Who do we Baptize?

Amen. I like that song. All I have is Christ. Brother Keith did mention that that could be our testimony. It should be our testimony. I remember years ago we had a young man in the life of our church who went into the Marine Corps and he lived for the Lord and all of those years he said that that was his testimony. It seemed like every time I was around him when we were singing that song he would bring that subject up. So I pray that maybe that is your testimony, that that song is what you've seen. And I pray that God would enable us to live that testimony as well. I appreciate that worship.

Now if you would take your Bible and turn back to Matthew chapter 28. Like I said earlier in our scripture reading I'm going to mention quite a few other verses and you can write those down. I would prefer you to follow me and just cover all of the ground that we're going to cover with me. So if you need some information, if you need some of my notes that will help you get those other passages, I'll be glad to help you there. But we'll be in Matthew 28 verses 16 to 20 a little later on in the message. Now many of you know that we have two baptismal services coming up soon. We will be observing baptism next Sunday. That is September the 4th.

That's a good date for you to remember. That's also my birthday. Many of you do not know that I'll be 39 next week. And then also we're going to have baptismal service on October the 2nd. I didn't appreciate those laughs. There's quite a few of them. Now we're having two baptismal services for two reasons or a few reasons. First of all we have several people that are going to be baptized. So we need to schedule two services so that we can get all of our candidates. But also we want to baptize on the Sundays that we are having our first Sunday fellowship.

That's because we want to make it a joyful celebration for our church family and for all those who are being baptized. Have we not learned that it is a joyful celebration when those come to faith in Christ? We've learned that on Wednesday nights in our study of the parables in Luke chapter 15. And also a part of it is the fact that we do not have an indoor baptistery. Some of you might not have noticed that fact. We will be baptizing outside in our courtyard so it just works out better to baptize when we have our first Sunday fellowship. Now in spiritual preparation for these services I want us to ask two questions. Two very basic questions.

I will ask one question this morning and I'll ask the next question next Sunday. Who do we baptize and why do we baptize? And everything that we'll study this morning and next week will sooner around and will be under the umbrella of those two questions. Who and why? Now we could be tempted to only ask why we baptize. Now that wouldn't be a bad thing to do. But for me that wouldn't be enough. I want us to take two weeks to explore who and why so that we can get a fuller meaning of the purpose and the significance of baptism. I just think there's a lot more that we need to look at and study and get here.

Now before we get into our message this morning I want us to see that these messages are not just for those who are being baptized. What we are studying is for all of Grace Life Church and for all of those who are visiting Grace Life. So my target audience if I could say it like that is three people. Of course those who are being baptized and also those who are members of Grace Life Church Brookhaven and those who are visiting with us at Grace Life. Now for those of us who are members of Grace Life we need to be reminded what we believe about baptism and what we teach about baptism and why.

And baptism is a very important doctrine and one that we can be tempted to move away from or devalue or lose sight of. I was doing some reading this week and I read a respected scholar who said that baptism is not a major doctrine. Now I thought about that statement a lot. I even text messaged a pastor friend of mine about that statement. I'm not sure I agree with that statement. Now I know that baptism is not a major doctrine in that if we're in error here we're not going to venture off into heresy. I know that it's not the same as if we were tampering with the Godhead something like that is major and could lead us off into heresy.

But baptism has very serious spiritual meaning. It has very serious spiritual meaning and purpose and significance. So for us at Grace Life Church we need to be reminded of what we believe about baptism and why. We all need a fuller understanding of its biblical meaning and purpose and to me it is a very serious doctrine. Of course I know that there are other churches and true Christians who have different opinions and stated positions regarding baptism. And all throughout church history there has been various opinions and positions regarding baptism.

I was doing some reading this week on how the church is viewed and practiced baptism throughout church history. And that's a very big and interesting read. As a matter of fact you'll be surprised at where some have gone throughout church history. But specifically I was doing some reading about what took place during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. And there was this bitter and violent debate and divide on baptism. Some continued to practice infant baptism which is really a carryover from Roman Catholicism. While some left infant baptism for what is called believer's baptism.

