1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,060 Now as we continue our series entitled Worship What We Do and Why We Do it, on 2 00:00:05,060 –> 00:00:09,560 these last two Sundays in the series we’re going to focus on two things that 3 00:00:09,560 –> 00:00:15,780 Christ has specifically told the church to do. I’m referring of course to baptism 4 00:00:15,780 –> 00:00:20,420 and the Lord’s Supper. There never was a greater communicator than the Lord Jesus 5 00:00:20,420 –> 00:00:26,740 Christ and it’s very significant that he has spoken the gospel to us in words 6 00:00:27,000 –> 00:00:35,040 and in pictures. Last week we looked at how Christ speaks to us in words, through 7 00:00:35,040 –> 00:00:39,520 the Word of God, through the preaching of the Word. As the Word is explained we 8 00:00:39,520 –> 00:00:44,020 hear his voice and today, next week, we’re going to look at how Christ also speaks 9 00:00:44,020 –> 00:00:48,919 to us through pictures. He has chosen two pictures that are 10 00:00:48,919 –> 00:00:53,299 incredibly simple and yet wonderfully profound. They communicate across every 11 00:00:53,400 –> 00:00:58,700 generation and in every culture and like all the best illustrations they’re taken 12 00:00:58,700 –> 00:01:03,099 from the most ordinary things in life. If you want to understand the Christian 13 00:01:03,099 –> 00:01:11,040 faith it’s all explained in two pictures. Taking a bath and eating a meal. You can 14 00:01:11,040 –> 00:01:15,440 boil the Christian faith down to this. The tub and the table. If you can grasp 15 00:01:15,440 –> 00:01:20,180 these two things, you’ve got the very heart of what the faith is all about. The 16 00:01:20,180 –> 00:01:27,320 Christian faith is about getting washed, and about being fed. And every mother 17 00:01:27,320 –> 00:01:31,699 knows that a newborn baby needs to be washed and fed, and that pattern of 18 00:01:31,699 –> 00:01:35,739 course continues throughout the whole of life. You need to be washed. You need to 19 00:01:35,739 –> 00:01:41,019 be fed. And what is true of our bodies is also true of our souls. That is of our 20 00:01:41,199 –> 00:01:51,639 inner life. My inner life needs to be washed. My inner life needs to be fed. And 21 00:01:51,639 –> 00:01:57,940 this is what Jesus Christ does for every person who comes to him in faith. He 22 00:01:57,940 –> 00:02:04,919 washes us and he feeds us. If Christ did not wash you, you couldn’t even begin the 23 00:02:04,919 –> 00:02:09,740 Christian life. If Christ did not feed you, you would never sustain the 24 00:02:09,740 –> 00:02:14,660 Christian life. So Christ takes these two wonderful pictures, the bath and the meal, 25 00:02:14,660 –> 00:02:19,979 the tub and the table, and he makes them the basis of these two wonderful gifts 26 00:02:19,979 –> 00:02:25,179 to the church that we call baptism and the Lord’s Supper. And so I want to 27 00:02:25,179 –> 00:02:29,619 emphasize that as these are specifically given by Jesus Christ, they’re not 28 00:02:29,619 –> 00:02:34,979 somehow out there at the margins to be hidden away as a kind of add-on to 29 00:02:35,000 –> 00:02:40,820 worship. They’re what Christ has told the church to do, without washing and 30 00:02:40,820 –> 00:02:45,539 feeding there is no Christian life and worship is not us saying well you know 31 00:02:45,539 –> 00:02:48,860 which of the elements do we really like and let’s just do them and ignore the 32 00:02:48,860 –> 00:02:53,619 rest. If we want to worship Jesus we must do what he’s told us to do and here are 33 00:02:53,619 –> 00:02:59,139 two things that, therefore, are of central importance in Christian worship. Now 34 00:02:59,139 –> 00:03:04,119 let’s begin at Matthew chapter 28 in verse 19 where we have Christ’s clear 35 00:03:04,119 –> 00:03:10,720 command on the subject. Christ tells the disciples go and make disciples of all 36 00:03:10,720 –> 00:03:17,500 nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the 37 00:03:17,500 –> 00:03:23,500 Holy Spirit, that’s what Jesus said and the word baptize literally means to dip 38 00:03:23,500 –> 00:03:28,919 or to drench. In the early church believers were baptized in rivers pretty 39 00:03:28,919 –> 00:03:32,080 much, I guess as you’d seen today, they would either immerse in water or 40 00:03:32,179 –> 00:03:36,559 sometimes water was poured over their head, either way they emerged extremely 41 00:03:36,559 –> 00:03:41,779 wet but the point I want to make is that baptism means being plunged into 42 00:03:41,779 –> 00:03:47,919 something, that’s just the meaning of the word, being plunged into something. So 43 00:03:47,919 –> 00:03:55,240 that Jesus for example spoke of his suffering as a baptism. Remember he said 44 00:03:55,240 –> 00:03:58,660 to Peter you cannot be baptized with a baptism I’m going to be baptized with 45 00:03:58,919 –> 00:04:01,880 And when he was speaking about his suffering, as we’re thinking about that 46 00:04:01,880 –> 00:04:05,779 in these days, he didn’t mean that a little bit of suffering would touch him 47 00:04:05,779 –> 00:04:10,800 he meant that he would be plunged into