Baptism Sunday
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Baptism Sunday
Baptism Sunday
Baptism Today, You’ll hear that it…
Saves You
Fills you with the Holy Spirit
Gives you a 2nd filling of the Holy Spirit
We don’t believe any of that to be true.
Yet baptism tends to hold extreme importance
Are You Washed - in the blood of the lamb
Blessed Assurance - Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
Victory in Jesus - He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood
Jesus Paid It All - Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow
At the same time, we can see that even pop culture has adopted the importance of baptism
Want to deal with the purpose of baptism, whether you were baptized today, years ago, or if you haven’t been baptized before.
How do we know we should be baptized?
Jesus was baptized (Ex 29.4, Lev 8.5-6)
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
The Apostles Practiced Baptism
22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were),
Paul, a Jew, was baptized
5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized;
Gentiles were baptized
29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.
33 And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.
So we see baptism as something that follows identification with a community, it follows belief.
So we must ask, does baptism save?
The answer is no. Baptism does not save you. Salvation is by faith in Jesus. You often hear the phrase “faith alone in Christ alone.”
This Means:
John:
47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
14 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
We don’t have to stay within John for this though.
Luke:
12 “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
Peter:
43 “Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.
Paul:
16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Old Testament:
God
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.
Lamech:
29 Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed.”
Abraham:
3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
I could keep going, but for time we will move on.
Regarding does baptism save?
The Practical Argument:
Thief on the cross
42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!”
43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
It wasn’t Paul’s goal
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.
The Theological Argument:
5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Works cannot be a part of salvation, otherwise we have something to boast about!
So if salvation is by faith alone in Christ alone, what is the purpose of baptism?
Baptism is the outward profession of the inward reality.
Theological Argument:
If we go to Romans 6, part of Paul’s discourse on sanctification we read the theological significance:
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
Paul says it again in Colossians 2:12 -
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Practical Purpose:
Being a public proclamation of joining the church, the community of believers in Christ, when others know you have become a believer, they share the burden of walking in accountability with you.
Within the body, we are called to help each other examine our lives with the goal of growing closer to Jesus.
Accountability requires Maturity
3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5 “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
Accountability Requires Grace
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
When we are unwilling to forgive others, when we keep dwelling in the past, we are holding that Jesus’ death and resurrection were enough to satisfy God’s justice, but not our own.
Ordinance:
Like the table, baptism is to serve as a reminder.
We believe in justification by faith alone in Christ alone
We believe the believer is eternal secure in their salvation
We believe the believer has 100% assurance of their salvation because of God’s word, they never have to doubt.
In God’s grace, He has given us baptism, and the Lord’s Table, as reminders of who He is and what He has done. As such, we use these as markers, reminders in our lives.
It is easy to let a day like today rise above the others because of the proclamations of faith that have been made here today. And we do celebrate these, praise God for the new life promised to believers in His word. But I want to challenge you to remember. When we gather together again next week, do not forget.
The same truths we celebrate and recognize this week, are still true and worthy of our celebration next week, and the week after, and the week after. Every single day.
So as we prepare to come to the table today, let’s focus on marking in our memory, the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness to make sure we do not forget.
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Let’s Pray