It’s really not that complicated.

In no particular order…..

First, let’s define some terms.

1. Saved, born again – these terms denote that a person has been reconciled to God(Romans 5:10). No longer an enemy of God. Reconciled means to be brought into harmony. To be born again means that you were a.) alive (spiritually living to satisfy your fleshly desires), b.) you died (spiritually to the fleshly desires), c.) you were reborn (now living for the Spirit of God). Some feel that one is saved based on their feelings, then baptized later “as a sign of what God is doing in your heart.” That would mean that you were alive (in a “saved” state), then were buried alive through baptism. This makes no sense. (as you will read, baptism is symbolic of the burial of Jesus in a tomb).
2. Baptism – No mention is made in the New Testament of baptism via sprinkling water on a person (including babies). All examples of baptism are of someone going down into a body of water. Also, all baptisms happened immediately after a person expressed their belief that Jesus was the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament. No one waited to travel somewhere, or for a period of time (“Baptism Weekend”).

To the Jew, water was synonymous with purification……

1. Leviticus 8:6 – “Then Moses presented Aaron and his sons and washed them in water.” as a sign of purification.

2. Exodus 40:12-15 – “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.”

3. Numbers 19:10 – “The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening” – Depending on what you were doing, sometimes all you had to do was wash your clothes to be ceremonially clean.

4. Because of all of the ceremonial and physical washings, in 1 Kings 7:23-37, when describing the building of the temple, a description of the water basin and water carts to haul the water were described. An 11,000 gallon cast bronze basin to hold water and 10 bronze water carts holding 200 gallons each.

5. When Nicodemus came to Jesus, at night, to question him, Jesus told him that he needed to be born again. This puzzled Nicodemus. Being “born again” was a new concept. But when Jesus told him in John 3:5 “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water AND [emphasis mine] the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus, being a Jew, began to understand. Being born again involved a ritual washing along with a renewing spiritually.

6. Jesus included baptism in his final instructions to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. “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, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.” – Matthew 28:19,

Mark 16:15-16: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Questions:

1. Can you be saved if you have only believed in Jesus?
2. What is the significance of the word “and” between the two words ‘believes’ and ‘baptized’?

7. Now let’s look at what happened on the day of a Jewish celebration, The Day Of Pentacost. It is celebrated 50 days after the Passover. Grab your Bible and read Acts, chapters 1 and 2.

1. The disciples were together in one room – Acts 2:1
2. There was a sound like a violent, rushing wind (like the sound of a tornado?) vs 2:2
3. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages (tongues) vs 2:4. The Holy Spirit appeared like tongues of fire, appearing on each apostle’s head.
4. A large crowd formed, searching for the source of the loud sound, puzzled by these people who were speaking in different languages 2:5-12
5. Peter stood up and preached to the crowd about how the Messiah was foretold in the Old Testament and that this Messiah was Jesus, who the Jews that were listening to him speak, had killed through lawless men.
6. Some of the people who were listening were “…cut to the heart…” vs 2:37
7. These people asked Peter and the Apostles “men and brethren, what should we do?” vs. 2:37

In verse 38 of Acts chapter 2, Peter tells them:

• Repent – turn away from your life of sin
• Be baptized in the name of Jesus – a ritual washing to show purification and obedience to God
• For (the reason you do the first 2 things) the forgiveness of your sins
• …and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

8. Paul, in Titus 3:4- 5 describes the baptism of Jesus as “…the washing of regeneration…”, meaning that baptism is part of the process of being born again (regeneration). It’s not an option and it appears that we are not reborn until we’re baptized with the baptism of Jesus.

