TEXT: Matthew 28:18-20

SUBJECT: Why Baptize?

A hundred years ago, a church in West Texas was torn over the doctrine of baptism. Some members thought only believers should be baptized, while others said both believers and their children had a right to it. Some thought baptism was by Immersion only, while others didn’t think the mode mattered at all and preferred Sprinkling. Some thought baptism was necessary for church membership, while others thought it was good, but could not be required.

Needless to say, the arguments about baptism created a lot of problems. For years, there was nothing but strife in the church, and finally it split into two little churches, both of whom spent a lot of time denouncing the other.

After the bitterness wore off, leaders in both churches felt ashamed of themselves and agreed to come back together, but on one condition: From now on, they wouldn’t baptize at all.

They reasoned this way: If baptism doesn’t save (and they agreed it didn’t), then it’s not necessary. And, if it’s not necessary, then—under the circumstances—it was better to do away with it altogether. Peace is better than baptism, they said, and since we can’t have both, we prefer peace.

What do you think of their reasoning? I can say three positive things about it: (1) Baptism does not save, (2) peace is very important, and (3) churches must not split and believers must not fall out over secondary issues such as baptism.

But, having said these positive things, I cannot say that what they did was right. They may have been well-meaning (and probably were), but dropping baptism is wrong.

Here’s why: Jesus Christ commands it and we have no right to disobey Him—even if we can give a hundred practical reasons for doing it.

Believers understand baptism differently, of course. But no honest reading of the Bible can leave you wondering if Jesus Christ commanded it or not. Here it is, in black and white,

The Apostles took it as a command and obeyed it, even when there were prudential reasons for not doing it. At the House of Cornelius, the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit (as the Jews had at Pentecost), and, although he knew it would stir controversy, he

The Church is the Guardian of God’s Word; we are not its Editor! We have no right to add to it, take away from it, or change it in any way. Our calling is not creativity, but obedience. The Apostle Paul was a brilliant man, yet he felt no liberty to "improve" upon the Word,

Though he had the gifts to be an Artist (arranging the Word into something balanced and beautiful and so on), he chose to be a Steward who simply gave the unedited Word to God’s people. Speaking of preachers, John MacAruthur said

We don’t cook the food, we just bring it to the table. That’s true, not only of preachers, but of churches and all believers.

I’ve used the doctrine of baptism as an example of a principle that applies to every part of life. This is it: Obedience precedes understanding. Or discipleship comes before scholarship.

Do I know everything about baptism? Of course not! Can I answer every objection? No. Can I explain every verse in the Bible that mentions it? I cannot. This means I should study more and pray more and think more about it.

But before I do any of that, I must obey what I do know is the Lord’s will. I don’t know what "Baptism doth also save you" means; I can’t explain "Arise, be baptized, washing away your sins". I don’t know how Israel was "Baptized unto Moses in the Red Sea".

We don’t understand all these things. And we don’t have to! We still know that Jesus Christ wants the Church to baptize His people in the Name of the Trinity.

The same thing applies to the unbaptized believer. He’s not sure about baptism; he’s got a lot of questions; books haven’t answered them all and the pastor seems stumped more often than not. I know a woman who feels this way. She’s been a believer for close to twenty years now, and she’s still not baptized. Her position is: I must understand before I obey. She’s dead wrong! Start with obedience and understanding will follow. Jesus Christ said,

We must obey what we do know, even when we don’t know it all. Don’t let ignorance or confusion paralyze you. Act on what you know.

And the love of God be with you.