1 THE JOY OF BELIEVER S BAPTISM Sermon preached by Pastor C. John Steer Autumn Ridge Church July 21-22, 2018 Scripture: Matthew 3:11-17 In recent weeks we have been reflecting on how to have a joyful summer. Today I want to suggest that one way we can pursue joy in the summer months is to be baptized. For there are few things more joy producing than following Christ through the waters of baptism. We see this illustrated in the scriptures. In Acts chapter 8 there is the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian. We are told how Philip baptized this man in the desert. It concludes with the statement, The Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39) Well of course he did. This African believer had done something that pleased God. Then in Acts 16 Paul baptizes the Philippian jailer and his family in the middle of the night. We learn that the jailer was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God he and his whole household." (Acts 16:34) The message is clear. Baptized people are joyful people. I have never seen a person coming out of the baptistry scowling or looking miserable. Instead they are smiling, sometimes first pumping the air, even shouting with gladness. Now the good news is we have two lake baptisms coming up next month. The first is at 4pm on Wednesday, August 1, at Family Camp. The second is at 6pm on Sunday, August 12, here in Rochester in the lake opposite the church. If you haven t been baptized as a believer I want to encourage you to take this step and participate in one of these lake baptisms. If you are going to be away, you can still be baptized right here in the sanctuary. The advantage of that is the water is warmer. If you have been baptized I want to remind you of the vows that you made at your baptism so you can relive the joy of that moment. Perhaps our reflections today will help connect you afresh to the goodness and grace of God so you experience his pleasure all over again. I had this experience a month ago. I was back in the church where I was baptized 46 years ago. I stood on the platform where I gave my faith story to the congregation. I was then baptized with my brother, Andrew, by my father. The joy of that moment flooded
2 over me. It is a good thing to recall our baptism and reaffirm the vows we made to God then. I realize that some of us are unfamiliar with believer s baptism so I want to answer some very practical questions. Let s begin by asking WHY GET BAPTIZED? The simple answer is because Jesus asks us to. In Matthew 28 Jesus tells his disciples: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:18-20) These are the last words of Jesus before he went back to heaven. There was so much Jesus might have said to his friends in his last speech, but instead he talked to them about baptism. You see baptism is not the result of a church committee sitting in a stuffy room on a rainy day wondering how to spice up the worship service and someone saying, I ve got it! Let s soak the new converts. That should draw a crowd. Rather baptism is the plan of Jesus for his people. So before we change it, ignore it, or say That s not for me, we need to remember that baptism is a request of Christ who says, If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15) Jesus not only tells us to be baptized, he models baptism for us. At the age of 30 Jesus walked 50 miles to the Jordan River. When he arrived he asked his relative John to baptize him. And John looked at Jesus and said, You don t need this. If ever there was a case where you could argue that a person didn t need to be baptized, it was Jesus, because he was perfect and so had no sin to wash away. Yet down into the water went Jesus saying, Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness. (Matthew 3:15) Or to put it in simple English, it s always right to do as God says. As a result an extraordinary scene took place in that muddy Jordan River. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus in the form of a dove. The Father spoke from heaven saying, You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased. (Mark 1:11) For the Father is always pleased with his children when they take this step of baptism. It is that pleasure that leads to our joy. Next question: WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED? Several answers are sometimes given to this question. Some say babies.
