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Baptism is, if not THE most, ONE OF the most controversial topics within Christianity...
It seems that virtually every aspect of baptism is HIGHLY debated...
Who should be baptized, infants or converts?
How should baptism be done, sprinkling, pouring, or immersion?
What does baptism mean?
Is it symbolically identifying yourself with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?
Or, is it when the Holy Spirit is received?
Or, is it the initial act of obedience, after faith, that God requires?
Should baptism be done in Jesus' name or in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
Each of these questions, ACTIVE QUESTIONS that have made their way into the Christian arena...
BUT WHY?
WHY ALL the confusion?
WELL - there’s confusion in this matter - BECAUSE - there are verses in Scripture which SEEMINGLY teach that water baptism is necessary for Salvation...
WHILE AT THE SAME TIME - there are other verses which clearly TEACH that SALVATION comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone...
Let’s look at a quick example...
SLIDE: Pic 1 - Acts 16:31 - Mark 16:16
So on the surface we see this, and we say - OK, so which is it?
Is it NECESSARY for salvation (Mark 16:16)....or is it NOT necessary for salvation (Acts 16:31)??
WELL - thankfully, we have 31,100 other verses in the Bible to help us with this...
And it’s very clear in fact…which is a good thing!
Today we’re going to see what Water Baptism is…and what it is not...
And so let’s get started...
Today we’re going to focus in on the story of the Eunuch, found in Acts 8...
Let’s look at the entire passage...
There are quite a few verses here, but what we see is it all starts this way...
So - we see the LORD here guiding Philip by telling him where to go...
God had a plan - so let’s see what it was...
NOW - these verses here are going to CATAPULT us to another part of Scripture...
This Ethiopian was a Eunuch...
What does that mean?
A Eunuch was a MALE servant or supervisory official in the court of a ruler...
And he was often one who had been - Castrated
SO - another point to catch here is that he had gone to Jerusalem to - WORSHIP...
This points to him having been a proselyte...
What’s a Proselyte…?
A Proselyte is a RELIGOUS CONVERT… especially TO Judaism...
So this term (proselyte) was the primary term used to describe a gentile who had converted to Judaism...
So this Ethiopian Eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship...
OK - so why does this guy being a Proselyte (one converted to Judaism) important to this idea of WATER BAPTISM...
Let’s jump to Matthew to see:
So, if you remember, John the Baptist came with a purpose...
He came - to prepare the way for Jesus...
And he came - with a call for - REPENTANCE
And with this call - came a call to be WATER BAPTIZED...
Now, this call by John the Baptist - went out to - Israel…to the JEW
We know this based on Scripture...
So think about it - WHY would God usher water baptism to the 1st century Jews, and with it, CALL FOR REPENTANCE…?
Why did God set it up this way??
Think about Jewish Culture…Jewish Traditions…about Judaism...
Within Judaism - you had:
Circumcision - Physical circumcision
Dietary Laws - rules
Water Ritual Cleansings - Physical cleansings
Proselyte Water Baptism - Water Ritual of passage
So let’s just LOOK at those...
The Jews, at this time…they RELIED upon...
They FOUND SECURITY in their LINEAGE!
Meaning - they were Jewish (ethnically), and thought that BECAUSE they were Jewish, they were RIGHT with God - BASED on that!
Not only that, but they felt secure in their:
Adherence to these Physical Regulations
Circumcision: check
Dietary Laws: check
Water Ritual Cleansings: check
They felt like their ASSURANCE before God was GROUNDED in their adherence to these things...
So think that thru!
They felt like THEIR ASSURANCE was GROUNDED in the SIGN of circumcision!
They felt that if they were physically circumcised, then that meant they were RIGHT with God.
SO GOD - sends John the Baptist - to the JEWS - to tell them that THEIR ASSURANCE…(circumcision) - DIDN’T EARN them a place with God...
To tell them that they needed to REPENT of their SINS
And that there was a NEW SIGN on the scene - a sign that called for REPENTANCE of SINS
And so - IN A REAL SENSE - Water Baptism BEGAN - as a way to ELEVATE where REAL ASSURANCE rests - and that’s in FAITH and REPENTANCE...
See - initially, water baptism came to the JEW to TEAR DOWN all the Self-Righteousness of men…and in it’s place, put faith and repentance.
SLIDE:
Water baptism came to the Jew, in order to tear down all the self-righteousness of men, and in its place, put faith and repentance.
And so they would have done well to understand the following truths about water baptism...
FIRST up....
So i think a good way to figure out what something IS...is to first understand what it's NOT...
So what I'd like to do is - In understanding what water baptism is NOT - i want to have in view what it is.
SLIDE: Water Baptism: Not A Goal But A Response
Water Baptism
*Anyone in here have a Bucket List?
some typical bucket list items might be:
skydive
eat seafood
swim with a dolphin
run a marathon...
But what came to your mind when I said "Bucket List"?
Whenever I hear that phrase...my mind always pictures:
A List (with checkboxes on the left)
And WHAT DO YOU DO when you accomplish an item on a bucket list...?
You check off an item - right?
It's like having a list of goals right?
And when you accomplish a goal - you mark it off!
Think about the Bucket List - You don’t pursue those things IN RESPONSE to anything..
You just want to be able to say - I ACCOMPLISHED THAT!
That’s a GOAL!
Water Baptism should NOT be - your goal...
It's NOT a Goal! - - Here's why...
When we make something a GOAL...What we're doing is - we're ELEVATING the ACT itself......to a degree that our satisfaction becomes ROOTED in the very ACT itself.
That's dangerous...
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