Baptism: Celebration Of Grace

In this message from Acts 2:36–42, David Platt explains the basics of baptism, which is how believers identify with Christ and his church. 

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Transcript

Podcast Intro And Setup

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You are listening to David Platt Messages, a weekly podcast with sermons and messages from pastor, author, and teacher David Platt.

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Well, if you have a Bible, and I hope you or somebody around you does, let me invite you to open with me to Acts chapter

Stories Of Brokenness And Rescue

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2. Before we hear from God in his word, I want to introduce you to a few people on the screen. First is Zach. He's a teenager who is constantly comparing himself to others, stressing about what others thought about him. Similarly, Ainsley, in her sophomore year of high school, started to encounter what she called devilish schemes inside her head, leading her down a dangerously destructive path. She was tormented by horrible comparison and anxiety, and she never thought she was good enough. All in a way that led to her life being at risk as she was taken to a hospital. Rachel, on the other hand, looked like everything was great on the outside. She would have called herself a Christian as she went through religious motions, but the reality is she was seeking fulfillment in whatever this world offered. Relationships, academics, work, parties, anything and everything she could find or do. Her husband, Justin, was dealing with anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts. He would try to numb it all with everything the world offers, but he found himself alone many nights wondering if this emptiness and pain would ever end. Daniel grew up an Iranian American believing that science and faith cannot exist. Coexist. He would attend Bible studies as a teenager, but would mock the person teaching that study as a believer in fairy tales. Meanwhile, he was living as king of his own life. Julie grew up in a Jewish household, but never really connected with religion. She was often anxious and fearful of the future and felt the need to control and plan every aspect of her life. Jeremy had an adventurous yet restless spirit that led him around the world through the Marines, where he fought in combat, lost friends. He battled depression, physical pain, regret, a feeling of lost purpose, and he often felt completely alone, all of which almost led to his death on two occasions, one in time and service, and another at his own hand. A few more. Alan, in his own words, was living a life full of sin and distractions. He couldn't see straight. He was a liar, completely lacking in integrity. He was angry, and he was a combative husband. He was high on his own ego, and he was blind to the harm he was causing to the ones he loved most. Noah described himself as anxious, hopeless, depressed, unworthy, and afraid. And last, Adam was an alcoholic, which led him to a reckless life that almost landed him in jail. He later became addicted to prescription drugs, which led his life and family to spiral out of control. And his words, my addiction cost me everything, leaving me broken and empty. So what do all of those people have in common? One day, each of them encountered Jesus, and he turned their lives gloriously upside down. And they share their stories on the day they were baptized. And today is a really exciting day in our church family because a long list of other people are about to share their stories and be baptized.

An Invitation To Encounter Jesus

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But today is not just about them. Because I don't think it's an accident that any one of you is here today. Some of you have never truly encountered Jesus. Maybe because you've never heard the good news about Jesus, or maybe you've heard about Jesus all your life. And I've prayed that today would be the day that your eyes and your heart opened for the first time to the depth of God's love, not just for others, but for you. And that you will let him change your story. Others of you have encountered and placed your faith in Jesus, but you've not been baptized as a follower of Jesus. And I've prayed that today you would decide to be baptized. And if you're a follower of Jesus who has been baptized, I am confident that God is going to encourage, challenge, comfort, and possibly convict you through the stories you're gonna hear.

Baptism Confusion And Acts 2

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Now here's the deal: there's a lot of confusion around what baptism is. So before we celebrate a bunch of people being baptized today, I want to show you what God's word says about baptism. And the reason I have you in Acts 2 is because this is the first time that followers of Jesus were ever baptized. Jesus had died on a cross, risen from the grave, and given his followers a commission to go and make disciples, baptizing people in all nations, as they spread his love to the ends of the earth. Then he ascended to heaven, and in Acts 2, Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to live in his followers. And Peter stood up, filled with the Holy Spirit, and preached the first Christian sermon to thousands of people who were in Jerusalem. And that's where we pick up at the end of his sermon in Acts 2, 36. Peter proclaimed, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were cut 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. I just want to pause for a minute, underline that phrase, because what Peter is saying is this promise wasn't just for the people in Jerusalem that day or for their children, but for all kinds of people. All the way to this room today. So just to summarize what we're reading here, and this is extremely important, so please listen close.

