't say 592 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,360 that, does it? Because here's the gospel, the 593 00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,560 gospel in a nutshell, and no mention of baptism anywhere. 594 00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,760 Do you think if baptism was necessary for salvation, he 595 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,800 would have at least included it in the gospel in the places 596 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:14,840 where he gives us the gospel? Because baptism is not necessary 597 00:31:14,840 --> 00:31:16,440 for salvation. Let me give you a couple other 598 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:17,640 verses. Let's go over to Luke chapter 599 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:26,660 23. The one exception, baptism is 600 00:31:26,660 --> 00:31:31,800 necessary for salvation. But there was 1 exception, Luke 601 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:34,200 chapter 23. I'm being facetious obviously. 602 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,560 But verse #43 Jesus was hanging on the cross as he's dying, and 603 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:41,200 he's got 2 thieves on either side of him. 604 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,240 And one of them mocked and made fun of Jesus. 605 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:49,600 And but the other one, verse 42, said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember 606 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:51,000 Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom. 607 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:55,080 He recognized who Jesus was. And Jesus said unto him, Verily 608 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,040 I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. 609 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:02,920 Now, what you don't have in this passage is that they went and 610 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,640 undid the nails from that thief, brought him down off of the 611 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,800 cross, baptized him, and then put him back up on the cross so 612 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:15,040 that he could finish dying. That's not in the passage, but 613 00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:18,120 we know that's what happened. No, it's not what happened, is 614 00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:20,520 it? He didn't come off the cross, 615 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:23,120 get baptized, and then go back up on the cross so that he could 616 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:26,720 complete his salvation, right? No way that he came off the 617 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,400 cross. He died just a few hours later, 618 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,640 a few hours after this, he was, he was dead. 619 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:34,320 They broke his legs and he died, right? 620 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,040 He didn't have time to come off the cross and get baptized. 621 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,840 So did God make an exception for this thief? 622 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:42,520 He didn't have to come the way everybody else came because he 623 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:44,760 couldn't come off the cross and get baptized. 624 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:48,560 Or is baptism just not necessary for salvation? 625 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,840 I think it's more likely, right? Let's look at another one. 626 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:55,080 Let's go to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10. 627 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:00,520 Again, the way the Bible words, things matters. 628 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:04,760 And this is one of those circumstances where the way the 629 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,040 Bible words, this matters. Acts chapter 10. 630 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:16,160 And Peter is preaching to the Gentiles here verse #43 well, 631 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,080 verse, verse, verse 42. Peter's in the middle of a of a 632 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,520 sermon. And he commanded us to preach 633 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,000 unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained 634 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,680 of God to be the judge of quick and dead. 635 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:32,920 To him give all the prophets witness, that through His name 636 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:36,480 whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. 637 00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,680 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on 638 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,680 all them which heard the word, and they of the circumcision 639 00:33:43,680 --> 00:33:48,320 which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, 640 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:51,440 because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of 641 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,320 the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues and 642 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,560 magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man 643 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,560 forbid water that these should not be baptized which have 644 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,040 received the Holy Ghost as well as we and he commanded them to 645 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:06,880 be baptized in the name of the Lord, then prayed they him to 646 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:09,560 tarry certain days. Now I think this is an 647 00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:14,159 interesting thing we read in Galatians chapter 4 that the 648 00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:17,840 that the Holy Spirit is the mark of sonship, right? 