And those early Baptists who believed in believer's baptism were severely persecuted and some were even martyred for believing in and practicing only believer's baptism. But I want to say that I love and I respect those true believers who have different opinions here. I may believe that they are in error but I do not ever want to disparage them or denigrate them at all. But for us baptism are better said believer's baptism. It is certainly a serious doctrine because of its scriptural meaning, its scriptural purpose and significance. And the purpose and significance of believer's baptism is clearly stated in the scripture. It is clear.

And the meaning and even the method or the mode of believer's baptism is clearly stated in the scriptures as well. It is clear. And what we will study the next two Sundays about believer's baptism, it will not come from a man. I will not get this from a particular scholar or even a particular church tradition. But I am going to stick to the scriptures. And some of you here this morning you have come from a different church background and a different stated position. And your views or the views that you were taught could be a lot different here from what I am going to explain.

And you simply may not understand what we believe in practice as a church, as a Baptist church in believer's baptism. So I pray that this will be helpful. I pray it will be educational. I pray it will be spiritually edifying. That is my heart for us all. And last for those who are candidates for baptism, you will be baptized. I want these messages to help you better understand why you are being baptized and what all of this means. In all of my study this week I was remembering of when I was baptized after I was converted to Christ.

I remember vividly the counseling that I received from our associate pastor, Brother Ken Regan, as he was explaining what believer's baptism means, what it was and why it was important. And I came from a different background in tradition, so I needed a lot of teaching there. And when I was baptized it was a very serious moment in my life. And it was a very worshipful time. I remember it vividly. So this morning I want us to ask one question, "Who do we baptize?" It is real simple, but there is a lot of ground we need to cover. Who do we baptize? Now I want to start by briefly examining baptism from the Old Testament.

I want us to look at baptism from the Old Testament. Now right away we need to understand that the physical ordinance and practice of baptism that we see in the New Testament is not found in the Old Testament. Now let me repeat that. The New Testament ordinance of baptism that is seen and practiced in the New Testament is not found in the Old Testament. But baptism was a part, even a big part of Jewish life before John the Baptist came onto the scene in Israel baptizing in all of the district around the Jordan. Now I know that sounds contradictory, but let me explain.

In the Old Testament times anyone who was a non-Jew who wanted to convert to the religion of the Jews, they were considered a proselyte. And a proselyte to Judaism, that would be the religion of the Jews, they had to do many things. And one thing that they had to do, they had to undergo what was called proselyte baptism. And this was a water baptism and it was a part of their conversion process to Judaism or the religion of the Jews. And as a point of interest here, as you are reading the New Testament, you will see proselytes mentioned. I'll give you a specific.

Chapter 2, we see a great harvest of souls there at the day of Pentecost, which was when the New Testament church was born. I think we understand that fact. And when Luke is listing all of those who were there, he mentions Jews and proselytes specifically. Those would have been non-Jews who had converted to Judaism. That's why they were there at the day of Pentecost. Sometimes they are called devout men or God-fearers. Now, if you study their conversion process, you will see that the proselytes had to go through all sorts of ceremonies and ritual cleansings. And basically, if you narrow it down, they had to do three things.

First, they had to offer the appropriate animal sacrifice. Second, they had to be circumcised physically. And third, they had to be baptized. And scholars tell us that this baptism was attended by a priest, and the candidate was immersed in water. But a question. If there is no baptism, like we see in the New Testament, in the Old, then what do we do with certain passages that we run across in the New Testament? I will name one specifically 1 Peter chapter 3, verses 20 to 21. Now, I'm going to read these verses, and I'm going to explain what we see here.

Peter says, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in him or in the Spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formally did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah. While the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons were brought safely through the water." Now, let me pause there. He's talking about Noah and his family in the ark. We know that story.

And notice verse 21, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Now, we need to ask, what is Peter saying here? In 1 Peter, Peter connects our salvation to the story of Noah's ark and the flood. Peter was using the waters of the great flood as a kind of, or a type of, water baptism. Noah and his family were saved through the water while they were in the ark, and the ark was a symbol of Noah's salvation just as believers' baptism is a symbol of our salvation.

Simply, Noah was in the ark with his family as God had commanded. He was going through the water while in the ark in that great flood. And just as we who are true believers are in Christ and going through the baptismal waters. But there's a difference here. Noah's salvation in the ark was temporary, a temporary salvation. But our salvation in Christ Jesus is a permanent eternal salvation. We see this same type of teaching in comparison and symbolism in other places. Specifically, Paul in 1 Corinthians 10, verses 1 to 4. Paul calls the Israelites' journey through the Red Sea a type of baptism.

