What the Bible affirms about. . .Baptism

Introduction Things just work out beautifully, even when they are not exactly planned. I began this series of sermons without regard to holidays or special days, and I don’t think I could have planned a better subject for Mother’s Day than baptism. What Christian mother does not want to see her family saved? All Christian mothers want to see their children baptized. Another thought I had is that today we can bring together the two points that Jesus brings together when He teaches Nicodemus about the new birth. He told Nicodemus in John 3:5, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” In the very next verse the Lord says, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Mothers introduces us to our physical life and (through the Holy Spirit according to the accomplishments of Christ) God gives us a new spiritual life.

            --“That which is born of the flesh is flesh” – Physical life by our Mothers (childbirth)

            --“that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” – Spiritual life by the Holy Spirit (baptism)

Every First-Century Believer was Baptized

Let me begin by making a few concise statements of what the Bible affirms concerning baptism:

1. The word baptism is a transliteration of a Greek word that literally means immersion

2. Every believer in the first century was baptized, and those who weren’t were commanded to

3. *The Bible affirms that baptism is our only guarantee of salvation

            Will someone be saved that was not baptized? I don’t know . . . Probably . . .

The Bible affirms in the book of Acts that there were some people who received the Holy Spirit that had not been baptized, but we must admit that they were/are the exception, not the rule. Let me explain why I teach that baptism is our only guarantee (and of course I am assuming that the baptized individuals that we are talking about are true believers who have repented of their sins and confessed Christ as Lord and Savior).

Eph 1:13-14 states what as the guarantee of our inheritance? The gift of the Holy Spirit

When does the Bible teach that you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? Baptism Acts 2:38

 

Romans 6:1-4

In Rom 5:20 we can see that the Law was given that sin may be known. And it has been proven by the Apostle and by our experience that humanity is made up of sinners. Sin has abounded to the present time. But the New Testament teaches that grace has met every sin. Not only does grace reverse sin, but it does much more. The question now becomes, should we continue in sin that grace may abound? The answer is non-negotiable and firm – Certainly not!

The main point of chapter six and the chief concern for the Christian is that we are dead to sin. Why does the Apostle want to use the language of death on this point? First, it creates an immediate tie with the death of Christ. Second, it marks a decisive and final break in one’s state of being. Christians have a decisive break with sin. We are not only spared from the penalty due to sin, but we are no longer controlled by the power of sin.

The main question today is, when can we say that we died to sin? The Apostle says in baptism.

As sin has the power to control us, so does the death of Christ. His atoning work has the power to save us from the wrath of God.

Something Special

When I was baptized, and I can probably safely assume that when you were baptized, we didn’t know exactly everything that was taking place. We had a good idea of what God was doing, but as we have grown in Christ we have a better idea today. There are many that claim that baptism is nothing more than an act of obedience. I beg to differ! Something special happens at the time of baptism. The New Testament affirms the continual practice of baptism and it describes the significance of it. The great Reformer, Martin Luther, said, One is baptized so that he “may receive in the water the promised salvation” (Cottrell). God meets us in the water to do a mighty work in our souls. Baptism is neither a work on our part nor on the part of the minister, but it is a work of God Almighty.

Conclusion

You may be surprised to find out that, “. . . the entire Christian world for the first 1,500 years of its history was in agreement: water baptism is the God-appointed time when he first gives saving grace to sinners” (Cottrell). The common view of baptism today began around A.D. 1523. What is it that we usually hear from denominations on the subject? Something to the effect of, baptism is an outward sign of an inward work. Most denominations today claim that baptism is not necessary for any part of salvation. The only importance that it has is its representation.

Yet, we want to teach and practice everything the Bible teaches about baptism. We are not interested in making it more important than Scripture does, but we are not going to “water it down” either (excuse the pun). Therefore, baptism is not simply for church membership, or obedience, or to illustrate new birth (it does all those things), but it is primarily to unite us with Christ Himself. Baptism is the extraordinary moment when we break with sin and become united with Christ as His Spirit comes to dwell within!

As you stand in the waters of baptism with a repentant heart- you die with Christ; as you are immersed in the watery grace of baptism- you are buried with Him; and as you come out of the water- you are raised to a new life in the likeness of His resurrection. If you believe, but have never been baptized, then let’s do it today. Give your self to Christ and receive life.