3 In many churches it is babies who are baptized. But very gently we have to say that you can read all through the entire Bible and you will not find a single baby ever being baptized. Now many of us were baptized as babies. We are deeply grateful to our parents who took us to church and who made promises that they would raise us in the Christian faith. But lovely as that service was it is not what the Bible describes as baptism. A second answer is that baptism is for unbelievers. That reminds us of some rather shameful periods in the history of the church when missionaries would march into a village in a foreign land accompanied by soldiers. They would demand that everyone was baptized and those refusing were killed. Having baptized the entire village the missionaries moved on rejoicing that all the inhabitants had now become Christians. But baptism is not for unbelievers for the simple reason that baptism cannot make you a Christian. If you go into the lake as an unbeliever you will simply emerge as a wet unbeliever. For there is nothing in water that turns sinners into saints. Who then is baptism for? Listen again to what Jesus said. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them." (Matthew 28:19) Notice the order. We are to make disciples first and then we are to baptize them. So baptism is for disciples. Baptism is for followers of Jesus. Baptism is an acknowledgment that I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and my Lord. Baptism only makes sense for believers, for baptism is a statement that I have died to sin and that I am alive in Christ, that I have been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Now a baby can t say that and an unbeliever can t say that, but a believer can. So we baptize because Jesus tells us to. And we baptize only those who are disciples of Jesus. Question three: So WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BAPTISM? Let s be honest. Baptism is a rather strange thing to do in church. Bathing is normally a private activity and here we are doing it in front of hundreds of people. What do you suppose is happening when a person is being baptized? Let me give you three possibilities. Do you think in baptism: A. God is talking to us B. We are talking to God C. God is talking to us and we are talking to him If you answered C, award yourself a doctor of divinity degree. For that is exactly what is taking place in baptism. First, God is speaking to us in baptism for baptism
4 is a sermon in symbols. Augustine, the great fifth century theologian, called the sacraments of the gospel visible words. So what does God say to us in baptism? He tells us Christ died and was buried and on the third day he rose again. It s all there in Romans chapter 6. So in baptism I am submerging my life in this grand truth that Jesus died and rose for my salvation. But not only does God speak to us in baptism, we speak to God. When we go into the waters of baptism we are making three statements to our heavenly Father. First we are professing our obedience to Jesus. We cannot get around it. Baptism is a step of obedience. Therefore, to refuse to be baptized is a step of disobedience. After all Jesus did say, "Go and make disciples... baptizing them... and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20) We sometimes try and turn baptism into something it is not. We say baptism is a sign of spiritual maturity and I m not ready for that yet. But baptism is a sign of initiation. In the New Testament it was the first thing a new Christian did. On the day of Pentecost 3000 people believed in Jesus and they were baptized that very day. We turn baptism into an option for us as Christians. So we can take it or leave it. But the New Testament knows nothing of an unbaptized Christian. It was assumed if you were a Christian you would take this step of obedience. Belief and baptism were so closely linked together that Mark can write, Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. (Mark 16:16) It is belief that saves us but baptism is an immediate expression of that belief. So in baptism we express our obedience to Christ. The prophet Samuel declared, To obey is better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15:22) When we disobey an express command of our Lord our spiritual growth is stunted. We may want to do great things for God but great things start by doing little things, like taking the step of baptism. Then in baptism we are making a statement to God about our oneness with Jesus. This is the thrust of Paul s explanation of the meaning of baptism when he asks, "Don t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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." (Romans 6:3-4) In baptism we identify with Jesus death and resurrection for us. We acknowledge that his death is sufficient to take away our sin. Our transgressions are laid in the
5 grave. God does not want us to visit the cemetery and dig up the bones. We don t need to be tormented by the past. If we have confessed those sins we are now dead to the past and that s why Peter can say that, Baptism... is the pledge of a clear conscience toward God." (1 Peter 3:21) In expressing our oneness with Jesus we also express our oneness with his church. Paul tells the Corinthians, We were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body. (1 Corinthians 12:13) Baptism is the visible sign of joining the visible church. In baptism we tell God I am not ashamed of your Son. I am not ashamed to be a Christian. I want to stand up and be counted with the people of God. I am proud to be part of the church of Jesus Christ. So the benefits of baptism are obedience to Jesus, and oneness with Jesus. A third benefit is we are making our offering to Jesus. Jesus offered himself for us. In baptism we are offering ourselves to him. Jesus gave his body for our salvation. We give our body for his service. Paul urges us, In view of God s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God this is your true and proper worship. (Romans 12:1) The method of baptism is significant here. The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo. Baptizo means to dip, to immerse, to submerge, to plunge, and to make fully wet. The Greeks used the word to describe the dying of a garment. The whole cloth was baptized or submerged in the dye. So in baptism we are not sprinkled but fully immersed in water signifying the total giving of ourselves from head to foot. In baptism we are saying to God, I want every part of my life to belong to you. So Paul concludes his teaching on baptism in Romans 6 with these words: Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Romans 6:13) God gave his best for us. And we give our best to him when we offer ourselves in the act of baptism. Let me address some frequently asked questions that often come up in our baptismal classes.
