Baptism

well, it’s getting to that time of year again

no, I don’t mean Christmas – I mean it’s getting to a time in my family where we commemorate two very important events

on November 25^th, we celebrate the fourth birthday of our daughter, Christina

and on December 22^nd, we celebrate the eight anniversary of our marriage, and all the years of happiness at least I have had since that time

I’ve found that I tend to be very forgetful about what really matters in my life

I know that my marriage and my responsibility as a parent are two of the most important things in my life

and yet it’s amazing how often I forget this in my daily life

it’s so easy to forget about what really matters when it comes to making decisions on a minute to minute basis

and that’s why I’ve found birthday and anniversary celebrations are wonderful occasions to reflect and to realign priorities

and you can guarantee, as an indicator of my love and as a testimony of importance, both events are going to be big deals in my household pretty soon

think for a minute what would happen if I neglected these two celebrations

probably nothing dramatic would happen – well, actually, if I forgot my anniversary, something dramatic might happen after all!

but what would probably happen is that I would communicate neglect and indifference

my wife and my daughter would be discouraged

and my heart would continue to slide in an unhealthy direction

and I would also end up sleeping on the couch

that’s why these two celebrations are going be important in my life pretty soon

I want to talk to you this morning one of the primary celebrations of the Christian faith

there’s a second practice I’ll cover the first Sunday in January, but I want to cover the other one today

these two practices are sometimes called ordinances, or in some churches, sacraments – baptism and communion

they’re important, because if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, but are not following him in these two practices, something is missing from your experience

you haven’t obeyed Christ completely

you haven’t yet experienced all the blessings that God has planned for your life

what’s more, you’re probably giving indicators of spiritual neglect and apathy within your life

if you claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and haven’t obeyed him in the practice of these ordinances, there should be a warning light flashing this morning

in light of what we’ve just witnessed, it might be good to spend a few minutes reflecting on what the Bible teaches about these ordinances or celebrations

but this morning I want to talk with you about the practice of baptism

it is the initiation rite of the Christian faith

baptism is when you go public as a follower of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

it’s one thing to be committed to God in the privacy of your own home and heart

it’s another thing to stand before hundreds of people and say, "I am now on record. I publicly proclaim myself to be a follower of Jesus Christ, and this is the primary commitment of my life"

baptism is what separates those who are spectators from those who have decided to get into the game

I want to tell you, I love baptisms

I used to tell my church that the weeks I baptized people, they didn’t have to pay me, until they began to take me seriously

but really, baptism is a public act of confessing Jesus as Savior

and it’s an act that brings joy and blessing to a believer

I want to ask five important, basic questions about baptism

FIRST, WHY SHOULD YOU BE BAPTIZED?

one of the most obvious questions is why should I be baptized?

this is an especially important question given that the idea of being immersed in a tankful of water in front of hundreds of people doesn’t make much human sense

it’s potentially embarrassing

why in the world should anyone be baptized?

the first reason you should be baptized, I believe, is to follow the example of Jesus

(Mark 1:9) At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

we read in Matthew 3 that John the Baptist originally objected to baptizing Christ, but Jesus said:

(Matthew 3:15) Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.

Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, didn’t need baptism for sin, but he was still baptized in obedience to God the Father, and as a result God showed his approval

when you are baptized, you are following the example of Jesus Christ when he was baptized in the Jordan River centuries ago

his baptism served as an example to his followers – to us today

that’s why we should be baptized

the second reason to be baptized is to demonstrate that you really are a believer

early on in the Christian faith, the Roman government demanded that people pledge their ultimate allegiance to Caesar

baptism is when someone would get up and say, "No! My ultimate allegiance belongs to Jesus Christ. He is my Savior; he’s the Lord and Sovereign of my life"

at the time, baptism was a subversive act; an act of civil disobedience in that society

in many countries around the world today, people still face consequences when they are baptized and declare their allegiance to God

they face possible loss of jobs, livelihood, status – even torture and death

they become ostracized from their families

why? because baptism is a public act of confessing Jesus as Savior

it’s a demonstration of your commitment to follow him

that’s why you, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, need to be baptized

the third and perhaps most important reason to be baptized is because Christ commanded it

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

(Matthew 28:19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

(Matthew 28:20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

his last commandment recorded in the Gospel of Matthew is that we baptize followers of Jesus Christ

this is what we have been commissioned to do

and everywhere the Gospel was preached in the book of Acts, those who responded were immediately baptized in obedience to Christ’s command

we’re going to come back to this in a minute, because baptism really isn’t an option for the believer in Jesus Christ

it’s not something that you do when you reach a certain level of spiritual maturity

it’s an act in obedience to Christ’s command

it’s a baby step, to be taken soon after you begin following Jesus Christ

I promised I would answer five questions about baptism this morning

don’t worry too much when I tell you I’ve only answered the first one – why you should be baptized

QUESTION NUMBER TWO: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BAPTISM?

