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  • Welcome
    • What Is A Christian
    • What Does the Bible Teach?
    • What Must I Do To Be Saved?
    • Where Will You Spend Eternity?
  • Bible Study
    • Bible Courses
    • Bible Course 2
    • Bible Q&A Forum
    • Tracts
    • Study Tools
    • Downloadable Study Materials
    • Why Only One Cup?
    • Boatwright
    • CDs
      • CDI
      • CDII
      • CDIII
      • CDIV
      • CDV
      • CDVI
  • Sermons
    • Sermon Outlines
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    • Audio Sermons
    • Body Religous Journals
  • Hospitality
    • Recipes
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    • Friends
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                              "BAPTISM"  
  
                Baptism In The Preaching Of The Apostles  
  
INTRODUCTION  
  
1. Shortly before He ascended into heaven, Jesus gave His apostles The  
   Great Commission:  
  
   And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been  
   given to Me in heaven and on earth. 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, teaching them to observe all things  
   that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to  
   the end of the age. Amen." (Mt 28:18-20 )  
  
2. In the gospel of Mark, The Great Commission is worded in this way:  
  
   And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel  
   to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved;  
   but he who does not believe will be condemned."  (Mk 16:15-16 )  
  
3. In both places we notice the mention of baptism...  
   a. In Matthew, it is related to the process of making disciples  
   b. In Mark, it is mentioned in connection with salvation  
   -- Whatever the purpose of baptism, it must be important to Jesus,  
      for He commanded it!  
  
4. But one might ask...  
   a. What is baptism?  
      1) Is it pouring, sprinkling, or immersion?  
      2) Is one baptized in water, or in the Spirit?  
   b. What is the purpose of baptism?  
      1) Is it for the remission of sins, or because our sins have   
         already been forgiven?  
      2) Is it to be saved, or a public confession of faith having   
         already been saved?  
   c. Who should be baptized?  
      1) Should infants be baptized?  
      2) Should just anyone be baptized?  
   d. Is there ever a need to be "re-baptized"?  
      1) What if I was baptized as an infant?  
      2) What if I was baptized for the wrong reason?  
      3) What if I have sinned greatly after being baptized?  
   -- These and many other questions are often asked when the subject  
      of baptism is raised  
  
5. This series is devoted to answering these and other questions   
   related to baptism...  
   a. Since it was commanded by Christ, it is certainly worthy of   
      careful consideration  
   b. It is my intention to glean from the Bible what is actually  
      taught on this subject  
   c. It is my prayer that you will have the attitude of those in Berea  
      - cf. Ac 17:11   
      1) To receive the word with all readiness (i.e., listen carefully  
         with a desire to at least understand, if at first you do not  
         agree)  
      2) To search the Scriptures (i.e., to read the Bible carefully to  
         see if what I am saying is true)  
  
[In this lesson, we will simply consider how the apostles carried out  
The Commission Jesus gave them; i.e., to see what they said about   
baptism in their preaching.  We begin with...]  
  
I. BAPTISM IN THE PREACHING OF PETER  
  
   A. ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST...  
      1. In the first gospel sermon, Peter commanded people to be   
         baptized "for the remission of sins" - Ac 2:38   
      2. Upon exhorting his audience to be saved, those who accepted Peter's  
         preaching were baptized - Ac 2:41   
      3. Does "for" mean "in order to" or "because of"?  
         a. Note: We find the same grammatical construction in Mt 26:28   
            1) Where Jesus said His blood would be shed for many "for  
               the remission sins"  
            2) Clearly Jesus meant "in order to" provide remission of  
               sins, and not "because" remission of sins had already  
               occurred  
            3) With rare exception, the Greek word (eis) means "into,  
               to, unto, for, toward"  
         b. Note also: "be baptized" is joined by the conjunction "and"  
            to the command "repent" - Ac 2:38   
            1) Both are commanded "for the remission of sins"  
            2) Just as people were commanded to repent "for" (in order  
               to) the remission of sins...  
            3) ...so they were commanded to be baptized "for" (in order  
               to) the remission of sins  
  
   B. AT THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS...  
      1. In the first gospel sermon to the Gentiles, Peter followed up  
         by commanding his audience to be baptized - cf. Ac 10:44-48   
      2. It is evident that what Peter commanded involved a baptism in  
         water - Ac 10:47-48   
      3. A future study will examine whether the people were saved when  
         the Spirit fell upon them, or when they were baptized as   
         commanded by Peter  
  
[At the very least, we can say that Peter's preaching was in harmony  
with the statements of Jesus in the Great Commission:  Preach the   
gospel, command people to be baptized.    
  
So far the indication appears that it was a baptism in water, and done  
for the remission of sins.  Let's consider now one who was not actually  
an apostle, but certainly filled with the Spirit...]  
  
