Sermon #1148 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation

Transcription

1 Sermon #1148 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation Try to imagine what it would be like to be Satan. He hates God and by extension all humans because God loves them. In the Scriptures, God demonstrates the extreme efforts of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit to save mankind. Meanwhile, Satan pushes back with all his minions and tools to prevent as many lives as possible from being saved. Satan and his crew deny God s existence, deny the Deity of Christ, and deny the inspiration of Scriptures. Satan floods the world with rival religions to distract and delude men and women. Satan appeals to the flesh to draw people away from God and godly living. We could go on and on. But what about those people who believe in God, who believe Jesus is God s Son, who recognize the inspiration of Scripture, who ignore world religions, seek to please God, and desire to live godly lives. If you were Satan, how would detour them away from eternal life? If you were Satan wouldn t you marshal much of your forces and ammunition at the final biblical step that would make them Christians? Satan certainly does that. He detours multiple millions away from forgiveness by whisking them away from doing precisely what needs to be done to be saved according to the Scriptures. The wily old devil deceives through many devices at his disposal, but he has waged his fiercest battle at baptism: the dividing line between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God s dear Son. Satan counterfeits biblical baptism in a host of ways. As we noticed last week, he presents sprinkling as a substitute for immersion despite the fact that the Greek word translated baptism literally means to dip, immerse, or plunge in liquid; despite the fact that Bible baptism is a burial (Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12) that requires much water (John 3:23). Satan counterfeits penitent believer baptism found in the New Testament (Acts 2:38), with infant baptism never found taught or practiced even once in Scripture. Satan substitutes Holy Spirit baptism for water baptism even though Jesus performed Holy Spirit baptism from on high (Matthew 3:11; Luke 24:49) as a promise in fulfillment of the prophesy from Joel 2 while New Testament baptism for salvation is a command, not a promise that is to be performed by men on those who believe (Mark 16:16), repent of their sins (Acts 2:38), and confess Christ (Acts 8:35-39). Because the pulpits of so many churches today ring out with stories, jokes, and human philosophy, many members do not know the fundamental doctrines of the church they attend. As a result, you may have learned what the Bible teaches in your personal reading and assumed that your church taught just what the Bible says. The following denominations, and many other community churches, and socalled non-denominational churches say baptism is a good idea and perhaps even a command that should be obeyed but only AFTER salvation and with no direct relation to salvation itself: Assembly of God, Baptist, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian and the so-called Jehovah s Witnesses. Surely, you will not merely hold the denominational line, but will want to hear what the Bible says on the question: Is baptism essential to salvation? after our song We trust you have an open Bible and open heart on what the Scriptures teach on whether or not baptism is essential to salvation. If the baptism of the penitent believer for the forgiveness of sins IS the dividing line separating the saved and the lost, it is critical, number one, that we know it; number two, that we obey it as given; number three, that we vigorously defend it; and, number four, that we offer no moral or financial support to any institution that denies this truth. After all, the Holy Spirit teaches in 1 Timothy 3:15 that the church of the living God, [is] the pillar and ground of the truth. Some people believe that just any old baptism will do. Friends, the Scriptures are clear: God will not accept just any baptism. He is looking for obedience. The Spirit insists that we contend earnestly for 1