suffering that it would overwhelm him 48 00:04:10,800 –> 00:04:16,119 that’s the word that the Scriptures used he was overwhelmed with sorrow. We use 49 00:04:16,119 –> 00:04:20,679 the word in the same way we talk about, oh it was a baptism of fire. Now what do 50 00:04:20,679 –> 00:04:24,279 you mean by that? You know if you go to a new job and everything goes wrong, the 51 00:04:24,279 –> 00:04:28,600 company goes into crisis on the first day you say hey was a baptism of fire 52 00:04:28,600 –> 00:04:32,859 and what we mean by that is that it wasn’t a gentle introduction we were 53 00:04:32,859 –> 00:04:39,660 plunged right into the middle of something that was new. Now Jesus says 54 00:04:39,660 –> 00:04:46,660 that this baptism is to be in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy 55 00:04:46,660 –> 00:04:54,760 Spirit. In other words baptism speaks of this central reality of what it means to 56 00:04:54,920 –> 00:04:59,500 Christian. What does it mean to be a Christian? Well the Christian life is all 57 00:04:59,500 –> 00:05:07,799 about me being drenched in God the Father. It is about me being plunged into 58 00:05:07,799 –> 00:05:14,040 his Son Jesus Christ. It is about me being soaked in or filled with the Holy 59 00:05:14,040 –> 00:05:19,700 Spirit of God. And that is precisely what happens whenever a person comes to faith 60 00:05:19,700 –> 00:05:23,660 in Jesus Christ. When I come to faith in Jesus, when you come to faith in Jesus, 61 00:05:23,660 –> 00:05:30,660 you are embraced by the Father, you are redeemed by the Son, you are filled by 62 00:05:30,660 –> 00:05:39,339 the Holy Spirit. And baptism therefore is simply a word picture of that reality. 63 00:05:39,339 –> 00:05:47,859 It is the seal of that reality in your life, that by faith you have indeed been 64 00:05:47,859 –> 00:05:52,640 embraced by the Father, you have indeed been redeemed by the Son, you have indeed 65 00:05:52,720 –> 00:05:57,279 been filled by the Spirit, therefore you are baptized in the name of the Father, 66 00:05:57,279 –> 00:06:03,140 the Son and the Holy Spirit as a sealing of this reality that has happened to you 67 00:06:03,140 –> 00:06:12,519 by faith in the mercy and the grace of God. Now, you don’t need me to tell you 68 00:06:12,519 –> 00:06:16,820 that, of course, churches have approached this matter of baptism in very 69 00:06:16,820 –> 00:06:22,079 different ways. So before we come to Romans in chapter 6 and talk about its 70 00:06:22,179 –> 00:06:25,799 meaning, I want us to explain how churches have come to different 71 00:06:25,799 –> 00:06:31,579 conclusions and different practices on the subject of baptism. I think it’s 72 00:06:31,579 –> 00:06:36,260 important for us as Christian believers to have an understanding of that. 73 00:06:37,279 –> 00:06:40,720 The first believers, of course, were baptized on the day of Pentecost. 74 00:06:41,200 –> 00:06:45,420 Remember, in Acts chapter 2, Peter preached about the death and resurrection of Jesus. 75 00:06:45,420 –> 00:06:48,339 Many people believed, and they said, well, now what should we do? 76 00:06:49,260 –> 00:06:53,559 And Peter said, well, here’s what you do, you should repent and be baptized. 77 00:06:54,220 –> 00:06:54,859 Acts 2.38.39. 78 00:06:55,459 –> 00:07:01,260 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 79 00:07:01,260 –> 00:07:05,779 forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, the 80 00:07:05,779 –> 00:07:11,380 Holy Spirit. The promise is for you, and for your children, and for all who are 81 00:07:11,380 –> 00:07:17,739 far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. That’s Acts chapter 2 and 82 00:07:17,739 –> 00:07:24,119 verse 38 and 39. Now the first believers who were baptized in this way, of course, 83 00:07:24,119 –> 00:07:30,600 were all Jews. Sometime after that, the Gospel began to break through that 84 00:07:30,600 –> 00:07:36,260 boundary, and Gentiles also came to faith in Jesus Christ, and they also were 85 00:07:36,260 –> 00:07:40,380 baptized. And gradually, as you follow the story of the New Testament, Christian 86 00:07:40,380 –> 00:07:46,820 communities were formed around faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But it wasn’t long, 87 00:07:46,820 –> 00:07:50,040 of course, before the first Christians faced a question. 88 00:07:50,040 –> 00:07:52,059 What is the position, 89 00:07:52,059 –> 00:07:58,380 they asked, about of the children of believing parents? After all, these 90 00:07:58,380 –> 00:08:03,559 children are surrounded by prayer. These children are taught the Word by us, 91 00:08:03,559 –> 00:08:09,980 their parents. They are raised in the Faith. Clearly, God’s grace is touching 92 00:08:10,000 –> 00:08:16,820 their life in some definite way. So how do we recognize this fact? And many 93 00:08:16,820 –> 00:08:20,859 noted that in the Old Testament, children were circumcised. Babies were 94 00:08:20,859 –> 00:08:24,859 circumcised shortly after being born. Circumcision was the sign of the Old 95 00:08:24,859 –> 00:08:29,920 Covenant, and so many reasoned that since baptism was the sign of