DYING IN THE WATER WITHOUT DROWNING

DYING IN THE WATER WITHOUT DROWNING Romans 6:1-14 June 24, 2007 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction There is a great story about Henry Ford and the early days of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit. It's about a machinist with the Company who, over a period of years, had "borrowed" tools and other automobile parts. Although it was, of course, against company policy, management knew most of their employees did it, and they did nothing about it (as long as profits were stable). One day machinist was converted. He was baptized and was instantly one of those believers who took his baptism seriously. The day after his baptism, he gathered all the tools he had “collected” over the years, loaded them into his pickup, and took them to the foreman at the plant along with his confession and a request for forgiveness. He explained he had given his life to Christ, was just baptized and was making a brand new start. The foreman was so overcome by the man's honesty that he cabled Henry Ford himself, who was visiting a European plant. After getting the whole story in detail, Ford immediately cabled back this response: "Dam up the Detroit River," he said, "and baptize the entire plant." The assumption behind Henry Ford's tongue-in-cheek order is also the gist of Romans 6. There Paul teaches that there will understandably be a perceptible difference in a person’s life and that this will occur after his baptism into Christ. It is as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 - …if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" There are two positive ordinances given to the church by the Lord Jesus. Baptism is the first, and for over 20 centuries it has been practiced by the church in obedience to Christ. The other central ordinance given by Jesus to the church is Communion, the Lord’s Supper. I hope next week to bring a teaching on that topic. The Importance of Baptism in the New Covenant Here in Romans 6 the apostle teaches us that baptism in water is a reenactment of Christ’s death and burial, and His rising to walk in new life. More than a reenactment, though, Paul goes a step further and says that the baptismal candidate actually joins Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. That is, the disciple participates in his own death, burial and resurrection in symbolic form. He dies to his old sinful nature; he is buried in water by immersion; and then he rises from that watery grave to live a brand new life in Christ. Baptism is the only time people walk away from their own burial service. The story is true and it’s about a judge in Yugoslavia who in 1997 was electrocuted when he reached up to turn on a light while standing in a bathtub of water. His wife found his body on the bathroom floor and called the authorities. He was quickly pronounced dead at the scene and his body was transported to the town cemetery and placed in a room under a crypt until the next day when the embalming could be carried out. In the middle of the night the judge came to. When he realized where he was he rushed out of the room to the on-duty guard. The guard, of course, was frightened and ran away from him. The judge found a phone and tried to call his wife to assure her that he was all right. He got no further than, “Honey, it’s me,” before she screamed and fainted. The guard finally returned with some other officers and the judge was released. He went to the house of some friends to ask them to accompany him home to his terrified wife. Though at first they were certain he was a ghost, he finally convinced them he was, in fact, alive and everything ended well. There’s nothing like going through a death to get people’s attention! Let’s read our text together. To get the context, we need to know that the Roman Christians were not living the transformed life as they should have been, and Paul reminds them of their baptism as the moment they put the old life to death. Romans 6:1-14 . . . What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order than, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master because you are not under law but under grace. Baptism was important to Paul. I’m sure that as he witnessed hundreds of converts being baptized into Christ, he recalled his own experience years before. Shortly after he encountered the living Christ on the road to Damascus, and was struck blind, he met Ananias who prayed for him to be healed of the blindness and instantly he could see again. Then Ananias said, And now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. (Acts 22:16) He reminded the Galatian believers: You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26) He would write later to the Colossians, reminding them that they had been buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised Jesus from the dead (Colossians 2:12). Every time someone was converted under his ministry Paul would hurry them to the water for baptism. The Philippian jailer and his entire household were baptized in the middle of the night, in the same hour that they responded to the gospel. When Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian, he must have taught him about baptism because when their chariot came near water he asked if he could be baptized. Peter also put water baptism squarely in the