Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners. Thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory and Dr. Robert Jeffress.

We're dedicated to bringing you bold biblical teaching that transforms your life and strengthens your walk with God.

And you can study God's word alongside Dr. Jeffress in person on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.

Speaker 2

Have you ever witnessed the breathtaking majesty of massive glaciers rising from crystal blue waters? Or stood in awe as bald eagles soar over snow-capped mountains?

I want you to experience these unforgettable moments with me on the Pathway to Victory Cruise to Alaska, June 13th through 20th, 2026.

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Join Dr. Jeffress and the Pathway to Victory family for a spectacular seven-day adventure aboard Holland America's luxurious Koningsdam.

Indulge in elegant staterooms, world-class dining, and expansive decks perfect for breathtaking views.

Visit historic ports like Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, where wilderness and frontier history await.

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There's something powerful about connecting with God and fellow believers in the majesty of his untamed wilderness. I truly believe this journey will refresh.

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You spiritually, physically and emotionally.

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Cabins are filling quickly, so reserve yours today. To book your spot on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska, call 888-280-6747 or go to ptv.org now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day on this Bible teaching program.

Speaker 3

On today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

You've seen this played out on television a dozen times where there's a patient in the hospital who is clinically dead, and that jolt comes, and that patient's heart begins to beat again. They were clinically dead, and they have been brought back to life with that electrical surge.

Well, did you know that is what God does for us when he gives us a regenerated heart?

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ. And such a radical internal transformation calls for an outward expression as well.

Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress helps us understand what the Bible teaches about baptism. It's the final message in our series called Seven Marks of a Disciple.

But first, let's take a minute to hear some important ministry updates.

Speaker 3

Thanks, David. Every day on Pathway to Victory, we teach the Bible, but this isn't a classroom for academics. Our goal in learning more about the Bible is to allow God's spirit to get inside of our hearts and radically change our lives.

See, following Jesus, becoming one of his disciples means that our heart becomes regenerated. That's a technical word for coming alive gratefully. We hear from listeners every day who tell us how their lives have been transformed as a result of something they've learned on Pathway to Victory. The stories are remarkable and that's exactly why this ministry exists. Our sole purpose is to see God change lives as we bring his light into the dark places of this world.

And when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we're going to send you a brand new devotional book called Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple. Don't forget this is the very last day we'll announce this special offer, so be sure to reach out today. This stunning padded hardcover book features a daily infusion of biblical hope and inspiration for you. Each chapter includes a Bible verse, a short prayer, and uplifting encouragement for your day.

We'll say more about the book Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple later in the broadcast, but right now, let's open our Bibles to hear God's voice. Today's message is titled Developing a Regenerate Heart.

Speaker 2

Now today we are going to finish the last message in our series 7 marks of a Disciple. I saved the first mark of a disciple for the last message. And that is a regenerate or regenerated heart, a heart that is spiritually alive. That's what regeneration is. God taking a heart that is spiritually dead and making it spiritually alive. And that's why I say the very first mark of a disciple is a regenerated heart, a heart that is alive for God.

Now the Bible says to show, to demonstrate to others that we've had that experience, that we are new creations in Christ. To symbolize that, we go through a ritual, an ordinance called baptism. Baptism is a physical sign of a spiritual truth that we have been immersed, covered with the Holy Spirit of God. We have become spiritually alive and we have been raised to a whole new way of living. And that's why in Matthew 28:19-20, the Great Commission, Jesus said, "Go therefore into all the world and make disciples." And how do you do that? By baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is a physical symbol of a spiritual reality that the Holy Spirit indwells my life. I have a regenerate heart and I'm living a whole new way of life.

Now since being baptized as a sign of our regeneration is the first mark of a disciple, we're going to do three things in the few minutes we have today. We're going to talk about the model of baptism. Secondly, we're going to talk about the mode of baptism. And finally, we're going to look at the meaning of baptism.

