I found an old sermon on Baptism that is very interesting, and covers a bit the error of the Church of Christ. Thought I would post.
What the Bible Has to Say About Baptism
By DR. W. JACK HUDSON
Founder and Longtime Pastor of Northside Baptist Church, Charlotte, N.C.; Now in Heaven
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbad him, saying, 1 have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? "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.
"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:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." — Matt. 3:13-17.
I have experienced many things in my life, but never anything like seeing people get saved. The second greatest blessing is to see them follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Baptism is not essential to salvation, but it is essential to service. It is the first thing a Christian should do after being saved. I have two simple points: one is unscriptural baptism; the other is scriptural baptism. Let us look at the negative first.
I. UNSCRIPTURAL BAPTISM
What is unscriptural baptism?
Infant Baptism
First, infant baptism is not taught in the Word of God.
Some time ago I spoke in a church of a different denomination. During the message I mentioned baptizing someone, how he went down beneath the waters and came back up, using it to illustrate a truth.
After the service a man came to me and said, "You know, of course, that we hold a different view." Then three or four days later I received a book from this man, written by one of the leaders of his denomination. It told why they believed in sprinkling and infant baptism.
I thought I ought to read it because I had not been able to find anything in the Bible about sprinkling or infant baptism; maybe I had overlooked something. So I began to read. The author came to Acts 16, the part concerning the Philippian jailer. When it talks about "all his house," he said, "Now it is impossible for me to believe that in a household of that size there were not at least some babies; therefore, Paul baptized infants."
Talk about weak supposition! Let us read that Scripture:
"And he took them the same hour of the night [after God had shaken the jail at Philippi with an earthquake and the man had been saved; he had taken Paul to his house and wanted his family to be saved], and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
"And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house."—Acts 16:33,34.
I use a little supposition, for I have the same right to suppose as this author did. He said there had to be some babies in the household. All right, if there were some babies in it, then look at what it says: they all believed. Now, anytime anyone is of the age to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, bless God, I will baptize him. When a little baby is two or three days old, or a month old, or six weeks old, he cannot believe in anything.
Acts 16:34 says they all believed. The people who believed were baptized. That is good Bible doctrine.
Now he used another point in question found in this 16th chapter. It is concerning Lydia.
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."—Acts 16:14,15.
Again, the writer of this book supposed she had babies; therefore, he says, Paul baptized babies as well.
Now let us look at some verses before that, and it is strange what they tell us.
"And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
"And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither."—Acts 16:12,13.
Now read on and you will see that Paul was speaking to a group of women. The river was there. They were baptized that same day, in that same hour. All the people who were there believed. Now when the Bible says women and children, I believe it means women and children. But here he spoke "unto the women," probably the servants of this woman; for Lydia, a seller of purple, was a very wealthy woman.
You say, "Brother Hudson, why are you taking so much time on this? Why are you so wrought up about it?" Because it is a trick of the Devil to turn people into Hell.
Several years ago my wife and I were visiting, following up on the folks who had completed visitors' cards. We walked up to a door. I said, "How are you, sir?"
The man said, "Fine." (When I told him we were from North-side Baptist Church, I could see his countenance change.)
"Well, come in," he said. "I have been wanting to talk to you."
We went in and sat down. When he walked fast into the back room, I could tell this wasn't going to be pleasant. He came back with a little certificate, about eighteen inches square, in a frame. The paper inside was discolored with age. He said, "Sir, I heard you the other day say a person couldn't be saved except through faith or by trust, or whatever you said, in the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to know that I was baptized as an infant and I believe, therefore, that I am saved, that I am a Christian and that my sins have been forgiven." Then he added, "I was baptized as an infant; therefore, I am saved." He stood there assured behind that little colored piece of paper.
I knew in my heart that unless this man was covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, Hell would be his destiny.
Beloved, that is my concern. I want you to know that according to the Word of God, infant baptism is unscriptural.