the New 96 00:08:29,920 –> 00:08:34,419 Covenant, it should be applied to young children to infants in the same way as 97 00:08:34,419 –> 00:08:39,260 the sign of the Old Covenant had been. Now, you won’t find this anywhere in the 98 00:08:39,260 –> 00:08:43,799 New Testament, but from quite early times in the history of the church, you find 99 00:08:43,799 –> 00:08:50,400 not only believers being baptized, but also their children. So throughout the 100 00:08:50,400 –> 00:08:54,020 history of the church, you find these two strands developing. Some church is saying 101 00:08:54,020 –> 00:08:59,260 that baptism is for believers. Some Church is saying that it is also for 102 00:08:59,260 –> 00:09:05,419 their children. Now, I don’t suppose for a moment that we’re going to resolve this 103 00:09:05,520 –> 00:09:10,880 question in the next 25 minutes. I don’t suppose you expect that either. Let me 104 00:09:10,880 –> 00:09:16,440 just make one comment. I think that it is significant that those who practice 105 00:09:16,440 –> 00:09:22,320 believers baptism, as we do, find ourselves searching for some way to 106 00:09:22,320 –> 00:09:28,979 recognize the blessing of God on a child of believing parents. So we have services 107 00:09:28,979 –> 00:09:33,580 of dedication. And those who practice infant baptism 108 00:09:33,780 –> 00:09:39,440 find themselves searching for some way to recognize the importance of personal 109 00:09:39,440 –> 00:09:44,619 faith. And so they have developed over the years services that are sometimes 110 00:09:44,619 –> 00:09:50,479 called confirmation. The thing that really matters as we try and think about 111 00:09:50,479 –> 00:09:56,340 this, and as we try to discern from the scriptures what is the right way to go. 112 00:09:57,299 –> 00:10:03,700 The thing that really matters here is the way in which a person enters Christ’s 113 00:10:03,700 –> 00:10:08,760 kingdom. Let me try and set that out for you this way, hopefully to stimulate our 114 00:10:08,760 –> 00:10:14,719 thinking, in a way that will be helpful. In the Old Testament 115 00:10:14,719 –> 00:10:22,659 you were included in God’s old covenant by birth. God made a covenant with one 116 00:10:22,659 –> 00:10:29,020 nation, Israel. God made wonderful promises to Abraham and to his seed. If 117 00:10:29,020 –> 00:10:34,640 you were born of the line of Abraham these promises were yours, they belonged 118 00:10:34,640 –> 00:10:41,440 to you. You were included in the old covenant by birth, that is why every male 119 00:10:41,440 –> 00:10:49,500 child was circumcised. But in the New Testament God makes a new covenant. The 120 00:10:49,500 –> 00:10:55,299 new covenant is not with the people of one race but it is with a community of 121 00:10:55,299 –> 00:11:02,260 people to be drawn from every race and tribe and culture. These people who are 122 00:11:02,260 –> 00:11:06,820 drawn from every kind of background into this new covenant are drawn into this 123 00:11:06,820 –> 00:11:12,500 new covenant not because they are related to Abraham by birth but because 124 00:11:12,500 –> 00:11:18,219 they are related to Jesus Christ by faith. The way in which should become 125 00:11:18,219 –> 00:11:22,580 related to Jesus Christ is obviously not by birth, Jesus was never married, Jesus 126 00:11:22,580 –> 00:11:28,340 never had children, there is no line of physical descent from Jesus. But the way 127 00:11:28,340 –> 00:11:33,099 in which a person comes into a relationship with Christ is by faith by 128 00:11:33,099 –> 00:11:39,460 a new birth by being born again as the New Testament says. So just as 129 00:11:39,460 –> 00:11:44,140 circumcision was the sign of the old covenant that was given to infants 130 00:11:44,140 –> 00:11:51,239 following their physical birth, so we believe that baptism the sign of the new 131 00:11:51,239 –> 00:11:57,320 covenant should be for believers following their spiritual birth. 132 00:11:57,320 –> 00:12:01,599 Circumcision in the Old Testament sealed the fact that you belonged to 133 00:12:01,599 –> 00:12:08,159 Abraham by physical birth and therefore God’s promises to Abraham were yours. 134 00:12:08,159 –> 00:12:13,440 Baptism seals the fact that you belong to Jesus Christ by faith, by a spiritual 135 00:12:13,520 –> 00:12:21,159 birth and that the promises of God in Jesus Christ are yours. So if we 136 00:12:21,159 –> 00:12:24,640 understand well the difference and distinction between the Old Covenant and 137 00:12:24,640 –> 00:12:29,859 the New Covenant that will move our thinking as to the way in which a person 138 00:12:29,859 –> 00:12:34,260 is included and the way in which the sign of this covenant which is what 139 00:12:34,260 –> 00:12:40,679 baptism is should be appropriately administered. Now having said that I 140 00:12:40,760 –> 00:12:45,099 want to give three words of warning. Three words of warning and I think it’s 141 00:12:45,099 –> 00:12:50,400 very important for us to take these on board. The first is that we need to be 142 00:12:50,400 –> 00:12:56,739 very careful that we don’t get into building a checklist. What I mean by 143 