center of his preaching when he told the Jerusalem penitents, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38) Early in his post-resurrection ministry, Peter was preaching to the Gentile crowd of Cornelius’ household. When he saw God was at work among them by His Spirit, the first thing Peter said was, Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? (Acts 10:47) Peter later wrote to exiled believers illustrating God’s grace in the story of God’s saving the eight members of Noah’s family through water, which, he said, symbolized baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ… (1 Peter 3:21) Was baptism important to Jesus? It certainly was! He is the only person in human history to have never sinned, yet to fulfill all righteousness He was baptized as an example to all at the inauguration of His earthly ministry. As we heard earlier, He planted baptism squarely in the middle of the Great Commission to His church, requiring Christians to baptize those who come to Him in faith. So integral to the preaching of the gospel did Jesus see baptism that in Mark 16:16 His words are recorded: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. John baptized Jesus, who commanded the church to baptize others. The apostles baptized thousands at Pentecost. Philip, the deacon-come-evangelist, baptized many Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch. Ananias baptized Saul. Peter baptized the household of Cornelius. Paul baptized Lydia and all her household, the jailer at Philippi and all his household, as well as his many other converts, though for some reason he did not baptize anyone at Corinth, preferring others to administer baptism there. Priscilla and Aquila straightened out Apollos concerning the right understanding of baptism, as did Paul with the Ephesians and Peter and John with the Samaritans. The Mode of Baptism Baptism was not only prominently featured in the earliest days of the church, and in the pages of scripture, but it has survived as one of the two great ordinances of the church for 2 millennia. The method of water baptism has been altered by some in church history from the original practice of immersion. In the eighth century Pope Stephen allowed the mere pouring of water as an act of baptism in the case of necessity. And as late as the 14th century the Roman Catholic Church, at the Council of Revena, legalized sprinkling as a substitution for immersion. Others were influenced by the convenience of this method and opted for the compromise. John Brenner, a leading Catholic scholar, admitted, For thirteen hundred years was baptism and immersion of the person under water. John Wesley, founder of Methodism: Buried with him by baptism—alluding to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion. Martin Luther taught: Baptism is a Greek word, and may be translated, immerse. I would have those who are to be baptized to be altogether dipped. And John Calvin, the father of Presbyterianism, wrote: The word “baptize” signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion was the practice of the primitive church. One man shared that he was walking by the bathroom in their home one day and saw his four year old daughter holding her little doll over the toilet bowl. As she slowly lowered the doll to the water in the porcelain bowl, she said these words, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son and in the hole you go!” I don’t really like to debate the method of baptism, because I’ve found that most people really want to do as close to what Jesus told them to do as possible. And the word that Jesus chose when He arranged for His command concerning the act to be recorded was the Greek word BAPTIZO, which meant “to dip.” Additionally, baptism by immersion under water is the only kind of baptism that makes sense in Romans 6 where the act is seen as a symbolic burial, Christ in the earth, Christians under water. Why Should Believers Be Baptized? I am championing the rite of baptism, in its pure, New Testament form this morning for exactly three reasons. 1. It is clear command of Christ Micah Gregory is the older of the two sons of Brent and Connie Gregory, our missionaries to Brazil, who incidentally are due home to begin their furlough on Wednesday of next week. As you know, we have been praying for Micah’s legal status in Brazil as there have been complications with his application for his required permanent visa. Please continue to pray about this matter, because it will dramatically affect his future. His plans are to return to Brazil after furlough and enter medical school there. Without the permanent visa, he will be unable. At issue is the decision on the part of the government Brasil to require such a permanent visa after two and a half years on temporary visas. It is the sole right and sovereign choice of the state to determine what they want foreign born residents to do to maintain residency. If the state says they want such residents to acquire permanent visas, then the residents have to abide. God has sovereignly determined that those who come to faith in Christ along their journey of discipleship should undergo Christian baptism. It is His call. I don’t know why the Lord of the universe would ask His faithful to go through the somewhat humiliating act of being dipped in water to symbolize death to the old nature