THE GOSPEL MESSAGE
 
    Volume 44   Number 10                                                                                     June 2002
Editor and Publisher - Thomas W. Woody

The Case For Baptism
(A Study Outline)
John P. Morris


"There is an antitype which also now saves us -baptism .... " (1 Peter 3:21)

  1. At baptism, God completes His work of forgiveness
    1. Acts 2:38- "Then Peter said to them, `Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."'
    2. Acts 22:16- "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. "
    3. Colossians 2:12-13- "buried with Him in baptism ...And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses"

  2. At baptism, we are guaranteed a home in heaven
    1. Acts 2:38- "...you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."'
    2. Ephesians 1:13-14- "the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance"

  3. At baptism, we are received into Christ
    1. Romans 6:3- "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into Christ? "
    2. Galatians 3:27- "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. "

  4. At baptism, we call on the name of the Lord
    1. Acts 2:21
    2. Acts 22:16

  5. Baptism is foreshadowed in Old Testament Scripture as the occasion for deliverance, cleansing, renewal.
    1. Foreshadowed in flood (1 Peter 3:20-21)
      1. Destruction of old sin
        1. 2 Peter 3:6- "the world that then existed (world of sin) perished"
        2. Romans 6:6- "the body of sin might be done away with"

      2. Creation of something new
        1. 2 Peter 3:7- "the heavens and the earth which are now"
        2. Romans 6:4- "newness of life"

      3. The "dove" lands after the immersion
        1. Genesis 8:12- "sent out the dove, which did not return again"
        2. Acts 2:38- "receive the gift of the Holy Spirit "
        3. Luke 3 :22- "And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove"

      4. The saved land on a mountain after the immersion
        1. Genesis 8:4- "on the mountains of Ararat. "
        2. Hebrews 12:22-23- "But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God - to the general assembly and church of the firstborn "

      5. God receives a sacrifice after the immersion
        1. Genesis 8:20-21
        2. Romans 12: 1

    2. Foreshadowed by the Exodus (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)
      1. Enslaved before the going through the water
        1. Exodus 1:11
        2. Romans 6:6- "slaves of sin."

      2. Destruction of the enslaver in the water
        1. Exodus 14:26-28- "Not so much as one of them remained."
        2. Romans 6:6- "the body of sin might be done away with"

      3. The enslaved were saved after passing through the water
        1. Exodus 14:30- "So the LORD saved Israel that day"
        2. 1 Peter 3:21- "There is an antitype which also now saves us- baptism "

      4. Nourishment from God after passing through the water
        1. 1 Corinthians 10:3-4- "all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."
        2. John 6:55

    3. Foreshadowed by the water of purification (Numbers 19:1-13)
      1. The "empowering" agent is without blemish
        1. Numbers 19:2
        2. 1 Peter 1:19

      2. The agent's death accompanied by wood, hyssop, and scarlet
        1. Numbers 19:5
        2. 1 Peter 2:24
        3. John 19:29
        4. Matthew 27:28

      3. The water, "empowered" by the agent, purifies
        1. Numbers 19:9- "the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin"
        2. Acts 22:16

    4. Foreshadowed by Naaman's cleansing (2 Kings 5:1-14)
      1. Renewal occurs after the immersion
        1. 2 Kings 5:14-"like the flesh of a little child"
        2. John 3:7- "born again"
        3. Titus 3: 5- "washing of regeneration"

      2. Cleansing occurs after the immersion
        1. 2 Kings 5:14- "he was clean"
        2. Acts 22:16- "wash away your sins"



~ 3224 W. Winchester St., Springfield, MO 65807
johnphillipmorris@juno.com


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