Just like Peter called Noah's journey through the great flood a type of baptism. But neither of the two are what we would see as New Testament baptism. So notice what I've been showing you here. Although we do see water baptism in non-Jews converting to the religion of the Jews, that's Judaism. And although we see New Testament writers comparing Old Testament events as a type of, or a kind of baptism, we do not see believers' baptism like we see in the New Testament in the Old. Simply, baptism is taught and it's practiced in the New Testament and it's not seen, it's not taught, it's not practiced in the Old.

And the lesson here for us is this. We can't derive or invent some kind of a baptism from the Old. It's just not there. Now speaking figuratively is okay, but it's just not there. And next, I want us to look at baptism as it is first seen in the New Testament. I want us to look at baptism as it is first seen in the New Testament. Of course we first see baptism in the New Testament with John the Baptist. We first see baptism in the Gospels when John the Baptist comes onto the scene there in Israel. He was baptizing in the region of the Jordan River there prior to the earthly ministry of Jesus.

And Mark 1, we see that John was the prophet that the prophet Isaiah said would come. Mark quotes Isaiah 40 verse 3 where he says, and I'm quoting the verse, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight." And the Old Testament prophet Malachi says in chapter 4 verses 5 to 6 that John was literally the new Elijah that was to prepare the hearts of the people of Israel for the coming Messiah. In John's short earthly ministry, we see that John basically did two things in preparing the people for the promised Messiah.

First, John preached to the people of Israel both to the religious leaders and the common people. And his message was that God's judgment was imminent and that they were to prepare for God's judgment and they should repent of their sins. His message was a call to repentance and a call to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And in light of the judgment that was to come and in light of the Messiah that was to come. And then second, John practiced baptism. He preached repentance and he called those listening to be baptized as an outward expression of their repentance.

We can simply and accurately say that John preached repentance and he baptized those who came as an outward expression of their genuine repentance. But we need to see and we need to understand that John's baptism was much, much different than the baptism that we see later on in the New Testament. John's baptism had a particular purpose. In Matthew 3.11, we see the purpose of John's baptism. John explains what this baptism means. He says in Matthew 3.11, "I baptize you with water for repentance." So it is easy to see the specific purpose of John's baptism. He tells us John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.

It symbolized and it represented repentance, which is a change of one's mind and a change of one's direction. Simply John's baptism was an outward expression of a true and continual repentance in the life. We also need to see that John's baptism was not believers' baptism that we see starting in Acts 2 and continuing through the New Testament. John's baptism was actually a precursor to believers' baptism. But notice what should be the obvious with John's baptism. Those who were coming, those who were coming and what they were doing. Those coming and being baptized by John were expressing repentance.

They were confessing their sins and expressing that through the baptism of John they were repenting of sin. And you know we can really see the opposite here. The Jewish religious leaders were not coming and expressing repentance. So they were not being baptized as an outward expression of true repentance. But simply John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. But we need to see that it wasn't enough because in Acts chapter 19 and in other places we see where the baptism of John was not considered believers' baptism. And I'm going to speak to Acts 19 a little later. Now what's the lesson here? The lesson is easy.

John's baptism is a baptism of repentance but it's not enough. If we only were to have this baptism of repentance it would not be sufficient for believers' baptism. And then third, I want us to examine baptism as it is seen in the rest of the New Testament. I want us to see baptism as it is seen in the rest of the New Testament. Now at the end of the Gospels and at the beginning of the book of Acts we see what is understood as New Testament baptism or what is commonly called believers' baptism. And believers' baptism is the proper term.

At the end of Jesus' earthly ministry after His resurrection before His ascension Jesus met with His disciples over a period of 40 days. And during this time Jesus prepared His disciples for their ministry that was to come as apostles and church fathers. And during this time Jesus gave His disciples what is commonly called the Great Commission. It's found in Matthew 28. We read it earlier in Mark chapter 16. And in His Great Commission Jesus gave His disciples three commands to obey throughout their earthly ministry. First He commanded them to go and make disciples of the nations. Now I want you to notice a particular fact here.

