Baptism 2.0

Acts  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  35:53
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The Test - License Plate Recognition for CPH

Have you ever completely and totally failed a test that could shape the rest of your life?
In the beginning of the 21st century I was working on a super cool, brand new technology. License plate recognition - cameras that could read the license plates of cars. Now it’s everywhere, then it was brand new in the US.
California Highway Patrol reached out to our company, they wanted this on top of their patrol vehicles, cameras mounted to the signal bar.
Massive multi-million dollar contract that could put our small start-up in the big leagues.
They wanted this system to be able to read license plates going the other direction on the freeway. Relative 120 mph.
So I had already worked on the tech for a year, we were using it in parking lots and gated communities, we ramped it up to be faster, better, more accurate, aimed at winning this contract.
And I remember the day we drove up to their training facility in Sacramento, CA. A closed track on their campus. In order to test whether we could read license plates going the other way at 60 miles an hour, we would drive past a bunch of parked cars at 120 mph and they’d measure our accuracy. I think we had to be 95% accurate across multiple passes or something.
Total failure. The wind at 120 mph pushed the cameras back and the camera view didn’t even see the cars.
Total failure. We went home in shame. Nothing I had done had even mattered because the engineering on our brackets was wrong.
They allowed us to come back. They allowed us to retest. We passed with flying colors. Then they gave the contract to the person they had promised the contract to all along, the Lietenant’s son in law… who was subsequently fired and investigated for fraud. They wanted us to compete for the contract so they didn’t have to do the paperwork and investigation for sole-source contracting.
Another one of those “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” kinds of things.

Have you passed the test?

Are there things like that in our Christian walk?
Are there things I am missing in the “Christian experience” because I haven’t done the right ritual, or prayed the right words, or went to the right spiritual leader, or the right seminar or retreat?
Paul left Ephesus.
Acts 18:22 ESV
When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.
This is the end of the second missionary journey.
Then the very next sentence starts the third.
Acts 18:23 ESV
After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Between just those two verses, that was the end of the “second missionary journey” and the beginning of the “third.”
Paul revisits the churches he’d planted in the Galatia and Phrygia regions.
Apollos came to Ephesus and taught. “Accurately” about Jesus… but not about some other things. In particular, Luke calls out that he only knew the baptism of John the Baptist, the baptism of repentance.
So Apollos goes off to Corinth and Paul comes to town.

12 Disciples

Acts 19:1–7 ESV
And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.
Kind of a crazy story! 12 men get rebaptized… and this time they get the Holy Spirit. Whole churches, whole denominations have been founded based largely on this example.
Let’s take a closer look.
Acts 19:1 ESV
And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
Recall, Paul had been to Ephesus before for a short time before and promised he would return.
A bit about Ephesus.
Huge temple to Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens. Goddess of the hunt… and the wilderness… of “chastity and childbirth” (figure that out!)
The ruins are now a huge tourist attraction in modern day Turkey.
“There he found some disciples”.
What is meant by disciples. My immediate reading is that these are Christians… because that has been the primary use of the word “disciples” so far throughout both Luke and Acts.
And this is a somewhat common reading. In fact, as we will see, whole churches or denominations are founded on that reading.
Who are these guys disciples of?
Acts 19:2 ESV
And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Something they said or did had to have led to that question. That’s just not the first question you tend to ask someone.
What led Paul to ask this question? He expresses doubt about their spiritual condition. And that doubt is justified. They hadn’t even heard about the Holy Spirit!!! How is that possible? Even John the baptist knew about the Spirit of God and prophesied that Jesus would baptize with the Spirit and fire.
You don’t even know about the Holy Spirit? And so Paul is going to press deeper in. What do you know about? How did this get started?
Acts 19:3 ESV
And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Here, the connection to Apollos who was just there is clear. They only knew the baptism of John, Apollos only knew the baptism of John. Now we get a sense of how partial Apollos’ understanding was. If they don’t know who the Spirit is...
So we return to this all important question: whose disciples are these men?
Are they disciples of Jesus? Are these “Christians”. Paul is obviously concerned and has pressed in to ask about their spiritual state, what do you know, who do you know, how did you get started?
And the way you answer this question has major ramifications. This is where some churches or denominations get the idea of a “second baptism of the Spirit.”
In classic Pentecostalism, this is expected as normative, normal, sometime after salvation, after regeneration, then the Holy Spirit can come upon you in a second baptism by fire and that will be accompanied by speaking in tongues and prophesy. And if you haven’t had that experience, you are missing out.
Are these Christians who were missing out on the “best part” on the Holy Spirit? Because if they were Christians and they just needed to be baptized the right way, prayed for the right way, laid hands on the right way...
Then is it possible that some of us, that you and I, are actually not filled with the Holy Spirit? That because we did the ritual wrong, we are left empty and bereft of spiritual fire, spiritual gifts, spiritual fruit?
Can a Christian not have the Holy Spirit?
I have an answer for you. No.
Nope! The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gift, a helper sent by Jesus to his disciples, a sign and a seal upon the believer, the sign and seal of salvation.
Paul says it this way to the Romans:
Romans 8:9 ESV
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
This is what brought Paul such concern. Wait… you don’t know the Spirit of God? Let’s back up for a minute. In what sense are you disciples? Or rather: whose disciples are you? Luke also uses the term “disciples” to describe disciples of John the Baptist. Here these appear to be disciples first of John the baptist, who knew some things and didn’t get others… and then Apollos, who we just learned knew some things accurately and totally missed other important things.
Things like baptism. And the Holy Spirit. And a whole lot about salvation apparently. But God has already moved all the peoples in order to make up for Apollos’ ignorance on fire.
So Paul starts over. We get Luke’s summary, I think Paul probably explained a lot more than what we read here. Paul preaches the gospel:
Acts 19:4–5 ESV
And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
I think this is their first salvation experience.
Acts 19:6–7 ESV
And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all.
Does every one who receives the Holy Spirit begin speaking in tongues and prophesying immediately? Nope. They did. Speaking in tongues in the book of Acts refers to supernaturally speaking foreign languages.

