Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my thirty fifth episode. Tonight I want to discuss what Scripture has to say about baptism and then make the case for why you should be baptized. Right from the beginning I want to make clear that I do not believe baptism by water is required for salvation. This means you can go to heaven without ever going through the baptism ceremony. But I do believe that baptism is incredibly important and that the benefits are amazing on the level of divinity. So I suggest that anyone who has put their faith in Christ would do well to be baptized.
The first point that I want to make is that Christ himself was baptized. The timing of his baptism is significant. It is the event that kicked off his ministry. Prior to this event, John the Baptist was performing water baptisms in an act of making way for Christ. You can imagine John the Baptist as the emissary that is sent to herald the coming of the King. Here’s what he said about the arrival of Jesus:
Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am – so much greater that I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Luke 3:16.
I want to say a couple things about this idea of being baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is why the ceremony of baptism by water is not required for salvation. Because baptism by the Holy Spirit is required for salvation. This is what Jesus means when he says:
I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Baptism by the Holy Spirit takes place the moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ. He does all the work for you. Being born again means that you are no longer a slave to your sins. Being free of your sins does not mean you will never sin again, it just means that you now have the tools required to aim toward heaven. Being born again is like having true north calibrated on your compass. So if God is the one who baptizes you with the Holy Spirit and if this event is the one you need to get into heaven, then why even bother with the water baptism? Let’s take a look at the baptism of Jesus to get some clues:
Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptize him.
After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
Matthew 3:13-17.
This is the account of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River. Notice that this is one of the few times in the Bible where all three persons of the divine Trinity are together at one time. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So it’s a hugely significant moment. Just to give you some perspective – the other times all three persons are seen together are the creation of the universe, the incarnation, and the resurrection of Jesus. So if baptism is so important that the entire Godhead is actively participating, then it must be important for us as well. If you have already put your faith in Jesus, then when you get baptized something happens to you on a cosmic scale. But if you do not yet have faith, then when you get baptized you just get wet. I want to be clear. I’m not saying that you literally experience something other worldly when you are baptized. But I am saying that there is a power of divinity at work in that moment which has the capacity to change you forever. This moment in a person’s life is significant enough that Jesus explicitly commands us to do it in the Great Commission:
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
Okay so let’s go over what we’ve learned about baptism so far. Human beings must be born again in order to be saved into eternal life. This happens the moment you put your trust in Jesus Christ. This can be understood as baptism by the Holy Spirit. Water baptism is like a dramatization of this. Water baptism does not save you, but it is an event that is important enough that all three persons of the divine Trinity were present during the baptism of Jesus. And Jesus himself explicitly commanded us to be baptized when he gave the Great Commission. Now let’s go to the Apostle Paul to see what he thinks:
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Romans 6:1-4
Paul is saying that water baptism is a dramatization of what literally happens to your spirit when you are saved by God’s grace through putting your faith in Jesus Christ. It’s like this: there is a part of your spirit that loves evil and destruction. When you are separated from God, the power of that part of your spirit can snowball. That part of your spirit starts out under your control, but the more you entertain it the more it begins to control you. When the evil side of you is fully developed, you become someone who prefers hell. So, when you put your faith in Jesus, this part of your spirit will still continue to tempt you, but it will no longer be able to accumulate power over you. Christ died once for all of your sins. So once you are born again, you become calibrated so that you can aim at heaven – and because of your faith, Christ forgives you when you miss the mark. Water baptism symbolizes this process. When you go under the water you are joining with Christ in his death and burial. When you come up out of the water you are joining with Christ in his resurrection and your new life.
If you’re married, I want you to think back to your wedding day. The moment you put the ring on your spouse’s finger was a big moment for both of you. This moment cannot save your marriage. But it is a dramatization of the vows of faith that do save your marriage. That’s what water baptism is like. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that since it is not required for salvation then it’s not a big moment. Contrarily, it is a moment that celebrates your faith which is the only way to salvation.
Baptism has a way of providing a heavier definition to your faith. It’s like when you give a name to something. Try this for me: go outside and walk to a place that has a bunch of trees. Pick one of the trees and give it a name. Then walk away from the trees so that you can see all of them. Notice how the one you named stands out to you more than the other ones. I think baptism has a similar kind of impact on your mind and psychology – although we may not know what that impact is. Here’s another way of thinking about it: have you ever planned to start a diet but wanted to wait until Monday? The fact is, the conditions of reality are identical on Monday as they are on any other day. But Monday stands out because of its symbolism as the beginning of a new week. And the activities of Mondays are what give power to that symbolism. So, psychologically, you feel as if you have a fresh start if you start on Monday. In the same way, the activity of being immersed in water gives power to the symbolism of dying with Christ and being resurrected with Him. And that symbolism gives you a fresh start in your conscience.
If your faith is in Christ, you should be baptized. One baptism is enough. If you were baptized as a baby or before you had faith, go get baptized again. But don’t do it more than once if you had faith when you did it the first time. It would be dangerous to make a habit out of going to be baptized every time you felt like you needed a clear conscience. The forgiveness of Jesus is the only thing that has the power to truly take away your guilt anyway – and as long as you put your trust in him, his forgiveness is unlimited.
If you find this content valuable, feel free to share it and to use it in your own studies. If you’d like to support this podcast, you can do so at www.patreon.com/michaelhbaun. There is a link in the description. Your generosity goes a long way to promoting the growth of this enterprise and the cause of free speech. Thank you all for joining me this evening, and I will see you in the next episode.
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