Bible Study › Lesson 7 of 10
Baptism... What It Is and What It Does
Few subjects in the Bible have been argued about more than baptism, and few are stated more plainly in the text. This lesson sets the arguments aside and asks only what the Scriptures say baptism is, what it is for, and when it happens.
16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
What two things does Jesus put before "will be saved"?
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Believing and being baptized. Jesus Himself joins them with "and." He does not say the one who believes will be saved and may be baptized later. Both come before salvation in His sentence.
38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
What does Peter say baptism is for?
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The forgiveness of sins. He tells believers to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The purpose is stated in the verse. It is not a ceremony that comes after forgiveness... it is for forgiveness.
16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on the name of the Lord.’
Saul had believed in Jesus on the road to Damascus and had been praying for three days. According to Ananias, what still needed to happen, and when would his sins be washed away?
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He needed to get up and be baptized, and wash away his sins. Saul was a believer. He had repented. He had been praying. And his sins had not yet been washed away. Ananias told him what to do about it, and told him not to wait.
3Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.
What does Paul say baptism is "into," and what does it picture?
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Into Christ, and into His death. Paul says we are buried with Him through baptism into death, and raised to walk in newness of life. Baptism is a burial and a rising. That is also why it is an immersion in water... a sprinkling does not bury anyone.
27For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
According to Paul, who has put on Christ?
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As many as have been baptized into Christ. Being "in Christ" is where every spiritual blessing is found, and Paul says baptism is how a person gets there. He does not name another way.
21The like figure whereunto even baptism doth now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
What does Peter say baptism does, and what does he say it is not?
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Baptism now saves you. It is not the removal of dirt from the body, but the appeal of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter is clear that the water does nothing by itself. It saves because of what God does through the resurrection when a person obeys.
28Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” 29Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”
When the people asked what they must do to work the works of God, what did Jesus say the work of God is?
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To believe in the One He sent. Notice that Jesus calls believing a work, and He calls it the work of God. Some claim baptism cannot save because it is a work that we do. But believing is also a work that we do, and nobody claims faith cannot save. Both are works God commanded, which makes them works of God... and both are works we must do. The next passage says the same thing about baptism directly.
5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Paul says God saved us "not by works of righteousness which we have done." Through what does he say God saved us?
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Through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. That washing is baptism, the new birth of water and the Spirit Jesus described to Nicodemus. Paul puts baptism on the side of God's mercy, not on the side of our own righteous deeds. Baptism is not a work we invented to earn something. It is a work God commanded, in which He does the saving.
33At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized.
When was the Philippian jailer baptized?
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The same hour of the night, immediately. Not the next Sunday, not after a class. He heard the word, believed it, and was baptized before the night was over. Every conversion recorded in Acts has that same urgency. Nobody in the Bible was told baptism could wait.
In short
Jesus said the one who believes and is baptized will be saved. Peter said to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. Ananias told a believing, praying Saul to be baptized and wash away his sins. Paul said baptism is how we are buried with Christ and how we get into Christ. Peter said baptism now saves us. Jesus called believing a work of God, and Paul called baptism a washing God does according to His mercy, not a work of our own righteousness. None of these verses is hard to read.
Baptism is an immersion in water, of a person who has heard the gospel, believed it, repented of sin, and confessed Christ. It is for the forgiveness of sins, and it is not to be put off. The next lesson looks at what a person is added to when he is baptized, and what comes after.
Go deeper: Baptized Into Christ | How To Become A Christian