Baptism

What does this say about baptism?
So… are there two baptisms and you are missing out on the best part? No!
What does Paul write to the Ephesians? In the great unity passage, he writes:
Ephesians 4:4–6 ESV
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
How many baptisms? Just the one. So what does this mean about baptism, how does it work, how do we make sure we do it right so that we get the whole Spirit experience?
How do we past the test, check the boxes?
The chronological relation of the Spirit to baptism is not important.
Let’s take a quick review of what we’ve seen in Acts:
Sometimes the Spirit comes before baptism (10:47)
Acts 10:47 ESV
“Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
Sometimes it is at baptism (2:38, 8:38)
Acts 2:38 ESV
And Peter said to them, “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.
And sometimes after baptism...
Acts 8:14–15 ESV
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
As if the Holy Spirit is a person capable of free response according to His Will instead of an act or ritual to be performed or summoned, a lever to be pulled.
This is why, as Baptists, we say that baptism is a powerful symbol… but a symbol reflecting an inward reality. We aren’t summoning the Holy Spirit.
Baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace.
An external expression of an inward reality. An internal decision. An internal faith.
Baptism declares outwardly an inward reality, that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit kindles within us, sometimes in dramatic fire, tongues and prophesy. Sometimes quietly, in growing intimacy and trust. Always, always, always… faithfully within the disciple of Jesus Christ.
The order of operations is unimportant. The sure certainty is that the Holy Spirit is ever faithful to take up residence within the Christian.
Are there things I am missing out on in the “Christian experience”? Yes! Because another way to say that is “do I still have more to learn, deeper to go in relationship with God, does He still have surprises in store for me? Are there still mysteries to explore?” Yes, a thousand times yes!
But am I missing out because I got the ritual wrong, or the words wrong, or pulled the wrong lever? Never!
It is a relationship with God as He is, personal, and our every personal relationship is an imperfect reflection of that.
Karen and I celebrated our one year anniversary this week. Over the course of this year I got a thousand things wrong. Maybe better to say, over the course of this week I got a thousand things wrong. The math checks out.
If this was a “marriage summoning ritual” or a “excellent husband test”… I failed it. I flunked it. I’m fired.
But this is love. This is covenant. This is relationship.
It’s all about who you know.
… and who knows you
If I forgot my ring, that’s an outward sign. If I messed up the flowers, or the card, or the gift, or the words… that might make it harder to like me… but it doesn’t change the deepest truth.
She loves me. Pray for her. I love her. Hallelujah.
It is who I am committed to who she is. Who she is, committed to who I am. It is relational. Personal. Intimate.
That is how our relationship with God is. Father. Son. and Holy Spirit. So you don’t have to fear that you got it wrong and the Holy Spirit is waiting in the wings waiting to be appropriately summoned.
It’s like this: Invitation to Salvation
Do you believe? Do you know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Let’s start there. Jesus the Son of God, God incarnate as a man, lived a sinless life, was executed for my sins and yours, but was raised to life and to glory by God. If you will believe and follow Him as your Savior and Lord of your life… you are saved!
Prayer to experience the Holy Spirit.
And if you belong to Jesus, he sends, is now sending, has now sent his Spirit, the Spirit of God, to live in you. God Himself connected to you, empowering you, changing you, growing and reshaping and remaking you. I pray that you experience that, that you feel the leading of the Holy Spirit more and more, that you experience the power of the Spirit working through you, that you prophesy, or speak in tongues, or witness, or teach, or do whatever spiritual gifts He gives you as He empowers you!
Invitation to baptism, August 1st.
And if you have had that internal decision, experienced that internal grace… you can declare that publicly to your friends and family, as Jesus and all of his disciples have done, through the powerful symbol of baptism. We are doing that August 1st (Lord willing and the creek/Covid don’t rise).
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