Believer's Baptism (1 Peter 3:21)

The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 3:21)

Baptism is a testimony or an outward expression or sign or as in this passage, “the answer” of that “good conscience toward God.”  A candidate for baptism is examined and asked concerning his spiritual condition, to which he should be able to claim a true and living relationship with God by faith in Christ alone, a repentance of sin, and attest to the genuine regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in his heart, prior to baptism.  Once again, in the Bible, a person is saved before they participate in the ordinance of baptism. 

“The like figure” refer to the waters of baptism and the waters of Noah’s flood.  Water was instrumental in delivering Noah and his family from God’s judgment.  Noah was already saved prior to entering the ark.  His faith moved him to build the ark.  But he and his family could only be delivered from the great flood, if they would enter into the ark.  A Christian is first, saved by faith alone.  Before he enters the baptismal waters, he already has been saved by the glorious cross-work of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Christian’s baptism delivers him from God’s judgment (not in the salvific sense) but in a physical sense (similar to Noah).  In Peter’s day, Christians were persecuted for their faith in Christ.  It wasn’t easy to take a public stand (Baptism).  No doubt there were Christians who internally had true saving faith, but not wanting to declare publicly their faith in Christ hence, a conflict of conscience arises. Besides, God chastises every child he receives (Heb. 12:6) and so if a Christian knows he is supposed to be baptized, but doesn’t, he will have to endure God’s chastening hand.  In Baptism, the Christian is taking a public stand for Christ, and is in effect saying, “I am in Christ, and because of that I am no longer a part of this anti-God world system.”  His baptism is a witness to God's deliverance.

The onus of this passage is on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  Whatever we may believe about Baptism, or anything else, our entire system of religion is vain had it not been for the resurrection of the Lord.  Our hope is founded upon the fact that Christ is risen, and that same resurrection power is what grants unto us eternal life (Eph. 1:15-23) and not any external religious act.

Believer's Baptism (Acts 2:38)

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38)

     Repentance is the main concern and basis for baptism, the remission of sins, and the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost.  The basis for baptism has consistently been, in Luke's writings and throughout the Scriptures, repentance (Luke 3:3; Matthew 3:8; and Mark 1:4).  Baptism presupposes that the candidate has already repented of sin, and trusted in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. Luke has a special emphasis throughout his treatises (Luke and Acts) about the relationship between repentance and the forgiveness or remission of sins (read Luke 3:3; 24:47; Acts 3:19; & 8:32).  The basis for the remission of sins isn't in the Baptism, but in the evangelical truths which are expressed in Baptism (the excellent and salvific work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is His death, burial and resurrection) to which the candidate must have necessarily embraced prior to Baptism.  The preposition "for" should not be read as "in order to" rather it should be understood as "because of or on the basis of."  In other words, those who have repented are called upon to identify themselves with Christ and His people through Baptism, and this because their sins have been forgiven.  The gift of the Holy Ghost refers to both the person and various graces which accompany His divine indwelling presence.  No one in Acts has ever received the gift of the Holy Ghost who neglected repentance, but we do have an example of some who in fact received the gift of the Holy Ghost without Baptism (see Acts 10:44-48; 11:12-16).

Believer's Baptism (Mark 16:16)

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

The saving element is determined clearly by the context of both the immediate passage and the larger context (16:9-20) which is "believing" (as opposed to believing not).  The condemnation rests solely on those who believe not because their unbelief precludes baptism (which is the confession or profession of one's faith).  Baptism in this passage is important not in the saving, but in the signifying of belief.  The relationship between believing and baptism is so close, that it really should be thought of as an anomaly for one to claim faith in the Lord but decline baptism.  However, salvation doesn't rest on believing and being baptized, for which we have Simon's account in Acts 8:13-24 to prove this point, but rather salvation rests only in believing, and believing is externally signified by baptism.

Believer's Baptism (Galatians 3:27-28)

“[v.27] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  [v.28] There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:27-28)

A.  Baptism not only publicly identifies us with the Lord Jesus, but it also provides a clear and    distinct mark of initiating a Christian lifestyle.  We see this in the phrase “put on Christ.”  The idea is that in Baptism we are outwardly “taking off” the old, worn-out, and filthy garments of the previous life without Christ, which is indeed a life not worth living.  When a believer is baptized (i.e.  Scripturally baptized by immersion, upon the profession of faith in Christ, under the authority of the church) he is putting on Christ, which means he is assuming new habits, new attitudes, and a new behavior that is in obedience to Christ.

