Buried with Christ to be Made Alive in Him!

Let’s read Colossians 2:12-13 together:

Colossians 2:12–13 NET 2nd ed.

Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.

Dead in Sin

Vs 13 says - “And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh”.

For those who do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, who have never received Him to be their Lord, the Bible says that they are “dead” in their sins.

MANKIND + SIN = DEATH

Death, in this sense, is equal to separation.

Sin is the agent that separates us from God, as it says in Isaiah 59:2

Isaiah 59:2 NIV

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

This reminds me of when Adam and Eve were told not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God told them it was because they would surely die if they did. Well, that death was both physical and spiritual.

In Gen 3:10, We see one result of this sinful act;

Genesis 3:10 (NET 2nd ed.)

The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

They were hiding from God! Sin causes us to hide from the One who is able to forgive us and cleanse us from its damaging effects. It separates- always!

Sin Affects Us All

If I did a case study on everyone in this place right now of the percentage of people who have, are, and will commit an act of sin, it would reveal a result of 100%.

The unfortunate reality of sin is that it affects every one of us!

Romans 3:23 (NET 2nd ed.)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And, if ALL HAVE SINNED that means that all are alienated, separated, from God because of those sins.

That is the bad news, but the Bible has given us great news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to help those of us who want to be saved from the effects that sin has on us.

We are Made Alive in Christ

JESUS - SIN = LIFE

Christ is our sinless Savior. He was perfect and yet took on our sin when He died the death we deserve. Because He took on our death, we are able to, by faith, take on His life!

Let’s read Col 2:13 again.

Colossians 2:13 (NET 2nd ed.)

And even though you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he nevertheless made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.

Notice this phrase: “he... made you alive with him, having forgiven all your transgressions.”

JESUS + DEATH = LIFE FOR US

After hearing all of the bad news about sin and separation from God, you may be wondering how this problem can be solved. Well, the Scripture says that the way to receive life and connection again is through forgiveness!

Forgiveness is granted on the basis of faith in Christ’s finished work on the Cross. When we believe in Him, when we make the choice to repent of our sinful ways and to follow Him, the Bible says that we are saved/forgiven/made alive in Him!

Galatians 2:20 (NIV): I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Our life must be lived by faith! We must make the decision to take on this nature of Christ, dying to ourselves and our sinful nature and allowing Him to live in and through us! When we make that decision, we are made alive in the spirit.

Christ does an amazing thing in our life, He makes us new! He transforms us from the inside out! The death we once were experiencing is no longer there, instead we begin experiencing life - and life to the fullest! Connection with God.

Outward Baptism symbolizes Inward transformation

Check out what the Bible says about the work of God when He saves us!

Titus 3:4–5 NET 2nd ed.

But “when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Did you catch that? The washing of the NEW BIRTH!

John 3:3 (NIV)

Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

Transformation! Born Again!

When we go down into the waters of Baptism, we are symbolizing that we have died to ourselves, to our sinful ways! We are publically declaring our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we come up out of that water, we are symbolizing a new, clean, forgiven, life that has been transformed by the power of God!

If we look at Col 2:12 again, we see that;

Colossians 2:12 NET 2nd ed.

Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

Again, in Rom 6:4 we see this same point being made by the Apostle Paul.

Romans 6:4 NIV

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.

The song we sang earlier today called, Because He Lives, has a line that says - “I was dead in the grave, I was covered in sin and shame, I heard mercy call my name, He rolled the stone a way…I’m alive, I’m alive because He lives!

So, I hope you can see that when we get Baptized we are declaring the transformation that took place in our heart when we invited Christ to be our Savior.

We are declaring that we have died to ourselves, symbolized when we go down into the water, and that we are now living a new life by faith in Christ, cleansed by His blood - symbolized when we come up out of the water!

Invitation to Receive Christ

That is a very exciting thing to experience, and I pray that if you are here today and have not received Christ to be your Savior that you would call upon Him even now to provide a new life for you! He says that anyone who calls upon Him for salvation - will be saved! And if you do that today, then there is nothing that will stop you from getting into this water for your own Baptism! Make the choice today, you’ll never regret it!

Prayer suggestion - Confession of your need for a Savior, acknowledging your sins to God. Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only means to receive forgiveness of those sins. Commitment to follow the Lord Jesus for the rest of your days - by faith!

Final Encouragement

For those of you who are getting Baptized, I want you to know that we are proud of you! That this decision is a wonderful step of obedience to follow the Lord in all Righteousness, as Jesus Himself said.

Please remember that it is not these waters that save you, or provide forgiveness for you, that is what Jesus Christ and your faith in His complete work on the Cross do!

Please make today the day that you fully commit yourself to the purposes of God in your life.

Use this experience to publically declare your allegiance to Him and the testimony of how God changed your life when you placed your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ! Share your testimony!

May the Lord our God richly bless you as you make this decision to follow Him in the waters of Baptism!

Let’s pray

If you are getting Baptized today, please make your way over to the north side of the Sanctuary, and see Becky to confirm your information.