649 00:34:18,199 --> 00:34:22,480 The Holy Spirit coming into somebody's life is a mark that 650 00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:24,600 they are saved and that they are sons of God, right? 651 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:26,639 In Galatians chapter 4 and verse 6 tells us that. 652 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:32,040 So the Holy Spirit, these people get saved, the Holy Spirit comes 653 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:35,760 upon them and then they get baptized, right? 654 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,440 So if baptism was necessary for salvation, there would be no 655 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:42,120 Holy Spirit that's coming upon these or they're or they 656 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:43,920 wouldn't have, they wouldn't have been saved, right? 657 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:46,280 The Holy Spirit came on a bunch of unsaved people. 658 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,320 It didn't happen that way. They were saved. 659 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,960 The Holy Spirit came up, came upon them, and then they were 660 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:54,920 baptized. Cornelius received the Holy 661 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:59,240 Ghost before he was baptized. So either baptism is not 662 00:34:59,240 --> 00:35:02,640 necessary for salvation or the Holy Ghost came and fell upon 663 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,840 people who are not saved. And we know that that can't 664 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,040 happen because they're, they're still dead in their sins, right? 665 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:12,280 The Holy Spirit is what quickens us, makes us alive in Christ. 666 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,480 So either baptism is not necessary for salvation or the 667 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,680 Holy Ghost fell upon people who are not saved. 668 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,520 I don't think we can say that. Let's let's go to Acts chapter 669 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,480 20. Acts Chapter 20. 670 00:35:34,640 --> 00:35:37,400 And verse #21 this is a verse that we focused on quite a bit, 671 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:41,680 on repentance and faith, testifying both to the Jews and 672 00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:44,720 also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our 673 00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:47,320 Lord Jesus Christ. Why was Paul not testifying of 674 00:35:47,320 --> 00:35:50,920 them toward baptism, right? Or testifying to them of 675 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:55,720 baptism, If he's testifying of repentance and faith, If baptism 676 00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:58,440 was necessary, shouldn't he also have at least mentioned that 677 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:01,720 he's testifying to them about being baptized too, Right? 678 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:03,640 It's because it's not necessary for salvation. 679 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:06,000 Let's go look at another one in Romans chapter 10. 680 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:10,760 Romans chapter 10, Just kind of going through these in 681 00:36:11,800 --> 00:36:14,200 chronological order, but Romans chapter 10. 682 00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,440 And these are verses that are very familiar to you. 683 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,280 We use these often when we're sharing the gospel with 684 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,040 somebody. Verse #9 That if thou shalt 685 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,560 confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in 686 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:27,560 thine heart that got it raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 687 00:36:27,560 --> 00:36:30,720 saved. Do you think that if baptism was 688 00:36:30,720 --> 00:36:33,480 necessary for salvation, he would have said, Believe in 689 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,680 thine heart that got it to raise him from the dead, and are 690 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:37,200 baptized? Thou shalt be saved. 691 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,520 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, with a mild 692 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,920 confession is made unto salvation, and with baptism the 693 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,840 sins are forgiven. I mean, it would, it would be, 694 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:48,280 it would be very easy to put that in there if that's what was 695 00:36:48,680 --> 00:36:51,640 necessary for salvation, right? It's not there. 696 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,640 But there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek. 697 00:36:53,640 --> 00:36:56,280 For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon 698 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,160 him. For whosoever shall call upon 699 00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:00,920 the name of the Lord and be baptized shall be saved. 