Evangelism is not there. But yet evangelism is implied. Now let me say something before I move on. You have to be very careful when you make implication into the text. Because when you make implication into the text you can be implying something that is not there. And then you commit a tragic error. But what I want you to see is the first commandment was to go and make disciples of the nations. But evangelism is implied. Because bringing people in those nations to faith in Christ must involve evangelism. They must be first converted to Christ. And that must be seen. And then second in the Great Commission.

Jesus commanded them to baptize those who were converted to Christ in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. And then third and last He commanded them to teach those who were being baptized to obey all things that had been commanded to them. But notice here in the Great Commission we see the first mention of believers baptism. Here we see the first mention of baptizing those who have savingly believed in Christ. And notice after they have savingly believed in Christ it's not a stretch to say that this is the first mention of believers baptism in the Scriptures.

Starting in Acts 2 we do see that the disciples obey these commandments. And in their obedience to Christ we see that they preach the Gospel, they practice believers baptism, and then they disciple those who were baptized believers. Now I want to mention a few examples here. Maybe you need to write those down but I want you to follow me. In Acts 2, in what is seen as the birth of the church there at the Day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit was poured out and those thousands that were there, they came to faith in Christ. Peter preached Christ, he preached Christ crucified.

And when those who heard the Gospel, they were pierced by the Holy Spirit in their conscience and in their heart and they asked Peter what must we do? Well in response Peter called them to repent and be baptized. And in this account here the Scriptures point out that those who were being baptized clearly did a series of things. First they heard the Word concerning the Gospel. Second they were convicted and convinced by the Holy Spirit. And that work of the Spirit enabled them third to receive the Word concerning the Gospel. And fourth they repented of their sin. They believed in Christ and as a result they were baptized.

And we'll see this happen again. Later on in Acts 8, we see the account of when Philip preached the Gospel in Samaria. And this Philip right here in Acts 8 was not one of the apostles. He was one of those men who were the forerunners of the deacons. We see them in Acts 6, 5 and he was also called an evangelist in Acts 21, 8. But this Philip who was a New Testament evangelist and a missionary, he traveled into Samaria after the persecution that scattered the church at Jerusalem. Of course this persecution came from Saul, was seen in the early part of Acts 8. And after Philip went into the city of Samaria, he preached Christ.

And the text says that multitudes were listening to Philip. And in verse 12 we see that many believed the Gospel from Philip both men and women who believed were baptized. And it seems that there was a great number of people who believed and baptized. And in this account, as before, the Scriptures tell us that those who were baptized were those who did a series of things. First they heard the Gospel. Second they were convicted and convinced by the Holy Spirit and that enabled them third to receive the Word concerning the Gospel. And fourth they repented of their sin. They believed on Christ and as a result they were baptized.

Notice we saw this before in Acts 2. And we see this again later on in Acts 10. God did this unique work in Peter's life. He called him to go to the house of the Gentile and that was the home of Cornelius the Centurion. Acts 10 tells us that Cornelius was a devout man and he feared God. And through a unique vision from God, Peter was called to go to the home of Cornelius. And after he arrived at the home, Peter preached that God does not show partiality to men because Cornelius was a Gentile. And from there Peter preached Christ starting from John's baptism and then moving to the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ.

And after the Holy Spirit fell on those who were listening to the message those Jewish believers that were there with Peter, they were amazed that God saved the Gentiles who heard the Gospel. And just after these things took place, Peter says, "Surely no one can refuse that these, these Gentiles who have received the Holy Spirit, no one can refuse that they be baptized." And the text says that Peter ordered that those Gentiles who had believed be baptized. And in this account, just like as before, the Scriptures tell us that those who were baptized, they did a series of things. First, they heard the Gospel.

Second, they were convinced and convicted by a work of the Spirit and that enabled them to third, receive the Word concerning the Gospel. Fourth, they repented of their sin and they believed on Christ. And as a result, they were baptized and then they were included there among the believers. And notice, we've seen this pattern, and notice how this pattern is developing. Now I've given you three accounts from the book of Acts. Really just after, right after, chronologically, Christ gave His disciples the Great Commission.