6 How old do I have to be? The scriptures are silent on this subject. No age is given. It is clear a person must be old enough to understand the gospel, to repent of their sin, to put their trust in Jesus. Now we know that children of 4 or 5 can believe in Jesus, but we are reluctant to baptize them at that age because we are not sure they will have a clear memory of their baptism when they are 50 or 60. We want them to remember this because our baptism is a source of joy and it is also a way to help us fight temptation as we remember the vows we made to God in our baptism. That s why we encourage children to wait until they are 12. That was the age when a Jewish boy became a man. So if you are 9 or 10 and you would like to be baptized, wait a while and then take this great step. You won t regret it. Do I have to speak when I am baptized? You are speaking by your actions when you are baptized. You are announcing that you are a Christian. You are also making promises to God. In the water the pastor will ask you Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Do you renounce the devil and all his work? And do you promise, God helping you, to serve the Lord Jesus for the rest of your life in the fellowship of his church? You respond by saying, Yes, I do. But baptism is also a great opportunity to give your faith story. It might be as brief as saying Jesus is my Lord, or it could be an explanation of how you came to faith. The Bible says, If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) So although it is difficult, it is good to be brave and ask the Holy Spirit s help for us to say a few words about what Jesus means to us. Here is another question. Does baptism save me? The brief answer is no. How can it? If it did it would mean that some physical act we do earns our eternal salvation. But scripture teaches that it is Jesus who saves us. Paul reminds us, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
7 But while baptism doesn t save, it does sanctify. It makes us more like Jesus. It helps us to grow up in our faith. So while baptism isn t necessary for our salvation, it is necessary for our spiritual maturity. I became a Christian at the age of 16 but for various reasons I waited five years until I was baptized. I deeply regret that delay. The reason is that in those five years I experienced very little spiritual growth. But once I obeyed the teaching of scripture and was baptized I not only experienced joy but I saw spiritual progress. So if you became a Christian 30 or 40 years ago and have never been baptized and thinking you missed the opportunity, think again. It s not too late. Take a public stand for Christ now. I promise you, you won t regret it. Let me issue a spiritual challenge to you men now. Be a man. Step forward. Get baptized. It will be a tremendous example to your family. They will admire you for it. It will also be a great help to you in your Christian life. One final question. What if I don t feel ready? Our feelings can be helpful at times, but they can also be a hindrance. To be honest, our feelings are rather irrelevant in this matter of baptism. God has spoken to us through his word. Jesus has given us a command. Christians have practiced baptism for 2000 years. So we hardly need to ask When will I be ready? What does it mean to be ready for baptism? Baptism is not a statement that I am perfect. It is a statement that I am pardoned. It is not a statement that I know all the Bible and can answer everybody s questions about the Christian faith. Rather baptism is a declaration that I have started the journey of following Christ. I ve got a long way to go and I m probably going to fall down many times. But right now I am going to acknowledge Jesus as my Lord. So what stands in the way of you being baptized? If you are a Christian the answer is nothing. If you are not a Christian put your trust in Christ today. Then follow him into the waters of baptism. If you would like to participate write baptism on your Connection Card and drop it in the offering bucket. As you do so you are taking a step of faith. You are making an offering of yourself. This is an act that causes heaven to rejoice. We will get back to you. We have a class for those who want to be baptized or still have questions. Here is the schedule. All classes are in the Luther Room. 7:00 pm, Saturday, August 4 9:00 am, Sunday, August 5 10:30 am, Sunday, August 5 6:00 pm, Wednesday, August 8
8 Perhaps you have never witnessed a lake baptism and you are wondering what it is all about, so after I pray we are going to see a video clip of last year s baptism when 48 people took the plunge of faith. Let s close by saying our Victory Verse together. Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38