II. BAPTISM IN THE PREACHING OF PHILIP  
  
   A. TO THE SAMARITANS...  
      1. Though not an apostle, Philip went to Samaria and "preached  
         Christ" - Ac 8:5   
      2. The response to such preaching:  "...when they believed Philip  
         as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and  
         the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized."  
         - Ac 8:12   
  
   B. TO THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH...  
      1. To this very religious man, Philip "preached Jesus" - Ac 8:35   
      2. Though we are not told the content of Philip's sermon, from   
         the eunuch's question we can deduce that it included baptism   
         - Ac 8:36-38   
  
[Like Peter, Philip "preached Jesus" not only by telling people about  
Jesus, but also what Jesus commanded.  Baptism was an immediate result  
of such preaching.  Is this surprising in light of Jesus' statements in  
Mt 28:19 and Mk 16:15-16?  Let's now consider...]  
  
III. BAPTISM IN THE PREACHING OF PAUL  
  
   A. IN THE CONVERSION OF LYDIA...  
      1. We note that again baptism followed apostolic preaching   
         - Ac 16:13-15   
      2. As evidence that she "gave heed" to the things spoken by Paul,  
         she and her household were baptized!  
      3. Notice also her comment in Ac 16:15   
         a. How could Paul have judged her to be faithful to the Lord?  
         b. By her response to the command of the Lord concerning   
            baptism!  
  
   B. IN THE CONVERSION OF THE PHILIPPIAN JAILOR...  
      1. Paul tells the jailor that he must believe on the Lord to be  
         saved - Ac 16:30-31   
      2. Paul went on to speak concerning the Word of the Lord to him  
         and his family - Ac 16:32   
      3. In response, they were immediately baptized! - Ac 16:33-34   
         1) Evidently the word of the Lord stressed the need to be   
            baptized quickly  
         2) In fact, in EVERY detailed example of conversion found in  
            the Book of Acts, people were baptized after only one   
            lesson! (see chart below)  
  
   C. IN THE CONVERSION OF PAUL HIMSELF...  
      1. Paul recounts his own conversion to the Lord - Ac 22:10-16   
         a. He describes how he was told to go to Damascus, for there  
            he would be told "all things appointed for you to do"  
            ("what you must do" - cf. Ac 9:6 )  
         b. One of the things he was told was to be baptized without  
            delay - Ac 22:16   
      2. He was told to baptized in order to "wash away your sins"  
         a. NOTE WELL: Despite seeing the Lord on the road to Damascus,  
            having spent three days fasting and praying (Ac 9:9-11 ), he  
            was STILL IN HIS SINS!  
            1) Seeing the Lord had not saved him  
            2) Accepting Jesus as Lord (cf. Ac 22:10 ) had not saved him  
            3) Praying and fasting for three days had not saved him  
         b. Not until he was baptized were his sins "washed away"!   
            (exactly how we will examine later)  
  
CONCLUSION  
  
1. That baptism played a prominent role in apostolic preaching becomes  
   evident when we compare what is revealed in the examples of   
   conversion...  
  
   Mt 28:18-20		 EXAMPLES OF CONVERSION          Mk 16:15-16   
  
                       BELIEVED    REPENTED    CONFESSED   BAPTIZED  
  
   PENTECOST                       Repented                Baptized  
   Ac 2:14-41                       37-38                    38-41   
  
   SAMARIA             Believed                            Baptized  
   Ac 8:5-13              12                                 12 ,13  
  
   ETHIOPIAN           Believed                Confessed   Baptized  
   Ac 8:35-39            36-37                    37          38   
  
   SAUL                                                    Baptized  
   Ac 9,22,26                                                22:16  
  
   CORNELIUS           Believed                            Baptized  
   Ac 10:34-38            43                                  48   
  
   LYDIA               Heeded                              Baptized  
   Ac 16:13-15           14                                   15   
  
   JAILOR              Believed                            Baptized  
   Ac 16:30-34            31                                  33   
  
2. In every case of conversion described in detail in the book of Acts,  
   baptism is mentioned...  
   a. Clearly it was an important theme of apostolic preaching  
   b. G. R. Beasley-Murray, a Baptist scholar, has observed:  
  
      "Baptism is...a part of the proclamation of Christ. In an  
      Apostolic sermon it comes as its logical conclusion."  
  
        - G.R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism In The New Testament, Grand  
          Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1962, p. 393)  
  
3. And what should be proclaimed regarding baptism?  In this lesson we  
   have seen...  
   a. That it was commanded "for the remission of sins" - Ac 2:38   
   b. That it was done to "wash away sins" - Ac 22:16   
   c. That it involved "water" - Ac 8:36-38 ; 10:48  
   d. That it was done "immediately", with no delay even if after   
      midnight - Ac 16:25-33   
  
4. This would certainly suggest that baptism is necessary for   
   salvation...  
   a. But is this a fair conclusion drawn from the "preaching" of the  
      apostles?  
   b. Is this conclusion consistent with the "teaching" of the   
      apostles, as found in their epistles?  
  
Our next lesson will examine what the apostles taught in their epistles  
regarding baptism, as we continue to seek Bible answers to such  
questions...

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