3. Jesus on Baptism

Water and the Spirit

We will not be able to enter the Kingdom of God unless we are born of water and the Spirit. This is a teaching Jesus explained one dark night to a Jewish rabbi named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who came to Jesus in secret because he did not want his fellow Pharisees, leading teachers of the Jewish religion, to know that he was learning from Jesus, who they hated.

Nicodemus said to him [Jesus], ‘How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?’ Jesus answered: ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’ (John 3:4-7; NASB).

The birth Jesus spoke of while dialoguing with Nicodemus was not the human natural birth process. Jesus was not referring to a woman’s pregnancy. Jesus taught not about the kind of birth that's based on human decision or the will of man. He was not speaking of the birth that involves passing your blood type on to your kids. Rather, Jesus spoke of a spiritual birth that comes from the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures call this being born of God.

… as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God (John 1:12-13; NASB).

Born Again

So, to have eternal life, we must be born again, and lucky for us Jesus defined what it means to be born again. It means being born of water and the Spirit. Most Christians don’t reject the idea of being born of the Spirit, but they don't know how or even when it's supposed to happen.

Let's demystify the new birth: It happens when we pass through the waters of baptism and receive the laying on of hands.

A typical Christian Evangelical these days will not understand the concept of being born of water. That's a problem because being born of water is the predecessor of being born again! Paul mentions the same process Jesus spoke of in Paul's letter to Titus:

He [God] saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).

In general, Christians are familiar with the idea of being born again. Being born again has become well known since the 1970s and 80s when Born Again Christians got considerable press with presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan professing to be born again Christians. Other famous Americans professed to being born again like Chuck Colson who wrote a book called Born Again.

However, in most churches, people have lost the connection between being born of water and the subsequent birth in the Spirit. Many overlook the water aspect of the born again experience completely.

Different denominations are uncertain about whether water baptism is necessary for salvation--but Paul wasn't uncertain. He said that God saved us through the washing of rebirth (as we saw above). Jesus wasn’t uncertain about the issue either. His conversation with Nicodemus demonstrates that Christ taught baptismal regeneration. He explained to Nicodemus that Nicodemus needed to be born of water.

Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel, did not understand baptism. If he were around today, he would be in good company because most people in churches now don’t understand baptism either. Nicodemus didn’t understand baptism of water and the Spirit--but these are Christ's requirements for entering the Kingdom of God. If believers today don't get their thinking straight, they might never enter the Kingdom.

The solution is that every believer has to go to Jesus the way Nicodemus did--in an intimate and personal way. They need to wrestle with Christ's words. Jesus knows exactly what he’s talking about. Today's popular pastors don't. Jesus said we can only enter the Kingdom through a water-Spirit birth and he meant it. He said that we must be born of water and the Spirit, and he meant it.

Many pastors today want to make salvation as easy as possible, but Jesus didn't. He challenged everyone to carry their cross and turned away anyone who would not 'count the cost' of discipleship. Baptism is part of the challenging nature of salvation because it requires a commitment.

The current Evangelical tradition of an altar call does not promote baptism. In place of baptism, today’s evangelism promotes their so-called “prayer of faith”--a cheap substitute for the covenant commitment of baptism. If people will stop going to those pastors for advice, and will go to Jesus instead, they'll find the salvation they seek.

Work to Be Done in the Church

Now, if we don’t teach unbelievers to pursue a water-Spirit rebirth, they won’t purshue it! If we don’t clean up the current doctrinal mess with sound doctrine, in particular, by teaching the doctrine of baptisms (Hebrews 6:1), confusion will increase. Much conversation in the Church right now needs to circle around baptisms. Pastors have got to teach on it and teach on it a lot!

Church leaders have to decide what to do with the millions of people who were initiated into Church life without baptism. We also have to instruct those who were baptized as infants or children on what to do. We have to motivate each mature person to seek baptism in water and in the Spirit.

And what about people who were legitimately baptized as repentant adults but never received the laying on of hands so as to be born of the Spirit? We have to pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit baptism. It is, afterall, the One Baptism and the goal of water baptism.

It's impossible for someone to feel motivated enough to seek baptism in water and the Spirit unless they first acknowledge that they haven’t yet begun their new life in Christ, and that's a very hard thing for many people to acknowledge. After many years as members of a church community, pride impedes millions of professing Christians from being baptized in water. And, what is the result? Tragedy. They never receive forgiveness of their sins. They never receive the baptism of the Spirit. Will they ever be allowed to enter the Kingdom of God?

This grave tragedy could be prevented--but only if pastors dedicate considerable time to teaching the doctrine of baptisms.

Our Lord repeatedly used the expression truly truly in his encounter with Nicodemus signifying that he was sharing an absolute truth. So, what was that truth? That you must be born of water and the Spirit if you will ever enter the Kingdom. That truth cannot be covered up or undermined by the teachings of men. It cannot be undone by theologies. The plain teachings of the Scriptures stand.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God… Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5; NASB).

Context Context Context

Jesus put great emphasis on water baptism, in word and action. Immediately after his conversation with Nicodemus, in the same chapter, we get a picture of Jesus’ baptizing ministry. Why is this snapshot of Jesus' baptism ministry located where it is? To signal that baptism is the context of all of John chapter 3, including Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus!

… Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized. Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were coming and being baptized (John 3:22-23).

So, if Christ's own ministry of baptism is the context of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, then water baptism is the being born of water Jesus referred to in their dialogue. Jesus’ words correspond to his actions in John 3. His actions help us to interpret his words.

Jesus baptized in public, and he spoke of baptism in private. Do the words the Lord Jesus spoke to Nicodemus speak to you too? This is what he said:

… unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:5; NASB).

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