Signs and Symbols

There was once a cute little 9 year old boy named Billy. 

One day Billy was outside playing on his back porch. When his mother heard him having a conversation. Curious as to what was happening in the backyard that day, the mom opened up the kitchen window to try to figure out who her son was talking too. When she looked out the back window she saw Billy standing up on the patio furniture preaching the gospel to their cat Fido. And she just thought it was the sweetest little moment...Here was her son Billy putting on a little revival service right there in her backyard. It was so sweet and so cute that she decided to snap a picture of it and post in on her social media story (Every mom has those moments...). So after she posts that picture without saying a word she just goes back to doing what she was doing...however, after a few minutes, she hears this awful hissing and growling coming from the backyard. So she runs back to the kitchen sink window to see whats going on and she's just shocked by what she finds.  Little Billy has taken the family cat by the scruff of the neck and is holding him about a foot over top of their above ground swimming pool. Shocked by what she sees, she yells out, "Son...you cant do that to Fido...cats hate water!!!" And to her dismay little Billy hollers back, "Well, he should have thought about that before he joined my church..." and while he was still speaking he dunks little Fido under the water.

Listen, I dont tell that story or show that picture because it's just funny...even though it is...sometimes its good to just laugh together in church, amen?

I tell that story and have that picture up there because I think, in many ways, it represents how a lot of people feel when it comes to the topic of Baptism. A lot of people start getting nervous when this topic comes around. I dont know for sure, but if I had to guess I would say that there are some people in the room this morning that when you heard that we were going to be talking about Baptism this morning you started to feel on the inside a little bit of how this cat looks on the outside.

Maybe your hear this morning and you wondering to yourself, "Why in the world do we make such a big deal over this Baptism deal?" "Is it really big enough of an issue to spend an entire Sunday morning on?" And those are valid questions. After all, we only have 52 sermons a year...so if we are going to spend one of them on a topic, it better be pretty important.

So here's what I want to submit to you this morning...I want to submit to you that Baptism is a really big deal. I want to submit to you the idea that we dont overhype this topic at all in the church today...if fact, I would argue that we dont talk about it or value it enough in the church in our day and age. 

So...why are we making it such a big deal here? Well, the answer is simple...because Jesus made it a big deal. We here at Heucks Retreat, we are about Jesus....and what Jesus saw an important...we believe is pretty important. In fact, Baptism in many ways is a central part of the life and ministry of Jesus. Has it ever occurred to you that Baptism serves as the bookend topic of the Jesus' ministry? Did you know that Jesus' ministry began and ended on the issue of Baptism? On the first day of Jesus' early ministry, do you remember what happened? He himself was Baptized by John. And on the final day of Jesus' earthly ministry, do you remember what he told his disciples right before he ascended into heaven? He said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go...make disciples of all nations...baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..."

You see Baptism isnt important...it was important to Jesus...so it is important to us...

Here is the truth that I want us to take with us this morning...

Baptism isn't a Baptist issue...it is a Bible issue

We dont think Baptism is significant because we are Heucks Retreat BAPTIST church...we are Heucks Retreat BAPTIST Chruch because Baptism is that significant in the Bible...Our desire here isn't to be committed to some denomination...we want to be committed to the Bible...in fact, the Bible talks about the concept of Baptism 74 different times.

Listen, at the end of the day, it doesnt matter what some preacher says about baptism, it doesnt matter what you were taught in church about baptism when you grew up, and it doesnt really matter what some religious denomination teaches about baptism. 

What matters is what God has said about Baptism in His word.

As much as I love being a Baptist...my allegiance isnt to a Baptist denomination--my allegiance is to the Bible--because the Bible is where God has revealed His will for our lives. I care about what God says...And my hunch is that you care about the same thing. Otherwise I dont think you would be in church on a Sunday morning rather than at Waffle House eating breakfast. --> Nothing against Waffle House of course...its a fine establishment...

So maybe this morning you are here, and you are confused on why people seem to make such a big deal about baptism in the church today. Or maybe you are here are you are wrestling with whether or not you have been baptized properly. All I want to ask of you, no matter the reason that you are here, is that you would open your ears and your heart to what God might have to speak to you this morning. Can you do that??

So as you turn to Mark 1:1-11 I want to give you three important questions that we will ask and answer this morning in order to understand what the Bible has to say about this important issue of Baptism.

Who should be Baptized?

How should someone be Baptized?

Why should someone be Baptized?

So with those questions in mind, let's hear what God has to say to us in his word...

Mark 1:1–11 CSB

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. 3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight! 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. 6 John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

Who should be Baptized?

There are primarily two different camps--or two different groups of people-- when it comes to this question of who can be baptized: 

Pedobaptists-- People who believe one can be Baptized before they believe--or before they confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Credobaptists--People who believe that Baptism is only reserved for people after they believe--or after they make Confess Jesus and Lord and Savior

I want to just go ahead and state my position on this right up front...I believe...and we here at Heucks Retreat believe that there is only one type of person that can be baptized: just one...We believe that baptism is only for people who have already believed and trusted in Jesus for salvation. In fact, this is our statement of faith of faith says:

"Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus."

We believe that Baptism is something that happens after a person has already believed and trusted in Jesus to be saved...not because this is what Baptist's believe...but because this is what we believe the Bible says...

I want you to notice what Mark writes about the progression of what would happen when John Baptized folks...

"John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean country side and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins..."

So there was only one condition that you had to meet in order to be baptized by John that day...confession of sin. 

And this is the progression that we see all throughout the Bible when it comes to Baptism. In order to be baptized in the New Testament era, you had to confess your sin, repent, turn to God to be saved by trusting in the finished work of Christ...then and only then could you be baptized.