00:12:56,739 –> 00:13:04,900 that is simply this, that baptism is obviously an act of obedience and we 144 00:13:05,200 –> 00:13:11,940 are not saved by any act of obedience. The most important thing for you to 145 00:13:11,940 –> 00:13:16,859 grasp about your standing before God is that it cannot rest on anything that you 146 00:13:16,859 –> 00:13:21,859 do for God, including baptism but rather on what God offers to you in Jesus 147 00:13:21,859 –> 00:13:30,719 Christ that becomes yours as you believe. I remember a woman who told me after an 148 00:13:30,919 –> 00:13:38,260 evangelistic meeting that she had been baptized as a baby, she’d been confirmed 149 00:13:38,260 –> 00:13:45,359 as a teenager. She had later trusted Christ at a student camp. She had been 150 00:13:45,359 –> 00:13:51,000 baptized as a believer, and then she said, I went forward at a Billy Graham rally 151 00:13:51,000 –> 00:14:00,619 just in case. Just in case. Now you see the mentality? The problem was that she 152 00:14:00,619 –> 00:14:03,520 had set up a set of hoops and she said well these people have these hoops, these 153 00:14:03,520 –> 00:14:06,340 people have these hoops, these people have these hoops. I’ll jump every loop I 154 00:14:06,340 –> 00:14:13,679 can and then I’ll be very, very sure. We see that’s building a checklist. The 155 00:14:13,679 –> 00:14:17,780 problem with that is it reduces salvation to a human work. All she could 156 00:14:18,020 –> 00:14:23,840 was what she had done. Nobody is ever saved because they are baptized any more 157 00:14:23,840 –> 00:14:26,719 than a person is saved because they went forward at a Billy Graham meeting. A 158 00:14:26,719 –> 00:14:33,659 person is saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that comes as the gift 159 00:14:33,659 –> 00:14:39,919 of God. It is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not from 160 00:14:39,919 –> 00:14:45,239 yourselves. It is the gift of God not of works so that no one should boast. 161 00:14:45,559 –> 00:14:53,039 Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9. Now, if we don’t understand that we’ll 162 00:14:53,039 –> 00:14:58,479 always be worrying about whether we’ve done the right things. I think there are 163 00:14:58,479 –> 00:15:02,479 a lot of us who are right there. Have I done all the right things? And what we 164 00:15:02,479 –> 00:15:05,340 need is for our minds and hearts to be open to see that we’re saved by the 165 00:15:05,340 –> 00:15:11,799 grace of God through faith as I received by faith what He has offered and 166 00:15:12,020 –> 00:15:18,559 accomplished so it becomes mine. And sometimes we have all kinds of confused 167 00:15:18,559 –> 00:15:22,280 language and you hear people saying, oh well you know I’m not sure if it’s taken. 168 00:15:22,280 –> 00:15:30,739 What does that mean? I’m not sure if it’s taken. Let’s not build the checklist. 169 00:15:30,739 –> 00:15:40,200 We’re saved by faith when you trust in the promise. The promise is yours. Second, 170 00:15:40,500 –> 00:15:46,700 let’s be very careful about this whole area of breaking fellowship. In this 171 00:15:46,700 –> 00:15:52,460 church we preach and practice believers baptism. We’re convinced of it from the 172 00:15:52,460 –> 00:15:57,260 scriptures, but we also believe that it is an area in which we need to show 173 00:15:57,260 –> 00:16:02,859 respect for other Christians who’ve come to different conclusions. One of the many 174 00:16:02,859 –> 00:16:11,020 questions that any church has to answer is, where are the boundaries of our 175 00:16:11,020 –> 00:16:19,739 fellowship? Do we welcome into membership all believers, or do we only welcome into 176 00:16:19,739 –> 00:16:25,179 fellowship those believers who share our view of baptism? Now, one of the most 177 00:16:25,179 –> 00:16:29,820 important scriptures here is Romans chapter 15 and verse 7 where we read 178 00:16:30,179 –> 00:16:37,799 words, accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring 179 00:16:37,799 –> 00:16:42,020 praise to God. That’s a very important principle. And it’s written where Paul is 180 00:16:42,020 –> 00:16:46,419 talking about ways in which the Church can divide. And he says, no, you don’t 181 00:16:46,419 –> 00:16:50,200 divide over some of these issues that become contentious, and he lists a number 182 00:16:50,200 –> 00:16:55,140 of them in Romans chapter 14 and 15. But he says, here’s the principle. You accept 183 00:16:55,140 –> 00:17:03,419 one another on the basis, the same basis as Jesus Christ has accepted you. Now 184 00:17:03,419 –> 00:17:08,699 since Christ accepts all who come to him on the basis of repentance and faith, 185 00:17:08,699 –> 00:17:15,219 that should then be the basis on which we accept one another. If we add anything 186 00:17:15,219 –> 00:17:18,979 to that, we say well you have to agree with our view of baptism as well before 187 00:17:18,979 –> 00:17:23,979 we will recognize our fellowship with you, if we add anything to that, then we 188 00:17:24,020 –> 00:17:27,859 would be in the terrible position of saying well Christ may accept you but we 189 00:17:27,859 –> 00:17:35,500 can’t. Who wants to be there? So we preach and practice believer’s baptism 190 00:17:35,500 –> 00:17:40,939 but we do not impose it as a condition of fellowship. That’s the second warning. 