Branded And Baptized

Branded And Baptized Acts 2:36-39 Today's Scripture begins with a commend, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." One day a Methodist and a Baptist were eating lunch together discussing this verse when a heated debate about baptism sprung up. The Baptist was adamant that submersion is the only way to be baptized, and the two quickly got into an argument. The Methodist said, "If I pour water on just the feet, will that be enough?" "Oh, No!" said the Baptist. "What if I pour water on their legs. Is that enough?" No, it's not!" replied the Baptist. "Ok, what if I pour water on the person from the waist down. Will that be enough?" "Of course not," replied the Baptist. "Well, what if I pour water on the person's chest. Is that enough?" Angered, the Baptist said, "Until the water touches the top of the head, it's not enough!" "Oh, ok," replied the Methodist. "We're all good then. That's where we start!" You know, you can go to different churches, different denominations, and you'll find that it's no secret how some churches disagree on baptism. Should you baptize infants or only those who have reached the age of accountability? Do you have to be fully immersed? Can someone be baptized by sprinkling, or pouring? Should a baptismal font be used? Can it be done in a river, or does it have to be done in a baptismal? So many questions, so what's the answer? Well, the answer to all of those questions is "Yes." Yes, you can be baptized, and yes, you should be baptized. How you're baptized matters about as much as whether you pray kneeling or standing, or even standing on your head. Baptism doesn't get you into heaven, and baptism alone won't save you. The water, no matter how it's applied, won't wash off your sin. Only Christ's blood can do that! That's why it doesn't matter how you're baptized, as long as you first repented and placed faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation, because at the heart of every baptism, no matter how it's performed, is ONE underlying principle; IDENTITY. Baptism is your public statement that your new identity is found in Christ. That you belong to Him. About 5 years ago, I talked with a missionary that spent much of his time in the areas of the world where water is precious because it's so hard to come by. In America, we often tend to forget just how privileged we are to have even the basics, like water. And this missionary said that when someone came to Christ and desired to be baptized, he would baptize them with whatever amount of water they had. Why? Because baptism is an outward act revealing your inward change. It's an outward testimony of an inward reality, the reality of your new life in Christ. And baptism is your public identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Baptism, no matter where or how it's performed, is your public identification of God's grace active in your life. It's your identification as a child of God. Out on the cattle ranches of the West, the unbranded calves that roam free are known as "mavericks." They are claimed by the man who is first to get his brand on them at the annual round-up. A little Western girl had been baptized one Sunday by the Methodist minister of the town. Her schoolmates questioned her the next day as to the meaning of the ceremony. "Well," she said, "I'll just tell you. I was a little maverick out on the prairie, and baptism identified me with Jesus, so people will know who I belong to. I'm Branded and Baptized." When I became a Christian, I wanted to be baptized and "branded," so to say, because I wanted everyone to see the inward change that had taken place in my life because of God's grace. Remarkably, my wife also came to Christ, and we were baptized together. Our identity had changed. We were now both individual followers of Christ, as well as a husband and wife who had responded to God's saving grace. Just as a marriage identifies a male and a female, two becoming one, baptism identifies your life in Christ. Identifying with Christ through baptism and confession of your faith is you going public as a follower of Christ. Jesus reminds us in Luke 9:26 not to be ashamed of "His Words" because as Paul said in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel because it's the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes." In today's verses, Peter is preaching the first Gospel message to thousands of Jews gathered for Pentecost. It's in these verses that we clearly see how the Gospel is "the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes" because once they heard about Jesus being "both Lord and Messiah, they were cut to the heart and asked, 'What shall we do?'" (Acts 2:36-37). It's here where we learn a very valuable lesson, "Once you hear about Jesus Christ, you have to make a decision concerning His Lordship." Either Jesus is both the Lord and Messiah who was crucified for your sin, or He wasn't. The decision is up to you, but be warned, because the outcome of your decision has eternal consequences. Once you hear about Christ, you have to make up your mind about Christ. This can take almost no time at all, or it can take a long time. For me, I knew about Christ throughout my entire childhood and early adult years. Still, I didn't go from knowing about Christ to actually knowing Christ until I made a decision for Jesus because I was "cut to the heart" like today's Scripture says. You see, in Methodism, we have a term called, Prevenient Grace, which is known as "The grace that comes before." This is God's grace active in your life even before you realized it. Long before I knew that the Holy Spirit was convicting my heart and that God's grace was active in my life, I decided to live independently of God. I chose to acknowledge that God existed, but I also decided to acknowledge that He wasn't the Lord of my life. Folks, this is