First of all, the model of baptism. There is a pattern that is never contradicted in the scripture. And it is simply this: people always believe before their baptism. Belief always precedes baptism. That is God's plan. Believe and be baptized. Acts 9:18 states, "After Paul was saved, notice what happened. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales. He regained his sight, he arose, and he was baptized." Or consider Acts chapter 10. Cornelius, the Roman centurion, after he believed, look at verse 47 of Acts 10: "Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?" And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Acts 16:15, we don't have time to look at it, but Lydia, the businesswoman in Philippi, when she was saved, she was baptized. And then in Acts 16, I talked about the Philippian jailer. "What shall I do to be saved, Paul?" "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Look at verse 33: "And he took them that very hour of the night, that is the jailer, and washed their wounds. And immediately the jailer was baptized, he and his household." Notice that word, immediately. The Bible says the moment you are saved is when you ought to be baptized. Believe and be baptized. That is God's command.

Now, you know, when I am talking to people about baptism, especially if I am talking to a child, I often use the illustration of a wedding ring. This is 40 years stuck on this ring here. Is this ring getting smaller or is my finger getting fatter? Here we go. You know, when I'm talking to children, I always talk about this ring. And I'll say, "What does this ring mean? Do you know what this ring means?" And they say, "Oh, it means you're married." I said, "That's right. This ring is a sign that I belong to somebody else." That's the same way with baptism. Baptism is like this ring. When people see you baptized, they know you belong to Jesus Christ. But if you haven't made that commitment in your own heart, then baptism is meaningless. It is absolutely nothing more than getting wet. And that's why the Bible says the pattern is always believe and then be baptized.

Now, we've talked about the model of baptism. Let's talk about for a moment the mode of baptism. And that's the question you probably wondered about or had people ask you about. Now, when I get baptized, should I be sprinkled or should I be immersed? What is the proper way to be baptized? Did you know there's not even a debate about that among any serious student of Scripture? There's no debate about it whatsoever.

First of all, just looking at the Scripture itself, the examples, everybody in the New Testament who was baptized was immersed. You can't find one example anywhere of anybody being sprinkled in the New Testament. Baptism by example was immersion. For example, in Matthew 3:16, it says, "After being baptized, Jesus came immediately from literally out of the water." Or go back to the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter 8, verse 38. Philip said, "If you believe with all of your heart, you may be baptized." And the eunuch said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And he ordered the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.

Every example in the Bible I could go on and on and on is about people going down into the water and coming up out of the water. So the biblical examples are always by immersion. But there's even a stronger argument for it, the meaning of the word baptism itself. The Greek word "baptizo" means one thing and only one thing, and that is immersed. Let me illustrate it for you this way. Suppose I were to ask you, how would you like your baked fish cooked? Would you like it baked or fried? Pastor, that's a stupid question. Baked fish means baked. That's right. That's all it means. You can't fry baked fish. It's either baked or it's fried, but it can't be both. The same thing is true with the word baptize. When you say, "Well, should you baptize by sprinkling or immersion?" No, the word itself means to immerse.

I have in my study a book titled "A Hundred Uses of the Word Baptism, Baptizo in Greek Literature." And when you look outside the Bible and look at the word "baptizo," it means one thing and only one thing, to immerse. The original word was used to describe the process by which you would change the color of a piece of cloth. Let's say you had a green handkerchief and you wanted to change it to a purple handkerchief. What would you do? Well, you would take a vat of purple dye. You would take that green handkerchief and you would "baptizo" it. The Greek said you would immerse it in the vat of purple dye in order to completely change the color. Now, if you wanted to change that color from green to purple, you couldn't sprinkle the purple dye on it. That wouldn't do the trick. You had to "baptizo" it.

Now, that is the word that is used in the Greek New Testament. It means one thing and one thing only, and that is to immerse. There is no such thing as baptism by sprinkling. That's an oxymoron. It doesn't happen. The only way to be baptized is to be baptized, and that is to be immersed. You say, "Well, what difference does it make?" Well, beyond the biblical examples, the meaning of baptism is what argues for immersion.

The meaning of baptism. I want to talk about that for just a moment. Turn over to Romans chapter six for a moment, and let's look at what water baptism actually symbolizes. In Romans 6, Paul was answering a question I bet you've heard asked a dozen times. Can somebody continue to be a Christian and still blank? You can fill in the blank. Can somebody be a Christian and still commit adultery? Can somebody be a Christian and continue in a homosexual relationship? Can somebody continue to be a Christian and continue his addiction to this or that or so forth? Can you continue to be a Christian and continue to sin? That's the wrong question. Paul says the real question should be, if you're really a Christian, why would you want to continue in sin?