Baptism Before Conversion
Then I want you to see this: baptism before conversion is unscriptural. A person — maybe he is sincere— joins the church, but he has never been saved. A pastor baptizes him, believing his testimony.
Later that person — man or woman, boy or girl — comes to the realization that he is a lost sinner, and he gets saved. He is a Christian now. His name has been written in the Lamb's book of life. So he says, "I don't need to be baptized now; I was baptized when I was a child," or "I was baptized five years ago," or a year ago or a month ago.
Beloved, according to the Word of God, you believe first, then you get baptized.
You remember the Ethiopian eunuch and Philip, the deacon who was with him and preached the Gospel to him. The eunuch said, "Here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?"
Philip said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest."
And the eunuch said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
All through the Bible people believed, then were baptized. So a baptism prior to your conversion is unscriptural; that is, you are not scripturally baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Baptismal Regeneration
Then the Bible says this so-called doctrine of baptismal regeneration is unscriptural; that is, you have to be baptized in order to be saved.
This past week a man called me and asked, "Do you believe Jesus was baptized?"
I said, "Of course."
He went on talking. I knew he was a Church of Christ person. He said, "Therefore, you understand then, in order..."—and he got violent. He told me he had been hearing me over the radio tell people all they had to do was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and they would be saved.
I said, "That is right."
He said, "They have to be bap-TIZED," and he began to quote isolated Scriptures. He told me he would like to come over and debate me on this. (They always want to debate.)
Folks, I learned a long time ago that "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." And unless the Holy Spirit of God reveals the truth, we will never get it to them by human reasoning and debating.
The Apostle Paul was one of the greatest gospel preachers who ever lived. You remember the Philippian jailer came in, threw himself down before him and Silas, and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
I have often wondered what these Church of Christ preachers think when they come to that. I guess Paul forgot to tell him that he had to be baptized. Now it is true that he did baptize them later, after they had believed.
Church of Christ people will quote half a verse to you. Mark 16:16 says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." That is all they will quote. But the rest of the verse says, "But he that believeth not shall be damned." It doesn't say a word about baptism.
Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God." I guess Paul forgot to put baptism in there again. Galatians 3:26 says, "Ye are all the children of God by faith"— not by baptism, but by faith.
Probationary Baptism
Another unscriptural theory of baptism is probationary baptism; that is, you come to the Lord and get saved, then you attend the church for three months or six months or some of them as long as a year, and then you get baptized.
Now I am not condemning any church that has those rules; I am just teaching what the Word of God says.
In the book of Acts, on the day of Pentecost, three thousand were saved. They were baptized the same day.
We read again in Acts 16:31 where the Philippian jailer was saved and baptized the same day.
We read about Lydia, who was saved by the grace of God. God opened her heart that she could believe and understand, and Paul baptized her that same day.
Cornelius, the Bible says, was saved and baptized the same day.
The length of the probationary period ought to be from the time you get saved until the baptismal pool is open. You ought to identify yourself publicly with the Lord Jesus Christ as soon as it is absolutely possible.
Do you understand what I have said about these things being unscriptural; that is, they are not taught by the Word of God but are the tradition of men? Though they may be sincere and honest— we will give them credit and respect for being that—yet this doctrine is unscriptural.
II. SCRIPTURAL BAPTISM
Now, let's look at the second point: scriptural baptism—not Baptist but scriptural baptism.
By Immersion
First, scriptural baptism is by immersion, putting a person under the water. When the Bible was translated from the Greek into the King James Version several centuries ago, they ran across a little problem when they came to the word baptizo, the Greek word which means to dip or to plunge or to immerse for the purpose of dyeing a garment.
They went to the King of England and said, in essence, "King James, we have a problem. We are in a predicament. As you know, the word baptizo means to dip or to submerge for the purpose of dyeing a garment. But the problem is, the Church of England says that it isn't all that important how baptism is done.
"Therefore, they have followed the Catholics, who changed to sprinkling. And as you know, this has become the tradition of the churches."
