Foundation: Building Blocks of the Faith: Week 3

Hebrews 6:1-2 (NKJV) Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

1.  Believer’s baptism

1 Corinthians 12:13 (NLT) Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free.  But we have all been baptized in one body by one Spirit… 

2.  Water baptism

Matthew 28:19 (NLT) Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

3.  Baptism in the Holy Spirit 

Matthew 3:11 (NKJV) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

Three essential elements in baptism…

• First, there must be a baptizer.

• Second, there must be a person to baptize.

• Third, there must be a substance.

What does the word baptism mean?

Baptism [baptidzo] — “to dip or immerse into a fluid and then taken out again.” 

People who were immersed…

• Jesus (Mt. 3)

• Simon (Acts 8)

• Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8)

• Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9)

• Cornelius (Acts 10)

• Lydia (Acts 16)

• Jailor (Acts 16)

• Men from Ephesus (Acts 19)

What are the conditions a person must fulfill before they are baptized? 

1.  Repent

Acts 2:37-38 (NKJV) Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…”

2.  Believe 

Mark 16:15-16 (NIV) Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 

Acts 8:27-38 (NLT) So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, the queen of Ethiopia.  The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and he was now returning.  Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” 30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah.  Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?”  And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. 32 The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:  “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.  And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 33 He was humiliated and received no justice.  Who can speak of his descendants?  For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus. 36 As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look!  There’s some water!  Why can’t I be baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”  And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

3.  Commit 

Matthew 28:19-20 (NLT) Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.

When can a person be baptized?

Romans 10:9 (NLT) If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

What is the spiritual significance of baptism?  

Identification and Proclamation 

Romans 6:1-7 (NLT) Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not!  Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 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. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives.  We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 

“Baptism is an outward proclamation of an inward change.” 

Why should we be baptized?

“The believers who typically take this commandment serious, set themselves in a pattern of obedience.  When some people blow this off as it being something they don’t need to do, [they] often set themselves up for a pattern of struggling in other areas that require obedience.  Because while it may not be essential for salvation, it is still (according to Jesus) a fundamental step to build a strong spiritual foundation for our lives.”