The Gospel Summary And The Call

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Peter just shared the gospel, which is the greatest news in all the world, that God has made all of us to experience life now and forever in relationship with Him. But all of us have turned from God and His ways to ourselves and our own ways. Instead of trusting in God, we've trusted in ourselves. The Bible calls this sin, and our sin separates us from God. And if we die in our sin, we will experience God's holy justice due sin forever. But the good news of the Bible is that God loves us and has not left us alone in our sin. God has come to us in Jesus. Who lived a life of no sin and then died on a cross to pay the price for sin. And then rose from the dead in victory over sin. So that anyone anywhere, no matter who you are, no matter what you're done, what your story has been, if you will repent, which means turn from your sin and yourself and trust in Jesus as savior of your life, Lord of your life, He will forgive, God will forgive you of all your sins and restore you to relationship with Him. Put His very presence inside of you. And I say this is extremely important because if you've never trusted God's love for you in Jesus in this way, God is calling you to Himself today. God loves you. God wants you to experience eternal life in relationship with Him. And there is an adversary who does not want you to hear that today. And He's doing everything He can, even right now, to fill your mind with all kinds of reasons why you shouldn't follow Jesus. Because that adversary does not want you to experience life. He wants you to question and doubt God's love for you because He wants to destroy you. He wants all the things I shared in those stories earlier for you: emptiness and anxiety and putting your hope and all kinds of things that can't hold. He wants you to look to yourself and all kinds of stuff in this world for what your creator alone can give you. And your creator is calling you to himself today. Hear him speaking to your heart in the next few moments and lay down your pride and trust and his love for you. It's the same message Peter was saying, it's for all of us. And so, with many other words, he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation. And those who received his word were baptized, and there were out of that day about 3,000 souls. Oh, all these people believed and were baptized. This is pretty awesome to think about that God is giving the same invitation 2,000 years later in this room, and that today, in this room, outside in that pool, that men and women in this place are about to do the same thing that the first followers of Jesus and 2,000 years worth of followers of Jesus have done throughout

What Baptism Is

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history. So, what is baptism? Here's a simple definition Baptism is a public celebration of our initial identification with Jesus and his church. And every word there matters. So it's a public act, it's not something you do alone, it's a celebration of our initial identification. So notice baptism was actually part of the invitation to follow Jesus, which then points to identification with Jesus and his church, with everyone else who is a follower of Jesus. So with this definition, let's dive into five quick questions about baptism.

Why Be Baptized

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Why, what, how, who, and when. So, first, why should I be baptized? And the Bible gives three answers to that question. First, to follow Jesus' example. Look at Matthew chapter 3, verse 13. Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John would have been, John would have prevented him, saying, I need to be baptized by you. And do you come to me? But Jesus answered him, Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water. And behold, the heavens were open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Now we learn earlier in Matthew chapter three, we've already seen in Acts chapter two that baptism is a picture of repentance, of turning from sin. Of course, Jesus had no sin to turn from, repent of, but what he's doing here, he tells us, is giving an example of righteousness to all who would follow him. Jesus is identifying with all people who will repent of their sins and trust in him, which takes baptism to a whole nother level. People today will literally follow in the footsteps of Jesus by doing exactly what he did, being baptized. We get baptized to follow Jesus' example. And then, second, to obey Jesus' command. So Jesus' ministry starts in Matthew 3. Now look at where it ends in Matthew 28, in these verses that we say every week at the end of our gatherings to one another. Go, therefore, Jesus says, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. And this command from Jesus is why we see all throughout the book of Acts, every single person, without exception, who places their faith in Jesus is baptized. Which makes baptism an obedience issue for every follower of Jesus. The Bible is saying here that if you're a follower of Jesus and you've not been baptized, then you're disobeying Him. We're baptized to follow His example, to obey His command, and to unite with His body. Look at Ephesians chapter 4. There's one body, one spirit, as you were called, the one hope that belongs to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who's over all and through all and in all. Do you see the picture of unity here? Like all who have faith in Jesus as Lord are baptized. It's one of the things that unites us as the people of God. So it's makes no sense to be an unbaptized member or part of the church. It's like an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp or Microsoft Works. I'm just kidding. Kinda. So unbaptized church member makes no sense. Baptism is a picture that unites together the church on the level of one Lord, one faith, one God, and Father of all. So these are three fundamental reasons why we should be baptized. Then leads to

