Baptism—Obedience to a New Government
David W Palmer
(Matthew 28:19–20 NKJV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, {20} teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you …”
We have already seen that Jesus—the living, anointed Word of God—has all authority. The word is where the authority is, and that is why Jesus immediately said to go and teach the word, or make disciples with it. Then he says to baptize them, “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” Jesus gave us many commands and directives. For example:
Along with this list, we simply cannot ignore Jesus’s instructions about baptism, as echoed by Peter:
(Mark 16:16 NKJV) “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
(Acts 2:38 NKJV) “Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter’s first instruction to new believers was, “Repent.” Repentance is a radical change of thinking in the depth of your being that leads to a change of actions. When we meet the Lord Jesus and put our entire trust in him, we are literally entrusting ourselves to a new Lord—a different governor or government. Prior to this, we were under Satan’s kingdom—even though we may have thought we were under our own kingdom:
(Colossians 1:12–13 NKJV) “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. {13} He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
Why is baptism so important in relation to this change of government? Among other things, because it’s the first acid test of who now is in control of your life. If you immediately obey Jesus’s command to be baptized, you have made the first step into a life of submission to Jesus as your Lord. After all, obedience to him is a prerequisite for eternal salvation:
(Hebrews 5:9 NKJV) And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.
We note that Satan—and therefore those under his control—refuses to confess Jesus as his (their) Lord:
(1 Corinthians 12:3 NKJV) Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
Peter took Jesus’s instruction about commanding new disciples to be baptized very seriously; he applied it at the first opportunity he had—the day of Pentecost:
(Acts 2:38 NLT) Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter was very direct: “Each of you must repent … turn to God … be baptized.” When you repent of going your own way, and when you believe in Jesus to the extent that you willingly trust him enough to obey him wholeheartedly, then baptism is the act of submission that outwardly shows it.
Peter clearly links baptism with repentance, submission, and forgiveness. In other words, it is only as you receive Jesus as Lord by believing his authoritative word, confessing him, and submitting to him that you change government and your sin is dealt with (Heb. 5:9). Therefore, we can truly see that baptism in obedience to Jesus is a “baptism of repentance.” It is a symbol of turning from the old life of sin that is independent from him, to a life of complete faith in him. This is because it is the first step of obedience to the Lordship of Jesus.
When Ananias instructed Paul to be baptized, he put it in different words:
(Acts 22:16 NKJV) “And now why are you wait
