[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:07] Welcome back to the Nomad Pastor Podcast. This is Rick. I want to thank you for sticking with me and joining in.
[00:00:15] Coming up, I'm going to do a fairly, I don't know, I'd say long series kind of going through the book of Judges, but what I wanted to do today is talk about.
[00:00:27] It's something that stirred a debate for generations. I want to talk about baptism.
[00:00:31] And I've been seeing a lot on social media lately on Facebook, and a lot of different people posting about baptism.
[00:00:40] And so I want to talk about what it means and why it matters.
[00:00:44] And also I want to talk about is it really required for salvation?
[00:00:51] Excuse me. And this is not like it's not going to be an academic discussion. This is real life.
[00:00:59] And people talk about this quite often, I think, but every day people make decisions about their walk with Christ.
[00:01:10] And I think to some extent people are confused about this process and confused about baptism.
[00:01:19] And, you know, some of us come from a church background where baptism is treated lightly like that.
[00:01:27] You know, it's not a big deal. You know, some people come from, you know, places where it's treated like a threat, like you have to do it right.
[00:01:37] And then, you know, some people come from no background at all, and they hear these mixed messages from a culture that I don't think understand some of the things of God.
[00:01:49] And so my goal today is I just want to cut through the noise. I want to cut through the noise and I want to let scripture speak for itself.
[00:01:58] Because we, you and I, we, We don't get to define what baptism means because Jesus already did that.
[00:02:06] But when we, when we walk through the tension and when we walk through the arguments and the fears and the real life hesitations that people have about this, I think it's important because baptism isn't just doctrine.
[00:02:22] It's a choice.
[00:02:24] It is about being obedient. It is about a public declaration.
[00:02:28] And for many people living in our world today, I think that public part is really the hardest part about it.
[00:02:37] So what we need to do is we got to start with the foundation, right? Jesus himself was baptized and went into the water. And Matthew 3:13 15 says, Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.
[00:02:56] But John tried to prevent him, saying, I need to be baptized by you and do you come to me?
[00:03:02] But Jesus answered him, saying, permit it at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
[00:03:12] You see, when Jesus goes to John the Baptist, he doesn't need repentance he doesn't need cleansing. He doesn't need forgiveness. He didn't need anything that we need, but he still stepped into the water.
[00:03:25] So to me, that's powerful. That should teach us something powerful, that baptism is not first about sin, but it's about obedience. It's about being aligned with Christ. It's about showing the world that you belong to the Father.
[00:03:42] And in that moment, Jesus was saying, this is what righteousness looks like.
[00:03:49] This is what obedience looks like.
[00:03:52] Do what I have done.
[00:03:55] Then after Jesus goes to the cross and he is resurrected, he gives us very specific instructions.
[00:04:04] In Matthew 28, 19, 20 is the great Commission. You guys have heard me talk about the Great Commission for years.
[00:04:13] And in the Great Commission, he says, go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, all that I commanded you.
[00:04:32] And I am with you always, even at the end of the age.
[00:04:37] You see, in that moment, in those two verses, Jesus is teaching that baptism is not separate from discipleship.
[00:04:45] It is tied directly into what it means to be a follower of Christ.
[00:04:52] He says, make disciples, baptize, teach, walk with them, build them up.
[00:05:01] That is woven into the mission of the Church.
[00:05:08] And it should tell us something very important, that baptism is not an optional religious moment.
[00:05:19] It is actually part of following Christ.
[00:05:24] And so I do want to walk through a little bit of the tension that goes on in the world today, because people are wrestling with this from all different angles, right?
[00:05:36] Some believe that baptism is required for salvation. You'll see a lot of people point to Acts 2:38, where Peter said to them, repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
[00:05:53] And if you read that alone, just that verse, Acts 2:38, it does sound like a formula. It sounds like repent plus baptism equals forgiveness.
[00:06:05] But we have to remember that we can't take one verse out of Scripture.
[00:06:12] We have to use Scripture to interpret Scripture.
[00:06:16] You never base doctrine on one verse when the rest of the Bible speaks so clearly about salvation.
[00:06:24] Like in Ephesians 2, 8, 9, it says, for by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves. It is a gift from God, not as a result of work, so that no one can boast.
[00:06:37] Romans 10, 9, 10 says, if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
[00:06:55] There is no mention of baptism as a condition of salvation in these passages.
[00:07:01] Salvation comes through faith and confession, but baptism follows that faith.
[00:07:12] So if we ask the question, why did Peter mention baptism in Acts 2:38?
[00:07:18] It's because in the early church, repentance and baptism were linked really close together. Baptism was the immediate outward expression of an inward repentance.
[00:07:31] But the forgiveness is tied to repentance, not the act of going into the water.
[00:07:38] So I'll try to illustrate it a little bit. Right?
