Why do we do it? Why is it important? Is it just a symbol? Does something actually happen?

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2 Why do we do it? Why is it important? Is it just a symbol? Does something actually happen? So I have the dubious honor of being baptized three times (Catholic; Lutheran; Missionary Church); and then had my own daughter baptized in the Reformed Church. First, let s define some terms: 2

3 It s something physical, external, visible; of something that s happening internally, spiritually, invisible. I had a professor who used to say... 3

4 We see this all throughout Biblical history. When God wanted to show the Israelites His power, the fact that He would deliver them from Egypt, what did He give them a Passover meal. He had them build altars throughout the dessert. Jesus was all about giving people something to taste and to touch. When he healed the blind mind, he used mud to heal the man s eyes. Did Jesus need the mud? Of course not; did the blind man? Yes. NT Wright quote - 4

5 So faith needs something to taste; something to touch. Sacraments are visible signs of invisible realities. There are two sacraments in our beliefs the Lord s Supper and Baptism. We don t see these as merely symbols. They are at LEAST symbols, for sure. But they are MORE than symbols. We believe that something is actually happening. That s what we call sacraments 5

6 A means = a tool, an instrument, a vehicle. It s the difference between a badge and a nightstick. 6

7 A badge is only a symbol of being a police officer. If I stole a badge, I don t automatically become a cop. And I can t really do much with it. A nightstick is not only a symbol of being a cop (I don t know a lot of other people who carry one); it also is an instrument by which to carry out the authority that a police officer has. It is a means by which to be a cop. In instrument of cop-ing. 7

8 Similarly, we believe that when we partake of Communion (which is a continual thing that we ll do throughout our Christian lives); and when we are baptized (which we receive once, usually, unless you go through the foster system or something), these are not merely badges of our Christian identity. We believe that God is actually an active participant in these sacraments; bestowing on us a form of grace that we would otherwise miss out on if we refused to participate in them. They are an instrument a means of receiving God s grace. So, what is happening in baptism? SO MUCH. Today, I want to highlight 5 things. 8

9 Did your parents ever tell you the old line that what you do reflects back on them? If you go out wearing those ridiculous clothes, that s gonna make us look ridiculous too! Baptism is the same way but in reverse. When we are baptized, what is true of Jesus becomes true of us. And this is really important, because we definitely would rather be known by the attributes and character of Jesus than the other way around. God s Son; perfect; holy that s us now! In the book of Romans, Paul writes, 9

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11 This is fantastic news. Because Jesus died to sin, if we are baptized, that means we are dead to sin too! No longer has power. And because Jesus was resurrected, that means, if we are baptized, than we will be resurrected too! This is most dramatically shown in full-immersion adult baptism. When the person is submerged under the water, it identifies them with Jesus death and burial. And when the person rises from the water, it identifies them with Christ s new life and resurrection. This is why we don t just talk about baptism as only symbol we believe that God, through the baptism, is actually doing something. He makes what is true of Jesus true of us. It s an outward sign of an inward grace! So, first, when we are baptized, we are identified with Christ. Number 2: 11

12 Baptism physically shows us that for those who have given their lives over to Jesus, they have been forgiven of all their sin; it has been washed away. Peter preached his first sermon at Pentecost a thousands of Jews and said-- 12

13 Repent means to change your mind to turn from one direction and go a different one. Notice, that baptism is in the NAME of Jesus- we are identified with Him. And then after repenting and after being baptized and thus identified with Jesus we are forgiven! Paul, preaching to a crowd, said, 13

14 Again the name of Jesus! What s true of Jesus is true of us. AND our sins are washed away in baptism. What causes us shame, guilt, heaviness it s washed away! When we hear God s Word about Jesus our Savior and Lord, the Resurrected King of the Universe, and respond, we receive God s forgiveness, His grace, and mercy. Baptism is the right and proper sign of that forgiveness; a cleansing away of our past, present, and future mistakes. So, first, Baptism identifies us with Jesus. Second, It is an outward sign of an inward grace that our sins have been washed away. Number

15 This most obvious example of this is in Acts. A church leader named Philip meets a man identified to us as the Ethiopian Eunuch. He is an important official for the region of what we now call Ethiopia. The Eunuch was traveling in a caravan and had a chariot with a driver and other officials. Philip explains the Gospel to him and this is what happens next: 15

16 So in front of all the other officials, his chariot driver, he makes a public profession that He believes in Jesus as the Resurrected Lord of All, and the Savior of All. This is why we do our adult baptism each year out at West Lake. It s public. You re telling the world what matters most to you. So Identifies us with Jesus Shows us that our sins are washed away. It s a public declaration of faith. Fourth - 16

17 The primary way by which God interacts with humanity is through covenant relationship. God is an infinite being, eternal, immaterial, all-knowing, all-present; and He desires to be in relationship with His creation, with us. We are finite; bound within time; made of physical matter; present in only one place at one time; knowing in part. How does God relate to a creation so infinitely different than Him? Through the bounds of Covenant. God created a covenant community of grace through Abraham and all those who put their faith in Yahweh. In the Old Testament this covenant community was primarily Israel. In the New Testament through today, that covenant community is the Church, or what Paul calls the True Israel, all those who put their faith in God s Messiah, Jesus Christ. The initiation process to enter into Israel was through circumcision. It was a physical sign done by blood of a inward reality, that you belonged to God s covenant community. That all the promises of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob applied to you. Circumcision was a physical sign of God s Covenant Promises to you. It was done to 17

