Baptism: Made Free

Psalm 68:17-18 (Opening) 17  The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary. 18  You ascended on high, leading a host of captives in your train and receiving gifts among men, even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there. Introduction It looks like fall is starting. Nights are getting chilly. We’re getting more days that aren’t hot. Leaves are changing colors already. I like this time of year. I like when the leaves change colors. It makes everything even more beautiful because it’s so colorful. The different shades of red, yellow, and orange, make the landscape a multicolored canvas. I don’t like what happens next all that much, having to take care of the leaves after they fall off the trees. That is backbreaking work that I’d rather not do. A lot of times I end up putting it off just long enough for the snow to fall on the leaves, and then I don’t worry about them anymore. Probably not the best solution. They’re still there, they’re just hidden. But seasons change. Leaves change colors and then fall off. The snow comes and covers the leaves. The snow eventually melts and then the grass starts growing again. And then it gets hot again. Like I said seasons change. But, God never changes. God is always the same and has always been the same. He is our rock. He is not moved and doesn’t change. It’s hard to imagine something that doesn’t change. As a kid I didn’t think my home town would change, and in some ways it hasn’t, but in many ways, it has. In the grand scheme of things, everything changes. Everything, that is, except for God. Even from the Old Testament to the New Testament, God didn’t change. He’s still the same, and He still expects our obedient faith, just like He expected from Abraham, from Saul, from David, from all the heroes of faith the writer of Hebrews wrote about. The Focus I want to spend some time today looking at a portion of Scripture that Paul wrote to the congregation in Colossae. Paul’s letter to Colossae is interesting not only because of what he writes to them, but because of who they were. To Paul, these people were strangers. He had heard about them, and had trained Epaphras, who we can imply was one of the first evangelists there in Colossae. Epaphras and Onesimus spent time with Paul while he was in prison. Tychicus and Onesimus carried the letter from Paul to the congregation in Colossae, on their way to Philemon, who was Onesimus the slave’s owner. But that’s a different letter. Paul wrote to Colossae because he had heard something was wrong there. There were people teaching false doctrine to the congregation there and were confusing old and new Christians. Paul wanted to clear up the confusion and make sure they were on solid footing. You can’t build a strong house on a bad foundation and expect it to last. Paul’s letter, and his hope for visiting them, was to shore up their foundation so they could continue to grow and become a stronger family for Christ. Paul explains his rationale for his letter, and for his concern about them. Colossians 2:8-10 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. Philosophy and empty deceit from human tradition was a big part of the problem that Paul was trying to fix. People had come in to Colossae and started teaching a different gospel than Epaphras had taught them at the beginning. Scholars disagree about what the false teaching was, and really, that’s not important. The problem was that there was a false teaching, and it was spreading through the congregation there, and probably at the congregation in Laodicea, because Paul specifically wrote that he wanted the letter to be read there as well. Paul warned them to avoid any teaching that was not according to Christ. That’s important. It’s easy to get confused when someone teaches something that’s “almost right”, or something that “sounds right”. Just because it sounds right, doesn’t mean it is right. Sometimes, if you’re not, pardon the expression, well versed in the Scriptures, someone can be teaching something that sounds great, but is so far from the truth that it will lead you away from Christ, instead of toward Him. It wasn’t just Colossae and Laodicea that Paul was worried about. He wrote to Timothy, another of his evangelists that he sent out, and warned him about it, too. This is how he closed his first letter to Timothy. 1 Timothy 6:20-21 20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you. Paul warns Timothy to keep focused on the truth he was taught, and not the “irreverent babble and contradictions” that others were teaching. They must have seemed like they were useful, that they were good teachings, if they could confuse and persuade Timothy, Paul’s child in the faith. Just like with the Colossians, Paul was concerned that Timothy would be pulled away from his faith in Christ and put his faith in something else. Paul’s letter to Ephesus was probably written about the same time as the letter to Colossae, and they are sometimes referred to as “sister epistles” because of the similarity between them. Paul knew the congregation in Ephesus. He had been there, teaching, for several years. They knew Paul, and he knew