Sermon Tone Analysis

Let’s talk about the sacred act of baptism.

Living in So.

Cal.

I am very aware of the deep religious heritage of many of our Catholic friends and family.

I want to go through what the scriptures teach about this beautiful symbol of our faith and who should and should not be baptised.

Why baptism?

I was baptised as a baby did that count?

Was Jesus baptised?

What am I declaring when I get baptised?

What does the word baptize mean?

What was the old testament baptism and what is the new testament baptism.

Do I have to get baptized to be saved?

What does the word baptize in the bible mean?

Baptizo: Greek word meaning immersion in water.

In the Jordan River.

UP out of the water.

Full immersion.

Why was he baptising at Aenon?

Because there was plenty of water.

You need plenty of water to fully immerse someone.

The picture here is you need a river you need a lot of water.

What about the Christian denominations that sprinkle with water.

Many have incorporated sprinkling out of convince.

If we had someone that put their faith in Jesus and wanted to be baptized and they were unable physically or in a hospital we would baptize with water by any means necessary.

What am I declaring when I get baptised?

Baptism is a beautiful symbol / picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.

It is a public profession of ones faith.

Ill: like a wedding ring symbolizes me being married.

When I take off my wedding ring am I still married?

It is a outward symbol of the love and devotion I have on the inside for Tammy.

Baptism of a believer is a beautiful symbol of:

The death of your old life.

- Galatians 2:20 - I have be crucified with Christ.

Dying to my old self.

Going under the water is a water burial of ones old life.

- That person before Christ is dead.

I want the world to know I am not that person anymore.

ILL: The statement ppl make “You are dead to me”. - I cut you out of my life and I act like you are gone for ever.

I know you knew the old me, but that person is gone.

I used to be a fill in the blank.

Coming out of the water is the symbol of the new regenerated you.

You are not the same.

Old Testament: Baptism

When a Gentile came along and wanted to become a proselyte or wanted to become a worshiper of Jehovah, of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true and living God, the Creator and the Redeemer, he would go through a three-stage ceremony.

The first was called milah.

This was the painful part, circumcision, the unique sign of the people of God to demonstrate in symbol their identification with God’s people.

It was even more than that.

They needed to demonstrate in circumcision that they were sinful.

Then there was tebilah.

That was the second aspect of the ceremony, immersion in water.

That’s right, immersion in water.

Why?

To demonstrate they were dead as to the old life.

It was a kind of water burial.

They were dead to the old life, apart from God’s Word, apart from God’s truth, apart from God’s promises, apart from God’s people, and that old life was buried, and they had risen into a new life and a new family.

And then there was a third phase, korban.

An animal was sacrificed.

The blood of that animal was sprinkled on the person, on the Gentile, symbolizing the need for forgiveness of sins provided through the death of a substitute.

That substitute would be, eventually, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So there was a proselyte baptism - very, very familiar to the jewish people in Jerusalem and Judea.

By the time we come, then, to the New Testament, they are familiar with immersion.

They know what it is to be baptized.

They know it is connected to coming to worship the true God.

It is a symbol of the death of the old life and the beginning of a new life.

It is not surprising to them, when John the Baptist appears.

And it’s an amazing thing because all these people are coming to him.

The gospels tell us all Judea was coming out to John the Baptist.

And these masses of people were being baptized because John was saying the Messiah is coming, the kingdom is coming, you must repent, you must be ready for the Messiah and the kingdom.

You need to be washed.

You need to be cleansed.

You need to be prepared for the Messiah’s arrival.

And he was calling on them to repent and be baptized and - listen to this - to literally view themselves as if they were Gentiles, as if they were outside the covenant, outside the kingdom, aliens of God, strangers to the promises that were given to the Jewish people.

John was baptizing Jews for repentance of their sin.

Jesus would bring a baptism of Salvation.

And since John understood baptism and he understood that baptism was the confession of sin and repentance and the death of the old life and the beginning of a new life, and he knew Jesus was sinless and didn’t need to leave a sinful life and embark upon a new righteous life, the whole exercise seemed ridiculous to him, nonsense.

Why would the sinless one want to be baptized?

And so John tried to prevent Jesus and said, “No, no, no, let’s turn it around.

You baptize me.”

Why did Jesus need to be baptized if He had no sin?

Vs. 15 - Through His baptism He was identifying with sinners as the bearer of their sin.

He would eventually take on all their sin.

To fulfill all righteousness would be his death, burial, and Resurrection.

Do I have to be baptized to be saved?

Jesus - stop the crucifixion.

I need to you to take me and my new convert down so we can baptize him before we both die or he won’t make it into heaven.

Faith precedes baptism.

So faith in Jesus then baptism.

So we are justified at the very first act of genuine saving faith in Christ, and then baptism follows (the public profession of faith).

What if I was baptized as a baby? - I don’t see baby baptism in the scriptures.

Biblical we would see your baptism as a baby as your parents way of dedicating you to the Lord.

We do baby dedications here and will do one real soon.

Jesus was dedicated to the Lord at the temple.

So after putting your faith and trust in Jesus we would encourage you to be baptised now that you have an understanding of your faith.

Warning to parents: Don’t rush your kids to be baptized if they don’t understand their faith yet.

And don’t discourage then not to get baptised if they have a good understanding of what in means to accept Jesus and follow Him.

Baptism is part of the Great Commission:

1st lead them to Jesus, 2nd baptize them as a public profession of their faith.

Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus yet?

If yes.

Next question.