10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
10250 North Freeway @ West
Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
What
We Believe and Why
Written by Dr.
Lester Hutson
Copyright
- Lester Hutson - 1986
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced
without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
WATER
BAPTISM
Every Believer Should Be Baptized
ACTS 2:41
We believe it is the will of God that every born again believer should be baptized. No one, who has never believed, it eligible to be baptized; but the first thing one, who is saved, should do is be scripturally baptized.
I. The first outward act of obedience a believer should perform is to be scripturally baptized:
A. Consider the holy scriptures on the matter:
1. Mt. 28:19 shows water baptism to be the first thing to do after salvation.
2. Acts 2:38 Peter told these unconverted Jews "Repent, and be baptized every one of you. . . " They repented and the first thing they did was be baptized as is seen in Acts 2:41 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized. "
3. Acts 16:31-33 The first thing the Philippian jailor did after he was saved was to be baptized.
4. Acts 8:36-38 The first thing the Ethiopian man wanted and got after being saved was water baptism.
5. Acts 10:47-48 Peter commands those new converts to be baptized.
6. Acts 22:12-16 Ananias told newly converted Paul to be baptized.
B. It is evident from the commands of our Lord as well as from the scriptural precedents that the very first thing a new convert should do is follow the Lord in scriptural baptism.
II. No one who has not been saved is a candidate for baptism:
A. The scriptures make this truth unquestionably clear:
1. Mt. 28:19 shows the order to be salvation first; baptism second.
2. Acts 8:36-37 is perhaps the clearest on the subject:
a. When the eunuch desired baptism, Philip told him, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. "
b. The eunuch confessed he did believe before he was baptized. vs. 37-38.
c. Philip would not have baptized him if he had not believed.
3. The scriptures in section I all show salvation always preceded baptism.
B. Salvation comes through faith; not through ordinances such as baptism:
1. Heb. 9:12-14 Sacrifices and religious ceremony do not forgive sinners.
2. The only method of salvation the Bible ever gives is faith in Christ:
a. Eph. 2:8-9 It's by grace through faith; not by works.
b. Acts 16:31 says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ...
c. Jn. 3:16, 36 show salvation is by faith. Jn. 5:24.
d. Jn. 14:6 shows there is no other way. Acts 4:12.
C. The whole picture of water baptism shows salvation must precede baptism:
1. Rom. 6:4-6 The mechanics of baptism portray a death, burial, resurrection:
2. According to I Cor. 15:1-4, when we believe, God reckons the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ to our account.
3. It is in view of this that Paul can say in Col. 3:3, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4. So in baptism, one publicly testifies to the world that through Christ, he has died, been buried, and is raised a new creature in Christ:
a. How can an unsaved man say that?
b. The baptism of a lost man is a lie.
c. No man can truthfully testify in baptism of the death, burial, and resurrection until it has occurred in him.
D. The conclusion is that it is useless to baptize a lost person:
1. There is no merit in the water to wash away sins; the power to wash away sins lies in the blood of Christ.
2. So, it becomes vain to baptize babies or anyone else who has not willfully, consciously made a commital by faith in Christ.
3. Thus, it is true that all persons who were not believers prior to their baptism have really never been baptized at all.
"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"