SACRED STEPS: Baptism - Matthew 28:18-20

Apr 13, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Authority of the Risen Christ

The foundation of our faith rests on the reality of the risen Christ. He is not a distant historical figure but a living Lord who holds all authority. Because He conquered sin and death, His commands are not mere suggestions but carry the full weight of divine power. This authority is the bedrock for every step of obedience in our lives. It is a loving authority, given for our good and His glory. We can trust and follow Him completely, knowing He is in control. [30:32]

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18 ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life are you most tempted to see following Jesus as optional rather than a response to His loving authority? What would it look like this week to consciously submit that area to His command?

Day 2: The Command to Be Baptized

Baptism is a clear and direct command from Jesus, given after His resurrection. It is the first step of obedience for every believer, marking the beginning of a new life. This act is not a human tradition but a divine instruction, rooted in the authority of Christ. To treat it as optional is to misunderstand the nature of following Him. It is a sacred step that publicly identifies us with our Savior. [47:18]

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19 ESV)

Reflection: If you have not yet been baptized, what has been holding you back from taking this step of obedience? What would it look like to prayerfully surrender that hesitation to Jesus this week?

Day 3: Baptism as a Picture of the Gospel

Baptism is a powerful visual representation of the gospel story. Going under the water symbolizes our union with Christ in His death—the burial of our old, sinful self. Coming up out of the water pictures our resurrection with Him into a new, transformed life. This act declares that we are cleansed and made new from the inside out by His grace. It is a public testimony of an inward reality. [48:33]

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4 ESV)

Reflection: When you consider your own baptism (or your need for it), what specific part of the gospel story—death to sin, cleansing, or new life—resonates most deeply with you right now? Why?

Day 4: Dying to Self and Our Preferences

Following Jesus requires a death to our own preferences and a surrender of our will. Baptism is a declaration that our old life, with its self-centered desires, is crucified with Christ. This means we no longer live for ourselves but for Him who gave Himself for us. It challenges us to release our grip on what we want and to embrace what He wants for us. This death is the pathway to true life in Him. [58:19]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 ESV)

Reflection: What is one personal preference—perhaps related to church, relationships, or daily life—that you are holding onto more tightly than you are holding onto Christ? What would it look like to release that to Him?

Day 5: The Public Beginning of Discipleship

Baptism is the public beginning of a lifelong journey of discipleship. It is an act that marks us as followers of Jesus and connects us to His church. This step has always been a bold declaration of faith, often involving sacrifice. It is a commitment to live not for our own comfort but for the mission of Christ, no matter the cost. It is the starting line, not the finish line, of a life lived for God’s glory. [01:01:00]

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41 ESV)

Reflection: In what ways does your current life—your schedule, your spending, your relationships—reflect that you are publicly living out the commitment you made (or will make) in baptism? What is one practical way you can lean into that identity this week?

Sermon Summary

The Sacred Steps series frames baptism as the first holy action that follows faith. Scripture from Matthew 28, Romans 6, Acts 2, and Galatians 2:20 anchors baptism as a commanded, public, and soul-altering act tied directly to Jesus’ resurrection authority. Baptism carries the literal sense of immersing — baptizo — and functions as a visible enactment of repentance, burial with Christ, and emergence into new life. The theological thrust emphasizes that baptism does not finish salvation but authenticates and begins the pathway of discipleship: it marks entry into the community of believers and signals willingness to renounce former allegiances and preferences.

The sermon contrasts casual cultural Christianity with the radical call to die to self. Repentance precedes baptism; the New Testament pattern shows baptism following an informed turning away from sin, not merely an emotional response. The narrative uses vivid examples — marriage vows, pickling imagery, refugees choosing baptism in dangerous contexts — to show baptism’s cost and clarity. Baptism’s symbolism ties the believer to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection: going down in water depicts death and burial; rising up depicts resurrection and newness of life. Baptism also presses against consumer Christianity by insisting that following Jesus requires relinquishing personal preferences that fragment community life.

Practical application appears throughout: the congregation receives an invitation to remember or pursue baptism, to take response cards for prayer, and to join upcoming public baptisms. Communion and communal prayer follow the call to respond, framing baptism within ongoing worship and sacramental life. The central claim remains firm: baptism is a sacred, commanded step that initiates discipleship, embodies the gospel’s inner transformation, and publicly identifies a life now governed by Christ rather than personal taste.

Key Takeaways

1. Baptism is commanded obedience Baptism represents a direct command from the risen Lord and a nonnegotiable next step after repentance. Making baptism optional softens the gospel into preference and permits a private faith that avoids public accountability. Obedience here demonstrates submission to the authority of Christ and refuses the comfort of indefinite spiritual limbo. [45:56]
2. Baptism pictures gospel reality Immersion portrays death to sin, cleansing, and resurrection into new life; it dramatizes what faith receives inwardly. The water symbolizes both burial with Christ and the purifying work of his blood, not mere moral improvement. Observing baptism teaches the soul to see salvation as a decisive break and a decisive gift. [48:33]
3. Death to self precedes new life True repentance turns away from the old life and expects inner change, not just external behavior modification. Baptism publicly renounces personal preferences that fragment obedience, signaling willingness to be reshaped by Christ. Dying to self clears the field for Christ to live and move within daily decisions. [53:34]
4. Baptism begins discipleship publicly Baptism inducts a believer into the church and starts the work of forming followers of Jesus. Public baptism stakes identity in Christ and connects the baptized to a community that will nurture growth, not merely declare a private affiliation. It marks the start line of learning, service, and spiritual formation. [61:00]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[16:44] - Quiet Prayer and Worship
[19:49] - Easter Recap and Serve Teams
[23:08] - Sacred Steps Series Intro
[26:30] - MapQuest Story: Directional Life
[30:03] - Matthew 28: The Great Commission
[33:24] - Baptizo: The Meaning of Dunking
[38:05] - Romans 6: Death and New Life
[45:56] - Baptism as Obedience
[53:34] - Galatians 2:20 — Crucified with Christ
[61:00] - Baptism Begins Discipleship
[71:11] - Invitation, Communion, and Response