9. In 1 Peter 3:20-21, Peter compares how Noah and his family were saved “…through water…” with the baptism of Jesus by saying “Baptism, which corresponds to this [Noah] now saves you, (not as removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience towards God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”

10. Acts 8:26-40 – The conversion of the Ethiopian official

• An angel tells Phillip to go to a certain place (vs. 26)
• Once there, he sees a man in a chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah.
• The Holy Spirit tells Phillip to go join the chariot. (vs29)
• When he gets close, Phillip hears that the man is reading from Isaiah, and asks him “Do you understand what you are reading?” (vs. 30)
• The official replies “How can I unless someone guides me!”
• Starting from where he was reading, Isaiah 53:7-8, Phillip explains to him about Jesus.
• As they traveled along, in the chariot, they came to a body of water. (vs.36)
• The official asked “Look! There is some water. What would keep me from being baptized?” (vs. 37)
• They stopped the chariot, and both Phillip and the official went down into the water and Phillip baptized the official. (vs. 38)
• When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God took Phillip away. The official went on his way, rejoicing (vs. 39)

Questions:

1. Why did the official ask about being baptized, if Phillip was explaining who Jesus was?
2. Why did the official rejoice when he came up out of the water?
3. Is baptism a “…work of righteousness…” (Titus 3:4-5) or an act of obedience?

11. The conversion of Saul of Tarsus – Saul was a very zealous and devout Pharisee, who was persecuting the early church. (Acts 9:1-2)

• As he traveled to Damascus to search for disciples of Jesus, he was blinded by a bright light (vs 3)
• He hears the voice of Jesus ask him “Why are you persecuting me? Get up and go into the city (Damascus) and you will be told what you must do.” (vs. 4-6)
• Saul is led by the hand into Damascus. He prays and fasts for 3 days. (vs. 9)
• A devout disciple of Jesus, Ananias, was spoken to by Jesus in a vision. Jesus tells him to go to the house where Saul has been praying and fasting, and place Ananias’s hands on Paul so that Paul will receive his sight. (vs. 12)
• Ananias balks because he says that Saul is bad news and persecutes disciples of Jesus. ( vs. 13-14)
• Jesus tells Ananias that it’s okay, because Jesus has chosen him to take Jesus’ name to the gentiles, kings and Israelites. (vs. 15-16)
• Ananias goes and places his hands on Saul, while telling him that Jesus has sent him to restore his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (vs.17-18)
• Something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes and he regained his sight. He was then baptized. (vs. 18)

In Acts 22:1 – 16, Saul recounts the story of his conversion. He says that when Ananias came to him in Damascus, Ananias tells him “And now, why are you delaying? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his [Jesus’] name.”

Questions:

1. Saul was praying and fasting for 3 days. This shows contrition, humility and repentance. Was Saul born again due to his praying and fasting?
2. Right after having his sight restored, Saul was baptized. Was this act a religious sacrament, showing he was already saved, or was this an act of obedience, appealing to God to take his sins away?

12. The 12 Disciples at Ephesus – Acts 18:24 – 19:7

• A Jew named Apollos, who was both eloquent and knowledgeable in the Scriptures (Old Testament) with regard to Jesus arrives in Ephesus. (vs. 18:24)
• He had been instructed “in the way of the Lord” (although we don’t know by who). (vs.25)
• He was fervent in spirit and teaching accurately and boldly about Jesus
• However, he only knew about John’s baptism of repentance
• A couple named Aquila (a Jew) and his wife Priscilla (also known as Prisca) were there listening to Apollos preach. After he was done, they took him aside and “…explained the way of God more accurately.” (vs. 18:26) [Aquila and Priscilla lived in Ephesus and where tent makers by trade, as was Paul. To read more about this great couple, check out Acts 18:1-3, 1 Corinthians 16:9 and 2 Timothy 4:19]
• Later, Apollos got on a ship and crossed over the Aegean Sea and went to Corinth in the region of Achaia. (18:27-28)
• While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions of Asia and arrived at Ephesus (where Apollos had just left). (vs 19:1)
• He met some disciples and asked them “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (vs. 19:2) [pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if Paul asked them this question because he knew that Apollos had been preaching there in Ephesus without knowing about the baptism of Jesus (for the forgiveness of sins and receiving the Holy Spirit? (Acts 2:38)) ].
• They answered Paul “No, we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” This must have thrown up a red flag to Paul, since receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit was an integral part of being reconciled to God through Jesus.
• Paul then asks them “Into what then were you baptized?” (vs. 19:3)
• They replied “Into John’s baptism.”
• Paul then explains to them John’s baptism and how it can not save someone by saying “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” (vs. 19:4)
• When they heard this, they were baptized [a second time but for the right reason] into the name of the Lord Jesus. (vs 19:5)
• After they were baptized, Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came on them. (vs 19:6)

Questions:

1. Why did Paul baptize the 12 men again?
2. What is the difference between the baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus?
3. Is it possible to be saved if you get baptized for the wrong reason?