the danger of simply making decisions for Christ because we're not only forgetful, we are also a people who like to change our minds. This is why we need to pay very close attention to verse 37 when it says, "they were cut to the heart," because to be almost saved is to be totally lost. I believe the reason we see so many people leaving the church or refusing to join in the first place is because they only made a decision for Christ and were never "cut to the heart." I saw a newspaper cartoon a while back that showed a pastor standing in the water next to a man named Charles that he was about to baptize. The pastor told Charles that when he gets baptized everything that goes under the water belongs to God. The next picture showed Charles completely under the water except for one hand that was sticking up out of the water holding his money. Making only decisions for Christ without being "cut to the heart" leaves a lot of room for holding some things back from God. It's giving only some parts of you to God when God wants all of you. You see, your heart is the core of who you are. And when your "cut to the heart" your very being, every part of you, falls before Jesus as Lord and Savior. Being "cut to the heart" means you don't just know you're a sinner, you can feel it. It's a conviction. It means the guilt of sin is so heavy that you realize there's nothing you can do to shed the weight of sin of your back nor rid yourself of the guilt. It's that moment when you ask the question, "What shall I do?" The answer to that question is found in verse 38, "Repent and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Now the moment you repent and place faith in Christ, you're baptized with the Holy Spirit and join the communion of the saints, the Body of Christ. You "receive the gift of the Holy Spirit," as verse 38 says, because while we baptize with water, God "baptizes you with the Holy Spirit" as Matthew 3:11 says. The Holy Spirit indwells you. He lives within you. He tabernacles with you. And the moment this happens, you become justified. Prevenient grace comes before, and saving grace, or "Justification," follows. As John Wesley said justification "is another word for pardon. It's the forgiveness of all our sins and our acceptance with God." This is the assurance of forgiveness that comes from repentance because you're now reconciled with God through His atoning act in Christ Jesus. In today's Scripture, when the people understood Christ's crucifixion and that He is "both Lord and Messiah," they made more than a decision because they were "cut to the heart." They repented, were baptized, and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. But as verse 39 says, this promise wasn't just for them. It's "for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call." This doesn't mean that when you're saved your family will be saved. You must have faith in Christ, just like your children must have faith in Christ. But what this verse does promise is that "Everyone who calls upon the Name of the Lord will be saved" as Romans 10:13 tells us. It reminds us how our words and actions play a big role in other people's lives. So live Christlike lives as the light of the world, letting everything you do shine glory upon Christ. God's Prevenient Grace is for everyone, and everyone who places faith in Christ will receive God's Justifying Grace; the promise of the forgiveness of their sins, and eternal life with Christ. God knows whom He will call, and free will enables anyone to call upon Christ for salvation, whether it's your children or those who are far off. Baptism is the sacrament which enters us into covenant with God. A sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace, meaning we can think of baptism like a wedding. It is a covenant act, a relationship-making agreement in which commitments are made. A couple may love one another. But feelings can go up and down. This is why marriage is so important. At a wedding, two become one in covenantal commitment. It provides a solid foundation for marriage. God has done the same with us. He has made a covenant. He has bound himself to us. And baptism symbolizes that commitment. During a baptism, Communion is also offered. And if baptism is like a wedding, then Communion is like an embrace. Communion is the reaffirmation of covenant love. We gather at the Lord's Table as participants of remembering Christ's covenant love as Christ comes close to embrace us. Consider a wife who had an argument with her husband or has let him down in some way. What does she want? She wants him to take her in his arms and tell her that he loves her. She wants both the reassuring words and the physical touch of his embrace. Words without touch or touch without words could feel careless, as if he were still withholding his affection. Brothers and sisters, Christ is not withholding His affection for us His bride, and so He graciously gives us both His words and His touch. When a couple gets married, they each put on a ring. That ring doesn't make them married. They can be married without that ring, just like you can be saved without being baptized. But what that ring does do is serve as a sign that you're married. I'm sure that if a husband or a wife refused to wear their ring, the other would take that as a rejection. The ring is more than just a piece of jewelry because that ring represents an institution and a covenant. How a ring is a sign of the covenant of marriage; baptism is a sign of our covenant with God. So, if you feel "cut to the heart" because something is missing in your life and because the burden of sin is too heavy, don't hold anything back and confess to Christ. If you haven't asked yourself, "What shall I do?" do so now! Respond to God's saving grace and find your identity in Christ. "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." AMEN 2