Repentance and Water Baptism

Introduction:

“If God's today be too soon for thy repentance, thy tomorrow may be too late for God's acceptance.”—D. L. Moody

“If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in.”—William Mason

“A man who knows that he is saved by believing in Christ does not, when he is baptized, lift his baptism into a saving ordinance. In fact, he is the very best protester against that mistake, because he holds that he has no right to be baptized until he is saved.”—Charles Spurgeon

Main Point: “Repentance is the inward change. Water Baptism is the declaration of that change.”

(Prayer)

Repentance:

“A change of attitude and action from sin toward obedience to God.”

Hebrew and Greek Mindset slightly differ when it comes to the concept of repentance, but they both put an emphasis upon a right behavior.

Hebrew Mindset: Repentance was expressed by actions that proved a change in thinking and attitude toward sin.

Greek Mindset: A radical change in one’s thinking, which lead the individual to change their behavior and begin a new relationship with the Lord.

“Repentance leads to consistent heart, thinking, and behavioral changes.”

Proverbs 4:23 CSB

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

Matthew 3:7–8 CSB

When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.

The Story of Zaccheus

Luke 19:1–10 CSB

He entered Jericho and was passing through. There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.” So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”

Water Baptism:

“Immersion into water, which symbolizes the cleansing of believers from the stain and dirt of sin through the grace of God.”

Water Baptism is something we should never grow “dull” to.

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The Story of the Ethiopian Official:

Acts 8:26–40 (CSB)

An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.

The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.”

When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

“How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:

He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,

so he does not open his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him.

Who will describe his generation?

For his life is taken from the earth.

The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture.

As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?”(Some manuscripts include “Phillip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may. And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”) So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. Philip appeared in Azotus, and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Conclusion:

“Repentance is an inward change. Water Baptism is the declaration of that change, and this change has a ripple effect.”

The Salvation of a Communist Spy by Dr. Worth Worley

One night while preaching at a halfway house in Taegu (Tay goo), South Korea where Mrs. Worley and I were missionaries, a group of inmates, after hearing the Word of God came forward to receive Christ as their personal Saviour. We were happy to help them. After we had thoroughly led them through the Word of God, we then felt that they understood. Colonel Kim Chang Hup was one of them that gladly received Jesus Christ as his Saviour. We then were having fellowship with them and I learned that the Colonel, who just received Christ as his Saviour was a North Korean. Then I learned his story.

It seems that he was a spy that had been caught attempting to come South in order to cut the President’s head off, who at that time was Park Chung Hee. Colonel Kim Chang Hup, was the leader of the spies. He had been in the South Korean prison for a number of years and had finally been rehabilitated. That was the Colonel’s lucky day. He heard the wonderful story of Jesus Christ and was saved. Later after he was released he was baptized and was very faithful in our Taejon (Tay jon) Bible Baptist Church. Work was very scarce at that time especially for an ex-communist spy. Therefore I put him in as the janitor of our Church. From the high rank of a Colonel he was promoted to be janitor of our Taejon Baptist Church. He held that position until I went 100 miles further South and began a new Church in Taegu.

Application Questions:

1.) What do I need to repent of?

2.) What’s holding you back to be baptized today?

3.) Where does the Lord want to use me?