The Gospel and Baptism, necessity?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
The Gospel
The Gospel
We, over last few weeks, have looked at many things regarding the gospel.
There are facts to believe
There is a God
There is a sin problem
There is a sin solution
The sin solution is Jesus
Jesus has facts that are needed to be believe for sin solution.
There are commands to obey
Hear, believe, confess, repent, be baptized, live faithfully
There are promises to receive
Eternal life
Eternal assurance
Eternal power for eternal life and assurance
Most of “Christiandom” believes baptism is from salvation not for salvation.
This morning we are going to look at baptism, the necessity of it, scriptually speaking in regards to the gospel and salvation since that is what the gospel, the good news that Jesus wants everyone to hear is all about.
Conversions early church
Conversions early church
Can we believe the historical evidence of the Bible? The Bible, and specifically the book of Acts gives the history (in general) of the early church (about 30 years worth).
Conversions in early church exampled in book of Acts
Conversions show the Great commission being carried out (Mk16:15; Mt28:19)
15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
and the Matthew version
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Conversions show the power of the gospel preached
(Conversions book of Acts picture)
You can see the Great Commission being carried out
You can read what the scriptures say about each conversion
Each one the gospel was presented, it was heard
Some record belief
some record repentance
Some record confession
Baptism is stated or implied in all
Food for thought:
Could it be diving intervention?
Luke mentions baptism in each of the conversions in the book of Acts. Could it be divine intervention knowing that in the future, hundreds of years that Baptism was going to be downplayed and the necessity of it removed?
Common reason downplayed or necessity removed
(Baptism is a work)
read the slide!
Some scriptures that are commonly used in defense that baptism is not necessary:
John 3:16, 20:30-31 - you must believe
Rom10:9-10 - You must confess and believe
Rom10:13 - call on the name of the Lord
Now I know you are not going to let me go by without giving you scriptures would you? Of course not, we are simply Christians studying God’s Word.
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.
Now that only speaks of belief, so is nothing else needed? Wait, need to give you another one that is along that line and is important.
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
So is it just belief, is it faith alone that saves us? Then what about this?
9 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; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
This one mentions only confess and believe, so is that it?
13 for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Hey, maybe this is it, just call on His name, belief, confession don’t really matter.
Now, let’s pause just for moment, if we believe these things and they are all true, you need belief, you need confession, you need to call on the name of the Lord. That means you believe the Bible and what the Bible says, so in other places it speaks of repentance, even by Jesus Himself.
Repent: (Lk3:3, 5:32, 13:5, 24:47)
I think that I want to park on a few passages about repentance for just a few minutes, for I believe anyone who preaches a gospel without repentance is not preaching the gospel at all.
John proclaimed repentance
3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
Jesus proclaimed repentance
32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
Jesus proclaimed and warned regarding repentance
5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Jesus charged that repentance needs to be, would be preached
47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
(Transition) So, I think by now you can understand the necessity of belief, confession and now repentance as laid out in the scriptures and Paul in Act17, he implies that the times of ignorance have now passed, so just like in Rom1-2, there are no excuses to knowing the truth and being responsible for the truth.
When it comes to baptism and the necessity of it should not be determined by the times it is not mentioned in the scripture like belief, confession, repentance, hearing the word, but by the times and the context it is mentioned in the scripture. May we now turn to the the doctrine (teaching) of baptism.
Doctrine of Baptism
Doctrine of Baptism
What does the scripture say about baptism, the reason, the means, the necessity and the results of it? May we look, read and journey together on what the Bible says about the doctrine of baptism.
Doctrine (N): a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.
Reason for baptism - For forgiveness of sins.
It is an act of God’s grace by faith in Jesus (Eph1:7, 2:8-9)
Forgiveness only comes through the blood of Jesus, it is an act of God’s grace by faith in Jesus.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
and add to that
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.
Forgiveness for those who believe, repent and are baptized (Act2:38, 22:16)
I will get to act 2:38 in a minute, but let me give you the other
16 ‘Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.’
(Transition) baptized, washing away your sins, it is the place where you call on Him name in surrender, in obedience, in confidence knowing not only do you have the forgiveness of sins you know:
Baptism the place for receipt of the Holy Spirit (Jn7:37-39, Act2:38-39)
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
The promise that Jesus Himself made during his ministry
37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
(Transition) so I think you can see the relation of baptism and the forgiveness of sins, baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit for those who believe, those who repent and are baptized. But wait there is more.
Additional doctrine surrounding baptism
Holy Spirit is the power of God at work in baptism (1Cor12:13; Tit3:4-7)
The Holy Spirit is involved in baptism
13 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.
(Transition) Baptized into one body, made to drink of one Spirit. and I cannot use that scripture alone, another great impacting, Holy Spirit showing passage is:
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 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,
6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
God’s kindness appeared, saved us
saved us according to His mercy
By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
all to get to the “so that” look at (v.7) so that we being justified would be made heirs
It is where we are united, unified in and with Christ (Rom6:3-4; Jn15:4-5)
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 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.
United with a purpose to walk in the newness of life, now born of water and Spirit as Jesus spoke to Nicodemus in Jn3. By the way is a requirement to enter into the kingdom of God, go ahead you can check that out in Jn3:1-8 on your own, I encourage you to do that.
But I want you to see another important passage for union with Christ is necessary for spiritual life
4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
Without union with Christ, abiding in Christ we can do nothing, we cannot bear fruit outside of Christ. At least good fruit that is.
(Transition) baptism, is it necessary, let me ask a question is it necessary for you to get dressed before you leave the house each day? At least I think so, you all have clothes on today. For baptism is:
It is where we are clothed in Christ (Gal3:27)
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
These are not to be like the Emperors new clothes, Christ wants ours to be seen for will bring glory to the Father when Christ is see in us!
It is where we become alive in Christ (Eph4:3-7 ; 2Cor5:17; Col2:12-13)
we are raised to be a new creature, a new creation in Christ
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Look at another version here:
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
It is where we are buried and made alive as mentioned before but here is another great scriptural proof
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. 13 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,
Baptism is not a work of man, but a work of God in which we submit!
Baptism and salvation
Baptism and salvation
The gospel and baptism, is it a necessity? May we get the the “point” of the matter here, let the scripture speak for itself.
Baptism saves according to Mk16:16; Mt28:19-20; 1Pt3:18-22)
16 “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Taking the words of the Lord about the command given
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Peter says this after giving an illustration, a “type” of baptism in 1Pt3:21, but let e give you the passage so you can see in the context. Some want to take 1Pt3:21 and say, that is what it says but that is not what it means, so here, look in context. Originally was not going to give it all to you, but I think it is necessary.
18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
All authority, all power subjected to Him, so what he says goes, it does not matter what you say, it matters what He says!
Baptism is the place where we appeal to God for a clean conscience through the blood of Christ. The place where a sinner plea’s for forgiveness and God out of His great mercy answers!
Maybe note down some noteworthy passages in summarizing our message this morning regarding the gospel and baptism.
Where we are buried with Christ into His death (Rom6:3-4)
Where we are raised in newness of life (Rom6:4-5)
Where we are crucified and made free from sin (Rom6:6-7, 17:18)
Where we are clothed in Christ (Gal3:27)
Where our sins are washed away (Act22:16)
Where our sins are forgiven (Act2:38)
Where we are made into one body (1Cor12:13)
(Baptized into Christ) - Invitation (Are you in Christ?) finish invitation ; (Invitation song) (prayer)