I mean, if you have really experienced a change of life and you've been introduced to a whole new way of living, why would you ever want to go back to that old way of living? That's what Paul says in verses 1 to 3 of Romans 6. "What shall we say then? Should we continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be. How should we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? How can we who've died to sin still live in it?"

You know, just imagine for a moment that Lazarus, after being in that stinking tomb for four days, Jesus comes along and says, "Arise, Lazarus, arise." And Lazarus wakes up. He stumbles out of that tomb and those grave clothes. And Jesus says to the men, "Unleash him and let him go." And suddenly those grave clothes fall off. And Lazarus begins blinking his eyes and can't believe what has happened to him. And he says, "Jesus, thank you so much. Thank you so much for getting me out of that tomb. But if it's all the same to you, I think I'll put these stinking grave clothes back on. They're so comfortable. And I think I will crawl back into that tomb. It's so cool and nice in there. If it's all the same to you, I think I'll go back to where I was."

Can you imagine Lazarus doing such a thing? That is exactly what Paul is saying here. Why would we who have been raised from an old dead way of living and exposed to a new way of living, why would we ever want to crawl back into the grave of sin and go back to the way we were? It is unthinkable that such a thing would happen. And then he says in verse three, "Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death?"

Now, the baptism he's talking about here is spiritual baptism. That water baptism symbolizes, and this is why immersion is the way to be baptized, is because of the picture water baptism portrays. When you get baptized, you stand in that baptistry and you are baptized. The water represents two things. It represents the grave, but it also represents the Holy Spirit of God. And when you are water baptized, when you go down into that water, what you're saying as your testimony is, "I have died to my old way of living, but I have now been covered in that water of the Holy Spirit of God. I have been immersed in the Holy Spirit of God, and I have been raised to a whole new way of living. I am a brand new person in Christ." That's what water baptism is a picture of. It is a picture of dying to our old way of life. My old life is now over. That part of my biography is finished. My new biography begins as I am raised to become a brand new person in Christ.

Baptism is a picture of our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. You see that in verse four: "Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." And that's why, you see, every time we baptize somebody, we quote this from Romans 6:4. We have died to our old way of living. We have been raised to a new way of life.

I want to close today by telling you a story. I have shared it in part on different occasions and in different venues. But the reason I tell you this story is because every time I tell it, there is always somebody who responds and says, "That's me." And that has convicted me of what I need to do to be an obedient disciple of Christ. Some of you in our church knew my parents. They're both in heaven now. But my dad was saved at the end of World War II. He was saved in the service through the witness of an assembly of God chaplain.

My father was going to move to Dallas and attend SMU on the GI Bill. So knowing he was going to move to Dallas, he asked this assembly of God chaplain, "When I get to Dallas, where should I go to church?" And the chaplain said, "There's only one place to go to church in Dallas. It's the First Baptist Church in Dallas, because that's where the Bible is taught. And you want to be where the Bible is taught." That's why I love the assembly of God. They love the Bible, they love us, and we love them.

So my dad came to Dallas. He enrolled in SMU, and he met my mom there. She was attending SMU, and my mom was a member of a Methodist church. She had grown up in the Methodist Church, faithful in her attendance, but she had never personally trusted in Christ as her Savior. And so my dad would do everything he could to try to get my mom to come down here to First Baptist Dallas. And she refused to come. She hated coming to this church. She couldn't stand the music. She really couldn't stand Dr. Criswell and all that yelling and screaming, she said that he did. And of course, the real problem was she wasn't saved, but she found some excuse why not to come.

Well, my dad finally persuaded her to go with him to the Billy Graham Crusade at the Cotton Bowl in 1953. She went, and there she trusted in Christ as her Savior. And it was announced that Billy Graham, the following day, Sunday, would be preaching here at First Baptist Dallas. So my mom reluctantly agreed to come with my dad to the service. And they sat up in the old balcony there and listened to Billy Graham preach. And when Billy had finished the sermon, he stepped down from behind the pulpit. He came down, took Dr. Criswell by the hand, and placed his membership in our church. And as you know, for 54 years, Billy Graham was a member of our church.