What the Bible affirms about. . .The Holy Spirit

Throughout the centuries, Christians have struggled to articulate the doctrine of the Trinity. In the first sermon of our new series we discussed what the Bible affirms about God. We said then that the Bible reveals God in three distinct personalities, yet they inseparably are one. The Bible never uses the term, but Christians for centuries have called that doctrine the “Trinity.” In the third sermon concerning Christ we said that Jesus Christ is divine, and we looked at several verses from the New Testament that call Him both Lord and God. This morning, I must say the same thing concerning the Holy Spirit. He is divine. Maybe we need a little better understanding of the Trinity although we may not have a complete understanding. If we could completely understand the complexities of God, I seriously doubt that He would be God. Augustine of Hippo, a Christian theologian from the 4^th century said something to the effect of if you can get your mind around it, it cannot be God (McGrath, 244). Thus, we must acknowledge that we are finite and God is infinite; all we have to work with are words which are seriously limited. I would like to give you a few analogies that have been used by Christians to understand God a little better. These are simply analogies and are imperfect, but maybe you can choose one of them and it can help you.

1. Patrick, the evangelist to Ireland (St. Patty’s Day), is said to have used the shamrock to illustrate the Trinity. The clover is a single leaf with three elements.

Gregory of Nyssa, a theologian during the 4^th century, used several analogies:

2. A fount and a stream of water flow from one another, and they both have the same substance, water. Different aspects of the water may be distinguished, but they cannot be separated. We may distinguish the three persons of God, but not separate His unity.

3. There are many links in a chain, and to be connected to one is to be connected to them all. For example, if someone encounters the Holy Spirit, they have also encountered the Father and the Son.

4. When we see a rainbow, we can distinguish different colors, yet there is only one beam of light. God’s glory shines in the persons of Father, Son, Spirit, but they blend seamlessly into one another. (These are taken from McGrath, 252-253).

The Holy Spirit is divine. The Holy Spirit has been involved in the world from the beginning of history. The Scripture says in Genesis that the Spirit hovered over the waters at creation. The Old Testament shows that the Holy Spirit moved the prophets to proclaim and write the word of God. He also came upon the first kings of Israel to anoint them for a great responsibility. He has always been involved in the world, and He has continued His work today. This morning we will find out what the Bible affirms about the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our current world.

We should differentiate between the Spirit’s two ministries. He works in both the unbelieving world and the lives of Christians. We can talk about His ministry of conviction on the one hand and His ministry of regeneration and sanctification on the other. We can also talk about the gifts that He bestows to individual believers to benefit the church as a whole. To conclude today’s sermon we will attempt to answer how we can know that the Spirit of God is in us.

We must acknowledge that the Spirit is divine. He was involved in creation and He saves us.

Ministry of Conviction (John 16:8-11)

The Spirit will specifically convict the world of three things: sin, righteousness, and judgment. The word “world” must not mean “all people on earth” as it sometimes does because of the context. Jesus has already determined the meaning of “world” in the discourse when He contrasted the world with the disciples. The “world” must be unbelievers who by nature hate the Christ and His people. Thus, the Spirit’s ministry of conviction is spoken of here as being carried out in the world of unbelievers. People must be convicted of their sin of unbelief in order to repent and come to faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit seeks to do just that.

Regeneration and Sanctification

Not only does the Spirit convict us of our sin, but He is the One that brings the initial cleansing and renewal in the repentant person (John 3:5-6). He welcomes us into the kingdom of God. One must be born again to enter the kingdom, born from above by the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, I see no better time for a repentant person to be born again by water and the Spirit than in baptism. When someone repents, believes, and is baptized, God the Spirit meets them there at the water. The Holy Spirit starts a new work in the person. There He makes us new creatures, the old has gone the new has come.

The Holy Spirit is also the One who continues to sanctify us (Romans 8:13-14). The Spirit wills and works in us to bring our sin to its end. He wants to put sin to death in our lives. If we continue to follow the flesh (that is, the sinful nature), then we will die; but if we follow the Spirit’s lead, we will slowly-but-surely be changed and we will live. This is called transformation or sanctification. What is the verse that we all know about transformation? The Apostle says to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. It is the Spirit who does this according to the accomplishments of Christ in the atonement and in accord with the Word.