What Baptism Means

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a second question. What's the meaning of baptism? And the Bible teaches that baptism is a celebration of the grace of Jesus. And this is where I want you to hear loud and clear today that baptism is not necessary for our salvation, or necessary specifically for our justification, to be made right before God. Baptism is, I hope we're seeing, an absolutely important part of our relationship with God. It's one of the first things we do. But baptism is not necessary to be made right before God. Some people teach this. Catholicism officially teaches this: that you're justified before God by faith and through baptism and other works. But that's not what the Bible teaches. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. This is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of any works, so that no one may boast. So baptism is not earning God's grace and salvation. That would miss the whole point of grace. It can't be earned through any works. We're saved from our sin by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus. And baptism is a physical celebration of our spiritual transformation. When someone is being baptized today, they're not being made right before God. They're celebrating the reality that they're right before God by grace through faith in Jesus, period. Which leads to the so we're not, even when they're baptized, thinking about it, we're not applauding like what they're doing. We're applauding what God has done. Which then leads to the next answer to this question. Baptism is an illustration of the gospel of Jesus. So Romans 6 gives us this picture. Look at verses 3 and 4 with me. Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. So this is a picture. Paul has just said in Romans chapter 5 that Jesus died on a cross for our sins. He rose from the grave as our Savior. We're justified before God by faith, and baptism is an illustration of this good news in our lives. It's a picture. Think about it this way: here's my wife on our wedding day. Now, as you look at this picture, you realize that's not my wife, right? It's a picture of my wife. My wife is here in the room worshiping alongside our family. It's a picture. In a similar way, baptism is a picture. It's a beautiful picture of this reality. When we go into the water, think about it, we show our identification with his death for our sins. We illustrate how we are no longer slaves to sin and ourselves. We're dead to sin in our old life. And then we don't keep people underwater long. For many reasons. And the, well, yes, the primary reason is because Jesus didn't stay in the grave for long. He rose to life. So people come out of the water, and it's a picture. They're raised to newness of life, raised to entirely new creation. And we picture, illustrate this gospel through baptism. It's a glorious picture, which then leads to this last reality. The meaning of baptism is a declaration of the glory of Jesus. When Paul talks about baptism in Colossians chapter 2, he talks about how Jesus took our sins away and made a public spectacle of sin and Satan. So when we're baptized, we proclaim Jesus' triumphant victory over sin, Satan, and death, which is why we absolutely love celebrating baptism in the church. It's why we go crazy shouting and clapping and worshiping when somebody's baptized, because when they come out of that water, we are celebrating the triumph, the powerful working of God in that person's life, in our life, and the lives of people all around the world who trust in Jesus. It's a declaration of his glory. Which then leads to a

How Baptism Should Be Done

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third question. So then how should I be baptized? And these next two questions are areas where you will get different answers in church history, and Bible-believing Christians will disagree a bit on a couple of these things, but we believe Scripture most clearly teaches that the most biblical mode of baptism is immersion. The primary term for baptism is literally translates to immerse or submerge or dunk. It's how John got his name, John the baptizer, John the Dunker. Then you look at scripture just from a few different angles. It was the precedent of Jesus. He came up out of the water. He was not sprinkled with it, it wasn't poured over him, he was immersed in it. You look at the pattern of early church leaders. Think about Acts chapter 8 with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip didn't say, Let me go get some water and come back up and baptize you. He took this new Ethiopian believer down into the water, they came up out of the water. Then you think about the picture of the gospel. We just talked about in Romans chapter 6. That picture is most clearly portrayed through immersion. Now there are certainly situations where maybe for physical reasons a follower of Jesus is not physically able to get in and out of the water like that. So we would still want to baptize them in the best way we can carry out the purpose of baptism. But the biblical precedent, pattern, and picture is immersion. That leads to two more

Who Should Be Baptized

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questions. One, who should be baptized? And I hope the answer to this question is clear based on all we've seen. The Bible teaches that everyone who has been born again should be baptized. And the key word there is again not just born. So this is very different from what Catholicism teaches on so many levels, including how baptism relates to salvation, like we talked about. But this is also different than what Say our Presbyterian brothers and sisters say about baptism, who believe the gospel, yet they baptize infants soon after birth. But you think about all that we've seen in the Bible about baptism. How this is an act of obedience to Jesus, celebrating his grace and salvation through faith in him. When infants don't yet have that faith. That faith comes not when we're born, but when we're born again, when we become followers of Jesus. And that's not in any way to minimize the significance of parents saying, in faith, I want to commit my child and our home to raising our child to know and love Jesus and hope that they will trust in Jesus. That's what we do in parent dedications. But that's very different from what the Bible teaches about baptism. And then last question: when should I be

