Baptism

Intro

Start with scripture

instituted upon Christs death on the cross

- For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 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. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

This passage confirms:

two essential beliefs in Christianity:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

that Christ is fully God and man

- Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

that God has raised him from the dead

- These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

It confirms that the debt of our sin before God was cancelled - nailed to the cross

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- and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed

Sin is breaking God’s law and is a legal debt before God

- Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

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

And requires payment

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

Our debt was cancelled, erased

No legal obligation to fulfill to God

Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible B. The true doctrine of Christ 2:8–15

The Greek term translated “cancelled out” (v. 14, exaleipsas) suggests the smearing of letters written on wax. Our certificate of debt was hostile to us in that it hounded us through a guilty conscience and scriptural warnings. Christ erased the debt, removed the certificate from between us and God, and God crucified the bill of debt with Christ on the cross. The final phrase in verse 14 may be an allusion to the superscription above Jesus’ cross.

“What the metaphor says is that Jesus took the damning indictment and nailed it to His cross—presumably as an act of triumphant defiance in the face of those blackmailing powers that were holding it over men and women as a means of commanding their allegiance. If there is an analogy here, it may lie in the fact that Jesus’ own accusation was fixed to His cross. Just as His own indictment was fastened there, says Paul, so he takes the indictment drawn up against his people and nails it to His cross. His victorious passion sets them free from their bankruptcy and bondage.”

iii. The passage confirms what exactly happened to us when we were regenerated

and what exactly happened to us when we were regenerated

just as physical circumcision in the OT was a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham and his descendants, a spiritual circumcision took place when we were regenerated and is present in our identification with Christ

- Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

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Spiritual baptism with regeneration

- For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

- He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life

“What the metaphor says is that Jesus took the damning indictment and nailed it to His cross—presumably as an act of triumphant defiance in the face of those blackmailing powers that were holding it over men and women as a means of commanding their allegiance. If there is an analogy here, it may lie in the fact that Jesus’ own accusation was fixed to His cross. Just as His own indictment was fastened there, says Paul, so he takes the indictment drawn up against his people and nails it to His cross. His victorious passion sets them free from their bankruptcy and bondage.”

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Constable, T. (2003). Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Col 2:13). Gal

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

We died to sin and were raised up again to live in Christ

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

So what is baptism?

sign of new covenant instituted at the moment of Christ’s death

- And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom

baptism is an act of obedience:

Jesus commanded it in - Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

and of the apostles in - Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ

symbolizes death to sin and self

evidence of having begun a life in Christ

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

- For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

this doesn’t mean we don’t struggle with sin. We will struggle

baptism, itself, no way guarantees eternal life

- For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Righteousness before God is simply the acknowledgement that:

your sins are a debt to an infinitely holy God

you’re a sinner and in debt to an infinitely holy God

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation

just as the tax collector in - But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me the sinner!”

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

that Jesus Christ is the Son of God just as the Ethiopian Eunuch in when he said “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God”

Philip baptized him

- that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; 13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Ask Bill & Diane:

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Do you believe that he has been raised from the dead?