The Ordinances of the Church - Part 2 (Baptism)

So the doctrine of the week for this Sunday is believers baptism. Baptism is one of two ordinances of the local church that Christ gave to the church.

Last time we looked at the other ordinance, which is the Lord's supper or communion. And I had said that an ordinance, that's what we call it.

An ordinance is basically an order. This is an order of what Jesus told his church to do.

In Matthew 28, 19, Jesus told his disciples, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And notice he tells them to make disciples and then baptize.

Baptism comes after you make them a disciple. An infant cannot be a disciple.

A disciple is a believer, a learner, a follower of Christ. So the

Bible does not teach infant baptism. It teaches believers baptism.

Not once in all of the scripture, not once do we see a baby being baptized.

Also every time in the Bible where baptism is described with any detail, you see the person going down under the water and then coming back up out of the water.

So we believe that baptism, the proper mode is by full immersion. And of course the word baptized literally means to dip or to immerse.

Now as with the Lord's supper, we do not call baptism a sacrament.

You hear some churches calling it that. We do not call it a sacrament since the word sacrament carries the idea of the impartation of divine grace.

The water does not literally wash away your sin. So as with the

Lord's supper, baptism is a picture of the gospel. Going down under the water represents death.

Coming up out of the water represents resurrection unto newness of life. Paul says in Romans 6, 4, therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death.

That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

So in conclusion, baptism is the outward physical sign of the inward spiritual reality.

When a person receives Christ as their Lord and Savior, they are at that moment baptized by the

Holy Spirit and placed into the church. So water baptism is symbolic of that, as Paul says in 1

Corinthians 12, 13, for by one spirit we were all baptized into one body.