AVBC - Sunday 02/15/26 - Sermon Title: “Why Baptism Matters!” – Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:19

 Sunday 02/15/26 – Adams Village Baptist Church

Sermon Title: “Why Baptism Matters!” –

                                Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:19                                                  

 

          I have a question for us all to consider this morning. The question is this, how many of us have been baptized? Further, how many of us have been baptized as an infant or a child? Even further, how many of us were baptized when we were old enough to understand and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior for ourselves? Even further still, how many of us were baptized as a baby or a child, and then baptized again by immersion, or going under the water, again later in life? Or to say another way, who here has been baptized twice?

          I ask all of these questions, because dear brothers and sisters, in the Christian faith, Baptism matters! Baptism historically is the mark of a Christian, and the entry point into the church here on earth. The way that a Jewish baby boy would historically be circumcised on his eighth day of life, as a sign that he was a Jew, baptism in the mark or the sign of a Christian. It is the “new circumcision” if you will.

In this church we practice what we often call “Believer’s Baptism.” By this I mean that we wait until someone is old enough to understand faith in Christ, to the extent that they can come to Christ as Lord and Savior. In response to repenting, coming to Christ, and being filled with the Holy Spirit, we baptized this person who has professed their faith in Christ. This profession is before us all here, and then in response, we baptize the person by immersion in our baptistry. We baptize by immersion because Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River in the same fashion.

          While many traditions of Christianity baptize infants and children, we believe that a person should have the choice to not only believe in Jesus Christ but should also have the choice to be baptized. If someone has faith in Christ, they have been forgiven, and they receive salvation and eternity. The next step is then getting baptized as a sign, or a symbol that we are new creation in our Lord Jesus Christ. In serving as a pastor in another tradition for a number of years I have baptized babies, children, and adults. While I respect traditions that practice baptism differently, I believe in “Believer’s Baptism” because it gives the person the choice to be or not be baptized. Since Jesus was baptized by immersion or going under the water and coming back up, I believe this is the way that we should baptize. There can be exceptions if someone is gravely ill or paralyzed for example. In fact, our church constitution says of baptism that the person has the choice of “immersion or sprinkling.” In being baptized we spiritually die with Christ, we go under the water, similar to Christ going into the tomb, and then we comb out the water to new spiritual life. This symbolizes Jesus rising from the dead.

          You might have noticed that I lifted my hand at the beginning of this sermon as being baptized as an infant, but not by immersion. I was baptized at month old in 1981 by mother’s childhood Roman Catholic Priest. This priest was a veteran of World War II, was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army, and was part of the famed “Bataan Death March” in the Philippines, where soldiers marched from April 9–17, 1942. Many American soldiers died during this march to the POW camp. This changed this person that became my mother’s Childhood priest, and he was a man of great love and compassion, even though I do not remember him at all.

          When I pastored two churches at the same time in the Finger Lakes region of New York, one of my piano players, and a dear friend, was and is part of the Salvation Army. In the Salvation Army, he taught me that there is no water Baptism. In Matthew 3:11 it says this:

¹¹ ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11, NRSV).

          In my friend’s tradition, there is no water baptism of any kind, yet they believe in having a powerful experience with the Holy Spirit as baptism. My mother Susan tends to lean more in this direction, and after some strong conversations, we have decided to agree to disagree. Once again in the scripture that I read this morning from Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives us what many call “The Great Commission.” Once again Matthew 28:19 says:

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Mt. 28:19, NRSV).

          The vast majority of Christians for nearly two-thousands because of scriptures like Matthew 28:19 and others, have believed in some sort of water baptism. Further, the vast majority of Christians for nearly two-thousand years, have believed upon Jesus’ command or “Great Commission” to His disciples and to us to baptize in the name “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The variations of water baptism, in which the vast majority of Christian traditions practice are based upon tradition, interpretation of scripture, and theological reasons.

          Our reading for this morning from Matthew 3:13-17 says for this morning, once again:

¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷ And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’ (Matt. 3:13-17, NRSV).

