I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Following belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1Cor. 15:1-4), no first principle of Christianity is more important to a believer in Jesus than the necessity of repentance and baptism for forgiveness of sins.

B.      The Scriptures reveal that repentance and baptism are two expressions of one faith, and, as such, they are inseparable.

                                                             1.      To repent literally means to change one’s mind.

a.       When a person obtains faith in Christ through the hearing of God’s word (Rom. 10:17), his mind is changed regarding his sinful way of life.

b.       Therefore, he also changes his conduct, his speech, and his thoughts about all things.  He ceases to live in sin.  See Romans 12:1-2.

                                                             2.      To be baptized is to be immersed.  Specifically, the New Testament speaks of baptism as immersion in water.

a.       God’s word in the gospel teaches us to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:18-20).  Those who have faith in Christ will obey this commandment of His gospel.

b.       The act of baptism indicates that a change has occurred in a believer of Jesus.  A believer will arise from baptism prepared to "walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).

                                                             3.      Together, repentance and baptism combine with the whole gospel message to bring about salvation to believers in Jesus.  They are intimately associated with one another in the gospel.

II.      AN INSEPARABLE COMBINATION

A.      The forerunner of Jesus Christ was John, who preached repentance and administered baptism.

                                                             1.      The message of John is summarized in Matthew 3:2 – "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

                                                             2.      In conjunction with the message of repentance, John taught his hearers to be baptized for forgiveness of sins.  Notice Mark 1:4 – "John the baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

                                                             3.      Thus, we see that John’s work involved repentance and baptism in preparation for the kingdom of heaven.  Both were necessary to fulfill God’s will in the time of John’s ministry.

B.      When Jesus Himself began His ministry, he likewise preached repentance and practiced baptism.

                                                             1.      Christ preached the same message that John preached in Matthew 4:17 – "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

                                                             2.      Like John, Jesus and His disciples also baptized people in the area of Judea (John 3:22, 26; 4:1-3).

                                                             3.      Again, we see that repentance and baptism were integral to one another in the ministry of Jesus.

C.      The first instruction of the fully revealed gospel of Christ was again one of repentance and baptism.

                                                             1.      After Christ was raised from the dead and ascended to heaven, the Holy Spirit came on the apostles on the Day of Pentecost.  Peter then preached to the Jews who crucified Jesus that He was indeed both Lord and Christ.  His sermon concluded with these instructions in Acts 2:38:

Peter said to them, "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.”

                                                             2.      In Peter’s instructions, repentance and baptism were both equally necessary for forgiveness of sins.  They are inseparable parts of one process that leads to one result, which is forgiveness.

                                                             3.      These instructions still apply to us today.  The full gospel of Christ is now in effect, calling on all men everywhere to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ for forgiveness.

D.      The inseparable link between repentance and baptism is explained in Romans 6:1-14.

                                                             1.      In the context of this passage, Paul answers an anticipated suggestion, which was that we should continue in sin so that grace would abound (v. 1; stemming from Rom. 5:20-21).  His answer shows that Christians must not live in sin because they have cast off slavery to sin and bound themselves to a new Master, Christ Jesus.

                                                             2.      To make his point, Paul reminds us about the meaning of baptism in Christ.  Notice verses 3-4:

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?  Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

                                                             3.      To fully understand the meaning of baptism, we must understand the figure Paul is using here.

a.       He likens baptism to a burial.  This indicates that a person has died in a sense.

b.       Paul explains this sense of death in verses 5-7:

For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

c.        Very simply, death in this figure represents repentance from sin.  A Christian’s former life of sin ceases when his old self is crucified with Jesus and he repents.

d.       Following death to sin (repentance) and burial (baptism), a believer in Christ is raised up in newness of life just as Christ was raised from the dead.  This is a spiritual resurrection that is manifested by a changed life.  This changed life is discussed in verses 8-14.

                                                             4.      By this figure, we see that repentance leads naturally to baptism just as death leads naturally to a burial.  Likewise, just as Christ was buried before He arose from the dead, so also we must be baptized before we can walk in newness of life.

III.   IMPLICATIONS

A.      Baptism is for repentant sinners only.

                                                             1.      In all of the passages we have considered, baptism has been for repentant sinners.  This is true throughout the New Testament.  No one else is eligible.

                                                             2.      In Matthew 3:7-12, notice that John refused to baptize the Pharisees because they were unrepentant.

a.       He said to the Pharisees, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance…”

b.       John did not baptize them because they would not repent.  Later, we read in Luke 7:30, "But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”

                                                             3.      The text of Romans 6:1-14 proves to us that unrepentant persons are not to be baptized.  Just as we do not bury people who are not dead, so also we do not baptize sinners who will not repent.

B.      Repentance alone is insufficient for salvation.

                                                             1.      In these examples, we have seen that baptism naturally follows repentance.  Truly, repentance is incomplete without baptism into Christ.  Ceasing from sin alone does not provide forgiveness.

                                                             2.      The text of Romans 6:1-14 is effective to show that repentance alone falls short.  Without baptism, a repentant sinner is lacking the washing of regeneration (Tit. 3:5) that gives him a spiritual resurrection to newness of life.  He is still a dead man, unburied, unwashed, and unraised.

C.      Baptism alone is insufficient for salvation.

                                                             1.      Just as John’s baptism would have been ineffective to help the unrepentant Pharisees, so also baptism today is ineffective to save unrepentant sinners.  No one can simply be baptized, make no changes to his life, and have a legitimate expectation to be saved.

                                                             2.      The act of baptism is not a holy sacrament to be bestowed as the Roman Catholic Church has taught.  Instead, it is a meaningful act of salvation only when a repentant sinner participates voluntarily with understanding.  Consider 1Peter 3:21:

Corresponding to that, 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…

                                                             3.      Consequently, babies and small children are not candidates for baptism.

a.       They can neither believe nor repent.  Moreover, they have no need of baptism or repentance because they are innocent of sin.

b.       Adults who were baptized as children are not saved through that baptism.  Neither the form of child baptism (sprinkling or pouring) nor the purpose of child baptism (forgiveness of inherited sin, so-called "Christening”, etc.) complies with the Bible.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Repentance and baptism are first principles of the gospel because they are necessary for forgiveness of sins and salvation of the soul.

B.      The old instructions still ring true: "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”  Have you obeyed the message of the gospel?