them and their history. He knew where they had been spiritually, and how far they had come from where they were. Ephesians 5:6-10 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Paul tells the Ephesians to walk as children of light, and he tells the Colossians they are filled, or completed, in Christ. But someone is trying to mislead them into some kind of false doctrine. Back in Colossians, Paul continues by explaining that the fullness of deity dwells in Christ. That makes me think that part of the false doctrine was that something needed to be added either to Jesus or to the gospel in general for the purpose of salvation. The writer of Hebrews spends a lot of time explaining that Jesus is better than anything and everything else that people were worshiping or believing at the time; and by extension, now. If the fullness of deity dwells in Christ, that means that all the power of God belongs to Jesus as well. Some translations word it a little differently by saying the fullness of the Godhead. Basically, Paul is saying that everything that makes God who He is also makes Jesus who He is. They are the same, but distinctly different. But Jesus, the Messiah, is not just a man raised from the dead, but is God in every way. Nothing needs to be added to Him to make Him perfect, and nothing needs to be added to what He did to cause salvation for anyone. John worded it like this: John 1:14 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word, Logos, that very thing that makes God who He is; His existence and essence; His God-ness is in Christ. What else is needed? Nothing else is needed. Paul’s point was the false doctrine was superfluous. Christ alone is enough, nothing else is needed. Joined with Christ Not only is nothing else needed, but anything else added would put you at risk of falling away or being “swerved from the faith” as Paul wrote to Timothy. To make sure the Colossians understand what he’s saying, and also to probably apply some of the terminology being used by those who were teaching the false doctrine, Paul continues, but explaining something of what the Colossians and all Christians had done in their conversion experience. Paul just explained they were filled or completed in Christ, who was Himself completely God. Colossians 2:11-12 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 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. One of the false doctrines that Paul confronted most was that of the Judaizers. Their basic argument was something like “Jesus was a Jew, the Messiah of the Jews, so to follow Him, you need to first be a Jew.” For men, that meant circumcision. Many of Paul’s letters argue the point that men do not need to be a Jew or to follow the Law of Moses in order to be a follower of Christ. Here, Paul is extending his argument, I believe. I his other letters, which were all written to Christians in different congregations around the known world, Paul would remind his readers of when and how they were immersed into Christ. Here, Paul compares that act with the requirement under the Law of Moses for a man to become a Jew. But Paul takes the physical act of baptism, being immersed in water to wash away sins, and ties a spiritual act in with it. He calls it a spiritual circumcision, one done without hands, and done by Christ Himself. Even when Paul wrote to the congregations in Rome, he made the point that circumcision wasn’t the end all and be all of being a Jew. Romans 2:28-29 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Paul make the point that the Law of Moses isn’t what makes you a follower of God, whether you’re a Jew or a Christian. What makes you a follower of God is a matter of the heart, through the Spirit. Paul points out to the Romans and to the Galatians that Abraham had faith in God, and followed God’s will, before the covenant of circumcision was established. Just like baptism, circumcision didn’t do anything to ensure that you would remain faithful to God. Baptized believers can walk away from their faith in Christ. Most of the Old Testament histories are about Jews who walked away from their faith in God; they worshiped idols instead. Circumcision, being included among the faithful Jews who worshiped Yahweh, was only an outward sign. The true change had to be within. God spoke to the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah 4:4 4  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.” Their hearts weren’t right with God. They were Jews outwardly, but not in their hearts. They were doing evil things in the eyes of God. They were worshiping idols and ignoring His laws. In Paul’s view, the Judaizers were doing the same thing that God warned the Israelites about through Jeremiah. Their hearts weren’t right, and they were dragging other people with them in their sins. Those evil thoughts, the sins they were living in, and the hardness of their hearts, is what Paul was concerned about in Ephesus, too. Ephesians 4:20-24 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Putting off the old self through being immersed for the remission of your sins is the circumcision made without hands. It’s Christ, removing the sins and the