1. Baptism by immersion in water, verbally invoking the saving name of Jesus Christ, is essential for all who choose to believe in Jesus Christ and His gospel.

• Romans 6:4 says we are buried with Jesus through baptism. Why burial? And how does the language and imagery of burial impact what is truly happening at baptism?
• Jesus is the one who died. Thus, it is Jesus who we are baptized into and with. Why would you be baptized into Christ, yet not say His name?
• According to the Bible, is baptism essential?

2. Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19 were a command to obey, not a formula to repeat, and every baptism in the Book of Acts reflects this truth.

• Acts 2:38, 8:16, 10:48, and 19:5—every recorded baptism in the Book of Acts was done in the name of Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. How do we reconcile Jesus’ instruction with what we see in the disciples’ obedience?
• The disciples were chosen by Jesus, spent copious amounts of time being taught and trained by Jesus, both before and after His resurrection, and were commissioned/sent by Jesus. Should we place trust in their actions?
• If baptizing in Jesus’ name was a deviation from Matthew 28:19, we could not trust anything else the disciples did from that point forward. That would include a significant impact on our trust in the writings of the New Testament. If we can’t trust their mode of baptism, how can we trust their other writings?

3. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are titles, not names. Jesus said to baptize in the name. That name is Jesus.

• Jesus said to baptize in the name. What is that name?
• At baptism, why does the name hold authority over descriptive titles?
• Zechariah prophesied, “The LORD is one, and His name one.” Who is the Lord? And what is His name?

4. We are buried with Jesus in baptism. Our Father, the Holy Spirit, did not die. Only the flesh of the Son of God, the man Jesus in whom God fully dwelled.

• We cannot be buried with someone who has not died. The Father, the eternal Spirit, did not die. Into whose death are we baptized?
• If all that God is dwells fully in Christ, then when we are baptized into Jesus, we experience the fulfillment of 2 Corinthians 5:19, “that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” Does that deepen your understanding of Jesus’ name in baptism?
• The Father, the Holy Spirit, was in Christ. So when we are baptized into Christ, through Christ, we receive access to all that God is. How does that truth help you understand what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19?

5. Water alone does not wash away sin. Calling on the name of the One who has the power to wash our sins away is what makes the obedient response of baptism effectual for the remission of sins.

• Peter said, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins” (Acts 10:43). Why would the prophets point to a name that would be connected to remission of sins, and the disciples of Jesus carry this out, only for us to leave it out?
• If you pray for the sick, you do it in Jesus’ name. If you cast out a demon, you do it in Jesus’ name. If you pray for your food, you do it in Jesus’ name. The Bible says “whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). Why invoke the name of Jesus in so many things, only to leave it out at baptism?
• Like circumcision in the Old Testament, baptism is both the sign of the new covenant and our entrance into it. Paul calls it circumcision of the heart. How does seeing baptism as a covenant change the way you view it?

6. The move away from baptism in Jesus’ name came later, through tradition. Our experience must match the Bible, because history and tradition are not authoritative; Scripture is.

• Hebrews 6:1–2 told the church not to lay again the foundation of the doctrine of baptisms. Why would the writer need to warn them about that?
• The only early document that points to another baptismal formula survives in one complete copy made nearly a thousand years later. In that same document, believers are called “those who have been baptized in the name of the Lord.” How much weight should a document like that carry against the Book of Acts?
• Are we committed to tradition, or to God and His Word? Where has tradition shaped your faith more than Scripture has?

7. There is biblical precedent for rebaptism. When Paul found disciples who had been baptized into John’s baptism, he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.

• Paul did not ask these disciples, “Were you baptized?” He asked, “Into what then were you baptized?” Why that question?
• Their baptism wasn’t harmful; it just wasn’t valid. Paul didn’t insult them. He honored their pursuit of God and the actionable step they took in good faith toward God… but he still called them into alignment. How does that change how you view the connection between motive and truth?
• If you have been baptized, into what were you baptized? If it was not in Jesus’ name, what is keeping you from closing the gap?