Format for Topical Research:

1. Pray for the Spirit’s leading. 
2. Pick a Topic.  In this case, I chose the topic of the significance of baptism as a symbol.
3. Collect and organize verses.  I found eleven passages that I studied to see what the Bible had to say about baptism. You might choose more or less. Do not worry if you chose different verses than I did.
4. Read the verses and ask questions about the verses.  My questions were designed to help me understand the verses in more detail. You will probably have different questions than me.
5. Write your answers. I wrote my answers separately for this post, but for myself, I just write the answers right after the questions.
6. Summarize your ideas. 
7. Repeat Steps 4-6.
8. Final Paraphrase. 
9. Pray for deeper understanding even after you finish studying.

MY EXAMPLE STUDY FOR BAPTISM AND CONVERSION

TOPIC:  What is the significance of baptism? Is it just a legal ceremony that must happen to please God, or is there something more involved? How is conversion related to baptism?

Verse 1: Mark 16:15-16

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

We tend to take baptism for granted and not think much about the meaning.  God asks us to be baptized, but have you ever thought about why?  God uses a lot of symbols to teach us lessons and to prepare us for the future.  Jesus commanded us to baptize people, so the symbol is important.

PREVIEW QUESTION:

• What are some of the symbolic ways that God taught people about the plan of salvation and the ways of heaven?

ANSWERS:

• The sanctuary/temple/tabernacle
• Parables both OT and Jesus
• Figurative language
• The Lord’s Supper/Communion
• Foot washing
• The serpent on a pole
• Moses hitting and not hitting a rock
• Dreams/Visions (Nebuchadnezzar/Pharaoh of Joseph’s time) (Zechariah’s olive trees) 
• Prophet’s actions (Ezekiel’s acted out stories)

INTRODUCTION:  The point is that we need to look beyond the action or symbol given in the Bible to the lessons that God wants us to learn from them, so let’s look at the lessons we can learn from baptism.  First, what was the original meaning of baptism before John the Baptist appropriated it?  This is actually not found in the Bible.  We need to consult commentaries or Bible dictionaries to find this information.  Historically, the Jews used baptism when a Gentile became a Jew.  It was to signify that the person’s old identity was dead and gone, and he now had a new identity as a son of Abraham.  John the Baptist adapted the ceremony and told Jews that they needed to repent and be baptized.  Essentially, he was telling them that they may have been Jewish, but they were not sons of Abraham.  Guzik’s Commentary says “For a Jew in John’s day to submit to baptism was essentially to say, ‘I confess that I am as far away from God as a Gentile and I need to get right with Him.’”

Verse 2: Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

QUESTION:

Why was Jesus baptized?

ANSWERS:

• Example
• A ceremony to begin His mission

Verse 3: Matthew 28:19-20

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.”

QUESTION:

• How was John the Baptist’s baptism different than Jesus’ baptism?

ANSWER:

• Jesus commanded that His followers be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Thus, followers of Jesus were not being baptized into Judaism.  They were being transformed into followers of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Summary: John’s baptism of repentance and the Jews’ baptism of conversion were different from the baptism that Jesus commanded.  In all cases, baptism is a sign of repentance, a sign of leaving an old identity behind and having a new identity, and a sign of loyalty to God alone.  Jesus thought that it was important for us to have this symbol, but in the baptism that He commanded, we are publicly proclaiming our loyalty to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Verse 4: Romans 6:3-14

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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

QUESTIONS:

• What does Paul say that being baptized represents?
• In verses 12-14, what does Paul tell us that our relationship to sin i
• What do these verses say about our relationship to God?

ANSWERS:

• Paul says that baptism represents the believer joining with Jesus in His death and resurrection
• Dead to sin
• We are to present ourselves to God to use for doing good

Summary:  Baptism is a ceremony that says we are loyal to God, but it is also a teaching tool to help us remember that we are no longer the person we were before we were baptized.  We have been transformed into something new.  We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  The problem is that it takes many of us a while to realize that our old life is dead to us.  We try to keep on going through the motions that we desired to do before.  It takes time for us to realize that we have been brought back to life for something new.  This situation is not like quitting a job or moving to a new place.  Baptism represents having our minds and bodies renewed.  Paul explains what he means in the next verses.  Baptism is an illustration of law and grace.  It is a an acted-out parable of the transformation that we undergo when we choose to be loyal to Jesus.  Baptism says that we are free.  We are no longer under the power of Satan.  We are under Jesus’ gift of life.  Paul says that we need to live like we are living in God’s kingdom and not under Satan’s slavery.

Verse 5: Matthew 3:11.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

QUESTIONS:

• What did John say was the difference between his baptism and the baptism that Jesus would do?
• Why fire? 

ANSWERS:

• Holy Spirit and Fire
• It purifies.  It burns out the trash and leaves the good stuff behind.

Summary:  How do we live in freedom when we are still part of a sinful world?  Baptism shows us this also.  At Jesus’ baptism who was there?  The Father, Son, Spirit, and, of course, John the Baptist.  Jesus’ will purify us through the Holy Spirit living in us. 

Verse 6:  Acts 19:1-5

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Summary:  Paul understood the importance of having the Holy Spirit living in a Christian.  When I was younger and I read this, I worried that the Spirit wasn’t in me.  After all, I didn’t see any doves, and I didn’t speak in tongues or prophesy.  However, most times the Spirit is much more subtle than that.  If you read all the showy examples closely, you discover that there was a reason for the show.  Anyway, in baptism, Jesus not only tells us to sin no more, He gives a Helper so that we can be transformed.

Verse 7: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

QUESTIONS:

• What is the promise in verse 17?
• Does Paul think that this is because you are trying really hard to be a new creation?
• How do we become a new creation?
• What is the ministry of reconciliation?  How can we be reconciled to God?   
• If we keep choosing Jesus, what will happen to us?
• What does that mean?

ANSWERS:

• You are a new creation.  The old is gone.
• No
• Through God 
• Denying self and choosing God
• We become the righteousness of God. 
• We are changed from sinful selfish people to children of God who reflect our Father’s nature

Summary:  This is the same message as baptism.  The Bible promises that if we keep choosing Jesus, we will be purified.  We will become like Jesus.

Verse 8:  1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

QUESTION:

• What is the promise that John gives here?

ANSWER:

• John promises that God will abide in us through His Spirit. 

Summary:  This is an important part of the baptism symbol.  When a person comes up out the water as a new creature, it is because that person has reconnected to His Creator.  Life is now flowing into us through the Holy Spirit.  The problem is that a lot of us live as if we have no connection to God.  We were baptized, and it was a nice ceremony, but that is all that we think it was.  No, something changes fundamentally in our lives when we formally commit to God.  We are His.  We are choosing His side and telling Him to stay with us.

Verse 9: 1 John 1:8-9

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

QUESTION:

• What does John say that we need to do to be cleansed? 

ANSWER:

• Confess our sins

Summary:  What is our part in this process of recreation?  We must acknowledge our sin and let Jesus cleanse us.  Repentance and confession of sin is not just about forgiveness, just as baptism is not just about dying.  It is also about being cleansed, just as baptism is about being resurrected into a new person.

Verse 10:  Proverbs 28:13

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Summary:  Confessing our sin means that we are coming to God in loyalty and telling Him that we are choosing Him over sin.  We are forsaking our transgressions.

Verse 11:  Galatians 2:19-20

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 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.

Summary:  This passage explains exactly what baptism represents but does not mention baptism.  Baptism is a symbol of dying to sin and being cleansed and transformed.  It is a symbol of choosing to commit to Jesus and becoming a new person.