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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

So simply put, water baptism is obeying the command of Jesus. He is the one who asked us to be baptised. And baptism is a continuation of what God has started in our hearts. Notice Jesus was speaking to his disciples and he said go and make disciples of other people. So water baptism is for the followers of Jesus, for the disciples of Jesus.

Disciples

Jesus asked his disciples to go and make disciples.

A disciple is a follower of Jesus. Water baptism is what followers of Jesus partake of. It is a physical act with a spiritual implication. A public display of an inner choice that has already been taken. So in a sense, water baptism is the second stage of what has already happened in our hearts because you have to be a disciple, a follower of Christ before you can get baptized.

And what does that mean? Alive. Salvation. The first stage to water baptism is that of the hearts. An encounter with Jesus that makes us alive to God. We partake in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ through the powerful working of the Spirit of God in our hearts and in our minds. Now let's put some flesh of scripture on that.

Colossians 2:12
Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead, that is Jesus, and you who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your heart, God made alive together with him, that's Jesus, having forgiven us all our trespasses.

When you received the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, you took part in his death, burial and resurrection. In other words, you became alive to God and became a child of God. That's what a disciple is. Now, Jesus put this in other words John chapter 1, reading verse, from verse 12. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Baptism is for those who have been born of God. The spiritual transformation that takes place in our hearts by the power of God, when we receive by faith the sacrifice that Christ's death and resurrection accomplished to us, is illustrated with the language of baptism.

And so, in a sense, we've been baptized into Christ, we are in Christ, before we go and carry out water baptism.

Jesus puts in John 3:3 says,
Jesus answered him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

The first stage of baptism is that which takes place in our heart.

And without it, water baptism, Water baptism. is of no effect. Or as Romans 6:3-4 puts it,

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God, we too walk in the newness of life.

So the water baptism, you know, going into the water is an illustration of us going into death. And coming out of the water is us coming back into a newness of life with Christ Jesus. That's what happened in our hearts when we received the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. And when we are doing a water baptism, we are publicly displaying that.

So it's almost like a continuation of what God has already started in our hearts.

Obedience

Remember, Jesus asked us to be baptized with water as a continuation of the work that has already started in our hearts. So water baptism is important because it is obeying Jesus and continuing our walk with the Lord.

Teaching and understanding

Now Matthew 28, 19, Jesus said, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. These were the very words of Jesus. Now the first public occurrence of Walter baptism is recorded in the Bible in Acts chapter 2. I'm going to pick it up from verse 37 to 41. This was on the day of Pentecost.

So in front of a large audience, Peter stood up to preach. And , among other things, he said, Acts 2:37 now when they heard this they were caught to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles brothers what shall we do 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 For the promise is for you, and for your children, and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exalt them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. So those who received his word were baptized, and they were added that day about 3,000 souls.

So after Jesus had said, Go and baptize people. The first incident of it that occurred is here in Acts chapter 2 and notice before anyone got baptized there was the preaching of the word and they understood what had been presented to them.

Peter gave a clear presentation of the forgiveness Christ offers to those who repent of their sins and accept the new life that Christ has come to offer. It was only after this was clearly understood that those who received his words, something had already happened in their heart, Then they were baptized.

So water baptism was the second part of the work of God that had already started in their hearts and led people to make a conscious and informed decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, becoming his disciples. We see the same in Acts chapter 8 verses 26 to 40. This was the Ethiopian Eunuch and Philip.

The Ethiopian Eunuch was going along reading the scripture. And Philip came up to him and said, Do you understand what you are reading? And the Eunuch said, how could I understand? No one explains it to me. And so Philip explained to him the words that he was reading. He opened his eyes to see the love of Christ.

And then it's the Eunuch who saw some water and said, there's some water. Does anything stop me from being baptized? So a few moments ago, this Eunuch didn't even understand what he was reading. And now he sees water and he knows exactly what he can partake of. You So it was clear here that he had a clear understanding of what water baptism was about.