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV):
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Romans 6:3–4 (ESV):
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Observation questions

According to Matthew 28:18, where does Jesus’ authority come from?
What specific actions does Jesus command his followers to do in verses 19–20?
In Romans 6:3–4, what does baptism symbolize about our relationship with Christ’s death and resurrection?
What comes before baptism according to the pattern shown in Acts 2:37–38? [42:52]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus links baptism so closely with making disciples in the Great Commission?
How does the imagery of burial and resurrection in Romans 6 help explain the inner transformation baptism represents? [50:31]
What might it look like for someone to repent without being baptized, or to be baptized without repenting?
Why is public identification with Christ through baptism so significant, especially in contexts where it might be costly? [01:04:28]

Application questions

If baptism is an act of obedience and not merely an optional tradition, what might be holding someone back from taking this step? [46:25]
How does the call to “die to self” in baptism challenge the way we often approach our preferences in church life? [56:33]
In what practical ways can remembering your baptism (or anticipating it) shape your daily walk with Christ?
Baptism marks the beginning of discipleship and life in community. How are you actively pursuing growth and serving others in the church? [01:01:30]
What would it look like to truly embrace the truth that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” in your relationships, decisions, and priorities? [54:23]
Are there areas in your life where you’ve been treating your faith as a private matter rather than a public commitment? How can baptism reframe that?
How can we better support and encourage those who are considering baptism or are new to the faith?

Sermon Clips

44s

#DieToSelfLiveInChrist

“And we wonder why we have so many Christians all across our land who have yet to be baptized. It's not because they're scared of water. It's because you're scared of dying. But can I encourage you that it is not until you die to yourself that you experience the fullness of life that Christ has to offer? Because the life that Christ has to offer is better than 10,000 pleasures that we would imagine for ourselves. The life that Christ has to give us, yes, I wanna die to my preferences, die to myself because it is about Christ.”

45s

#MissionNotPopularity

“And so what we've what we've gotten stuck with in North America is a bunch of churches whose pastors get in a room together on Mondays and say, how do we keep the people happy? And that's not the mission. Because why? We've been crucified with Christ. I'll never forget a good friend of mine coming from The Middle East whose total village got bombed and destroyed and came out of Islam to follow Jesus. And I said, how do you manage everybody's expectations? And he said, how you have expectations when you're dead?”

37s

#BaptismIsCommand

“And church, those are very, very dangerous. That statement, I don't feel led, is such a dangerous statement that leads so many people away from Jesus and towards hell, and and they don't even realize it. So if baptism matters so much to Jesus, where did it come from? Why do we do it? Did the church just make it up? Is it some sort of weird thing that we're supposed to do? But here's what we know. Jesus lets us know that baptism is not a tradition of the church. It is a command from our lord.”

46s

#RefugeesRunningFaith

“And we not only had one baptism that night, we had two refugee baptisms that night of people coming forward to proclaim Christ with their bags already packed because they knew this marks me for Christ. But what I am gaining in Jesus is more worthy and valuable than what I am losing and dying to and giving up on. Church, we gotta get real about following Jesus. And I just shared this story with you to share. Guys, our brothers and sisters who've only heard about Jesus in a week's time are running spiritual laps around us.”

48s

#PublicBaptismRisks

“And they were threatened by it. So what did they do? Well, they killed Christians. They murdered them. So it's not that it happened to all of them, but as they're in the river and they're baptizing and coming up, there were literally people off to the side taking note of every single person who was going into the river to be baptized, and many of them were stoned and killed. And while we don't face that same thing today in America, an impact, we insist that our baptisms be public. Sometimes that has meant that they are very cold baptisms. Sometimes that has meant that we are getting slapped in the face with pellets of rain on Easter Sunday as we are baptizing.”

48s

#DieToYourself

“And the first is that you're showing the world a picture of Jesus' death, that Jesus died for us. He died the death we couldn't because we are imperfect people, and he is a perfect savior. And so Jesus died our death, but here's what else you're doing. You're showing the world that you are now willing to die to yourself. That just as Christ died, you are buried with him. It means the old you is not getting an eviction notice. The old you is put to death to not come back. Not a thirty day warning.”

50s

#CrucifyTheOldSelf

“And church baptism is a declaration that every every ounce of your old life is dead. That you are willing to crucify every bit of your old life, your past, your your habits, yes, your sin, but even your preferences in an effort to be made totally new. Because the life we now live in the flesh, we live by our preferences? No. We live by faith. So this is what breaks my heart. When I see Christians bounce back and forth from church to church to church just based on their own preferences.”

60s

#CrucifiedWithChrist

“I just shared this story with you to share. Guys, our brothers and sisters who've only heard about Jesus in a week's time are running spiritual laps around us. While we're still arguing whether or not we might be embarrassed by speaking in front of people. And meanwhile, they're packing their bags with no place to lay their heads. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Would you guys bow and pray with me? Heavenly Father, thank you for your word. God, thank you for such a clear next step. Maybe we would say a sacred step. Father I pray that you would forgive our casualness.”

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SACRED STEPS: Baptism - Matthew 28:18-20

Devotional

Day 1: The Authority of the Risen Christ

Day 2: The Command to Be Baptized

Day 3: Baptism as a Picture of the Gospel

Day 4: Dying to Self and Our Preferences

Day 5: The Public Beginning of Discipleship

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

SACRED STEPS: Baptism - Matthew 28:18-20

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