191 00:17:40,939 –> 00:17:49,420 Here’s the third. Becoming Indifferent. Now I think this is our biggest danger. 192 00:17:49,459 –> 00:17:54,920 That in reacting against the errors of churches that have taught that baptism 193 00:17:54,920 –> 00:18:01,400 saves you, we run into the opposite danger of emptying baptism of all its 194 00:18:01,400 –> 00:18:04,979 meaning and significance so that it becomes a kind of remote add-on 195 00:18:04,979 –> 00:18:11,239 hidden away somewhere in the life of the church. And if we are to live under the 196 00:18:11,239 –> 00:18:14,380 Word of God, which is our absolute commitment as we said last week, we have 197 00:18:14,400 –> 00:18:20,260 to take seriously the words of Jesus to the church. Go make disciples, baptizing 198 00:18:20,260 –> 00:18:23,800 them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching them to do 199 00:18:23,800 –> 00:18:29,040 everything that I commanded you. Make disciples, baptize them, teach them. What 200 00:18:29,040 –> 00:18:33,619 is so difficult here? Why do so many of us feel we need a 201 00:18:33,619 –> 00:18:40,079 special leading before we would do such a thing? Why do we keep hearing about 202 00:18:40,219 –> 00:18:49,380 people coming to faith in Christ who are not being baptized? Why has coming 203 00:18:49,380 –> 00:18:52,959 forward at the end of a meeting, which is never referred to in the New 204 00:18:52,959 –> 00:18:59,239 Testament, replaced in so many evangelical circles, baptism, which is? 205 00:19:01,199 –> 00:19:05,859 How could something so clear in the Bible have become so hidden and so 206 00:19:05,859 –> 00:19:12,660 low-profile so often in the Church? See, in our concern to make clear that 207 00:19:12,660 –> 00:19:20,219 baptism does not save us, we become in danger of saying that baptism doesn’t do 208 00:19:20,219 –> 00:19:28,140 anything for us. But we’ve reduced it to merely a human work, merely a way of 209 00:19:28,140 –> 00:19:33,339 saying, I want to tell everybody I’m a Christian. Well, if baptism is simply a 210 00:19:33,380 –> 00:19:36,280 way of telling everybody you’re a Christian why have baptism? Why not just 211 00:19:36,280 –> 00:19:41,219 have services where we all get up and tell everybody we’re a Christian? If it’s 212 00:19:41,219 –> 00:19:44,459 simply a way of saying, I love Jesus, why don’t we have services where we all get 213 00:19:44,459 –> 00:19:49,859 up and say, I love Jesus? If it’s just an act of commitment, why don’t we just have 214 00:19:49,859 –> 00:19:52,560 services where we all get up and make an act of commitment? We can do that very 215 00:19:52,560 –> 00:20:03,060 easily. Now if we are to understand baptism, we need to understand that there 216 00:20:03,060 –> 00:20:14,819 are two people talking. God is not silent in baptism. He speaks through the word 217 00:20:14,819 –> 00:20:26,479 and he speaks through the picture. He does not save through baptism, but he 218 00:20:26,479 –> 00:20:33,760 certainly speaks through baptism. And some of us have become so concerned with 219 00:20:33,760 –> 00:20:37,900 saying he doesn’t save through baptism, that we’ve lost sight of the fact that 220 00:20:37,900 –> 00:20:48,500 he speaks through baptism. You say, okay what does he say? He says three things. 221 00:20:48,500 –> 00:20:55,520 Three things that some of us in the most personal, intimate, inner way desperately 222 00:20:55,640 –> 00:21:00,579 need to hear. And I want to ask you to evaluate your own spiritual life. I want 223 00:21:00,579 –> 00:21:05,739 to ask you to think honestly, are these things I need to hear within my own 224 00:21:05,739 –> 00:21:12,239 life? Because I think, and this is my own conviction here, that where the church 225 00:21:12,239 –> 00:21:19,400 misses something that Jesus said was important, we end up weak in the very 226 00:21:19,400 –> 00:21:25,140 area that that important thing was meant to strengthen. So here are the three 227 00:21:25,140 –> 00:21:38,859 things that God says in Baptism. Number one, you are washed. You are washed. 228 00:21:38,859 –> 00:21:43,140 That’s what God says in the picture. Of course, that goes to the very heart of 229 00:21:43,140 –> 00:21:48,859 our salvation. He saves us, not through righteous things that we have done, Paul 230 00:21:48,859 –> 00:21:53,459 says in Titus, but because of his mercy, he saved us through the washing of 231 00:21:53,640 –> 00:21:56,739 rebirth. It’s not baptism that saves us it’s the 232 00:21:56,739 –> 00:22:03,420 rebirth that saves us and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 6.11 233 00:22:03,420 –> 00:22:08,439 He says you wear washed, you were justified, you were justified in the name 234 00:22:08,439 –> 00:22:14,859 of Jesus and by the power of the Spirit of God. That’s the reality of 235 00:22:14,859 –> 00:22:19,839 conversion that you’re washed and God says it to us not only in