Born From Above

Introduction

This morning, I am talking about baptism. But I am talking this morning about a different kind of baptism than you may be used to. We are used to talking about water baptism. And when we talk about baptism, we usually associate it with life. But really, baptism is not a symbol of life, it is a symbol of death.

What baptism pictures is the death of the old person, it pictures surrender to the Lord Jesus. Here is how the Bible explains it.

Romans 6:3–4 NKJV

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Baptism in water cannot save a person. The only thing that can save a person is baptism in Christ. Baptism is Christ is when four things happen.

(1) We hear the Word of God and realize that we have sinned.

(2) We repent from that sin, which means to agree with God about who we are and what we’ve done.

(3) When we repent, it means that we are accepting the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for our sin.

(4) The Holy Spirit of God supernaturally cleanses our hearts, which we call baptism by the Holy Spirit.

Water baptism is not salvation. Water baptism is a symbol, a picture of what the Holy Spirit of God has already done inside of a person.

Baptism is the Wedding Ring

It’s like a wedding ring.

This ring that I have on my finger doesn’t make me married. I wear this ring because I am married. It is a sign and a symbol that I have pledged my life to Elizabeth, and that I belong solely to her.

When I take my wedding ring off at night, and set it down beside my wallet and keys, I am still married because I made a vow to my wife!

Let’s say that I never had a ring, but I went down to the altar or courthouse and I committed my life to Elizabeth. Does that mean that I am not married because I never wore a ring? No!

Now let’s say that Elizabeth and I never got married, but we decided to wear rings. Does that mean we’re married? Again, no.

This ring only signifies that I am married, but it doesn’t make me married.

In the same way, whether I am baptized or not, I am still in Christ, and I belong to Him.

Why get baptized?

Friend, we get baptized to (1) Be obedient to the Lord. (2) To show our family and friends what Jesus has done inside of us, that He has buried the old man and given us the power to walk as a new man.

I want to say one more time before I get into this message, water baptism doesn’t save us, but being baptized in the Holy Spirit of God saves us.

How can we be baptized into Christ’s death so that we can be saved?

John 3:1–18 NKJV

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

I. Repentance

Before you can understand repentance, you need to understand sin.

A. Sin

1. Its Definition

Sin means to “miss the mark” or to “wander”.

a. We Haven’t Sinned

We get confused when people talk about sin. One of the ways that we get confused is we believe that we haven’t sinned.

Romans 3:23 NKJV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

-This literally means that everyone has missed the mark.

b. Sin isn’t that Bad

Another way that we get confused about sin is that we think our sin isn’t bad enough for God to take notice of.

James 2:10 NKJV

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

What the Bible is telling us in the book of James is that just one sin is enough for God to take note of.

We Just Need a Point

In High School, our team was in tournament play. The game was intense, and we were the underdogs, and we’re down by three points.

We only had 8 seconds to get down and hit a three and tie the game up.

We come out of the timeout, I am inbounding the ball, I throw it in, and the best athlete we had hits it off the front of the rim.

Right after he hits it off the rim, our center grabs the rebound, and puts it back for 2 points.

But there was a problem, we needed three, and even though we lost by one point, we still lost.

Don’t get me confused here. God isn’t in heaven keeping score. But my point is that it doesn’t matter if you’re near the mark, the point is that we’ve all missed the mark. Don’t think that your sin isn’t bad enough for God to take notice of. It is.

c. God Will Simply Forgive

One final way that we get confused about sin is that as long as we try our best, God will forgive us of our sin.

God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice. If God were to just let sin slide, He would cease to be God. He must make things right, and since sin is wrong, He must destroy it. He will not let sin go, sin must be paid for…and we will talk about how God paid for your sin later.

2. Its Destination

I want to say this to you kindly this morning, but I also want to say it seriously. If God has not saved you from your sin, then your destination is a place called Hell.

Romans 6:23 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Being forgiven by God is not about living a good enough life or trying hard enough. It is about accepting the gift that Jesus gave us when He died on the cross.

You hold that thought…

B. Repentance

I want to define it for you.

1. Its Definition

Repentance means to turn your heart and mind from sin to God.

