- God is a purpose-driven God. He has a purpose for everything He makes, what He does, and what He has us to do.
- The Bible is a living book that reveals His purpose for things, people, actions and situations.
- It’s good for us to have an understanding of God’s purpose for things so that we can get from them what we should.
His Purpose with Water Baptism
It’s not a ceremony, religious event, or just something a person does without knowing why.
The Key Reason to Get Baptized is Obedience!
- Baptism is something Jesus commands every believer to do as a part of a salvation experience.
- Baptism was also a key part of the Great Commission where He sent His first disciples out and that hasn’t changed even to this day.
Matthew 28:19 (ESV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Mark 16:16 (ESV)
Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Acts 2:38 (ESV)
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Baptism is not a suggestion to some but a requirement for all.
- Baptism is something that accompanies a person’s repentance (turning to God).
- It involves the full immersion in water of consenting adults. There is no Biblical pattern for the christening of children.
The Hebrew word for ‘baptise’ – baptizō – To submerge. Overwhelm – likened to clothe being placed into a dye.
- We choose to follow the example of Jesus seen in Matthew 3:13-17
3 Purposes God has for Baptism
Purpose 1: Unhindered New Beginnings
- Provides the Burial of ‘the old creation’ which we were prior to salvation.
- Passing through the water represents a funeral experience.
- The burial of the old follows on from a revelation of the birth of the new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into 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.
Purpose 2: The Complete Freedom for the Believer
- Provides a person freedom from the grip or obligation to the past and to past or former things.
- The example of the children of Israel at the Red Sea when they passed through the water and their enemies were drowned. Exodus 14
- We believe that just as the captors of the children of Israel drowned in the waters, a believer can experience supernatural freedom from things like addictions, guilt, curses and fears.
Purpose 3: The Provision of a Clear Conscience Before God
- The devil loves to condemn and accuse.
- Satan is called the Accuser of Brethren Romans 12:10
- God provides a clear conscience for the believer.
1 Peter 3:21 (ESV)
Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)
For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
What’s Needed for a Person to be Baptised
- Repentance.
- Faith.
- Understanding.
- Obedience.
- A place where there is enough water to be fully submerged.
- Baptism is not a religious moment but a meaningful one.
- Baptism is not about what you wear and where you do it. It involves faith andthe revelation of what God is doing at the moment.
- It is a public display to all that you are a follower of Jesus.
Other Keys Study Verses on Water Baptism
John 1:29-33, 3:5
Acts 2:38-41, 8:12, 8:36-38, 10:48, 16:31-33, 19:4, 22:16,
Colossians 2:12-14
Galatians 3:27
Ephesians 4:4-6
Romans 6:1-18