Aug. 17, 2025

Water baptism -Do It Now! (BTS 17 Aug 25)

Introduction -  This lesson simply exhorts all believers to be baptized quickly after their initial experience of belief, which was the pattern of the Book of Acts.  

1 Peter 3:18-22 For Christ also [m]suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the [n]spirit; 19in [o]which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. 21Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God [p]for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.  NASB

Since we have a water baptism service coming up in three weeks, It’s good to refresh ourselves on the extreme importance of doing it as soon as possible after a person becomes a believer.  Here are a couple important things to know about water baptism:

• Water baptism was never done to infants in the Scripture, it was always done for people who were old enough to want it.  
• Water baptism was always by immersion, not sprinkling or spraying.  
• Water baptism was the key which unlocked the earthly blessings God wanted to bestow upon fallen mankind.  Prosperity, well being, healing, the very preservation of life as we know it, all started with water baptism.  This is what is meant in the verses above, where it was so important that it is likened to being in Noah’s ark when God flooded the earth.  This is probably the reason it was done so quickly in the Book of Acts, where every convert referenced there was baptized, probably within hours, after becoming a believer.
• Water baptism needs to be done only once.  It is not a substitute for the normal practice of repentance in all of our lives.  If a person is not sure he was baptized correctly there certainly is no harm in doing it again, but it is not necessary to be done again to join a particular church.  

Conclusion - A person goes to heaven on the basis of his faithful response to God’s attempt to reach him (Romans 1;20, Ephesians 2:8,9).  That alone secures him a place in heaven.  His earthly life, however, during its 90-100 year lifespan, is provided for through the benefits which start at water baptism.  We really need to teach people about this and not delay it, taking more strenuous efforts to overcome the tendency to postpone it for convenience’ sake. We must teach all Christians to baptize, utilizing places like bathtubs and streams to get this important job done.  All Christians can baptize another believer, whether it is in a swimming pool, baptismal tank, river or elsewhere.