13. Romans 6 – Baptism = dying to self (read the entire chapter)

1. baptism is a symbol of the death of Jesus. We have died to self when we are baptized in the name of Jesus. (vs. 3)
2. Baptism is symbolic of the burial of Jesus. Just like Jesus died and then was buried in a tomb, we are to die to self, die to the desires of the flesh and then are buried in a watery tomb. (vs. 4)
3. In a similar fashion, just as God raised Jesus from the dead, we too are raised out of the watery tomb by our father in heaven to “walk in newness of life” (rebirth). (vs. 4)
4. Timeline

1. Hear about Jesus and choose to follow him
2. Die to self and it’s sinful desires
3. Bury the old person of sin in watery tomb
4. Be raised (we don’t raise ourselves but are raised by our Father in heaven (vs.4)) to walk in newness of life

E) Colosians 2:11-3:11 – Dying to self and the earthly nature of sin

14. Obedience precedes the reward – two examples

1. Naaman – Read 2 Kings 5:1-19 synopsis: Naaman had leprosy. He was told by the prophet Elisha to dip 7 times in the Jordan river and he will be healed. He balks at this due to his pride. Naaman’s servant gets him to swallow his pride and go dip in the Jordan river. Naaman relents and goes and dip 7 times. He is healed of leprosy. Questions: 1.) When Naaman balked at dipping himself in the Jordan, did God feel sorry for him and heal him anyway? 2.) Was Naaman healed after he had dipped 4 times in the Jordan? 3.) Why might the prophet not healed Naaman immediately? Why make Naaman travel to the Jordan river and then dip 7 times? 4.) What do you think was the reason that the prophet refused to take any money or new clothes from Naaman as payment for healing him?
2. The blind man – John 9 – First, read all of John 9… Synopsis: Jesus and his disciples walk past a man that has been blind from birth. His disciples ask who is responsible for the sin that caused this man to be blind. Jesus reminds them that this person is blind so that the power of God can be witnessed. (vs.3) Jesus then stops, spits in the dirt and makes mud with the saliva. He then smears this on the blind man’s eyes and tells him to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam, which apparently was nearby. The blind man leaves, washes his eyes in the pool of Siloam and then returns, now being able to see. Questions:
   1. Was the man healed as soon as he got up to go to the pool at Siloam?
   2. Was he healed when he arrived at the pool?
   3. Was he healed only after obeying Jesus and washing his eyes in the pool?
   4. Who or what healed his blind eyes: the water in the pool or God?
   5. What part did the blind man’s faith in Jesus have in his obedience to Jesus’ instructions?
   6. What are the similarities between the story of Naaman and the blind man?

15. Acts 10 – The first non-Jewish (gentile) converts – Read all of Acts 10

1. The Roman Centurion Cornelius sees a vision, obeys the vision and sends for Peter – vs. 1-8
2. Peter has a vision about eating ritually unclean animals – vs. 9-15
3. Peter goes with Cornelius’ men back to Cornelius’ house. vs. 23
4. Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house and tells them about Jesus – vs. 24-43
5. The Holy Spirit comes down on all those hearing Peter speak – vs. 44-46
6. Peter asks “Can anyone withhold water and prevent these people from being baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” Peter then commands them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. vs. 47-48

Questions:

1.) What was the difference between Cornelius’ conversion and every other conversion up to that time?

2.) Why did the Holy Spirit come down on Cornelius and his household before their baptism instead after?

3.) What was unusual about Peter going to Cornelius’ house? (vs. 28)

4.) Why did Peter command all adults there to be baptized in the name of Jesus, even after the Holy Spirit had come on them all?