To teach the person what baptism is and how it fits into the biblical plan of salvation, and to help the person discern where they stand before God in light of that plan.

PENTECOST

Acts 2:36-41
-After Peter preached about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, did the Jews listening believe in Jesus?

-How did they feel about what Peter was saying?

-Did their faith and being “cut to the heart” alone save them?

-Is belief in Jesus enough for salvation, according to the Scriptures? How do we know?

-What did Peter tell the people who believed to do?

-For what purpose?

-If they had not repented, would they have been forgiven?

-If they had not been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, would they have been forgiven?

*The Greek word used for baptism in the New Testament is “baptidzo,” which literally means dip, immerse, plunge, sink or even drown. Classical Greek authors used this word to describe ships sinking in naval warfare. The clear implication is total immersion. – Douglas Jacoby

-Have you ever been baptized in water, after repenting, for the forgiveness of your sins and to receive the Holy Spirit?

DYING WITH CHRIST

Romans 6:1-7
-How does the decision to die to yourself, which you made during the Discipleship study, play a role in baptism?

-What is the relationship between spiritual death and baptism?

-At what point do you spiritually die with Christ?

-At what point are you buried with Christ?

-At what point are you raised with Him?

-According to this passage, is it necessary to be baptized in order to become one with Christ?

PAUL’S CONVERSION

Acts 9:9-11 & Acts 22:6-16
-This is the account of Paul’s conversion to Christianity. In these verses, we see that Paul had a number of very powerful spiritual experiences.

He:

Miraculously saw Jesus.

Was knocked off his horse by Jesus.

Talked to Jesus personally after He had ascended to Heaven.

Was blinded by Jesus.

Recognized Jesus as Lord and confessed Him as Lord.

Prayed and fasted for three days after realizing he had been sinning grievously against Jesus by killing and imprisoning His followers.

-According to Acts 22:16, did any of these powerful experiences save Paul from his sins?

-At what point did God wash away Paul’s sins?

-This is consistent with Acts 2:38, Mark 16:15-16, 1 Peter 3:18-21, Acts 8:26-39, Galatians 3:26-27, Colossians 2:11-12 & John 3:3-5.

COMMON QUESTIONS CONCERNING BAPTISM

-Doesn’t Romans 10:9-10 say that we only need to believe in Jesus and confess Jesus as Lord in order to be saved?

-Romans 10 is not dealing with people in need of salvation. If you read Romans 10:1-5, you will see that Paul is writing to people who are being falsely taught that unless they obey the Jewish law they will not be right with God. They have already been baptized.

-Paul is convincing people who have already been baptized and saved (Romans 6:1-7) that they are still saved because they continue to believe and confess Jesus as Lord. He is not teaching them how to go from a state of being lost to a state of being saved.

-If the only condition for salvation were a heartfelt belief, then Paul would have been saved when he was knocked off his horse and the Jews in Acts 2 would have been saved when they were cut to the heart by Peter’s speech. However, when we read those passages we see that in both cases their faith had to be coupled with repentance and baptism in order for them to be forgiven.

-How does God’s grace play a role in our salvation? (Ephesians 2:4-5)

-Grace is unmerited favor. When we are saved by repenting and being baptized, we have not earned our salvation; it is a gift of God. All we have done is fulfilled the conditions of God’s forgiveness. God’s grace is conditional. If grace was unconditional, then everyone who was ever born would automatically be saved and there would be no need for faith, repentance or baptism. God’s love for us is unconditional, but His saving grace is conditional on our faith, repentance, and baptism.

-According to John 3:3-5, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. A condition of God’s grace is to be baptized into Christ.

-We are not earning our salvation by being baptized. We are simply following God’s instructions.

FORGIVENESS

1 John 1:7
-According to this passage, how does God’s grace play a role after you become a Christian?

-How many sins will God’s grace cover?

WITH AND WITHOUT GRACE

Hebrews 10:26-27
-According to this passage, can a person lose their salvation once they are baptized?

-What would a person have to do to lose his or her salvation? Answer: Deliberate and continual sin.

-If you were a baptized disciple and you died right after you committed a sin, but before you had a chance to repent of that sin, would you be lost or saved? Answer: Saved.

-God’s grace is a wonderful gift. After we are baptized into Christ, we are continually purified of our sins and have the promise of salvation. The only way that we can lose our salvation is if we deliberately continue to sin. Therefore, we must always have a striving spirit to repent as soon as we become aware of our sin.