And in all three accounts, we see that baptism is given to those who heard the Gospel, received Christ for salvation, and clearly we see a pattern. After they received the Gospel, they were baptized. And in this pattern, it is clearly seen all throughout the rest of the book of Acts. It's there. And note how many times we will see this over and over and over. So continue to follow me. You see this in Acts 2, the Day of Pentecost. I've mentioned it. Thousands came to Christ. They were baptized. We see this same pattern in Acts 8 with Philip in some area. I mentioned this earlier. We see this pattern in Acts 9.

When Saul, the great persecutor, he came to faith in Christ. We see this in Acts 10. I mentioned this earlier. When Peter was in the home of Cornelius. And then later on, we see this in Acts 16. When Lydia came to faith in Christ and she was baptized. We see this later in Acts 16 when the Philippian jailer came to faith in Christ and he was baptized. And then with Lydia and the Philippian jailer, those who were in their household, they heard the Gospel as well. They believed and they were baptized. See the pattern here? We see this in Acts 18. When many Corinthians heard the Gospel, they believed and they were baptized.

We see this in Acts 19 when Paul was in Ephesus. In this account, Paul was dealing with some who were followers of John the Baptist. They had received John's baptism, but they were not true believers since they had not received a work of the Spirit. Paul then preached Christ to them and when they believed, they were baptized. And as proof that John's baptism wasn't sufficient here and that they truly need to believe in Christ for salvation, the Spirit was given. We see this in Acts 22 when Paul was giving his defense before the Jews. And in his defense, he shares how he came to faith in Christ.

And he presents Christ and he calls all them to do two things. Believe the Gospel and be baptized. And of course, most of them reacted with great disdain and great hatred. Now there are more examples that we can see in the New Testament Scriptures. But notice the pattern. Notice the pattern that is seen from the Great Commission throughout the New Testament. The Gospel is proclaimed, the lost hear the Gospel, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, they are convicted. They are convinced of their sin in their need of Christ. And through the Spirit's enabling and calling, they repent of their sin.

They believe on Christ and as a result, they are baptized and they are included among the believers. This is the New Testament pattern. And notice what else happens. There is another part of the pattern. This is seen from the Great Commission on. Those baptized believers are included with other believers in the church. After they believe, savingly, and they are baptized, they are numbered among the church and they participate in the life and the work of the church. Even those Gentiles who come to faith in Christ. So take a step back here. And notice what we have seen about baptism. We saw that baptism is not found in the Old Testament.

It was a part of Jewish life, but only for those Gentiles who were proselytes to Judaism. And any baptism that is found in the Old Testament, it is inserted. It is implied in a wrong way. But we did see where baptism is first mentioned in the New Testament. That's obvious with John and John's baptism. I mean we call him John the Baptist. But John's baptism was just like John's ministry. It was temporary and preparatory. All of John's ministry was for a short, transitory period of time between the end of the Old Testament era and the coming of the Messiah. Simply John the Baptist, his baptism of repentance was in preparation for the Messiah.

John and his baptism was meant to point people to the Messiah and to saving belief in the Messiah. And after saving belief, believers' baptism. And then we clearly see believers' baptism. In the New Testament, baptism radically changed with Jesus. Baptism became believers' baptism. And it must be seen as believers' baptism because it was for those who savingly believed in Christ. It's easy to see. From the Great Commission on throughout the New Testament, those individuals who heard the Gospel and believed savingly in Christ, they were commanded and expected to be baptized. They were baptized.

And then they were a part of the fellowship of the believers. And notice the order and the pattern. It's been there. Believing and then baptism. That is the proper order. So this brings us to the point of the message. What's the title? Who do we baptize? Listen, folks, it's simple. If we stay within the sidelines of the Scriptures, simply we baptize those who have savingly believed in Christ. Those who profess to have repented and placed their faith in Christ. Those who have been converted to Christ. So who do we baptize? Believers. Those who have savingly believed. And notice that order. Saving faith comes first and then believers' baptism.

And anything else is just not from the Scriptures. Now notice what is happening here. You have been gaining a fuller understanding of what baptism truly is. I know I have all throughout my study during the week. And that understanding will grow as you study these things on your own and as we ask why we baptize in next week's message. And also, we have been realizing more and more this seriousness of baptism. In examining what the Scriptures say here, we understand that baptism is an obedience issue. It's about obeying the commandments of the Scriptures.