you’ve got to admit that at first glance, the act of being immersed in front of dozens or even hundreds of people doesn’t make a lot of sense

in essence, baptism is a wonderful object lesson

in itself, it doesn’t save you

there is no magical power in the water

but Romans 6:2-5 and Colossians 2:12 teach that baptism is a wonderful object lesson of what’s happened internally

when you go all the way under the water, it symbolizes the fact that you have been cleansed fully from head to foot and have been totally forgiven

it symbolizes that you’ve taken a kind of spiritual bath

as you go under, you identify with Jesus in his death and burial

and as you come up, you identify with him in the Resurrection

it symbolizes your death and resurrection in Christ

(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

baptism shows what Jesus Christ has done for us

it shows that we had gone wrong – we had gone far from what God had intended

we were separated and had accumulated a debt of sin that could never be repaid ourselves

we were spiritually dead – spiritually bankrupt

and yet Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came and paid that debt for us, free of charge

he died to pay off our debt of sin; he was buried; he rose again to give us new life

and baptism is a wonderful object lesson illustrating this amazing truth

you see, Jesus suffered for you

he was whipped, beaten, and died an agonizing death

and he’s given you new life

that’s what baptism represents

it’s a public act of confessing Jesus as Savior; a sing of your death and resurrection with Christ; and an outward symbol of the inward spiritual baptism into the Holy Spirit

ANOTHER QUESTION IS, WHY BE BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION?

in other words, how much water does it take to be baptized?

this is a question that refers to the method or the mode of baptism

there are tremendous differences in this question

some churches practice sprinkling; some actually pour water on the one being baptized; others immerse

in some traditions, they actually have the people be immersed three times – one for the Father, one for the Son, and one for the Holy Spirit

here at Richview, we believe in being baptized by immersion – being placed completely under the water and being brought back up again

we do it for three reasons:

we do it because the Greek word baptizo means "to plunge, dip, or immerse" something in water

the clear meaning of the word used in the New Testament for baptism meant being placed completely under the water

we do it because that’s the way Jesus and the early Christians were baptized

Mark 1:5 tells us that people were baptized by John "in the river Jordan" – not beside, by or near, but in

Mark 1:10 tells us that when Jesus was baptized, "he came up out of the water"

(Acts 8:38) And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

(Acts 8:39) When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

it appears that every baptism in the New Testament was done that way

and we do it that way because it best symbolizes our union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection

QUESTION NUMBER FOUR: WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?

is baptism for adult believers or for newborn babies?

thoughtful Christians throughout the ages have disagreed on this question

our understanding and conviction as a church is that the Scripture teaches that baptism is an expression of the commitment made by the person being baptized

and therefore it should be restricted to someone who is mature enough to make that decision and commitment

there is not one clear reference to the baptism of an infant in all of the New Testament, although there are many references to the baptism of adults

(Acts 2:41) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

(Acts 8:12) But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

and I could go on and on through the book of Acts

this is evident from the very meaning of baptism

Paul writes in Galatians 3:27:

(Galatians 3:27) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

he assumes that baptism is the outward sign of inward regeneration – something that could not be true of infants

here at Richview, we have a celebration called dedication

when parents have a child, they stand with all of us together and promise to raise these children to know and love God

we believe that baptism is reserved for those who are old enough to make a commitment to God

if you are here and made a faith commitment to Christ as a mature person, we believe you need to be baptized now as an adult, even if you were baptized as an infant

this is an expression of your choice to follow Christ

whether or not you were baptized as an infant, you need to be baptized at the point that you make a mature faith decision

THE LAST QUESTION I WANT TO ASK IS, WHEN SHOULD YOU BE BAPTIZED?

once you are a believer, should you be baptized immediately, or should you wait until you’re more mature in the faith?

the answer is simple: be baptized as soon as you have believed!

(Acts 2:41) Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

(Acts 8:35) Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

(Acts 8:36) As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"

(Acts 8:38) And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

there is no reason to delay

as soon as you have received Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized

if you wait until you’re perfect, you’ll never feel good enough!

if you have not been baptized, and have trusted in Christ for salvation, it would be my honor to baptize you

I love baptisms

baptisms strengthen and encourage my faith – as it should for everyone who is baptized, and for every believer who witnesses a baptism

Wayne Grudem writes, "The amazing truths of passing through the waters of judgment safely, of dying and rising with Christ, and of having our sins washed way, are truths of momentous and eternal proportion and ought to be an occasion for giving great glory and praise to God. If churches would teach these truths more clearly, baptisms would be the occasion of much more blessing in the church."

I want to close this service by addressing those of you are Christians but have never been baptized

you understand about Jesus and the cross, and you understand about baptism

but even though you understand, you’re blowing it off

you have no plans to obey Christ’s command to be baptized

I don’t understand it

because baptism isn’t an option, it’s a command

Jesus died for you; he clearly commands his followers to be baptized as a way of declaring their devotion to him

I don’t understand how you could know this and say, "I’ll become a Christian; but when it comes to this very first step of the Christian life and declaring it before the church and the world, I think I’ll pass. When it comes to the first thing Jesus asks me to do – to obey him in baptism – I think I’ll ignore him"

be honest this morning

baptism is not a casual thing

don’t play games with this

stop putting it off

don’t let embarrassment keep you from being obedience to Jesus on this

this is a step you must take, and now is the time to take it

and we’ll schedule another baptism very soon, I can promise you that

friends, we need celebrations to remember what’s really important

I won’t forget the birthdays and anniversaries in my life

but I also won’t forget the date that I followed Christ in obedience to his command, and was baptized

and every time I witness or participate in another baptism, it still gives me a lump in my throat

if you haven’t yet believed, or if you haven’t yet been baptized as an adult believer, it’s time now to act

and I pray that scores of us will pass through the waters of baptism in the months to come

and we’ll tell God, when it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper, "Whatever we do, we’ll do these two"

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Baptism