After counsel, they agreed not to translate the word baptizo. "We will not translate it; we will transliterate it; that is, we will take that Greek word and put it in English spelling so they can better understand it, and we will let other folks hassle over it." (Now we are not talking about God, the Holy Spirit and the Bible; we are talking about the men who translated the Bible.)
So the word baptizo was anglicized—that is, put in the English spelling—and it came out baptize. From baptizo—to dip, plunge, submerge for the purpose of dyeing a garment—the word became baptize.
I have talked to Methodist preachers and to Presbyterian preachers who are scholars. All agree that the word baptizo means just what I have quoted to you. But they say it is only a symbol; then they depart from it.
I am trying to get you to establish what the Word of God means when it uses the word baptize.
Now, if there is only one way of baptizing—that is, to immerse— let us see if Scriptures back it with scriptural examples.
Look again back to the Gospel of Matthew:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
"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 [or allowed him].
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water."
Again, I don't mean to condemn a man for using supposition, then turn around and use the same thing. But I will ask you to interpret it. Imagine you were reading this by the light of the Holy Spirit. You had never before heard anything about baptizing. You read here where the Lord Jesus Christ and John the Baptist came up out of the water. I ask you simply and then rest my case on you as a jury: Do you believe if sprinkling were done in that day (if the Lord Jesus had had a little bit of water sprinkled on His head), that they would have wet their clothing walking down into the water? Or would they have stood on the river-bank and picked up a little bit of water in some container, sprinkled it on the head of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thus made it unnecessary to go to a place suitable for changing clothing?
Again, I am not trying to present my case on supposition; I am basing it on that adverb and that preposition—they "went up straightway out of the water."
"Well, Brother Hudson, you can't base it on one Scripture." I am not going to. Look at Matthew 3:5,6:
"Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan,
"And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins."
Again, I hang on a little preposition: they were going to be baptized "in Jordan." You English purists, does not that preposition indicate to you that they were going down into the water to be baptized in Jordan?
The Scriptures say the Lord came "up straightway out of the water." Now let us look at Acts 8:35-39:
"Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
"And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
"And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing."
A man said one time while he was preaching on this subject (taking the opposite view) that he believed he could take a glass of water and baptize every person in North Carolina, meaning he could drop just a little on each person's head with a word about it.
I am asking you, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY? Use just a bit of imagination for a moment—no humor, just a little imagination. Let us see if it will work. Let us see about this man and his glass of water.
'And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain glass of water: and the eunuch said, "See, here is a glass of water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?" And Philip said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the glass of water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the glass of water....'
Beloved, I am not trying to take God's precious truth and make it humorous, but I am trying to show how ridiculous that must be in God's sight.
They both went down into the water. There is the preposition again that takes you into the water, not standing along the edge of it dripping something over somebody's head, but being baptized, put beneath the water, immersed for the purpose of dyeing.
For Illustration
We should be baptized for the purpose of illustration. First, by immersion; second, for illustration.
I believe everything God has here on earth someway relates to Him and, in essence, is preaching the Gospel to lost, dying souls.
When we partake of the Lord's Supper, He says, 'As oft as you do this, do it in remembrance of Me. As oft as you do this, you show forth My death till I come again.'
When you take of the grape juice you say, "This is the symbol of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ."
When you take the bread you say, "This is the symbol of the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ."
You are illustrating His death, burial and resurrection.
Beloved, I don't know anything that pictures the Gospel any better than baptism. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is that Jesus died and was buried according to the Scriptures and on the third day was resurrected from the dead according to the Scriptures. That is the Gospel.
Fifty-four times last Sunday evening we depicted the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We instruct people, when they come into the pool or before they get there, that we do all the work, that they are light in the water and need not try to help us. We say, "We now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." As we put them under, they become absolutely helpless, like a dying man. They have on a white robe, symbolically speaking of death, and as we put them beneath a watery grave (it is that, in essence), they go out of sight, are buried. As we raise them up, they are walking, thus illustrating the death, the burial and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit makes better application of that than we preachers or Sunday school teachers could ever do. The Holy Spirit says to the lost man, "You see, that is just exactly what Jesus did for you. He died and was buried, but on the third day was resurrected to walk in newness of life."