When To Be Baptized And No Rebaptism

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baptized? And the answer the Bible gives is when you trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. Notice these first followers of Jesus were baptized as soon as they placed their faith in Jesus. And that's a pattern that continues all throughout the book of Acts. So baptism, biblically, is not something you grow into, not something just for mature followers of Jesus, years after you come to faith in Jesus. Now that's not to say that when you hear someone share their story today about how they came to faith in Jesus years ago and now they're being baptized, that they should be ashamed of that. We celebrate obedience. And it's obviously never too late in this world, but we shouldn't get used to thinking, oh yeah, I'll do that years from now or even months from now, when this is an issue of obedience today. This is something you do when you trust in Jesus for salvation. And I should add only then. So it's not something you do again and again. Once you're baptized as a believer in Jesus, you don't get baptized again. The Bible knows nothing of re-baptism. Now, sometimes people use the phrase re-baptize or I need to be baptized again when for a variety of reasons they realize, well, when that happened before, I wasn't actually a follower of Jesus. Now I've come to faith in Jesus, and so I need to be baptized. So the reality is they they were not actually baptized the first time, they just went underwater for a quick swim. Baptism is a one-time initial identification with Jesus. And it is glorious.

Testimonies Of Transformation

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Remember the people I mentioned earlier? Remember Zach, the teenager who was constantly comparing himself to others? He said on the day he was baptized, God has given me freedom from the opinion of others. I know I'm a new creation, and I have found my true identity in God's kingdom. Ainsley, whose mental health struggles, a letter to a hospital, declared on that day, in the hospital I realized I needed Jesus. I came across his words, Come to me, all who were weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I realized Jesus would carry all my burdens, including my burden of sin, and he would bring me through darkness to light. Rachel said, I realized I would never be fulfilled by the things of this world, including religion, because Jesus alone can satisfy my soul. Her husband, Justin, on one of those nights, wondering if this emptiness and pain would ever end, was scrolling and suddenly came across someone's testimony on social media. He said, I realized God was with me and wanted to reach me with his love. I remember crying so hard because I'd never felt that kind of warmth and security. And in that moment I told my wife, I was placing my faith in Jesus and I have never looked back. Daniel? Shared how he came to find out that that supposed fairy tale Bible teacher was actually a nuclear physicist. So maybe the Bible and science can coexist. On Christmas Eve here at NBC, he said God melted his prideful heart and he trusted in Jesus as the one who alone has power to set him free. Julie, having grown up Jewish, said I'd never been exposed to the New Testament, and I was shocked to learn that Jesus fulfilled all these prophecies in the Old Testament. I came to understand that Jesus came to show that God is a loving God who sent his son to atone for our sins and defeat death so that all who believe in him have eternal life. Remember Jeremy, the Marine who almost lost his wife twice life twice? He said, Our path to God is almost never straight and simple. I turned 40 two days ago, and I am proof that you are never too old, never too broken, and never too far gone to give your heart to the Lord. Alan, who was high on his own ego and blind to the harm he was causing to the ones he loved most, said, I was at a crossroads and God was giving me a choice. The choice to either choose the creation and continue down the path of destruction and lose everything I love, or to do what I had never done in decades on this earth and choose the creator. I'm happy to say I chose the creator, and he has completely changed my life. Noah, anxious, unworthy, and afraid, said, if it's one thing I know about Jesus, it's that when you're in the depths and pits of darkness and when you feel like there's no hope left, that's when he reaches down and is right there with you. And Adam, having been in the chains of addiction, declared, In my darkest valley, God's grace found and delivered me. I have a restored family, a new career, and a lifting of darkness. He eventually started a podcast for those stuck in addiction. He said, My years in darkness were not wasted. They've given me a voice and a heart to help, and my baptism is a public declaration of God's transformative grace.

Closing And More Resources

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We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of David Platt Messages. For more resources from David Platt, we invite you to visit radical.net.