and rising to walk in newness of life in Christ. But He did. Now some churches and some Christians have decided that it is a socially awkward thing to undergo water baptism, so they’ve simply dispensed with the command of Christ. Some set up a false polemic and insist that since they are saved by faith, not by works, what does the action of going through baptism have to do with anything? Others decide that it is up to them to determine just how they will follow the Lord, and the counsel of others is of no import, even the clear command of Christ. I’m here this morning to tell you from God’s Word that it is the will of the Lord that you experience Christian baptism—and that precisely because He IS the Lord and He wants you to. So if you have resisted, ignored or sidestepped this act of pure obedience to His clearly stated will, then I encourage you, if you are a Christ-follower and you have never been water-baptized, to take care of this business. It is a clear command that the church should baptize those coming to personal faith in Christ. 2. Following Christ in Baptism Fulfills Righteousness I won’t belabor this point, but recall with me the scene where Jesus entreats John the Baptizer to baptize Him. John reacts with appropriate humility, that it is he who should be baptized by Jesus. But Jesus insisted, Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. [webmasters note: Matthew 3:15] I confess I can’t get my mind around the fullness of what Jesus meant there, but I am quite certain that, at very least, He was saying, This is the right thing for us to do, John—you baptize me. I would simply posit this observation. If it was right for the sinless Son of God to bear the ignominious embarrassment of being publicly dipped under water as an act of pure obedience and righteousness, then it probably is at least appropriate that we people of faith would do the same. I encourage you, if you place your trust in Christ, follow Him in baptism. 3. Baptism is the Perfect Response to God’s Grace When we come face to face with the love of God, nothing He asks of us is too much. The God of the universe gave His only begotten Son to die in your place and pay your eternal sin debt. He is welcoming you with open arms, granting you absolute amnesty on the basis of the blood sacrifice of Jesus. You do not need to face an eternity in hell, though you deserve it, precisely because He died for you. If this loving God asked me to climb Mount Everest to demonstrate my grateful response to His grace, I would begin training tomorrow. And so would you. Yet, for some, it seems it is too much to ask that they submit themselves to one humble act of obedience. In 2 Kings 5 the commander of the armed forces for the king of Aram, one Naaman, was a famous and respected statesman and warrior, but he had one serious problem—he had contracted leprosy. Elisha, the prophet of God sent word that Naaman should go to the Jordan River, dip his body in the water there seven times as an act of cleansing, and he would be cured. Offended that Elisha did not come in person to minister to him, Naaman refused out of pride to dip himself in the river. His trusted servant said to him, My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you “Wash and be cleansed!” [webmasters note: 2 Kings 5:13]  On this wise counsel, Naaman went and washed his body seven times in the river Jordan—and he was completely healed. In many circumstances in our lives, we need to understand that it is far wiser to do the seemingly small and insignificant things God asks us to do than it is to look for something great and noble. Conclusion There are those among us who have decided to become Christians by placing their faith in Christ, but have yet to be baptized. Let this Word be an encouragement to you complete your obedience in this matter. There are some young children who have with their parents prayed sincerely to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord. Judging the heart and readiness of a child as he enters the age of accountability is always a delicate matter, and it is most appropriate that parents use their discernment and understanding of the child’s development. But where faith has been encouraged and exercised, I encourage parents to arrange for Christian baptism for these children. There are undoubtedly some among us who have never yet made a public confession of their faith in Christ, but are ready to. As you make it known to your family, friends, fellow church members and Life Group members, as well as your unsaved friends, don’t forget this important matter of being baptized into Christ. There are yet others who’ve been meaning to take care of this matter of faith for a long time, but just haven’t gotten around to it. Let this be a word of exhortation to you. We will host a baptismal service on Sunday afternoon, July 22. All those who would like to receive Christian baptism at that time should inform me or Billy or the church office as soon as possible. Then you will be contacted regarding the details. May the Lord bless and honor all our efforts at obedience to His express will, both in the issue of baptism and other areas of our personal and corporate discipleship. If you have any questions you would like to explore further, please talk with Billy or myself, or your Life Group leader. Prayer.     [Back to Top]