GREATER THAN (A STUDY IN THE BOOK OF HEBREWS) SUBSERIES: FOUNDATIONS - WEEK 4 - BAPTISM

This morning I want to talk to you about Baptism. Baptism is one of those things we talk about here at PBCC - but I don’t remember the last time we had a study on the basics of baptisms. This is one of those issues that was clearly important to the early Church. In the New Testament book of Acts, for instance, it might surprise you to see that there are absolutely NO unbaptized believers. Baptism is brought up time and time again by the writers of the New Testament, beginning with the gospel accounts and going through Paul’s letters and Hebrews and Peter.

Paul likens baptism to the death, burial, & resurrection of Jesus and says things like: Rm 6:3-4: “...all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death…in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

Peter likens baptism to the saving of Noah and his family when God destroyed the world through the flood. 1 Pt 3:20-22 “In it only a few people, 8 in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also - not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God…”

Jesus himself was baptized, as he said: “To fulfill all righteousness” (Mt. 3:15) and then he instructed his disciples to baptize in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20a: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[b] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…”

When it comes to baptism, I’m not sure why there’s so much debate because it seems to me that the Word of God - if we are to trust this book as the Word and Will of God - the Word of God is clear. Baptism is a part of what it means to be a disciple. Make disciples, Jesus said; TEACH them what I have taught - a part of which is the importance of obedience through faith into the waters of baptism.

What I want to do mostly today is to show you from scripture itself that baptism is something that is part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and that it really is, more than anything else, an amazing piece of evidence of one’s faith in the saving power of God’s grace.