Why Baptism Matters to Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Matthew 28:16-20
The Great Commission and baptism
The command to baptize is in the last recorded words of Jesus
This is the Great Commission of Jesus to His Church
Go into all the world, make disciples, baptize them, teach them
Similar to Mark 16:15-16
Mark 16:15-16- And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
So why is this command in the final command of Jesus?
Why it is so important to Jesus that people be baptized?
The reason is NOT because it has any saving benefit at all
If baptism adds or contributes anything to salvation then the grace is nullified and the gospel is undermined
The reason is that it is the outward public expression of what has happened spiritually in the sinner’s life
Jesus’ design is that the gospel be preached, sinners be saved, and the church be grown by that means
This growth primarily spiritual, not merely numerical
Therefore, it really matters that the outward expression of baptism happens in every believer’s life to corporately display what has happened internally in the heart
You were washed
We have a filth problem
1 Corinthians 6:9-10- Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
He washes His people clean
1 Peter 3:21- Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Baptism reflects the cleansing work of Christ on our behalf
1 Cothinaians 6:11- And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Baptism symbolizes the cleansing work of Christ in the believer’s life
You were baptized with Him in a death like His
The saints have died with Christ
Romans 6:1-6- Bible
Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Baptism symbolizes this death that we have died in Christ
You will be raised with Him in a resurrection like His
We also are raised with Him
Romans 6:7-11- Bible
Colossians 2:12-13- having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
This is also a reflection of what we have seen so pervasively in John
We have been taken from death to life
This is the Spirit’s work in our lives and this is depicted in baptism
This is one of the reasons that we believe in believers’ baptism by submersion
Baptism symbolizes this resurrection that we will have in Christ
The edification of the church
There are a few things about believers that we see in the New Testament that we often pass over these days
A believer who isn’t committed to a local church is an oxymoron in the NT
A believer who is unbaptized is nonexistent in the NT
A believer who doesn’t desire to edify the church is unfaithful according to the NT
1 Corinthians 12:13- For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Hold baptism in high esteem
Remember what it is that baptism symbolizes today
My prayer is that as we do, He will strengthen us through
I pray that this will happen ever this morning
Encourage one another in the grace of our Savior
Pray for these brothers and sisters specifically
Encourage them weekly
Serve them joyfully
Love them whole-heartedly
Welcome
Baptism intro
Announcements
Baptism
Lexi
Jayce
Bailey
Ben
Offering
middle song
Scripture
Pastoral prayer
Sermon
Presentation of bibles and cirtificates
Closing song
Manuscript
Have you every asked why we do baptism in our church? Now, I know that there are a number of things that we could consider in that question. For example, we could look at the “why do we do it this way” question and talk about why we do trine immersion baptism rather than single immersion baptism, or about why we practice believers’ baptism rather than infant baptism. But this simply isn’t the angle that I want to take as we answer this “why” question. So then, why do we do baptism in our church? Or to ask it a different way, why does baptism matter so much to Jesus? Maybe you are thinking right now “well, I really didn’t realize that it did”. What I want to do with the remainder of our time is show that it does matter to Jesus and then consider 4 reasons.
1.
If you will look with me again to Matthew 28, I think that we will see something striking. Remember, 2 times in the Gospels and 1 time in Acts this charge is recorded as some of the very last words that Jesus spoke before His ascension. This means that they must be very important and that is why Matthew 28:18-20 is referred to as the Great Commission. It is the commission that Jesus gives to His Church through the Disciples just as He ascends into heaven. So what does He says? He says 1)Go into all the world, 2) make disciples, 3) baptize them, 4) and teach them. Mark packages it a little bit differently in Mark 16:15-16: “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Do you see the 4 basic pieces here again? So why is this command to baptize included in the final command of Jesus? It clearly is because it is important. So, why it is so important to Jesus that people be baptized? The reason is NOT because it has any saving benefit at all. If baptism adds or contributes anything to salvation then the grace is nullified and the gospel is undermined. This was one of the reasons that the Protestant Reformation happened over 500 years ago. Rather, the reason that Jesus cares so much that baptism is done is that it is the outward public expression of what has happened spiritually in the sinner’s life. It is a symbol that is a picture of the gospel. Jesus’ design is for the gospel to be preached, sinners be saved, and that the church is grown by this means. Baptism is a link in the middle of that work of grace. Church growth is primarily a spiritual work, not merely a numerical work. Therefore, it really matters that the outward expression of baptism happens in every believer’s life to corporately display what has happened internally in the heart. Now, let’s consider 3 dimensions of this gospel picture.
2.
You were washed. Simple enough right? But what exactly does it mean that we were washed? We have a filth problem that is seen in numerous passages throught the New Testament such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul also shows in Romans that this problem isn’t only the problem of a few extra-bad sinners, but is the reality of everyone’s life. But God, in His grace, steps in, and, by faith, the sinner is now cleansed of all of this filth and sin. He washes His people clean by the blood of Christ. 1 Peter 3:21 says “ Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. So, does the physical act of baptism save? No. Paul is talking about the reality behind the physical act of baptism- the spiritual washing of sinners clean through faith alone. 1 Cothinaians 6:11 goes on to say: And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. There it is. Baptism symbolizes the cleansing work of Christ in the believer’s life as they believe in Him. So, when we baptize, it is firstly because the believer has been washed clean from sin.
3.
The second brushstroke of baptism’s picture is that you were baptized with Him in a death like His. The saints have died with Christ, and so have all who sit here believing this morning. Look with me to Romans 6:1-6: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self[a] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Paul says almost the same thing in Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Have you considered this deeply? You are not the same as you used to be. You cannot be the same as you used to be. Why? Because the old you was nailed to a cross with Christ. This is, of course, a spiritual death, and this spiritual death must happen in order for the next thing to happen. Baptism symbolizes this death that the believer has died with Christ.
4.
Thirdly, you will be raised with Him in a resurrection like His. Not only have believers died with Christ, but we also are raised with Him. Romans 6:7-11 continues on to say: “For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. So, not only must all of you believers here this morning consider yourselves dead to sin, but also alive to God. Colossians 2:12-13 is also helpful for sinning this picture: “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses”. This is also a reflection of what we have seen so pervasively in John. We have been taken from death to life. This is the Spirit’s work in our lives and it is depicted in baptism. This is one of the reasons that we believe in believers’ baptism by submersion. He does not merely wash us, He doesn’t even just wash us and put our old sinful self to death. He washes us, our old self is crucified and buried with Christ, and He raises us to new life. This happens in part in this life but will happen fully in heaven. Baptism symbolizes this resurrection that we do have and will have in Christ forever.
5.
Finally, baptism’s picture has a profound effect on the church. It is used by God for the edification of the church. There are a few things about believers that we see in the New Testament that we often pass over. 1) A believer who isn’t committed to a local church is an oxymoron in the New Testament. Such a person is unthinkable in the New Testament. In Paul’s mind, being cut off from the local church is the same as being handed over the Satan. 2) A believer who is unbaptized is nonexistent in the New Testament. To be a believer is the Early Church was to be a baptized believer. This is never presented as a nice option for Christians that they can take or leave. 3) A believer who doesn’t desire to edify the church is unfaithful according to the New Testament. As Paul is unfolding God’s design for life in the Church and exercising spiritual gifts, he says in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” The New Testament holds baptism in high esteem. Therefore, we must hold baptism in high esteem, and encourage one another in the grace of our Savior. Pray for these brothers and sisters specifically. Encourage them weekly. Serve them joyfully. Love them wholeheartedly.