words in 236 00:22:19,839 –> 00:22:26,380 Scripture but He says it to us in this wonderful picture in baptism. Some of us 237 00:22:26,380 –> 00:22:31,380 say we’re visual learners. It takes a while for us to get hard words into our 238 00:22:31,380 –> 00:22:37,599 heads, so God says let me make it very simple for you. You struggle with this 239 00:22:37,599 –> 00:22:45,140 whole issue of guilt, you find it hard to really believe that all your sins are 240 00:22:45,479 –> 00:22:51,739 forgiven? Do you struggle with that? You find it hard that the really big one is 241 00:22:51,739 –> 00:23:03,000 forgiven? God says as it were let me make it clear to you. Find some water, get in 242 00:23:03,000 –> 00:23:10,260 and let me show you in a picture what has happened to you in Jesus Christ. You 243 00:23:11,099 –> 00:23:20,280 are washed. Do you understand it now? A visible word. Now maybe you’re thinking 244 00:23:20,280 –> 00:23:27,040 well boy I need to be baptized every week then. No, a believer is baptized 245 00:23:27,040 –> 00:23:31,119 once because when you come to Jesus Christ he doesn’t wash you of some of 246 00:23:31,280 –> 00:23:41,260 sin, he washes you of all of your sin, past, present, future. So that even though 247 00:23:41,260 –> 00:23:45,760 right now you and I may be so far from what God calls us to be even though we 248 00:23:45,760 –> 00:23:57,760 fail in so many ways in Jesus Christ you are washed. Some of us so desperately 249 00:23:57,760 –> 00:24:02,339 need to hear that because we have trusted Christ and we’re living under a 250 00:24:02,339 –> 00:24:07,260 cloud of guilt and we’ve just not got it. And God says I’ll give it to you in 251 00:24:07,260 –> 00:24:13,239 words, I’ll give it to you in pictures can you get this into your dull mind. 252 00:24:13,239 –> 00:24:21,180 Second, God says you have died. Romans Chapter 6 in verse 3. Don’t you know that 253 00:24:21,180 –> 00:24:27,579 all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? You 254 00:24:27,579 –> 00:24:31,260 see when you come to Jesus Christ in faith, a fundamental change takes place. 255 00:24:31,260 –> 00:24:35,900 If anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation, the old has gone and 256 00:24:35,900 –> 00:24:41,739 the new has come and that too is pictured for us and sealed for us in 257 00:24:41,739 –> 00:24:47,599 baptism. Now is there anyone who finds this hard to believe? You once were a 258 00:24:47,599 –> 00:24:55,680 slave to sin but you are no longer. You once were under condemnation but you are 259 00:24:55,680 –> 00:25:00,000 no longer, that person who was a slave to sin and under condemnation has simply 260 00:25:00,000 –> 00:25:04,380 died. That person who lived for the things of this world is gone and does 261 00:25:04,380 –> 00:25:13,300 not exist. You are a new creation. Now when we find that hard to believe, it is 262 00:25:13,300 –> 00:25:19,880 as if God would say to us you find it hard to believe that the person you 263 00:25:19,880 –> 00:25:30,479 used to be has really gone? Hey, let me show you. Get some water. Get in, right. 264 00:25:30,479 –> 00:25:36,859 Down into the grave. That’s what happened to the person you 265 00:25:36,859 –> 00:25:45,300 were. Do you get it now? Do you see that the old person has gone and that though 266 00:25:45,300 –> 00:25:48,880 you live with all of the same temptations and struggles, you are not 267 00:25:48,880 –> 00:25:55,459 that person who was belonging to darkness. You are part of the kingdom of 268 00:25:55,459 –> 00:26:02,900 light. You are a new creation. You have died. I have been crucified with Christ 269 00:26:02,900 –> 00:26:13,819 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. Thirdly, you are alive. You are alive. 270 00:26:13,819 –> 00:26:17,760 Well God says this otherwise we’d end under the water, wouldn’t we? Romans 271 00:26:17,800 –> 00:26:21,739 Chapter 6 and verse 4. You were buried with Christ through baptism into death 272 00:26:21,739 –> 00:26:25,660 in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the 273 00:26:25,660 –> 00:26:31,540 Father we too may live a new life. It’s not just that you go down because the 274 00:26:31,540 –> 00:26:37,319 person you were has finished it is that you come up because you are a new person 275 00:26:37,319 –> 00:26:40,619 in Jesus Christ, you are filled with his spirit, 276 00:26:40,660 –> 00:26:47,699 You have new capacities, new power, new direction, new destiny and these are 277 00:26:47,719 –> 00:26:53,219 unalterable facts about you.They are realities that rise above the level of 278 00:26:53,219 –> 00:26:57,000 what you feel on a day-to-day basis. 279 00:26:57,739 –> 00:26:59,979 Some of us find this hard to believe. 280 00:27:00,939 –> 00:27:04,040 So God, as it were, says, hey let me show you. 281 00:27:04,920 –> 00:27:07,319 Get some water. Get in. 282 00:27:07,859 –> 00:27:14,680 The old person is gone, but a new life has been born through your faith in 283 00:27:14,699 –> 00:27:20,400 Jesus Christ. You are alive to God. You already share in the resurrection life. 284 00:27:20,400 –> 00:27:24,520 You will never die when your body gives out. You will immediately go into the 285 00:27:24,520 –> 00:27:29,079 presence of Christ and then one day when Christ returns, your body too, will be 286 00:27:29,079 –> 00:27:32,660 resurrected and adapted for all eternity. 