          Jesus is baptized by his cousin John the Baptist by immersion. Some might say “came up from the water” might mean that Jesus was walking up the banks of the Jordan River after he was baptized by the sprinkling water, but the vast majority of people think that Jesus was immersed in the Jordan River by His cousin John the Baptist. In this baptism scene of Jesus, we have the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all present, as we baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

          The practice of waiting to baptize someone until they are of the age to be able to understand and believe in Jesus, and to chose to be baptized, or “Believer Baptism,” is only about 400-500 years old, depending on where in Europe someone lived at the time. These Christians were reading the scripture intensely, as they wanted to get the Christian faith right. In their minds, Jesus was baptized by immersion in the Jordan River, and the people that John the Baptist baptized in the Jordan river before he baptized Jesus’s willingly chose to repent and to be baptized. It is true that in the New Testament there are some scriptures where entire households got baptized from the oldest to youngest, implying infant baptism, but immersion baptism is about our free choice. We get to choose Christ, and then we get to chose to be baptized. Further, since many want to “get it right” we get baptized the same way that Jesus was baptized. In fact, every baptism that I have even done as a pastor, and there have been many, I always put some water from the Jordan River in the baptismal waters, as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan.

(Water from the Jordan River)

Since the goal of our faith and our life is to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior, and to be like Jesus, we chose faith in Him, and we chose baptism, whereby we get baptized the exact same way He did.

          Since I have been preaching and pastoring in this tradition for about four months now, I realize that I myself was never baptized by immersion. My older sister Gail was, as she was also baptized as an infant. In talking with Pastor Bud and Pastor Cathy, I was told that I do not have to be baptized by immersion, but in general this is our understanding of baptism. As I am working to get my ordination recognized in this tradition, I can or cannot be baptized by immersion. Pastor Cathy and Pastor Bud would be more than happy to help me with this, and in fact, Pastor Cathy is willing to hold me under the water for at least five minutes, just in case!

          The point of all of this, is this is “Why Baptism Matters!” Different traditions do baptism differently, and as I learned thirteen years ago, some do not even use water. Our understanding of baptism in our tradition is biblical, is the way that Jesus was baptized, and it allows the person by themselves and through their own conscience and faith to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. They then get baptized by immersion as a sign or a symbol of there life in Christ, and them being a brother or sister in Christ.

          Just to show the variety of baptism that I have been talking about, I found short video, about 30-seconds long of an Eastern Orthodox Christian Church infant baptism. I think this is the Russian Orthodox Church. In this video, the baby is dipped in the baptismal waters three times. One for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit. Why? Well because Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 or what is commonly called “The Great Commission,” once again:

¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (Mt. 28:19, NRSV).

 

(Video of Eastern Orthodox Infant Baptism)

 

This is why the vast majority of Christian traditions that practice water baptism and baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Further, I will only perform the ordinance of baptism by saying “I baptized you (Name) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as this is what Jesus told us to do.

          So, if you have never been baptized, or if you have never been baptized by immersion or going under the water, pray about that. If you have never prayed about becoming a member of this church, which we call “The Right Hand of Fellowship” pray about that, as well. As I said, I myself am praying about getting my own immersion baptism in that baptistry, or as some of my friends still jokingly call it, “the dunk tank.”

          How then can we take everything that we have heard, learned, and are prayerfully mulling this morning out into the world with us? Here are some sermon application points on “Why Baptism Matters”:

Baptism is considered highly important in Christianity as a symbolic act of dying to an old life and rising to new life in Christ, union with Christ's death and resurrection, and entry into the Christian community. It's often seen as a commandment from Jesus, an outward testimony to an inward faith, and a public declaration of one's commitment to Christ and the Church.

Key Meanings and Importance:

·       Union with Christ: 

Symbolizes being buried with Christ (water immersion) and rising to new life (coming out of water), reflecting His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). 

 

·       New Life & Transformation: 

Marks a spiritual rebirth, a transition from a sinful life to one dedicated to God. 

 

·       Obedience & Discipleship: 

A direct command from Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20), showing a believer's willingness to follow Him. 

 

·       Identification: 

An outward sign of an inward faith, identifying with Christ and His body, the Church. 

 

·       Entry into the Church: Traditionally, baptism brings a person into the visible family of God (Acts 2:41).

 

With all of this said, and in part because we do not have a church choir this morning, I have a special music video that I want to show you this morning called “Living Water” by Anne Wilson. This song was taken from the movie that we watched at our church movie night last month “Jesus Revolution.” It is not only about “Believer Baptism,” or baptism by full immersion, but it also shows why in our tradition we practice “Believer Baptism.” Once again, this is “Why Baptism Matters!” Let us watch this video together:                                                                                                                 (Show - Special Music: Anne Wilson - “Living Water” (Official Music Video)

Brothers and sisters, this is “Why Baptism Matters!” Amen.