Untitled Sermon

Introduction

1. Have you ever seen someone do some weird stuff that you can’t explain? Me too…

(ILUS.) When I was in China, we sat down at a meal with some local friends and suddenly everyone starts rubbing their wooden chopsticks together really fast. It was loud and annoying, and I was confused. Were they trying to start a fire? I didn’t participate. Then, as I put the first bite of food in my mouth, I realized why they did that. A big splinter broke off and stabbed me in the cheek. The rubbing was to get rid of splinters! But I was a newbie and didn’t know that.

We do some weird things in the church as well. Where else, besides a concert do people sing together? Or take bread and juice? Or worse, give their money? Maybe you have wondered the same thing about baptism. It is one of those weird things we do in the church. Why do we dunk people under water and then hug them? And everyone applauds? Maybe you have seen some baptisms like this:

(SHOW FUNNY BAPTISM VIDEOS)

Today I want to walk through a few things with you. 1. How did we get the tradition of Baptism? 2. What is Baptism? 3. Is Baptism necessary for salvation?

We are going to do this kind of conversationally by just looking at scripture together. Get ready to do some flipping in your Bibles. Let’s pray for God to give us guidance. [PRAY]

How Did We Get Baptism?

Ok, turn with me to Exodus chapter 30 verses 19-21. It’s the second book in your Bible.

While you’re turning there, I want to tell you a story. Annie and I have a family tradition that we call “The Night of the Bugs.” It’s kind of fun. Every March 16th we set up my tent in the middle of our living room and sleep in it rather than in our bed. Now why would we do such a thing when we have a comfy queen-sized mattress? Well, we do it to remember when we didn’t have a mattress. See, my sweet, innocent, city-girl wife is not fond of bugs. And in March of 2019 we had a bug problem… a bed-bug problem. We think we brought them back with us in our suitcases from a hotel in Kansas City. Anyway, our mattress had to be treated and fumigated and for about 10 days we slept in my tent in our living room. Then, it was NOT funny. But now, it’s hilarious and we want to do it with our kids too. It’s a fun tradition and it helps us remember. I’m sure you or your family has traditions as well.

Baptism, like All Traditions, Has a Beginning Point… An Origin. Water has always been a Christian symbol of purity. In the very beginning it was the Spirit over the waters before there was sin. When there was sin, God used a flood to purify the world. And when Israel was enslaved in Egypt, God saved them by leading them through the waters of the Red Sea. When they reached the mountain of God, the Lord had them build a tent called the tabernacle where they could go in and meet him. But before they did, they had to purify themselves.

“Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

This tradition continued for more than a thousand years and it has always been a reminder for Jews that GOD IS HOLY. And if we are not holy and clean, we cannot be in his presence. Turn to Ezekiel 36.24ff. While you’re getting there, know that he was a prophet who condemned Israel for their sins but told of a hopeful future when God would restore them.

In the Prophets: Ezek. 36.24-29a.

Baptism is More than Just an Outward Washing of the Body... It’s a New Heart.

When Ezekiel was writing he was writing to a people who were scattered and broken on account of their sin. God tells the people…

“I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness…”

Here water is a symbol a symbol for cleansing the people of their sins, chiefly the sin of idolatry, having other gods besides the one true God. But we see here that it is FAR MORE than just water… it’s not just a bath. It is giving a new heart…

ILUS. When you take a piece of paper like this and crumple it into a ball… it can’t be used for it’s intended purpose. Unless you uncrumple it and then you can write on it again. But… it’s still full of creases and wrinkles. The world says you can be fixed. You can be restored. But really… all the world can do is just open you back up. You still have creases and folds that make you unholy. God offers to take that crumpled heart… and destroy it (Rip paper). And it hurts… but, he gives you a completely new one. You are not only clean… you are perfect.

This was modeled for us by Jesus… let’s move to the New Testament. Turn to Matthew 3.13-17. It’s the first book of the New Testament about 2/3rds through your Bible.