2 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 5 the faith once delivered to the saints and that we keep the ordinances just as they were delivered (Jude 3; 1 Corinthians 11:2). How did the Holy Spirit deliver the ordinance of baptism? Once we know, we must stand firmly behind it. Reason number one baptism is essential to salvation: we contact the blood of Christ in baptism. Rarely will a professing Christian deny the importance of the blood of Christ. One great hymn rings out, There is power in the blood! Another familiar hymn is, Are you washed in the blood? The Bible abundantly supports the truth of these songs. Romans 5:9, Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Ephesians 1:7, In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. So, we are justified by His blood and we have redemption (and the forgiveness of sins) through his blood, but, when and where, precisely, does the Bible teach one contacts the blood of Christ? Many professing Christians never even consider this crucial question. Please, my friend, no longer neglect to secure the answer. Consider this: as important as it is to believe in Christ, turn from ones sins and confess the name of Christ, Scripture does not attach the blood of Christ to any of these important steps in the plan of salvation. Instead, in baptism we contact the blood of Christ through the death of Christ. The Holy Spirit puts it this way in Romans 6:3-4, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. And so, excluding immersion in water for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), we have no biblical evidence of contacting the blood of Christ. Of course, we do not contact the literal blood of Christ. The blood of Christ was shed in his death. We are baptized into his death. If we have not done so, we have yet to contact the blood of Christ. God said in Moses day, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. If the Lord does not see the blood applied to us when He returns, destruction awaits us. Reason number two baptism is essential to salvation: one has not obeyed the gospel until he has been baptized the way taught by Peter, Paul, and the other apostles. Have you heard the phrase obey the gospel? If not, you have been cheated spiritually. Listen to its significance in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, the Lord Jesus (will be) revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. That warning should seize our attention! Have you obeyed the gospel? Most preachers omit this phrase because they teach the false doctrine that you can do nothing towards obtaining salvation. If you do not obey the gospel, the Bible says the Lord Jesus will take vengeance on you with His mighty angels in flaming fire. What is the gospel? The Scriptures always give the best definition of a Bible word. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, the apostle Paul explains that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Well, how do we obey the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Nothing but baptism even comes close to fitting this idea of obeying the gospel. Hear Romans 6:3-4 again, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His DEATH? Therefore we were BURIED with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was RAISED from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Baptism involves a death, burial, and resurrection. As a penitent believer is immersed in water literally, he is buried with Christ spiritually as one who has died to sin. As one emerges from the literal waters of baptism, he is united with Christ 2

3 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 5 spiritually in His resurrection. The apostle adds in Romans 6:17, But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. The Bible tells us the Christians at Rome obeyed that form of doctrine when they were baptized. What form? The death, burial and resurrection. Sadly, some try to divorce water baptism from this passage suggesting baptism here is something spiritual and waterless. In their book, Conviction Without Compromise (2008, 197), Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes, highlight a fundamental rule of biblical interpretation, When the literal sense makes good sense, seek no other sense, lest it result in nonsense. The word baptism literally refers, according to Vine s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, the dyeing of a garment or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another, etc. There is no good reason why the literal use of water was not included in Romans 6:3-4 which taught that we must be buried with Christ in baptism. Reason number three baptism is essential to salvation: Jesus only saves disciples and we cannot be a disciple of Christ without baptism. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Reason number four baptism is essential to salvation: without Scriptural baptism we do not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The laying on of the apostles hands (Acts 8:17-19) transferred supernatural GIFTS of the Holy Spirit to believers. Obviously, since no apostles have lived for over 1900 years we no longer receive these gifts. The climax of the apostle Peter s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, however, reads in Acts 2:38, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. J. W. McGarvey clarifies the meaning here of the gift of the Holy Spirit in his Commentary on Acts: After commanding the inquirers to repent and be immersed for the remission of sins, Peter adds the promise, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Spirit should not be confounded with the Holy Spirit's gifts, nor with the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are religious traits of character, and they result from the gift of the Holy Spirit. The latter expression means, the Holy Spirit as a gift. It is analogous to the expression, promise of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:33, above, where Peter says, having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed forth this which you now see and hear. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were various miraculous powers, intellectual and physical. These were conferred only upon a few individuals, while the gift of the Spirit is promised to all who repent and are immersed. Though less flashy, we must value highly the gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in Ephesians 1:13, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise He adds more emphatically in Romans 8:9, But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. If we do not have the Spirit of God, then we do not belong to God; we are not saved. Yet we read in Acts 2:38 that we only receive the gift of the Holy Spirit if we repent and (are) baptized for the remission of sins. In addition, we read in Acts 5:32 that God only gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him. Baptism saves us. Reason number five that baptism is essential to salvation: the Scriptures clearly say baptism saves. First, Jesus says, after His resurrection, in Mark 16:16, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Condemnation results from disbelieving. (H)e who does not believe will be condemned. Jesus says in John 3:18, He who believes in Him is not 3