Immersion

The form that water baptism takes is clearly illustrated in the Bible. Jesus himself was baptised and he was baptised , in water. Immersion into water. You can see that in Mark 1. 9 to 11 and also in Matthew 17, Jesus went right down into the water and he came up again. He was baptized by John the Baptist, a good example of water baptism.

The details of how it happened in Acts chapter 2 that we've already referred to, the water baptism there, the details of it are not given, it just says they got baptized with water. But in Acts chapter 8, with the Ethiopian Eunuch, it's very clear that he was immersed in water. And as I've said, it illustrates our going down into death and coming back into new life.

So whenever the details of water baptism are given in the Bible, it is always by immersion. Now, would God accept another way for baptism?

I don't see why not if the circumstances don't allow full immersion. But immersion seems to be the biblical default method of water baptism.

So to summarize our answer

What is water baptism?

Water baptism is what disciples of Jesus Christ partake in, in obedience to Jesus and as a continuation of the newness of life that has already begun in their hearts. Water baptism is the immersion in water, a beautiful illustration of the death and life that Jesus Christ has made available to us.

As Christians, we have to remember We should be encouraging those who have come to the faith in Christ Jesus to take the next step and get baptised. For those of you that have not been baptised yet, what is holding you back?

Practical steps on how to get baptised

Jesus asked his disciples to baptise people, and so it is disciples, the church, people in the church, that carry out baptism and as we've seen water baptism involves immersion in water so when going to get baptized make sure you take a towel along and a fresh pair of clothes.

It would also be wise to go prepared to share a testimony of how you became a Christian and why you want to be baptized. Now I know that that's not always possible to share your testimony during times like that, especially if there are a lot of people getting baptised, but often you might have that opportunity.

And even if you can't share it publicly, there will be people there that you can share it with individually.

And just to give you a sample of what a water baptism would look like. You come to the, to, to the baptism prepared to answer three questions in the affirmative. So you're able to say yes to all of these questions.

1. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior?
2. Have you repented of your sins?
3. Have you decided to live your life for Jesus?

In the book of Acts chapter 2 you find that those people would have answered yes to all those questions. The person baptizing you would then say words along this line.

Based on your confession of faith in the name of Jesus, I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

This is based on Matthew chapter 28 verse 19.

Then you get dipped into the water and brought out again.

Now there are several scriptural references to water baptism in the Bible and further down in the notes you can see a reference to those along with some questions for reflection.

Thank you very much and if you have enjoyed this series please remember to subscribe.

Scriptural examples of water baptism

Now take time to read through the accounts of the following people who were baptised with water. Can you detect anything they all had in common?

1. The baptism of Israel unto Moses 1 Corinthians 10:2

2. The baptism of John the Baptist for repentance Mark 1:4; Acts 13:24

3. The baptism of Jesus Matt. 3:15-16

4. At Pentecost - when 3,000 were baptized by Peter and the apostles Acts 2:41

5. At Samaria - many were baptized by Philip the evangelist Acts 8:12

6. At Gaza - the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized by Philip Acts 8:38

7. At Damascus - Paul was baptized by Ananias Acts 9:18

8. At Caesarea - Peter baptized Cornelius and his friends Acts 10:48

9. At Philippi - Paul baptized Lydia and the Philippian jailor Acts 16:15, 33

10. At Corinth - Paul baptized Crispus, Gaius, Stephanas, and others Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians. 1:14, 16

11. At Ephesus - Paul baptized some followers of John the Baptist Acts 19:3-5

Questions for reflection

Read the following questions and attempt to answer them on a separate sheet of paper. They will help prepare you for the day.

1. How did you become a Christian?
2. Why do you want to be baptised now?
3. What is water baptism?
4. When is the time to get baptised?
5. Can you give four examples of people who became Christians and were baptised in the Bible?
6. How were the people you mentioned above baptised?
7. What things should you bring with you when coming to get baptised?
8. What three questions will you be asked when getting baptised?