700 00:37:01,040 --> 00:37:03,760 It's not there, right? Whosoever shall call upon the 701 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,080 name of the Lord shall be saved. Baptism is there's, there's the 702 00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,320 gospel in the nutshell again and again, no mention of baptism. 703 00:37:11,160 --> 00:37:12,880 Let's try this. Let's go to 1st Corinthians 704 00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:16,080 chapter 1. We mentioned this one already, 705 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,880 but since we're here and kind of putting these in a little bit of 706 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,280 chronological order verse #17 as we already read for Christ sent 707 00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:26,680 me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, Why would Paul be so 708 00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:30,360 adamant about not preaching baptism and making such a 709 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:33,200 distinction between that and the gospel? 710 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,240 Here's another one. Let's go over to Ephesians 711 00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:39,560 chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. 712 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:55,360 Verse #13 In whom you also trusted. 713 00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:59,160 After that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your 714 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:01,600 salvation. In whom also after that you 715 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,040 believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. 716 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:07,800 What is that sealing of the Holy Spirit? 717 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,800 Well, that is, I've got you in my hand, and nothing can pluck 718 00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,360 you out of my hand. You cannot lose that salvation. 719 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:18,000 You are sealed until the day of redemption. 720 00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:20,800 But what was the prerequisite for that? 721 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:28,520 Saved and baptized, right? No, baptism is not a part of 722 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:29,920 that. Saved. 723 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,680 You believe and you're sealed right Now baptism is that step 724 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:35,720 of obedience. It's necessary, but it's not 725 00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:38,880 part of salvation. In whom you also trusted. 726 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:42,280 After that she heard the word of truth, the gospel of your 727 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:47,400 salvation, in whom also after that ye believed you were sealed 728 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:48,640 with that Holy Spirit of promise. 729 00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:52,200 There is no mention of baptism in there, and for good reason. 730 00:38:52,320 --> 00:38:55,600 You can write down first Peter chapter 3 and verse #21 as well. 731 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,280 We'll, we'll, I'm going to move on because I want to finish 732 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:00,880 this. But that's a symbol of the 733 00:39:00,880 --> 00:39:03,240 purification of our hearts. It's a picture of salvation 734 00:39:03,240 --> 00:39:08,000 only. He's talking about the, the days 735 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:12,680 of Noah, how they were saved. But it's just a picture of that 736 00:39:12,680 --> 00:39:14,280 purification of our hearts. Let's move on. 737 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,520 What is the mode of baptism? And I think for most of us, we 738 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:19,360 understand this. So I'm going to move through 739 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:22,240 this fairly quickly. But, and again he mentions this, 740 00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:24,360 it's sad that we even have to discuss the mode of baptism 741 00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:26,800 because the Bible is so clear about it, but we have to discuss 742 00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:29,360 it because a lot of professing Christians practice sprinkling 743 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,760 and pouring. Scriptural baptism is immersion 744 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:37,320 in water or burial in water. 5 evidences here. 745 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,840 Number one, that's the meaning of the word, the word baptize. 746 00:39:41,400 --> 00:39:44,600 It comes from the Greek word baptizo, which literally means 747 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:47,800 to immerse. So I'm going to immerse you in 748 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,920 water by sprinkling you. Doesn't make sense. 749 00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:54,960 I'm going to immerse you in water by pouring water on your 750 00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:56,640 head. That's not immersion. 751 00:39:57,160 --> 00:40:01,160 Immersion can only happen by going under the water and 752 00:40:01,160 --> 00:40:03,920 literally being immersed in it. The word means to immerse. 753 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:08,160 Or to dip #2 This was the manner in which Jesus was baptized. 