4 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 5 condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The first half of Mark 16:16 stresses the objective of salvation. Jesus presents two requirements for salvation: belief and baptism. He who believes and is baptized will be saved Based on Jesus words, it would be equally inappropriate to say that an individual could be saved without belief or baptism. Again, Jesus said, He who believes AND is baptized will be saved Unfortunately, the modern approach to this passage is to say, He who believes and is NOT baptized will be saved Be wary of the approach to Scripture first employed in the Garden of Eden. God told Adam in Genesis 2:16-17, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it YOU SHALL SURELY DIE." The devil came along in the form of a serpent in Genesis 3:4 and added only one word to what God had said ( not ) - "You will NOT surely die. That erroneous interpretation altered God s message. The same takes place when man takes the words of Jesus in Mark 16:16, He who believes and is baptized will be saved and interprets it He who believes and is NOT baptized will be saved Textual critics also attack Jesus words here. They say Jesus words are not part of the biblical record. They say the earliest manuscripts of the passage do not contain these words. These individuals exploit most people s ignorance of textual criticism. They refer to two faulty fourth century manuscripts the Vatican and Sinaiticus manuscripts that contradict each other thousands of times in the gospels alone. They also have large blank spots at the end of Mark s gospel where they say Jesus words are absent. John Burgon thoroughly refutes this empty diversion in his book, The Last Twelve Verses of Mark. He cites ancient versions and early Christian writers predating the Vatican and Sinaiticus manuscripts who refer to this passage. Bruce Metzger, acknowledges in his book, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, that The traditional ending of Mark is present in the vast number of witnesses (or manuscripts), including (twelve uncial manuscripts several of which are dated to at least the fifth century). The evidence supports words of Jesus in Mark 16:16. In addition, the apostle writes in 1 Peter 3:20-21, [W]hen once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ Using the illustration from Noah s day, the Bible says, (E)ight souls were saved by water. Then, making the application, Peter writes baptism doth also now save us. Did you get that? The Bible says baptism also saves us! Peter goes on to say baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. In other words, the purpose of baptism is not to wash literal dirt and grime off of our physical bodies, but the answer of a good conscience toward God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New American Standard translation renders verse 21, And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you - not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have looked at only five biblical reasons to accept the fact that baptism is necessary to salvation. Next week, we will notice further indisputable evidence for this truth. Stay with us after our song and we ll tell you how to get a copy of this message 4

5 Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation by Brett Hickey, sermon # of 5 We are glad you joined us this morning. We hope you will watch the program every Lord s Day and then join us for worship at one of the congregations listed shortly. Call or write for a DVD copy of #1148, Five Reasons Baptism is Essential to Salvation. We are also offering a free copy of the recently released booklet by your speaker, Unity in One Loaf and One Cup. You may also request a free six lesson Bible study by mail. We close with the words the apostle Paul issued in Romans 16:16, the churches of Christ salute you. Until next week, goodbye and God bless! Are you searching for the truth of God's word and have a sincere desire to learn about the Bible? Do you want to know what the Bible says about salvation and about Christ and His church? If you are looking for Bible Founded discussion on these topics and many others, then please accept this invitation to explore "Let the Bible Speak" and then contact us for additional studies. We are members of the church of Christ as found in the New Testament. We are not members of a denomination or earthly religious organization. We are a brotherhood of believers, joined by a common bond, Jesus Christ. We try to live and worship following the patterns found in the New Testament. (For manuscripts of other sermons visit: COPYRIGHT Let The Bible Speak. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Express permission is granted to distribute any video, audio, or transcript of any broadcast message as long as the material is: unedited and attribution is given to Let The Bible Speak; a hyperlink to LetTheBibleSpeak.com is included for electronic distribution; a text reference is included to for printed distribution; and the original author receives attribution. An irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free license for distribution is granted as long as such distribution has the intent of: supporting the truth as presented; giving glory and honor to God; and spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. 5