287 00:27:33,920 –> 00:27:35,640 Now that’s what God says to us in baptism. 288 00:27:38,160 –> 00:27:41,400 There are two people speaking and I wanted to put the emphasis on the first 289 00:27:41,400 –> 00:27:46,900 because we forget this. We get so focused on what we’re saying that we forget that 290 00:27:46,900 –> 00:27:52,219 the whole point of baptism is that it is God speaking in a picture. 291 00:27:53,920 –> 00:27:57,719 So powerful when we struggle to get hold of the words. 292 00:27:59,619 –> 00:28:01,439 What do we say to God in baptism? 293 00:28:02,699 –> 00:28:03,680 Three things. 294 00:28:04,760 –> 00:28:06,219 Number one, I believe. 295 00:28:07,079 –> 00:28:11,739 See, when a person comes for baptism, what you’re saying is simply this, 296 00:28:11,739 –> 00:28:14,300 I believe these things are true of me. 297 00:28:15,319 –> 00:28:17,180 I believe that I’m washed. 298 00:28:17,800 –> 00:28:20,760 I believe that in Jesus Christ I have died. 299 00:28:20,760 –> 00:28:24,359 I believe that in Christ I’ve been raised to a new life. 300 00:28:25,520 –> 00:28:30,219 Not only do I believe but as I come to be baptized, I’m saying I obey. 301 00:28:30,699 –> 00:28:35,239 Christ said, be baptized and so here I am, I’m going to be baptized. 302 00:28:35,239 –> 00:28:37,939 It’s a simple act of obedience and in taking this step, 303 00:28:37,939 –> 00:28:41,280 I’m pledging myself to a life of obedience. 304 00:28:43,140 –> 00:28:46,640 Now, of course, this is the point where it is important to exercise discernment, 305 00:28:46,640 –> 00:28:50,339 especially with younger children who want to be baptized 306 00:28:50,839 –> 00:28:55,380 and may genuinely say that they believe that may be the reality. 307 00:28:56,319 –> 00:29:00,119 I’ve been greatly helped by the words of a pastor who said to me, 308 00:29:00,119 –> 00:29:02,640 many years ago, in answer to the question you know, 309 00:29:02,640 –> 00:29:04,880 how old should a person be to be baptized? 310 00:29:04,880 –> 00:29:06,040 This is what he said, 311 00:29:06,040 –> 00:29:11,479 old enough to have felt the pull of the world. 312 00:29:13,180 –> 00:29:16,920 See, a very young child may be able, truly, to say I believe. 313 00:29:17,979 –> 00:29:21,300 The area in which we have to exercise discernment 314 00:29:22,060 –> 00:29:27,619 is the degree to which they are able to meaningfully say I obey. 315 00:29:28,859 –> 00:29:29,900 Think of it this way. 316 00:29:29,900 –> 00:29:34,380 A young child may be genuinely capable of giving and receiving love. 317 00:29:35,239 –> 00:29:36,920 But that does not mean that they’re ready for 318 00:29:36,920 –> 00:29:38,420 the responsibilities of marriage. 319 00:29:39,640 –> 00:29:45,219 And since baptism is about sealing a believer’s experience, 320 00:29:45,219 –> 00:29:49,800 the one thing that you do not want to happen is for a person to be baptized 321 00:29:49,800 –> 00:29:53,599 and then a few years later to say well, I never really understood what was happening. 322 00:29:56,319 –> 00:29:58,699 Thirdly, I belong. 323 00:29:59,479 –> 00:30:02,760 I obey. I believe. I belong. 324 00:30:03,040 –> 00:30:07,859 Baptism is a statement of belonging to Christ and also of belonging to his body. 325 00:30:07,859 –> 00:30:14,459 1 Corinthians 12-13 we are baptized by one spirit into one body. 326 00:30:14,459 –> 00:30:17,979 And we emphasize so much the personal nature of faith. 327 00:30:18,979 –> 00:30:21,359 And of course this picture makes that very clear. 328 00:30:21,359 –> 00:30:25,000 Nobody can be baptized for you, no one can eat the Lord’s Supper for you. 329 00:30:25,959 –> 00:30:30,640 But it’s also true that these pictures speak to us of our togetherness in Christ. 330 00:30:30,760 –> 00:30:35,319 You cannot be baptized on your own, you need someone to baptize you. 331 00:30:35,319 –> 00:30:40,800 You cannot have communion on your own, you need others with whom to share communion. 332 00:30:42,640 –> 00:30:48,400 Now one of the struggles many of us face is that we live our Christian lives at the level 333 00:30:48,400 –> 00:30:51,280 of our emotions. 334 00:30:51,280 –> 00:30:57,280 And since our emotions are always changing, sometimes we just don’t know where we really 335 00:30:57,280 –> 00:30:58,300 are. 336 00:30:58,900 –> 00:31:04,660 Sometimes I feel the joy of forgiveness, sometimes I feel my own overwhelming failure. 337 00:31:04,660 –> 00:31:08,939 Sometimes I feel like obeying Christ, sometimes I don’t. 338 00:31:08,939 –> 00:31:13,920 Sometimes I feel the power of the Holy Spirit, other times I just feel desperate. 339 00:31:13,920 –> 00:31:18,300 Sometimes I feel my faith is strong, sometimes I struggle with many doubts. 340 00:31:18,300 –> 00:31:24,459 Sometimes I feel that I belong to the body, sometimes I just feel disconnected. 