754 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:10,560 Mark chapter 1. And again, we don't have to take 755 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:13,600 the time to turn there because the Bible very plainly says he 756 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:17,080 came up out of the water. Why would Jesus go down into the 757 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:21,680 water to be sprinkled right? Why would he go down into the 758 00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:23,440 water to have water poured on his head? 759 00:40:23,920 --> 00:40:28,440 No, he came up out of the water and that's when the Holy Spirit 760 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:30,600 came down and rested upon him in the form of a dove and 761 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:32,720 everything else. This is also the example of the 762 00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:34,480 early Christians. And let's turn over to here, 763 00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:40,880 Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8, There's a 764 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,840 candidate for baptism, and there's a preacher. 765 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:51,440 Acts chapter 8, verse #38 And he commanded the chariot to stand 766 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:53,760 still. This is, this is Philip with the 767 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:57,800 Ethiopian eunuch. He commanded the chariot to 768 00:40:57,800 --> 00:40:59,560 stand still and they both went down. 769 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,560 They went down both into the water, both Philip and the 770 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:06,000 eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they were come up out 771 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:09,920 of the water, so very, very plain, they went down into the 772 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:11,840 water. They came up out of the water 773 00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:15,280 and he was baptized. He was immersed, he baptized 774 00:41:15,280 --> 00:41:17,920 him. That word baptized is in the 775 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:21,480 Greek would literally have said to immerse, right? 776 00:41:21,680 --> 00:41:25,960 He, he went down into the water, he immersed him and they came up 777 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,000 out of the water. And that's exactly what the 778 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,040 method was for all of the other early Christians as well. 779 00:41:32,040 --> 00:41:34,360 The only reason for that would be to practice immersion. 780 00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:37,360 Otherwise why would they both go down into the water? 781 00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:39,720 That's me. And I'm just going to dump a 782 00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:41,640 little cup of water on somebody's head and then you can 783 00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,440 go in the water if you want to. I'm just going to get a little 784 00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:47,160 cup and dump it on you, right? There's no reason for it unless 785 00:41:47,160 --> 00:41:50,040 they were being immersed #4 This is the only mode that fits the 786 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:51,920 biblical meaning of the practice. 787 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:55,240 And I alluded to that already. You don't sprinkle a little bit 788 00:41:55,240 --> 00:41:57,000 of dirt on somebody when they die. 789 00:41:57,640 --> 00:42:00,840 You dig a hole, you bury them in the ground, right? 790 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:04,200 And that's exactly what the the whole purpose of baptism is, as 791 00:42:04,200 --> 00:42:07,560 a picture of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of 792 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:11,160 Jesus Christ #5 immersion was the only mode of baptism in the 793 00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:14,120 churches for many centuries. And this is interesting because 794 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:16,720 I've been in some of these places as well in Israel and 795 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:19,440 other places. But many ancient baptistries 796 00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:22,120 testify to that fact. The most ancient baptistry in 797 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,680 Rome, for example, is a large pool that was obviously used for 798 00:42:25,680 --> 00:42:30,120 immersions, right? As opposed to a little stand of 799 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:33,680 water that you see nowadays, you know, you go into a lot of these 800 00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,200 churches where they're doing the baptisms and it's just a little 801 00:42:36,200 --> 00:42:38,040 stand with a little bit of water in it, right? 802 00:42:38,200 --> 00:42:40,960 Where they can kind of dip their fingers in it and, and sprinkle 803 00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:43,640 you with that, right. I mean, that was, you don't find 804 00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:46,840 that anywhere in these ancient churches, in these, in these, 805 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:51,680 you know, ancient early Christian churches, you don't 806 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:55,080 find evidence of that anywhere. You find evidence of a pool, you 807 00:42:55,080 --> 00:43:00,160 find evidence of a of a rock tank, you know, a tank made hewn 808 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:01,480 into the rock and everything else. 809 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:06,200 Brother Cloud says I've stood in the baptistry and it comes up to 810 00:43:06,200 --> 00:43:08,200 my waist. The same is true for an ancient 811 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:09,960 baptistry I've seen at a church in Ephesus. 812 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,600 So obviously, the way that they did it for many, many years, 813 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:15,240 turn over to First Timothy chapter 3. 