This means to confess sin.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is more than just an admission. The word confess in the Bible is made up of two Greek words, homos and legos, and that literally translates to “say the same thing.” Confession is not just admitting that you did it, it means to side with God about what you did and who you are.

2. Its Declaration

What you are declaring when you repent is that you are someone who has missed the mark, and that you need God to save you.

Friend, at the moment that you repent and confess, you accept that gift that Jesus gave us when He died on the cross.

II. Redemption

To redeem something is to buy it back.

The reason that Jesus died on the cross was to buy the world back from slavery to sin. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, and they sold the entire world into slavery. Because God is just, and not evil, He will always do things in a proper way.

Sin owns us, and the only legal way for us to be freed from sin and belong to God is if we are purchased. When Jesus died on the cross, He purchased us, He redeemed us.

A. The Serpent

John 3:14–15 NKJV

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

This is an interesting story. In the book of the Bible called Numbers, God’s people complained, and to discipline them, He sent these fiery snakes into the camp and they bit people. If you’ll remember in the beginning of the Bible, the devil came as a serpent. The people in Israel sinned against God, and by allowing those fiery serpents loose in the camp, God was showing them what sin really was…that it was deadly.

Now, God did then just as God always does…For all those that were poisoned because of the serpent’s bite, He made a way for them to be cleansed from that poison. What God did is he commanded Moses to make a serpent out of bronze and life it up on a pole in the middle of the camp. Everyone who came and looked at that bronze serpent was saved from the effects of their sin.

B. The Savior

John 3:16–17 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

The Bible says that just like that bronze serpent was lifted up to save people from their sin, that the Son of Man and the Son of God Jesus, must be lifted up. And just like those who believed God and looked at that bronze serpent were saved, those who look at the Lord Jesus will be saved.

When Jesus was up there on that cross, He became sin. What Jesus did is He took the punishment for all of sin for all of time. And when a person hears God’s word, if they will confess their sin, confess that Jesus is the Lord, and believe in their heart that God raised them from the dead, the Bible says that they will be saved from the sin itself.

C. The Saved

John 3:18 NKJV

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The whole world has been bitten by the serpent of sin. And when we have sin in our life, we will be condemned to Hell. But the Bible says that when a person repents and believes, that they won’t be condemned to Hell, but that they will be saved.

Romans 8:1 NKJV

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Imagine that…that when you stand before God, you won’t have to answer for any sin because Jesus has already answered for you!

But if you do not confess and believe in the Lord Jesus, the Bible tells us in v. 18 that we are already condemned. The world says that we ought not judge. But I don’t have to judge. God says that He has already judged the world and that the world is condemned. The only way to escape condemnation is to look to Jesus to save us.

III. Regeneration

Regeneration is inward cleansing by God’s Holy Spirit

How can you be saved today?

A. By Trusting God’s Word

John 3:5 NKJV

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

When the Bible says that we must be born of water and of the Spirit, it is not talking about baptism. When the Bible says “water” here, he is talking about the Word of God. What you’ll find in the Bible is that water and washing are symbolicly used to speak of God’s Word

Ephesians 5:26 NKJV

that He might sanctify and cleanse with the washing of water by the word,

Isaiah 55:10–11 NKJV

“For as the rain comes down… So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth

John 15:3 NKJV

You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

When a person hears God’s word and trusts in that word, the Holy Spirit of God enters in and cleanses that person from sin.

B. When we Trust God’s Word We Are Born Again

John 3:6 NKJV

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Flesh means sin. When we are born, we are born as sinners because of what Adam did. In order to be released from sin, we have to die! Jesus died. And when we confess sin and believe in Him, we die with Him, and baptism pictures that.

And the Bible says that just as Christ was risen, so we are risen from the dead.

How are we raised? God’s Spirit enters in and kills sin, and then He gives us new life in our heart. This means that we are born agian.

A Baby in a Hospital

To be born again means to be totally innocent before God.

Could you imagine seeing on the news that someone was waiting at the hospital to arrest a new born baby? You’d have to check if it was satire!

In the same way, when we trust in God’s word, that Jesus came, that Jesus died, and the He rose, we die to the flesh and to sin, and we are born of the Spirit.

Conclusion

We are baptizing today, but those that are being baptised aren’t being saved. They’ve already been saved. What we’re doing today is we are displaying the grace of God that He would save.