Well, when Billy Graham walked down to the front, my mom turned to my dad in the balcony and said, "Well, if First Baptist is good enough for Billy Graham, it's good enough for me." And she joined the church that day as well. Now she joined here, and Mrs. Criswell was so kind to disciple her, but she hadn't been baptized yet. And Dr. Criswell kept saying to her, "Now, Judy, you need to be baptized. You need to be baptized." At first, she didn't understand why that was important. But as she began to study the scripture, she understood. And she came to the conviction on her own, "That's what God wants me to do, to be baptized."

The only problem was her parents. My grandparents were committed members of the Methodist Church, and they were violently opposed to her being baptized. To them, that would be a repudiation of her whole heritage, of what they had done as parents. And my mom wanted to please her parents. She really wanted to please her parents, but she knew this is what God had her to do. So she said she was going to be baptized. My grandparents were so hurt, just hurt, that they refused to attend the baptismal service.

Well, as the years went on, I came along and my brother and sister, my grandparents started to soften up a little bit, and they started to visit here, and they grew to love Dr. Criswell and to love our church. And in January of 1986, my grandmother died. And then six weeks after that, my mother died at age 54. And my grandfather, bless his heart, lost his wife and his only daughter within a six-week period of time. The grief he went through was just unspeakable. And I remember going to visit him up in Van Alston, Texas, the final years of his life. And so often he would say to me, he'd say, "Robert, you know, the best thing your mother ever did was when she joined that First Baptist Church of Dallas and raised you kids up in that church. It's the best thing she ever did. And if I were physically able, I'd walk down the aisle of that First Baptist Church in Dallas today and be baptized. I'm too old. I can't physically do it, but, oh, how I wish I could be baptized."

And he said that until the day he died; he wanted to be baptized. What I'm saying to you is if you are truly a follower of Jesus Christ, you're going to want to obey Christ and do what he says: to be baptized. It's the most natural thing in the world to want to be baptized. You can be saved without being baptized, but you can't be a disciple without being baptized. Repent, believe, and be baptized. That's the mark of a true disciple of Christ.

Speaker 3

We're so glad you joined us for this Friday edition of Pathway to Victory. And before we conclude another week of programs, let me remind you about a brand new book called *From Pathway to Victory* that's designed to help you cultivate your walk with God. It's called *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*.

As you strive to fulfill a never-ending inventory of requirements for being a Godly parent, a spouse, an employee, and more, you might feel progressively disconnected from the God you're trying to serve. This resource will help you cut through the clutter as you choose to follow Christ in important areas such as forgiveness, contentment, and trust. *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple* contains 80 stunning photographs of God's creation. You have to see this padded hardcover book to truly appreciate how beautiful it is, and each chapter is paired with a Bible reading suggestion along with a prayer you can follow.

Include a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory with your request for *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*. This is the very last day to request this book, so let us hear from you today.

In conclusion, thank you so much for your partnership. Your generous gifts to Pathway to Victory make this ministry possible. You see, shining the bright light of God's Word in our dark culture isn't without expense. In fact, simply paying for airtime takes up the vast majority of our budget. But when you give to support Pathway to Victory, you can be confident in knowing that every dollar you give will be carefully stewarded to help this ministry grow and reach more people.

So thank you very much for responding today. Here's David with all the details.

Speaker 1

When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, we'll say thanks by sending you a copy of the brand new devotional book by Dr. Robert Jeffress called *Encouragement for the Heart of a Disciple*. Call 866-999-2965 or, even easier, go online to ptv.org. When your ministry gift is $100 or more, we'll send you the Encouragement Resource set, which contains the new devotional, six Clutter Free Prayer Cards, the *Clutter Free Christianity* book and Life Application guide, and the *7 Marks of a Disciple* message series on DVD, video, and MP3 format audio disc set.

Now, this is the last day this offer will be available, so please don't wait. Get in touch right away! One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. If you'd rather write to us, please address your envelope to P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins, inviting you to join us again next week for the start of a new study in James called *How to Know if You're Really Saved*. That's coming up Monday here on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Experience the breathtaking majesty of America's last frontier on the 2026 Pathway to Victory cruise to Alaska.

Speaker 2

This seven day journey combines spiritual growth with unforgettable adventures aboard a five star luxury cruise ship. It's a vacation you won't soon forget.

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Space is limited, so reserve your cabin. To call 888-280-6747 or go to ptv.org.

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To become a Pathway Partner, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast From Pathway to Victory.