Bible Studies

Introduction

There were two ordinances connected with New Testament churches. One was baptism and the other was the Lord's Supper. Baptism was for individuals and took place only once in their lives. The Lord's Supper was a collective function of the assembly, and took place often, at regular intervals.

Baptism was commanded by the Lord Himself

He told His apostles to make disciples, "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Mt 28.19).

• Baptism is not essential for salvation: salvation is by the grace of God, and is based on the sacrifice of Christ. It is received by faith in Christ without any additions.

BUT

• Baptism is essential if the command of the Lord Jesus is to be obeyed. If you are a Christian, have you been baptised? He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (Jn 14.15).

Baptism was by immersion in water

• The word baptise is a Greek word meaning to dip. For example, the word was used when dyeing a garment: the Greek women baptised the garment in the dye.
• The Lord Jesus Himself was baptised by immersion. Mark 1.9 states literally that He was baptised into the Jordan; the following verse speaks of Him "coming up out of the water".
• Acts 8 cites the story of an Ethiopian who was converted: it tells of his subsequent baptism. Of Philip and the Ethiopian it says that they both went down into the water: after the baptism they came up out of the water (vv.38-39).
• Baptism by immersion is confirmed by the fact that the spiritual teaching connected with the ordinance has to do with burial and resurrection (Rom 6.3-4).

Baptism was only for those who had believed

A reading of the Book of Acts will reveal this.

• Reference has been made to the Ethiopian in ch.8. It was after he believed that he was baptised, as were Saul of Tarsus and Cornelius in chs.9 & 10.
• It was those who "gladly received his word" who were baptised in 2.41.
• A brief statement in 18.8 summarises the pattern for this: "Many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptised".
• In the records of households who were baptised there is never a hint that any of these family members were infants.
• In Acts 19, twelve men who were baptised prior to conversion were baptised again after they received Christ.
• In Bible days, baptism was immediately after conversion. The longest recorded gap between salvation and baptism was in the case of Saul of Tarsus, and the interval was only three days!

Baptism was an opportunity for believers to declare publicly their union with Christ

They were "baptized into (into association with) Jesus Christ", says Romans 6.3 (see also Galatians 3.27).

• Romans 6 teaches that believers are associated with Christ in His death and resurrection: this has broken our links with sin as a slave master, and has given us power to live for God. This fact is symbolised in baptism: it denotes burial and resurrection (vv.4-5).
• At conversion, confession is made with the mouth that Jesus is Lord (Rom 10.9). Baptism is a further opportunity to declare allegiance to Him.

PASSAGES TO STUDY AND QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Read Acts 8.26-40. Read it again!

1. Locate the Old Testament chapter from which the Ethiopian was reading and read it yourself. (If you have a margin on each page of your Bible, a reference there will help you find the passage.) It is all about the Lord Jesus Christ. You might want to think about His growth (v.2), His grief (v.3), His grave (v.9), and His greatness (v.12).
2. Why did the intelligent Ethiopian statesman have difficulty in understanding what he read from the Bible? Answer - 1 Corinthians 2.14. "Natural man" there means an unsaved person.
3. If you have never been baptised, think about the question in Acts 8.36 and answer it honestly.
4. What was absolutely necessary before Philip would baptise the Ethiopian? (v.37, KJV).

Now go back to Acts 2.41-42 and read these two verses

1. Note the order of events: before baptism, they received his word. Locate a verse in ch.18 which stresses the same order. (The answer is in the notes, but read the verses and try to find it for yourself.)
2. Following baptism, the new believers continued steadfastly in four things. List them and notice the importance of the order in which they appear. Nothing in the Bible is haphazard.

Three households that were baptised

1. Read Acts 16.15. We are not told the composition of Lydia's household. Read v.40. If it refers to those in her household they are called "brethren", that is, saved people in the family of God.
2. Now read Acts 16.25-34. The jailor's family were all baptised (v.33). No infants were involved. Observe that they were all old enough to hear God's word (v.32), and they were all old enough to believe (v.34). Note the repetition of the word 'all' in each of these verses.
3. At Corinth, Paul baptised the household of a man called Stephanas (1 Cor 1.16). Locate the other reference to this household in 1 Corinthians. (Again, the margin of your Bible might help, or, if you have access to a concordance or something like the Online Bible, look up "Stephanas".) What is said there about this household will again show that there were no little children involved.