Water Baptism Sermon

Buried And Raised: What Baptism Declares To The World

There is something unmistakably significant about what is happening here today. Water has been prepared. People have come forward. A congregation has gathered. And in a few moments, those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be lowered beneath the water and raised again. It is a simple act. It takes only seconds. And yet the apostle Paul would tell us it is one of the most theologically rich moments in the life of a believer. Today we want to understand what Scripture actually says about baptism, so that everyone in this room, whether you are a candidate, a family member, a longtime church member, or a guest who wandered in wondering what all of this is about, can see the glory of what God is doing.

We are going to spend our time in two passages. The first is Romans 6:1-11, where Paul explains the meaning of baptism with breathtaking clarity. The second is Acts 2:37-41, where we see baptism practiced in the earliest days of the church. Together, these texts will show us what baptism is, what it is not, and why it matters for the rest of a believer's life.

What Baptism Declares

Open your Bible to Romans 6. Paul has just finished one of the most glorious arguments in all of Scripture, the argument that where sin increased, grace increased all the more. Then he anticipates a dangerous misunderstanding. He writes in verse 1, "What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?" And his answer in verse 2 is immediate and emphatic: "Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"

Notice what Paul assumes. He assumes that believers have died to sin. That is not a command yet. It is a declaration. Something has already happened. And then in verse 3 he points to baptism as the moment that publicly pictures this reality: "Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?"

Paul is making a stunning claim. He says that baptism is a picture of union with Christ. When a believer goes under the water, it is a picture of being buried with Christ. When a believer comes up out of the water, it is a picture of being raised with Christ. Verse 4 says it plainly: "Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life."

Baptism, in Paul's understanding, is not a ceremony that saves. It is a ceremony that speaks. It is not the water that unites a person to Christ. It is faith in Christ that unites a person to Christ. But baptism is the God-given moment when that invisible, spiritual reality is made visible and public. The going down is a declaration: I have died to my old life. The coming up is a declaration: I have been raised to walk in newness of life through Jesus Christ.

Verses 5 through 11 continue this logic. Paul says that if we have been united with Christ in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. The old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless. Verse 11 gives us the application: "So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

That word consider is a word of deliberate, ongoing reckoning. Paul is not saying that sin will never tempt you again after baptism. He is saying that you now have a new identity, and you are to live from that identity every day. Baptism is the beginning of a declaration you will spend the rest of your life living out.

What Baptism Follows

Now turn to Acts 2. It is the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has come. Peter has preached a bold sermon about the death and resurrection of Jesus. And in verse 37 the crowd is cut to the heart and asks, "Brothers, what should we do?"

Peter's answer in verse 38 is clear and ordered: "Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Notice the sequence. Repentance comes first. Baptism follows. Forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit are the work of God that accompanies genuine repentance and faith. Baptism here is not a prerequisite for God's grace. It is the public response to God's grace already received through repentance and faith in Christ. Verse 41 tells us that those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to them that day.

Three thousand people. On the same day they believed, they were baptized. And they were added to the church. Baptism in the New Testament is never a private transaction between a person and God alone. It is a public declaration before the church and the watching world. It is the moment a new believer says, I belong to Christ, and I belong to his people.

What Baptism Begins

So what does all of this mean for those who are about to be baptized, and for the congregation that will witness it?

For those going into the water today, baptism is your public declaration of a private miracle. Something happened in your heart when you repented of your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God came to dwell in you. You were united to Christ by faith. Today you are telling the church, telling your family, and telling the world that you are not who you used to be. You have been buried with Christ and raised with Christ. This moment is not the finish line. It is the starting line. The life you are stepping into is a life of walking in newness, of considering yourself dead to sin and alive to God, day after day, in the company of this church.

For the congregation, this is a moment of joyful responsibility. When someone is baptized, the church does not simply applaud and move on. We receive a new member into the body. We commit to walking alongside them, praying for them, teaching them, and loving them through every season of the Christian life.

And for any guest here today who has never repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, the gospel invitation is open to you. You are not here by accident. The same Christ who died and rose again for those going into the water today died and rose again for you. Repentance and faith are not complicated. They are simply turning from your sin and trusting in Jesus as the only one who can save you. If that is where God is leading you today, do not wait. Speak to a pastor or a believer near you.

The water is ready. The declaration is about to be made. Let us watch, and worship, and remember what Christ has done.

Sources Consulted

Schreiner, Thomas R. Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1998.

Moo, Douglas J. The Letter to the Romans. New International Commentary on the New Testament. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2018.

Polhill, John B. Acts. New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1992.

Stott, John R. W. The Message of Romans. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Beasley-Murray, G. R. Baptism in the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962.