Here's the crucial truth that we see displayed all over the Bible when it comes to Baptism...

In Scripture, Belief Always Comes Before Baptism

This is the picture that we see in the Great Commission:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me: Go therefore, and make disciples, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...”

Believers go...the gospel is preached...people believe the gospel and are born again...disciples are made...then and only then do they baptize...

Belief-- then Baptism...Acts 8:9-13

9 A man named Simon had previously practiced sorcery in that city and amazed the Samaritan people, while claiming to be somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, and they said, “This man is called the Great Power of God.” 11 They were attentive to him because he had amazed them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip, as he proclaimed the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed. And after he was baptized, he followed Philip everywhere and was amazed as he observed the signs and great miracles that were being performed. 

They believed the message about the good news of Jesus, first...then they were baptized.

Belief-- then Baptism...

The same is true Luke's account of how people responded to Peter's preaching of the gospel on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:37&38

37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins...

Belief--then--and only then--comes Baptism

So when it comes to answering the question, who can be baptized the scripture is clear--the only person that can be baptized is the person who has heard the gospel, repented of their sin, and turned to Jesus for salvation by faith.

The Biblical pattern is ]:

Belief—THEN—Baptism.

This isnt a pattern that I came up with, or Heucks came up with, or the Southern Baptist Convention came up with—this was the pattern that God came up with.

So that’s the answer to the first question And when it comes to answering the second question:

How Should a Person be Baptized?

The Scripture is just as clear:

When you come to passages in the Bible that cover the topic of Baptism...like here in Mark...there is a little greek word that was commonly used to described a lot of ordinary and average things that people would do to describe ordinary and everyday things during the time and life of Jesus.

It's the word "Baptizo"--it means "to immerse or to dunk"

But if we could jump in a time machiene and go back to the day and age in which Jesus lived in the first century we would hear baptism used to describe a lot of common everyday tasks. In Jesus' day, people would baptize their dishes in the sink while cleaning up after dinner. Women would baptize their garments when it came time to wash their clothes. Children would "baptize" their friends playing in a river or a stream when they would push them under the water. Ships were described as "being baptized" as they took on water and sank toward the bottom of the sea. 

"John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean Countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and they were baptizing them in the Jordan River..."

Aka...John was dunking some many people that he earned a nickname...John the Baptizer...John the Dunker...if you got into the water with this man he was gonna dunk you...that's what his nam meant.

Like you do know that "the Baptist" wasn't his last name right? Like on his birth certificate I dont know what it would have said, but I can guarantee you it didnt read; John--The Baptist And he wasn't be identified by his denomination either...like John wasn't the original Southern Baptist preacher believe it or not...He came by the name "The Baptist because he was baptizing people" 

And since Baptizo is a word that means to immerse or to dunk...it tells us something about how a person is supposed to be baptized...it means that a person has to go underneath the water.

Here’s my point…in the New Testament, Baptizo is never used to describe someone taking a shower or being sprikled with water…it was always used to describe total immersion.

In order to be baptized…you gotta get dunked...

And what Mark tells us here in this passage of Scripture that people were coming in droves to be baptized or dunked by John.

His literal words beginning in Verse 4 say this:

In fact, Mark seems in indicate that this is exactly how Jesus was Baptized here in this passage...

9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.”

Listen to me...there is a reason that Mark says that Jesus was baptized, "in the Jordan" river. It doesnt say, "by" the Jordan, or "near" the Jordan, or "beside" the Jordan...Mark says "in" the Jordan. In fact, the word used here could also be literally translated "inside" the Jordan river.

On top of that when Mark says that Jesus "...Came up out of the water..." let me ask you a question church...If Jesus came up out of the water...where do you reckon he had been? -->Obviously, he had been underneath the water...

And this is what the church taught for the first 1300 years...until things changed with the Catholic church around the year 1300. You see see the early church believed that baptism is by immersion and for believers…because they understood the importance of baptism...

So…maybe your here and your wondering to yourself…

Why should a Person Be Baptized?

Why is it so important for belief to come before baptism? And why is it so important for a person to be immerssed rather than sprinkled?

And the answer is simple?

It’s because baptism is a picture of the gospel.

Listen, there is nothing special about the baptismal waters in and of themselves. Let’s be really clear, there is only one liquid substance that has any eternal significance…and that is the blood of Christ Jesus...

Baptism doesnt save…only the blood of Jesus Christ can save...

But this is why Baptism is so important...

Because although Baptism doesnt save anyone…it is an illustration or a drama of what God has done in a person and work of Jesus Christ to save everyone who places their faith and trust in him.

Paul talks about the truth of the gospel that Baptism illustrates in Romans 6.

Romans 6:1–6 CSB

1 What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? 2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,

So you see, Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change…it represents what Christ has done...

And so…why should a person be baptized?

Because in Bapitsm you are proclaiming to the world… “I have died to my old way of life, and I have been raised to walk in newness of life in Christ.”

We are baptized because we want others to know the hope that is to be found in Jesus...

Baptism is important because it is evangelistic…it tells a lost and dying world that hope and salvation can be found in one place and one place only…the person of Jesus Christ.

—>And so this morning i want to give two challenges...

For Believers—I want to challenge you…remember your baptism. You got baptized because you wanted to publicly profess the hope you had in Jesus Christ—but let me ask you a question believer…have you stopped sharing that hope? Have you shared the gospel after your baptism like you did on the day you proclaimed it in those baptismal waters? If not, then I want to challenge you to share it with someone this week.

For Unbaptized Folks—maybe you are here this morning and you know that you havent been baptized properly. Maybe you got it out of order…or you didnt get baptized by immersion…Then i want to challenge you today to take this step of obedience.