When Jesus came to earth, he changed everything. It was no longer strict obedience to the law that saves people, but faith in Jesus alone that saves people. How is that possible? It’s possible to be saved by grace and not by works now because Jesus was perfect. He never sinned or did an evil work. He followed God’s law perfectly… including through purification in Baptism. Read with me.

“13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. 16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

When Jesus was baptized, he did it not because he needed to be saved, but in order to perfectly fulfill the law. So now… because he lived a perfect life and died anyway on the cross, he took our place. He changed everything… it’s no longer following the letter of the law that saves you… we were never able to do that anyway… it’s having a relationship with Jesus that allows us to approach God with confidence and boldness. It’s his blood shed on the cross that completely purifies from sin… So then… if Baptism, isn’t what saves us… What exactly is Baptism? I want to look at this question through several different passages of Scripture. Simply, baptism is a symbol, a mark, and a transformation.

What is Baptism?

1. A Symbol of Jesus’ Death, Burial, and Resurrection: Romans 6.3-7.

Turn with me to Romans chapter six beginning in verse 3. First, let me give you a little bit of context. The book of Romans is a letter from the apostle Paul to the church in Rome. He is asking them to help support him and his ministry to Spain. But in order to do that, he needs the people to be unified with one another. And what better way demonstrate their unity by laying out the gospel that saved all of them. Through Jesus they are unified with one another, and even more so, they are unified with Jesus. This strong unity with each other and with Jesus will enable them to fulfill the mission that God has given them, supporting Paul as he takes the gospel to the ends of the earth.

ILUS. Have you ever done anything in order to demonstrate solidarity with a group or a person? Something that maybe you wouldn’t normally do but shows that you and this person or group are one and the same. You belong to them. I remember as an 8 or 9 year kid my sweet, compassionate, cookie-baking, grandkid-spoiling, Christian, lovely grandmother surprised me in a big way. If you know me at all, you know I LOVE the Oklahoma State Cowboys. My grandparents lived in Stillwater at the time and they took me to a game. Now the cowboy fans, have a rather unsavory tradition I’ve never really been a fan of. At their home games the whole crowd chants in unison OOOOOOO, SSSSSSSSSSS, U! We’re gonna beat the hell out of you! And my sweet soft-spoken grandma… got us seats just outside the student section. She was just trying to be part of the group. So she chanted along with everybody else… I was a bit stunned. Sometimes you do things to unify and identify yourself with a certain person or group of people. Sometimes the things are bad, and sometimes they’re good.

Baptism is the way we identify ourselves with Jesus and with his people. Let’s Read together. “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 that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”

When a person is baptized, they go underneath the water in full immersion. This symbolizes death. Just as Jesus died and was placed underground in a tomb, so when we are baptized their old self which was ruled by sin dies. And when they are lifted up out of the water, they resurrect just like Jesus did when he came out of the tomb on the third day. The old self is completely dead and gone and only the resurrected self is left. Now when you do this, you are symbolically doing the same thing that Jesus did, thus unifying yourself with him and with his people, which brings us to the next point. Turn in your bibles to Colossians chapter 2 beginning in verse 11.

2. A Distinguishing Mark as a Reminder: Col 2.11-15.

Earlier we talked about how baptism, like Christianity itself, proceeded out of Judaism. It is a tradition with a long rich history. Baptism is also compared to another Jewish tradition in scripture. That is circumcision. Now, before you cringe and lose interest lets ask what exactly that was meant to be. In the OT circumcision was a mark that said God’s people apart from other people. Why God chose circumcision and not like a mohawk or something, I don’t know, but that’s beside the point. Let’s read Colossians 2 together.

11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self, ruled by the flesh s was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

In Baptism, we are set apart as part of God’s new humanity, his chosen people, alive with Christ. If you have been baptized, that is YOUR story! You were dead but now you are alive in Christ!