[00:07:42] If I told you, walk into a store, grab a cup of coffee, pay for it at the counter, that payment is tied to the transaction. It is not tied to when you walk in the doors. If you walked in the doors and you didn't order the coffee, you don't have to pay for it.
[00:08:03] But both of them are part of the experience. Walking in is part of the experience. Ordering the coffee, getting it, and paying it for the counter, they are all part of the experience.
[00:08:13] And I believe baptism is part of the experience of foundation, but not the foundation of salvation.
[00:08:23] You know, there are people who argue that baptism means almost nothing, that it's symbolic, that it's a nice gesture, that it's a public announcement, but nothing more.
[00:08:36] See, the problem with that is that if you read scripture, it talks about baptism in this deep, powerful, spiritual way that we can't ignore.
[00:08:51] Romans 6:3, 4 says, or do you not know, that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death.
[00:09:00] Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death. So that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
[00:09:16] That's not some hidden language. That's not just some, hey, whatever.
[00:09:22] That is a union with Christ. That is identity.
[00:09:26] That is saying, my old life has been buried and my new life begins.
[00:09:33] You see, baptism isn't just some decoration.
[00:09:37] It's a declaration of faith.
[00:09:41] In Colossians 2:12, it says, Having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working God who raised him from the dead.
[00:09:52] You see, there it is again through faith.
[00:09:57] Baptism stands beside faith. It follows faith. It is tied to faith, but it is not the same thing as faith.
[00:10:09] It's your first act of obedience to faith.
[00:10:15] You know, we live in a culture today where people want to keep their faith private.
[00:10:20] They want this quiet Christianity, and a lot of it. I think has to do with fear, but they want it to be something they can practice internally without ever going public. And not everybody's that way. So I'm not broad brushing this, but we've all seen some people that are quiet Christians.
[00:10:43] And frankly, that's what the world encourages. It wants people to be quiet Christians so that you're not growing the kingdom.
[00:10:52] The world says, keep your beliefs to yourself. Don't offend anybody, don't stand out. Just blend in with everyone.
[00:10:58] And I think what happens is baptism.
[00:11:02] It breaks that mindset because baptism is public, it is visible, and it says to the world that I'm with Christ, I belong to him, my life is his.
[00:11:14] And frankly, I think that's hard for a lot of people today.
[00:11:19] I think people worry about being judged. They worry about being misunderstood. They worry about whatever their past has been coming up.
[00:11:29] They worry about which people are watching.
[00:11:36] That's a hard one, right?
[00:11:38] I think some people worry that they feel like they're going to need to be better after their baptism than before. And frankly, you should try to be, but that's not how this works.
[00:11:52] You see, if you read the Bible, I personally. And look, I could be wrong. I'll openly admit I could be wrong. But I don't know anywhere in the Bible where people waited until they felt worthy.
[00:12:10] No one cleaned up their life. First they believed and they were baptized.
[00:12:16] I mean, Acts 8, 36, 38, it tells the story perfect.
[00:12:22] As they went along the road, they came to some water. And the Enoch said, look, there's water.
[00:12:27] What prevents me from being baptized? And Philip said, if you believe with all of your heart, you may.
[00:12:34] And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And he ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.
[00:12:48] You see, the only requirement to baptism is belief, is faith. It's not perfection.
[00:12:56] It's not some long list of good works. It's not some training class, you got to go sit in a church. It's belief.
[00:13:06] In our world today, we wrestle with identity, shame, addiction, guilt, fear, broken relationships. This list could go on for a long time about the things that we wrestle with.
[00:13:23] I think lots of us feel like I know I did before I came to Christ, that I'm just too far gone to even be worthy of baptism.
[00:13:34] And there was a period when I was coming to Christ that I felt like I needed to fix everything in my life before I could even go to church, let alone take the step of baptism.
[00:13:44] And then some people listening may come from these religious traditions where.
[00:13:48] Where baptism was treated like a threat, like, get baptized or you're rejected by God, or maybe you came from the background that it was meaningless. Do it if you want, but nobody cares if you skip it.
[00:14:03] And I believe that regardless of what extreme you're on, both of them rob baptism of the beauty in which God designed it for.
[00:14:15] And, you know, some people may be listening today, and you may think, I'm not ready for that. My life is too messy. Too many people know my mistakes.
[00:14:23] Too much of my shame is following me around.
[00:14:26] I don't want to stand up in a room full of people.
[00:14:32] But I can personally tell you this with absolute confidence.
[00:14:39] Baptism has always been for messy people.
[00:14:45] Jesus didn't come for the people who were cleaned up.
[00:14:50] He came for the broken.
[00:14:53] You know, baptism isn't that moment to show people that your life is perfect.
[00:15:00] It's the moment that you show people that your life now belongs to Christ.
[00:15:10] That's an important distinction.