814 00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:19,400 First Timothy chapter 3. Who has the authority to 815 00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:22,920 baptize? Well, the New Testament church 816 00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:25,400 has the authority to baptize, right? 817 00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:28,760 It's the Lord's chosen institution for this age, and 818 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:31,000 it's the House of God, the pillar and ground of truth. 819 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:32,800 First Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. 820 00:43:33,320 --> 00:43:36,320 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to 821 00:43:36,320 --> 00:43:39,240 behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the 822 00:43:39,240 --> 00:43:42,800 living God, the pillar and the ground of truth. 823 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:45,320 Every baptism in the book of Acts was conducted by a 824 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:47,800 preacher. That's who has the authority. 825 00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:49,560 The local church has the authority. 826 00:43:49,840 --> 00:43:53,320 Not some parachurch organization, not some, you 827 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,120 know, extra ministry somewhere that's not under a local church. 828 00:43:56,120 --> 00:43:58,360 The local church has the authority to baptize. 829 00:43:59,240 --> 00:44:02,120 And then what follows baptism? Well, let's turn over to Acts 830 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:04,400 chapter 2. And this is obviously the very 831 00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:08,200 first church. And they were saved at 832 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:12,280 Pentecost. And then obviously the Bible 833 00:44:12,280 --> 00:44:14,560 says they were baptized. So the thing that follows 834 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:17,960 baptism is Christian service and holy living. 835 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:22,440 As I mentioned, there is justification, there is baptism, 836 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:23,960 and then there is sanctification. 837 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:27,040 And again, if you're not willing to take that first step and 838 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:31,920 follow Christ in obedience and get baptized, then you cannot 839 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:34,640 grow in your Christian life. You cannot grow in your walk 840 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:36,600 with God. You cannot grow in that 841 00:44:36,600 --> 00:44:39,360 sanctification if you haven't even taken that first step or if 842 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:42,400 you won't take that first step of obedience that Christ has 843 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:44,520 commanded us to do. So the thing that follows 844 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:46,960 baptism in Christian is Christian service and holy 845 00:44:46,960 --> 00:44:48,360 living. And we find that in Acts chapter 846 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:52,200 2 and verse #41. Then they that gladly received 847 00:44:52,200 --> 00:44:55,840 His word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto 848 00:44:55,840 --> 00:45:00,160 them about 3000 souls, and they continued steadfastly in the 849 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:03,560 apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in 850 00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:07,200 prayers. So that's the order, saved, 851 00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:12,400 baptized, added to the church, discipled, growing. 852 00:45:12,400 --> 00:45:15,000 That's that's Christian service and holy living. 853 00:45:15,000 --> 00:45:19,120 And so the individual that takes baptism is testifying that he 854 00:45:19,120 --> 00:45:22,040 has died to the old life and that he's going to follow Christ 855 00:45:22,040 --> 00:45:24,840 as the Lord of his life or as the Lord of her life. 856 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:26,800 It's a very serious and solemn practice. 857 00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:29,440 The Christian in the first church at Jerusalem, the 858 00:45:29,440 --> 00:45:31,560 Christians in the first church at Jerusalem continued 859 00:45:31,560 --> 00:45:34,640 steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in 860 00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:36,200 breaking of bread and in prayers. 861 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:39,760 So it was a very serious thing that they did saved, baptized, 862 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:42,320 added to the church grow in their Christian life. 863 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:44,040 And that's the order that it has to be in. 864 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:47,440 And if you've never been baptized after you're saved, 865 00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:48,760 then it's important that you do that. 866 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:52,120 Listen, there are some people who who who make a profession 867 00:45:52,120 --> 00:45:55,040 or, or you know, don't even realize if they've gotten saved 868 00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:58,320 or not and get baptized maybe even. 869 00:45:58,320 --> 00:46:01,080 And then later on in their life, and many times it happens with 870 00:46:01,080 --> 00:46:04,320 kids, they get saved at a young age and they start questioning 871 00:46:04,320 --> 00:46:06,760 their salvation. Later on, they get that settled. 