B.  Baptism is an outward badge of unity among the church.  Although baptism, in our day and    age, is not looked upon as an essential or fundamental doctrine within Evangelicalism and historic Fundamentalism, we can see that baptism is in fact an essential doctrine for unity within a church, and a basis for ministry work according to the passage above and others as well including 1 Cor. 12:13, and Eph. 4:5.  The point is, baptism matters.  Soteriology is not an end-all doctrine.  While Baptism doesn’t forgive sin, nor can it regenerate a man, it should be viewed as a corollary to a believer’s profession of faith in Christ.  Baptism is an outward sign of the inward grace of Salvation.  In the New Testament, Christians never endeavored to do ministry work without first submitting themselves to baptism (see Acts 2:41; 8:12; 9:17-20; 16:30-33; 18:8).

Believer's Baptism (Romans 6:1-4)

“(v.1) What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (v.2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  (v.3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (v.4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:1-4)

Baptism is identification with Christ, a profession of Christ, an obligation towards Christ.  Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  Basically, it is through the work of Christ that we are saved – thus no man is justified by observing an ordinance.  In fact, we aren’t even saved because of our very own profession, rather, we are saved because the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for us and rose from the grave triumphant over sin, death, Hell, the world, flesh and Satan.  In essence, we are saved because of His work.  We are simply recipients of His mercy and righteousness.

Our baptism identifies us with both the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  Ironically, our baptism is really about Him, and not about us.  Our baptism is a profession in that it proclaims to the world that we are His followers.  Baptism is also an obligation to live for Christ.  Because He gave us new life, we walk in newness of life. 

When believers are baptized, it should remind us of our Lord.  The act of immersion signifies that He died and rose for us.  And so, in baptism, when the believer is placed into the water, it represents The Lord’s death, and it also represents the believer’s death to the old way of life.  The same holds true for the resurrection.  When the believer is brought up from under the water, this represents the resurrection of the Lord, and the resurrection of the believer to walk in newness of life.

When believers are baptized, it should also remind us of our baptism – that we ourselves are in fact baptized.  That we too have pledged our allegiance to Christ, we are His followers and that we desire His will for our lives, not ours.  We must live for Him, and we do.  Believer's Baptism helps to remind us of this truth.

Believer's Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17)

“[v.16] And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: [v.17] And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17)


1. The Biblical mode of baptism is immersion.

2. The believer who submitted to baptism was always brought to the waters and not the other way around.

     a. Matt. 3:6a “And where baptized of him in Jordan…”
     b. Mk. 1:5b “…and where all baptized of him in the river Jordan…”
     c. Jn. 3:23a “And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.”
     d. Acts 8:36 “…See, here is water:”
     e. Acts 8:38 “into the water…”

3. The Trinity revealed.

     a. God the Father is revealed as “a voice from Heaven.”
     b. God the Son is fulfilling His Father’s will in getting baptized.
     c. God the Holy Spirit descends “like a dove.”

4. Lessons from the text:

     a. God the Father has something to say: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I  am well pleased.” The Lord Jesus Christ is always pleasing God. Everyone who takes up the name of Christ(i.e. Christians) should follow His example, and in doing so become well pleasing unto the Father. The obedience demonstrated in baptism is pleasing to God.

     b. The Holy Spirit is said to be “like a dove.” Perhaps in a form of a dove, but more importantly, the Holy Spirit is sensitive and can easily be quenched or grieved. We must be sensitive not to hinder His work in our lives.

Believer's Baptism (Matthew 3:13-15)

“(13) Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
(14) But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
(15) And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.” (Mat 3:13-15)

The Lord Jesus always teaches by example. Baptism was important to Him. In this passage He traveled approximately 60 miles to get to the Jordan River so that He would be baptized by God’s appointed servant. The Jordan River wasn’t the exactly a favorable place for ceremonial washings. John the Baptist knew that the Lord Jesus was greater than himself. And yet the Lord traveled, and submitted Himself to baptism, because He was obedient to His Father’s will and work.

1. It does matter who administrates baptism. Baptism is a church ordinance. It is given to the church to baptize believers, not merely any one person.

2. It does matter how a person is baptized. The Lord Jesus was immersed else, there would be no need to travel all the way to the Jordan. Remember, the word baptize itself literally means “to dip” or “to immerse.”

3. Baptism is part of God’s plan that the Lord Jesus performed in order to fulfill all righteousness. And so it is incumbent upon all who claim the name of Christ to follow in obedience to the Master’s pattern of getting baptized.

4. Baptism initiated the Lord Jesus’ public ministry. Baptism then, initiates a Christian’s ministry and service to God. Baptism is a visible, public and initiatory declaration of surrender to God. It was important for Christ to identify Himself with God through God’s appointed forerunner. This teaches us, that if we are to do anything for God, we must of necessity; identify ourselves with God’s ordained institution for ministry, i.e. the church.