341 00:31:24,479 –> 00:31:26,859 Now our feelings run all over the place. 342 00:31:26,859 –> 00:31:28,819 That is common to our experience. 343 00:31:28,819 –> 00:31:35,420 They are like the changing and contradictory conflicting currents in the ocean. 344 00:31:35,420 –> 00:31:40,579 They move in every direction, changing, restless, unstable. 345 00:31:40,579 –> 00:31:44,140 Now you don’t want your Christian life to be like that, do you? 346 00:31:44,140 –> 00:31:48,979 You can’t live your Christian life there, you need an anchor. 347 00:31:48,979 –> 00:31:54,339 You need to know who you really are, then you can live the Christian life in the middle 348 00:31:54,339 –> 00:31:55,979 of changing emotions. 349 00:31:55,979 –> 00:31:59,619 That’s what baptism does for you. 350 00:31:59,619 –> 00:32:05,760 It is a seal of what Christ has done in the mind and heart of the believer. 351 00:32:05,760 –> 00:32:08,380 I am baptized. 352 00:32:08,380 –> 00:32:11,160 I am washed. 353 00:32:11,160 –> 00:32:14,500 I am not the old guy I used to be. 354 00:32:14,500 –> 00:32:18,579 I am a new person in Christ, the Spirit of God lives in me. 355 00:32:18,579 –> 00:32:22,420 Sometimes I do not feel these things. 356 00:32:22,420 –> 00:32:30,219 Baptism tells me that nevertheless through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they are so. 357 00:32:30,219 –> 00:32:31,979 I am committed to a life of obedience. 358 00:32:31,979 –> 00:32:33,380 I belong to the body. 359 00:32:33,380 –> 00:32:35,920 That’s who I am. 360 00:32:35,920 –> 00:32:40,560 And this is how baptism is worship. 361 00:32:40,560 –> 00:32:43,439 It’s God reminding you of who you are. 362 00:32:43,439 –> 00:32:49,380 Everytime you see someone being baptized, it’s a wonderful affirmation again to all 363 00:32:49,380 –> 00:32:52,199 who are in Christ, this is true God. 364 00:32:52,219 –> 00:32:55,780 You of you. 365 00:32:56,800 –> 00:32:59,540 It’s rather like a married couple coming to a wedding. 366 00:32:59,540 –> 00:33:06,939 You enjoy the wedding because you know the couple, but as you hear them making their 367 00:33:06,939 –> 00:33:12,819 vows, if you are also married, you’re reminded of your own, it’s just how it is. 368 00:33:12,819 –> 00:33:18,699 I get to watch from the front of course in some weddings, it’s very interesting. 369 00:33:18,699 –> 00:33:24,199 As the couple makes their vows, husbands and wives move a little closer to each other. 370 00:33:24,199 –> 00:33:33,359 They hold hands, sometimes they cry because they are reminded of who they are, what they 371 00:33:33,359 –> 00:33:39,660 have promised to be, and what they’re called to do. 372 00:33:39,660 –> 00:33:44,859 So often they will go out holding hands and it’s done them good. 373 00:33:44,880 –> 00:33:50,560 That’s what baptism should do for every believer. 374 00:33:50,560 –> 00:33:53,000 These things are true of me. 375 00:33:53,000 –> 00:33:56,420 Are they true of you? 376 00:33:56,420 –> 00:34:00,619 Either you’re washed or you’re not. 377 00:34:00,619 –> 00:34:10,419 Either you’re a person who the person you were has died or you’re still that person. 378 00:34:10,419 –> 00:34:14,060 Either the Holy Spirit lives in you or he does not. 379 00:34:14,300 –> 00:34:20,280 Either you have believed and receivedChrist and all that he offers to you or you have not. 380 00:34:21,040 –> 00:34:24,320 Either you’re committed to a life of obedience or you are not. 381 00:34:24,320 –> 00:34:30,000 Either you belong to the body or you do not. 382 00:34:30,020 –> 00:34:38,560 If these things are true of you, why would you not want to be baptized? 383 00:34:38,719 –> 00:34:47,899 And if they are not true of you, why would you not want to come to Christ today? 384 00:34:49,020 –> 00:34:53,899 Let’s pray together shall we? 385 00:34:55,199 –> 00:35:00,300 Father thank you for the Miracle, the transformation of the Gospel. 386 00:35:00,300 –> 00:35:02,959 To be washed. 387 00:35:02,959 –> 00:35:06,540 To cease to be who I was. 388 00:35:06,600 –> 00:35:11,600 To be risen with Christ already in newness of life. 389 00:35:11,600 –> 00:35:17,659 To have come by your grace to the place where I can say, I believe. 390 00:35:17,699 –> 00:35:21,379 I obey. 391 00:35:21,379 –> 00:35:24,840 I belong. 392 00:35:24,840 –> 00:35:29,419 Bring every person to this place. 393 00:35:29,419 –> 00:35:33,699 Where we’ve not seen the significance of baptism, give to us the freedom and the joy we pray 394 00:35:33,699 –> 00:35:46,219 of entering into this visible word, this expression of the reality of what you do for every Christian 395 00:35:46,219 –> 00:35:48,360 through Jesus Christ. 396 00:35:48,360 –> 00:35:53,360 And grandfather that in the years that lie ahead in this place, we may see dozens and 397 00:35:53,360 –> 00:36:01,739 dozens and dozens of people coming to the reality of new life in Jesus Christ and us 398 00:36:01,899 –> 00:36:09,919 sharing the joy and privilege of celebrating what you have done in them and in us, until 399 00:36:09,919 –> 00:36:12,800 Jesus Christ comes again. 400 00:36:12,800 –> 00:36:17,080 These things we ask, in his name, Amen.