872 00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:09,000 And I don't know if I was saved before, but I know I'm saved 873 00:46:09,000 --> 00:46:10,480 now. Well, it's important to get 874 00:46:10,480 --> 00:46:12,800 baptized on the right side of salvation. 875 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:16,360 If you got baptized before you were saved, you just got wet. 876 00:46:16,360 --> 00:46:19,720 That's it, right? If you got sprinkled as a baby, 877 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:22,680 that's not a valid baptism. You just got wet. 878 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:24,280 That's it. It's no different than jumping 879 00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:27,000 in the swimming pool, right? It's no, it's no different than 880 00:46:27,320 --> 00:46:30,280 baptizing yourself in a bathtub or doing any of those kind of 881 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,120 things, right? If you're just getting wet. 882 00:46:32,120 --> 00:46:35,440 I mean, we used to do that as kids, you know, when, when, when 883 00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:38,120 we were real little, we, we all took a bath together, you know, 884 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:40,960 and, and we would practice baptizing each other in the tub, 885 00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:44,000 you know, I mean, didn't, didn't, didn't do anything for 886 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:46,880 them, right? Didn't do anything because they 887 00:46:46,880 --> 00:46:49,360 were just, they were literally just getting wet, right? 888 00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:51,840 Baptism is done under the authority of the local church. 889 00:46:51,920 --> 00:46:55,840 It's done by immersion, it's done after salvation, and it's 890 00:46:55,840 --> 00:46:59,560 done in obedience to what Christ has commanded us to do. 891 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:04,360 He did it to show us what to do. He told us that we should do it 892 00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:07,520 in obedience to His Word, and that's why we do it. 893 00:47:07,640 --> 00:47:12,080 Not only that, it's a picture of the death, the burial, and the 894 00:47:12,080 --> 00:47:14,760 resurrection of Jesus Christ. And it is an example and a 895 00:47:14,760 --> 00:47:17,520 testimony to all the world that I know that I'm saved and I want 896 00:47:17,520 --> 00:47:20,680 everybody else to know that I'm saved and I'm going to go on and 897 00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:24,400 live for the Lord. I am raised to walk in newness 898 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,920 of life. There ought to be something 899 00:47:26,920 --> 00:47:28,720 different about me after I get saved. 900 00:47:28,880 --> 00:47:31,200 There ought to be something different about me after I make 901 00:47:31,200 --> 00:47:33,720 a profession in front of everybody to let them know that 902 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:35,200 I've been saved by getting baptized. 903 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:37,520 Baptism cannot do anything to save you. 904 00:47:37,760 --> 00:47:41,640 Baptism is a work like confession to a priest or like 905 00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:45,200 doing the Holy Eucharist or saying Hail Marys or doing any 906 00:47:45,200 --> 00:47:47,160 of those other things. It's a work just like all of 907 00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:50,000 those things are. It cannot save you. 908 00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:53,640 But once you have been saved, then baptism is that step of 909 00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:56,200 obedience that every one of us should take to let everybody 910 00:47:56,200 --> 00:47:59,080 else know, hey, I've been saved and I want you to know it. 911 00:47:59,120 --> 00:48:04,240 I'm going to live for Christ. It's an important step, but but 912 00:48:04,240 --> 00:48:09,880 it's not, it's not a step that is necessary for salvation only, 913 00:48:10,160 --> 00:48:13,400 only the gospel, only accepting Christ as our Savior, accepting 914 00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:17,040 his death on the cross, realizing that I'm a Sinner and 915 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:19,760 accepting that death on the cross is the payment for my sin. 916 00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:21,960 Baptism is the step that comes after that. 917 00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:23,960 Hope that's a help. Hope some of those verses will 918 00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:26,680 help you maybe in in explaining that to somebody else. 919 00:48:27,800 --> 00:48:31,400 And we'll we'll move on with into eternal security next week. 920 00:48:32,360 --> 00:48:34,480 And I'm going to give you some questions about this next week 921 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:35,800 too. Let's pray. 922 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:37,720 Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us. 923 00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:40,000 Thank you for the opportunity to be here together tonight. 924 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:41,640 I pray that it has been a help to us. 925 00:48:41,640 --> 00:48:45,520 I pray that you would use it in our hearts to help us maybe help 926 00:48:45,520 --> 00:48:48,520 somebody else understand this and come to the knowledge of 927 00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:52,080 Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, themselves and God. 928 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:54,680 I pray that if there is somebody in here that never has been 929 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:57,280 baptized after salvation, that they would take that step and 930 00:48:57,640 --> 00:49:00,840 move forward in their Christian life and in their walk with you. 931 00:49:01,280 --> 00:49:04,040 Thank you again for all you do for us in Jesus name, Amen.