[00:15:14] And if we really speak into that cultural mindset that says faith can stay private, Jesus never offered that as an option.
[00:15:28] He said in Matthew 10:32, Therefore, everyone who confesses me before men, I will confess him before my Father who is in heaven.
[00:15:38] He's saying, nothing about your faith or your walk with Christ is private.
[00:15:46] He's saying, confess it to everyone.
[00:15:50] And if you do, he will confess to his father.
[00:15:57] And I believe baptism is one of the primary ways that we confess him before everyone.
[00:16:07] You know, and I think the other struggle is that sometimes people believe that if I get baptized, I'm going to have to live this perfect Christian life from now until eternity, until I die.
[00:16:22] And everybody fears failure. I don't want to do something I'm going to fail at.
[00:16:28] Everybody fears that they're going to go back into their old habits.
[00:16:32] Everybody fears disappointing people.
[00:16:36] I fear disappointing God.
[00:16:40] But baptism is. It's not a graduation ceremony.
[00:16:46] It's not.
[00:16:48] I don't even know the right words I'm looking for. Baptism is a beginning. It's a start of a journey.
[00:16:55] It's not the finish line.
[00:16:59] You know, if you grew up in a church that. That weaponized baptism, that used it to guilt people, that used it as a tool of control.
[00:17:12] If it was.
[00:17:14] If baptism was used to fear people instead of set them free, you need to hear this.
[00:17:26] Jesus never used baptism as a threat.
[00:17:30] He used it as an invitation.
[00:17:35] You know, there's this whole generation today that's been raised in this online world, and they're used to hiding behind screens.
[00:17:46] You know, they're used to avoiding being vulnerable. They feel safe in this isolated, silent space.
[00:17:54] And baptism forces those people into something real and into something visible.
[00:18:00] And I think that's why so many people struggle with it.
[00:18:05] But look, the truth is simple.
[00:18:07] Your walk with Christ, it can't be lived out behind a screen.
[00:18:14] We are meant to be in community.
[00:18:16] And baptism is you stepping out into that light.
[00:18:24] Before I close, I do want to talk about, just like I think, the mo. One of the most important truths, right?
[00:18:32] And I. And I'll make sure I'm very clear. Baptism does not save you. Jesus saves you. The thief on the cross proves that in Luke 23:42, 43.
[00:18:47] He says, and he was saying, jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, truly, I say to you today, you shall be with me in paradise.
[00:19:00] That man was never baptized. He couldn't be. There was no way he was going to get off that cross and go get baptized, get back on the cross, right?
[00:19:11] But he was saved by faith.
[00:19:15] So if you're listening, that should comfort anyone who thinks they've missed their chance.
[00:19:22] It should also silence anyone who claims baptism is a requirement for salvation.
[00:19:28] And I've seen crazy stuff on the Internet.
[00:19:31] I've read people say that even the thief was baptized.
[00:19:39] The craziest thing ever, right? There was no way that happened.
[00:19:46] So I'm going to try to pull this into one clear sentence.
[00:19:52] Salvation is the gift of God.
[00:19:57] Baptism is the obedient response to that gift.
[00:20:04] In John 14:15, Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
[00:20:13] Baptism is one of those commandments.
[00:20:18] Not because he wants to burden you, because he wants to mark you as his.
[00:20:23] Baptism is the physical act that aligns your life with that spiritual transformation that has already happened inside, in your heart.
[00:20:34] If you have put your faith in Christ and you have not been baptized yet, do not run from it. Do not hide from it. Don't let fear or shame or anything hold you back.
[00:20:48] This is not about being perfect.
[00:20:51] This is about being obedient.
[00:20:55] And look, baptism doesn't make you a Christian.
[00:20:58] You already confessed that Jesus was your Lord and Savior. If you've already got faith in Christ, you're a Christian.
[00:21:09] So baptism doesn't make you a Christian, but it marks you as one.
[00:21:16] And in a world that is growing more confused, more spiritually divided, and darker every day, we need men and women who are not afraid to stand publicly with Christ.
[00:21:35] So if God is nudging your heart today, listen.
[00:21:39] If he prompted you to take that step, take it. Obey Him. Let your old life be buried, let your new life rise and let the world see that Jesus Christ has changed you.
[00:21:55] That is what baptism is all about.
[00:22:00] I want to thank you for listening today.
[00:22:03] If you have questions, comments, things that you want to hear about or a podcast about, send me an
[email protected] if you don't have a home, church, it doesn't matter where you are, I will help you. Send me an email.
[00:22:21] I will find a place close to you. Just give me a city and I'll reach out and find a good Bible believing church for you.
[00:22:31] If you need prayer, anything you need me to pray for, pray about, we'll put you on a prayer list. Send us an email. Again, it's helloomadpastor.org and I just want to remind you to love God and love people.