Now, bless God, you can't get that with water dropping off your head; you can't get it with a little something poured on. Brother, it depicts the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also depicts our salvation, that is, when we were converted. Look at Romans 6:3,4:
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
"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."
Notice two things: First, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried."
Normally speaking, we don't bury people on top of the ground. Some are put in a mausoleum, but normally speaking, we dig graves and put bodies out of sight.
To be baptized with Christ is to be buried with Christ. Do you believe that you can stand by some little baptismal font with everybody's eyes on you and a little bit of water sprinkled on your head, and be buried? Of course not. You bury people out of sight.
Notice again: "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."
Now verse 5: "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection."
"For if we have been planted..." Beloved, do you take seed and throw it on top of the ground? No. You have agricultural sense enough to know that you have to break up the soil. You take that seed and plant it beneath the sod, put it out of sight. You cannot scripturally, you cannot legally, bury anything or plant anything unless it is put out of sight.
Somebody standing at a baptismal font or a little innocent baby held with a preacher sprinkling water on his brow and being buried or planted—he is not out of sight.
As we baptize, we are showing our salvation and our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It shows an end to our old life and a beginning to our new life.
The Apostle Paul had been saved on the road to Damascus. Over and over he gave that testimony, both to the Gentiles and the Jews. Any theologian and anyone else who has ever read his Bible will agree one hundred percent that the Apostle Paul was saved on the road to Damascus. Now let's read Acts 22:14-16
"And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
"For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Paul is relating this after it had already happened. What Ananias is saying is, "What are you waiting for, Saul? You have been saved three days. That is long enough. Arise, get up and be about it; be baptized and show people that your sins have been washed away by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, calling on the name of the Lord." Ananias is saying, "Saul, what are you waiting on? Get up now and do something. Be baptized. Show everybody that the old sinful life is gone. Show them you will not persecute anymore but that you are to preach now. Why tarriest thou? Brother, get baptized."
Because of Illumination
Number three: because of illumination. Illumination means to see, to shed light on something. When we turn on the lights in this building, we illuminate it. It means, then, to see the importance of baptism.
When I was baptized, it was because I was instructed to do so. I didn't know its meaning. I do not condemn anybody for that. I am sure scores of people have followed the Lord in believer’s baptism who in reality didn't know what it meant. That is why I want you to see the importance of being baptized, that you have illumination. Let me illustrate what I am saying.
Turn back to our Scripture in Matthew. The Lord shows us the importance of baptism. Look at chapter 3, verse 13:
"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him."
The Word of God means what it says. I don't believe it beats around the bush. Jesus did not come down there to be introduced to John the Baptist; He didn't come to help him in a city-wide crusade; He didn't come there to begin a great campaign. He came for one reason—to be baptized.
The Lord came from Galilee, that verse says. That is right, the Sea of Galilee where Nazareth is located and where Christ lived.
Snow is on Mount Hermon, about nine thousand feet high, in the wintertime. It begins to melt in the spring, then runs down the little tributary. And God made a natural reservoir there—the Sea of Galilee. It is fresh water, of course. The water ponds and the Sea of Galilee are still there. Then it has an overflow. It flows down and becomes the river Jordan. It flows on down until finally, at the edge of Jericho, it becomes the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the face of the earth. It has no exit. It sits and does nothing.
Now the Lord, in Galilee, came all the way down to where John was baptizing, right near Jericho—about sixty miles. I am showing you the importance of baptism. The Lord Jesus Christ walked sixty miles in order to be baptized. Beloved, that is important, if He is going to be our Example, if we are to follow after the Lord Jesus Christ. If He walked sixty miles to be baptized, then can't we walk six feet?
For Identification
Not only that, but it shows the identification of baptizing. Christ was revealed in His baptism.
"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.