However, don’t neglect the details here. Notice that the text says you were raised with Christ through your faith in the working of God. Some people say, “Oh you say Christianity isn’t works based salvation, but you have to be baptized to be saved!” No, that’s not true. Baptism crucifies the old self and identifies you as belonging to Jesus… a circumcision of the heart if you will. It is your faith in the working of God that saves you. God’s work on the cross through Jesus and your acceptance of and faith in that work is what saves. And in this faith, you have been transformed into a new humanity… God’s people. And what are his people like? Through baptism, what are we inheriting? This brings us to our third point, baptism is transformation. Turn in your Bible’s to Galatians 3 beginning in verse 26.

3. A Set of New Clothes; Transformation: Gal 3.26-28.

My sweet wife married me for one reason, and one reason only. Don’t be deceived church, she didn’t marry me for my gentleness, my compassion, my handiness, or even for my machismo… my wife married me for my dashing good looks…… Wait… why are you laughing? Okay, Okay, so she married me for some other reasons too. Joking aside, when Annie and I got married, I went through a major transformation… Or rather, my wardrobe went through a major transformation. In the first few months I started most of our conversations with “Babe, where di you put my favorite bleach stained shirt from high school? You know the one with the hole in the armpit? Makes for a great cooling vent” And of course she had thrown it away… what a waste.

Paul writes to the young Galatian church who has recently been joined with Jesus as a part of his bride. And they are holding on to some nasty old clothes. They are clinging to some heresies and false doctrines from the old ways before Jesus. Paul essentially says to them rather harshly, “You foolish Galatians! Why are you wearing your old ratty gym clothes from high school, when with me you have access to brand-new high-quality clothes?” Let’s read together:

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

So, baptism is transformation. It’s out with the old and in with the new. As the people of God, you are part of a new family in which there are no divisions.

Conclusion - Now What?

So, at this point you may be thinking that baptism is right for you and you want a part of that… but how? I want to take you briefly through three things that are essential for you to know and do before you can be baptized.

Firstly, Jesus commands Baptism. In Matthew 28 before he sends the disciples out to plant the church, he gives them a mission. That mission includes baptizing people of all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages and teaching them to obey his commands. So we are baptized because we love Jesus. Baptism itself does not save you. We do it as an act of love and obedience, not of fear.

Secondly, in Acts 2 when the first church is established in Jerusalem Baptism is linked with repentance. When you are baptized you are saying “I will do a 180 and turn from my life of sin and dedicate myself to Jesus, I am completely and wholly his.” If you think that you are just going to get baptized and then keep on living your old life, you’re wrong. If baptism is an act of love and obedience and you do it with the intent to keep sinning… it is not love or obedience, just a weird bath.

Finally, baptism follows an honest decision to believe in Jesus’ saving work on the cross and in his physical resurrection from the dead. It is when you are saying that Jesus is the Lord of your life to the exclusion of everything else. If you want to be baptized, feel free to talk to me or another Christian you know well and has been a Christian for awhile. We’d be happy to guide you.

Have you ever seen someone do something you don’t quite understand? That seems to be the norm for today. Everything people do is a decision to become someone. It changes their identity little by little… Yet the world is saying the best thing you can be is yourself.

Kids get this… they know that they are destined to transform… they play dress-up.

I played soldier all the time because I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I needed a reminder that there was more to life than my little world.

Now more than ever, people are confused. They want to transform into something significant. They want a reminder of who they are.

If you hear nothing else today, hear this: BAPTISM IS THE MEANS BY WHICH WE IDENTIFY WITH CHRIST’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION.

And you become who you identify as…

You, know baptism is a weird thing to watch… Perhaps the strangest thing ever done in the history of the universe… is that Jesus, God in the flesh, a completely innocent man… gave his life freely on the cross and died for you and for me so that we can be washed in his blood.

Therefore, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins… in times like this we need a reminder of who we are…