Understanding the Gospel of Matthew and Why it Matters - Part 9

Matthew 3:4-6
John Baptizes the People

4 Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,

6 And they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The Meaning of John's Baptism

This passage gives us an incredible opportunity to learn about the meaning and mode of baptism. One of the first principles that we can learn from this passage is that baptism is always to be accompanied by repentance (v.2) and confession of sins (v.6). As you remember from our last passage, baptism was a ceremony that marked entrance into a new kingdom. It was an act that symbolized the inauguration of citizenship in a new nation. Originally, baptism was practiced as a rite of passage for Gentiles who desired to become citizens of Israel. John's baptism was practiced as a rite of passage of Jews who wanted to become citizens of the kingdom of heaven. In both circumstances, the act of baptism symbolized a transformation from unclean to clean, unacceptable to acceptable. Gentiles had to be washed to become Jews, Jews and Gentiles have to be washed to become citizens of heaven.

Does baptism save? The Bible answers with a resounding no. Baptism does not make a person a Christian any more than pledging the U. S. flag makes someone an American. Christians are saved by grace through faith alone. Baptism is an external action that reveals an internal transformation. Baptism reveals that a change of citizenship has taken place, but is not in itself the cause of the change. This is why John's baptism had to be accompanied by genuine repentance. John did not want to baptize anybody who he suspected had not already experienced an inner transformation. The public confession of sins was one way in which people gave evidence to John that they were experiencing authentic repentance, and that they truly were qualified to receive the ceremony of baptism.

This is why I believe that true Christian baptism is believer's baptism. Nowhere in Scripture do we read of an infant or small child receiving baptism. Instead, we read of adults coming to John (and later the Apostles), repenting and confessing of their sins, and then being baptized. I believe that infants are incapable of receiving a genuine Christian baptism simply because they are unable to repent or confess sins. The Scriptures are overwhelmingly clear that baptism is an act for Christians who have repented of their sins and placed their trust in Jesus. Infants cannot do these things, and therefore are not qualified for baptism.

Once more, let me say clearly that baptism is not a requirement of salvation. Yet, nevertheless, it is a requirement of obedience to Christ. Jesus Himself never baptized anybody, but His disciples did. Later, the Apostles made it clear what Jesus expected of His followers: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins?" It is by repentance that we are saved (the inner transformation), and it is through baptism that we give evidence to God, ourselves, and other people that we have been washed and made new. It is the first step of a lifetime of commitment to Christ as Master.

I struggled for many years to understand how a church ought to handle the ordinance of baptism. There have always been two prevailing views: First, that baptism ought to be something that is done as soon as possible for a new believer; second, that candidates for baptism ought to have a trial period of a few weeks or even months to offer evidence that they have truly repented and are qualified for baptism. Admittedly, I have wavered in which view I hold at different points in my ministry. Currently, I favor the former view. I simply cannot refute the abounding Biblical evidence that baptism seems to be something that was done immediately for those professing Christ.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas witness the miraculous conversion of the Philippian jailer and his family. Notice the immediacy of the baptism: "And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, he and all his family." Why was this man and his family baptized so quickly after their conversion - especially in the middle of the night? I believe that it is because Paul and Silas understood baptism to be the first act of obedience for the jailer and his family. To delay in obeying the command to be baptized is to put off a clear command of God. It would be hypocritical to call Jesus Master and yet to delay i