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."—Matt. 3:16,17.
John the Baptist baptized Jesus. Now John the Beloved who wrote the Gospel of John is giving an eyewitness account.
"And John bare record [John is saying, "I am now writing down the record as I am inspired by the Holy Spirit. This is the record"], saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
"And I knew him not: but he that sent me [this is John the Baptist being quoted] to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
"And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God."—John 1:32-34.
The Lord was identified while being baptized. It showed His identification with God—as God the Son and the Son of God.
Now if it was so important that the Lord Jesus would walk sixty miles, if it was important enough for God to identify His Son—not in His preaching, not in His miracles, not in the way He could take an offering, not in the way He could get response, but—in the Lord's being baptized, is it then not important for you and me?
The Interest in Baptism
But there is another thing—the interest. When Christ was born, all Heaven joined in. The angelic choir began to sing and announce the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see Him again when He is twelve, but not anymore for a while. From then on we know nothing about His young manhood, His teenage days. But we see Him when He is about thirty years of age—when He is being baptized in Jordan.
Notice for the first time in the life of the Lord that the Trinity is revealed to humanity. There He was—the Son of the living God-standing in the baptismal waters of Jordan, and the Holy Spirit coming upon Him like a dove. The heavens opened and God the Father spoke: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
There you see the Trinity. So we are admonished to say, when we put a person in the baptismal waters, "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." It marks the first time the Trinity had been revealed to mankind: God the Father in Heaven; God the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove; and God the Son on the face of the earth.
Baptism is important. Perhaps in no other way, the Trinity is exalted when one follows the Lord in believer's baptism.
I am not required to say, when a person is saved, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." I am not required to say, when a person dies, that this person is dead "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." But I am required to say, when a person goes down beneath the water in that baptismal pool, "I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The Trinity is present and exalted.
Then I want you to see this last thing. There is the importance, there is the identification, there is the interest, and again I use the phrase, there is the illumination of baptism.
Baptism Is Pleasing to God
"In whom I am well pleased." "Pleased" is a word with which we are all familiar. Somebody does a good job, and we say, "We are pleased with the work." You say, "I am pleased with the performance of this automobile," or "I am pleased with this dress or suit." It literally means satisfied.
As the Holy Spirit put this message on my heart, I thought of the times I had remembered reading the word "pleased" as associated with the Lord Jesus. I can remember only three times.
The first time is in Isaiah 53:10, the great chapter God has given us foreshadowing and foretelling the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says there was no deceit found in His mouth. In other words, the Lord was being depicted as the Perfect One. And the Bible says, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." God was satisfied with the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then I read again at His baptism, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
I read in Matthew 17 when Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, went up on the Mount of Transfiguration and when the Lord Jesus Christ metamorphosed (changed into the literal image of God), Peter said, "Lord...let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." Immediately a cloud overshadowed him, and a voice came from Heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And He added these words, "Hear ye him."
I believe while those men were there, God wanted to remind them of something once again, and He wanted to remind or encourage even His Son just a little; so the heavens broke, and He said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
God is saying in Isaiah 53, "I was pleased with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death." He is saying at the river Jordan, "I am pleased with Him in baptism." And when He was metamorphosed and taken into the presence of God, I believe it speaks of His resurrection, and so He said, "Therefore, I am satisfied with the Son of the living God in His death, in His baptism, in His resurrection."
I am glad that now the Bible says that when He looks at me, He is satisfied. Bless God, through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are "accepted in the beloved." Tell me, then, why it isn't important for one to be baptized if God said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," when Jesus was baptized. You and I are to follow the Lord in believer's baptism.
Again, Acts 22:16 says, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized." Some of you this morning have been saved, but you have never been baptized. Some of you maybe have been saved after you joined the church. God says you are unscripturally baptized, and it hurts the heart of the Lord for you not to see the importance of it.
Maybe God has opened some eyes. You have been illuminated. When you see the necessity of scriptural baptism, I believe you will do that which is right and pleasing to God.
