Mathew 3 Lesson

BAPTISM

Baptism is one of five matters of salvation mentioned in the Bible. 

Baptism is:

1. How we receive the Holy Spirit,
2. How our sins are forgiven,
3. How we enter the kingdom of God.

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT BAPTISM

The Bible has a lot to say about baptism.

For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following four verses:

1. “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38,
2. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” –John 3:5,
3. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” – Mark 16:16,
4. “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 3:21,

JESUS WAS BAPTIZED

Why was Jesus baptized?

Why should we be baptized?

Our focus scripture for today’s lesson is taken from the Gospel of Mathew: 

• Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.  But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.  After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” –  Mathew 3:13-17.

Before we look at why we should be baptized, we will look at why Jesus was baptized.

We will begin by examining Jesus’ own words from a conversation that He had with John the Baptist.

John questioned why Jesus, God’s Son, would have the need to be baptized by him. 

Jesus responded:

• “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” – Mathew 3:15.

That is the first reason that Jesus was baptized, “To fulfill all righteousness.” 

Jesus was baptized because it was the right thing to do. This pleased God, as we see in the following scripture:

• “After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” – Mathew 3:16-17. 

To summarize, there are two things that we can learn from the baptism of Jesus:

1. Jesus got baptized because it was the right thing to do,
2. It pleased God that Jesus was baptized.

Those are the same two reasons that we need to be baptized:

1. Because it is the right thing to do,
2. Because it is pleasing to God.

ADDITIONAL REASONS TO BE BAPTIZED

There are additional reasons to be baptized that are written in the Bible. We will look at those reasons now, along with supporting scriptures:

1. When we repent and are baptized, our sins are forgiven.  “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” - Acts 2:38,
2. We receive the Holy Spirit when we are baptized.  “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38,
3. It is required to enter the kingdom of God.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” – John 3:5,
4. Baptism, along with belief in Jesus saves us.    “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” – Mark 16:16.

CONCLUSION

There are five matters of salvation mentioned in the Bible:

They are:

1. Belief in Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” – Acts 16:31, 
2. Confessing our belief in Jesus.“For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” – Romans 10:10, 
3. Repenting of (turn away from) our sins. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” – Luke 13:3, 
4. Being baptized.“Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” –1 Peter 3:21and “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:16,
5. Obeying God’s commandments. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” – Mathew 7:21.

Jesus, Himself was baptized. According to the Bible, He did this for two reasons:

1. To fulfill all righteousness,
2. To please His Father.

These are the same two reasons that we need to be baptized today:

1. Because it is the right thing to do,
2. Because it pleases God.

We receive the following blessings when we are baptized:

1. The forgiveness of sins,
2. The Holy Spirit,
3. Access to the Kingdom of God,
4. Salvation.

And because none of us are promised another day (James 4:13-15), we should not delay. 

We will conclude today’s lesson with the following scripture about the baptism of Jesus:

• “Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him.  But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”  But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him.  After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” – Mathew 3:13-17.