Holy Spirit quenching the sinful nature that was in you. In Romans 6, Paul writes about how our immersion is into Christ’s death, and that our old self has been crucified with Him, so we are no longer enslaved to sin. Here in both Ephesians and Colossians, Paul is using the same terminology to explain our change of heart through our repentance, immersion into Christ, and our receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Debt Free But Paul’s not done there. He continues to explain to the congregation in Colossae, about that circumcision made without hands, that change of heart that went along with their immersion into Christ. That miraculous change that happened, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, so we can actually love other people the way we should, and grow to be more Christlike in our lives. Colossians 2:13-15 13 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, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Here, Paul is tying our coming up out of the water with our being born again into Christ. Because of our sins we were dead. Maybe not literally, but in the eternal view of things we didn’t stand a chance. But after we’re immersed into Christ, we’re made alive with Him. We are united with Him in His death and raised with Him to new life. Life we didn’t have before, because we were waiting to receive our wages from our sin: death. “Wait a second. You’re saying that I can’t be saved without being immersed?” Yes. That’s what I’m saying. I’m saying it because that’s what Paul is saying. In fact, Paul says it, Peter says it, and Jesus says it too. “But I thought we were saved by grace?” Yes, we are. Let’s look at what Paul wrote to the congregation in Ephesus about it. Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. There it is – by grace you have been saved. Saved by grace because we’ve done nothing to deserve the reprieve we get. Nothing but having faith in Jesus and His ability to cancel our debt of sin. He cancels that debt and nails it to the cross. But how does that happen? Because we die with Him. We die to our sins by being buried in water, just like He was buried in the ground, and then raised again, just like He was raised again on the third day. If we don’t die to our sins by dying with Him, then how can our sins be nailed to the cross? How can we put off our old self? How can Christ remove the sinful flesh and make us clean? It’s all tied together. Faith in Jesus is demonstrated by being immersed into His death and raised to walk in a new life, born again in Him. God is gracious to remove our sins; He draws a line through the debt we owe and zeros out the ledger. He takes the bill and stamps a big “PAID” on it, because Jesus paid it, not because of anything we did or could do. Isaiah 43:25 25  “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. That’s the promise. That’s what God said through Isaiah. And He does that when we believe in Christ and His sacrifice, that His sacrifice is enough to cover our sins. Obedient faith causes us to die with Him and be raised with Him. That’s what Paul is writing about here in Colossians. Christ is enough. We don’t need and can’t do anything to help the process. We just need to obey. But Paul also points out who he believes is truly responsible for the misinformation, who is causing the false doctrine to be taught. Several places in his letters, Paul refers to them as “Powers and Authorities”. Those powers and authorities are Satan’s evil minions, who are still trying to thwart God’s plan. Satan’s been at it since the beginning. When Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent, God cursed all three of them, but He cursed the serpent first. He warned him, in the curse, what would happen to him. Genesis 3:15 15  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Most scholars agree this is the first Messianic prophecy, the first reference to Jesus and His disarming of the rulers and authorities, specifically that He conquered death and the grave. The end of the story has been written since the beginning. Conclusion God didn’t change, and He didn’t change His plan. He knew what needed to be done to resolve the sin problem that Satan started in the Garden of Eden. We all were infected with the disease of sin, and the only way we can be saved from it is by realizing that we are sinful. Once we realize it, we need to decide that we want to be on God’s side. That means turning away from our sinful life. That’s called repenting. If we’re willing to repent and believe that Jesus’ death was a sacrifice for our sins, and we believe that He is the Son of God, and the He rose again on the third day, then we can demonstrate our faith in Him by being immersed into His death and being raised out of the water as a new person, born again into Him. But it doesn’t end there. We need to learn to obey Him in everything, and to grow to be more like Him. We do that by continuing to study and learn from His word. Are you on that path? If you have any questions about it, or want to do something about where you are on that path, let’s talk. Romans 5:6-8 (Closing) 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.