18 male children 8 days after they were born. By the very virtue of being part of God s covenant community, they had God s promises. BUT there was no guarantee that that child as they grew into adulthood would live into the reality of God s promises. They had to accept for themselves that God s promises were true. That God wanted all people to experience the abundant life in a land flowing with milk and honey. If that circumcised person grew into adulthood and rejected God s promises, it didn t make God s promises any less true. God s promises are eternal. But until that person lived into the truth of their circumcision (That they are in God s covenant community), they missed out on the fullness of what God was offering to humanity. When my wife Emily was little, she received a 20 year savings bond certificate from one of her relatives. It was a piece of paper that promised her a certain sum of money; but she had to mature; and so did the savings bond. We actually put it in a fire proof safe and forgot about it for a while. The savings bond still had value; but it was ineffective in our safe. When we found it and Emily lived into the reality of the value of that piece of paper the promises of that savings bond became true in her life. She cashed it in and got a great pair of shoes. The same is true of baptism. Just as Communion replaces the Israelite practice of Passover; Baptism replaces the old Israelite symbol of circumcision. Baptism is the initiation rite for entering into God s family, God s covenant community of grace, the Church. Listen to this particularly dense passage from Paul, in which brings together a lot of the themes we ve talked about so far: 17

19 Let s unpack this for a moment. In Christ you were circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Here we see that baptism is a new kind of circumcision; a new kind of way of initiating you into God s Family, the church. Your whole ruled-by-the-flesh self was taken off. The flesh, for Paul, is his language for our fallen nature, the part of us that does the things we don t want to do, that rebels against God. (Not to get too graphic, but Paul is having a bit of a play of words about circumcision, which is also about removing literal flesh; but this new circumcision, aka, baptism, gets rid of the whole fleshly nature of sin; you get the idea.). ANYWAY, that part of us has been removed. We are identified with Christ now, remember!? When you were circumcised by Christ. So baptism is not something that we do. It s done to us. By Jesus Himself! When we receive baptism, yes, there s a person dipping you into the water, placing water on the child s head. But baptism is primarily the work of God, not our work! 18

20 Having been buried with Him in baptism. Again, we are identified with Christ, in his death and in his resurrection. Baptism replaces circumcision. It puts us firmly into God s family. This, by the way, is why we baptize infants. Since we see baptism as replacing circumcision as a sign of being part of God s covenant family; since circumcision was done to infants; and since baptism is an act of God making His promises to us, then of course we baptize infants as well. As Peter said in his Pentecost sermon, 18

21 God s promises apply to us not because of our actions, but because of God s grace. Notice it s God who does the calling. God who makes the promises. So when we baptize an infant; note that we only baptize infants who have parents who have made a covenant of membership with the church. We don t go around splashing water on strangers babies hoping that that will save them. When a family is part of God s church, His covenant family, and God gives that family the gift of a child (through childbirth and adoption), then that family has their child baptized so that God can give them an outward sign of inward grace that God s covenant promises of grace and fully available to that child. That child must still respond to preaching of the Gospel in order for those promises to be fulfilled. And that s why we make a promise to that family, and that family to us, that they will raise their child in the truth and admonition of God s Word, so that one day that child may receive and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. So, baptism it identifies us with Jesus. It shows us that our sins are washed away. It s a public declaration of faith. It initiates us into God s covenant community. And finally. 19

22 After Jesus resurrection, Jesus gave His disciples a Commission. Some would call it a great commission. And it said this: 20

23 As we ve said many times, our primary mission as a church is to make disciples of Jesus. And the first thing that disciples of Jesus do is receive God s gift of baptism. It s a command of Jesus. We see in John 4 that Jesus disciples, very early on in Jesus ministry, started to baptize disciples into Jesus name. And throughout the book of Acts, almost without fail, if someone received salvation, they got baptized. And oftentimes they had their households their oikos baptized as well. Their children. When we refuse the gift of baptism, we are refusing step 1 of the Christian life. So, to summarize: 21

24 Now, let s note a couple of things. 22

25 Or, if you like a good ole Venn diagram: 23

26 You can be baptized; but that doesn t mean you re automatically a Christian. Being a Christian isn t determined by whether or not you go to church. It s not determined by if your mommy and daddy got your head wet as a baby. You can be baptized without having put your trust in Jesus, without making Jesus the most important relationship in your life. Perhaps you were an infant or young. Or perhaps you did it out of peer pressure. And it doesn't mean that God s promises weren t extended to you; that God didn t move toward you in grace. But until you -- your own choice, your own volition - put your trust in Jesus; until you make the decision to be a disciple of Jesus; to make your relationship with Him the most important relationship in your life, then God s promises are left unclaimed in your life. Left in a safety deposit box; full of value, but unclaimed. You can also have put your trust in Jesus, but never have been baptized. Which means, friends it s time! It s time to make that public declaration. It s time to follow Jesus command. And it s time to experience God s grace, as He initiates you into His covenant community, as He buries your sin and resurrects your life. Baptism is step one of the Christian life. You may also be here today and you ve never put your faith in Jesus and you were 24

27 never baptized. Well, if you want a new identity, if you want the promise of resurrection life, if you want to belong to God s covenant community of grace then today s your day! So what do I do now? 24

28 If you ve never accepted Jesus as your Savior, then it s time to accept Him. Believe that God loves you; acknowledge that you are in need of a Savior; and commit to follow Jesus with your life. You can do right now; as we sing our closing song; or if you would like someone to pray with you, we would love to do so after the service. 25

29 If you ve never received baptism, then we would love to be the ones to offer that gift to you. (Register online, talk to the staff or church office). Or perhaps you ve never understood infant baptism until today. We would love to make that available to you and your childre as well. 26