Jesus' commandment in His great commission was for the apostles and for all the New Testament church. So it is an obedience issue. And obedience to the Scriptures is always a serious issue. And next week I will add to this fuller understanding. We will understand more and more the significance of baptism. And with this fuller and fuller understanding, we have more to obey. But notice how what we have studied shines brightly against the black backdrop of what we see in our church culture today. Notice how what we have studied shines against the black backdrop of the terrible abuse of believers' baptism that we have seen.

To be a little more personal, look back at your church past. We have all come from churches where people have been baptized for all sorts of reasons other than participating in believers' baptism after true belief and conversion to Christ. I have seen people be baptized simply for confessing sin. I saw a lady one time be baptized. She voiced it from the Baptist tree. She was baptized and confessed that she was addicted to food and she was being baptized because of that addiction. And you might laugh, but that type of thing is a serious, serious abuse of the doctrine of baptism.

I have seen people be baptized because they were rededicating their lives. You know, we come from a Baptist background and Baptists have been good for generations at rededicating their lives. Now listen, rededicating one's life is not found in the Bible, but repentance is. One may repent of apathy in their Christian life. One may repent of allowing sin to come into their life, but you don't get re-baptized or baptized for that. That is an abuse of the doctrine. I have seen people be baptized simply to join the church.

They couldn't and didn't clearly articulate belief and conversion to Christ, but they were being baptized simply to join the church. And look, that is an abuse of the doctrine of believers' baptism and that is an abuse of church membership. I have seen scores of people be baptized who simply could not clearly express that they had savingly believed in Christ. I have seen so many go through the baptismal waters for just sentimental reasons. It doesn't matter how sentimental you are if you are not doing what the Scripture says, it is an abuse of the doctrine of baptism.

Listen, church, if we obey the Scriptures, if we baptize those who have savingly believed in Christ, they profess to have been born again in obedience to the commands of Scriptures and the pattern that we see from the Great Commission on, we baptize. William Macdonald expresses this well, he says, and I am quoting, "As head of the new creation," this is Christ, "As head of the new creation, he Christ, then issued the Great Commission containing standing orders," I like that, "for all believers during this present phase of the kingdom." Now, let me begin to close by speaking to those three, the three that I mentioned earlier, my target audience.

First, those of you who are Grace Life Church of B church members, this is what we believe and this is what we teach. And we as a church should believe and practice these things. And besides this message and next week's, you can do some study on your own, and you should, and you have a great and wonderful tool at your fingertips. Our church statement of faith has a section on baptism, and you can go study what that statement says and all of the scriptural references accordingly. And if you're a member of Grace Life who has been converted but not baptized by immersion after, well, you need to get that in biblical order.

Many times, many times people will be baptized and then later they will surely be converted to Christ. And if that is you, you need to get that in order. And if you're a guest here, you need to understand who we are doctrinally. We are a Baptist church. Now, let me go ahead and let you in on a secret. Our church name doesn't have Baptist in it. I get that question often. Are you all a Baptist church? Your name doesn't have Baptist in it. Yes, we are a Baptist church. Doctrinally, we are. We believe in believers' baptism as seen in the Scriptures, and it's expressed in our doctrinal statement, and we practice it.

And really, we're not only Baptists. We are also conversionists. We believe the biblical pattern is belief or conversion to Christ and then believers' baptism. Listen, folks, Baptists historically have believed this, conversion and then baptism. And if you're not a member of here, if you're struggling to understand these things, allow us to help you. We'll be glad to sit down with you and walk you through the Scriptures in a kind and loving way. I'm always glad to do that, and I do that often with folks for many different reasons. But as I close, those of you who have recently come to faith in Christ, listen close.

In participating in believers' baptism, you will be professing publicly in and through the baptismal waters that you have savingly come to faith in Christ. Believers' baptism is your true biblical profession of faith. Not walking down the aisle, biblical baptism, believers' baptism is your true and biblical profession of faith. And this is very significant and very serious. And it should be very meaningful and worshipful for you. So our question this morning, who do we baptize? I think I've answered that question, believers. But I know that I'll probably start up a few questions, and that is good.

And that's where we roll up our sleeves and we continue to study. And next week we will ask our second question, why do we baptize?