Spiritual Gifts

Let us first notice from (1 Corinthians 12:11) that it is the Spirit who gives to each Christian a gift for the uplifting of the church. Next, we can look at a few examples of the gifts that the Spirit gives to us (Romans 12:5-8). Therefore, we may summarize a few things about gifts of the Spirit:

1. Gifts are not for private use, but for the body

2. We do not all have the same gifts

3. Gifts are to be used in a biblically ordered manner

4. Gifts are a godly responsibility

How can I know the Spirit is in me?

The Holy Spirit is very busy in the lives of Christians today. He convicted us of our sin, He welcomed us into the kingdom of God, He is putting to death the deeds of our flesh, and He is gifting each of us so that we may build up the church. There is no question that we need Him to minister in each of us. False teachers claim all sorts of wild things for the Holy Spirit which the Bible does not affirm. The Spirit never acts to either glorify Himself or us. He lives to continually bring glory to Christ. He wants to make Christ look great. Some have falsely insisted that He will cause all Christians to speak in a heavenly tongue. They claim that a person is not a true believer if they have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit, apart from immersion, and if they have not spoken in tongues. The Bible never declares that the gift of tongues is something given to all believers. It is never considered a sign or seal of salvation.

There are many Scriptures that force us to question whether the Spirit of God is dwelling in us (Romans 8:9). Why is it important for us to ask ourselves this question? (Ephesians 1:13-14) tells us that the Holy Spirit is our seal of promise, and He is the guarantee of our inheritance. In contrast to the claims of false teachers and in light of what the Bible affirms, I will propose three ways that you can know that the Holy Spirit is in you:

            1. Baptism (Acts 2:38)

            2. The fruit of love (Galatians 5:22)

            3. His Spirit tells your spirit (Romans 8:16)

What the Bible affirms about. . .Christ

Introduction

We have now established that the Bibles we hold in our hands are the Word of God in written form. We have an accurate account of God’s mighty acts in history, and we have all the truth we need for faith and life on the pages of holy Scripture. The Bible is divided into two major sections: the Old and New Testaments. The First Testament was leading us to Christ, our Savior and Lord, the Second looks back and explains the person and work of Christ. We can learn magnificent things from both, but our main concern is in the New Testament. It tells us most clearly about Jesus Christ. It has been said that the biblical teaching concerning Christ can be summarized in this statement, “Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man in one person, and will be so forever” (Grudem, 529). This morning we will discuss the person and accomplishments of Jesus Christ in chronological order beginning with His preexistence and deity, then His incarnation, next the substitutionary atonement that He made for humanity, and finally we will discuss His exalted state.

The Preexistence and Deity of Christ

In John’s Revelation he heard, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” The New Testament affirms again and again that Jesus, who is divine, has always been. Jesus existed before the world was created. Actually, the New Testament affirms that God, through Christ, created the world and all things. A great passage to look to about Christ’s preexistence is (John 1:1-4). The Apostle John begins his Gospel account with some of the deepest parts of theology. Christ is called the Word, and He was in the beginning.

The fact of Christ’s preexistence and His creative work leads us to a closely related point. Jesus is God. He is divine. John says, “The Word was God.” He also affirms that, “In Him was life.” Throughout the Bible, especially the New Testament, there are Scriptures that explicitly state that Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God, is in fact fully divine. We have seen in John one that Christ is called God; Thomas declared of Christ in John 20:28, “My Lord and my God;” in Romans 9:5 the Apostle Paul calls Christ “the eternally blessed God;” the Apostle calls Christ “our great God and Savior” in Titus 2:13; in his second epistle 1:1 the Apostle Peter calls Christ “our God and Savior.” There is an overwhelming amount of explicit evidence affirming that Jesus Christ is God.

The Incarnation

The greatest miracle in all of history is that God put on flesh and blood and moved in among us. On this subject, we must first start with the miraculous virginal conception (Luke 1:35). That miracle demonstrates that salvation is of the Lord, and God fulfilled the promise He made in Genesis that it would be the woman’s seed that crushed the head of the serpent. One of the premier Scriptures in all of the New Testament on the incarnation of Christ is (Philippians 2:5-8). The other verse that we all know is found in (John 1:14) which says, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. . . .” The Bible is clear that Jesus had: a human body, a human mind, and human emotions. The Bible also affirms that Jesus Christ was fully God and fully human at the same time. A classic statement on the incarnation that I think summarizes the biblical very well says, “Remaining what He was, He became what He was not.”

He Became Sin for Us

In His humanity, the God-Man was sinless. This is the one distinction that must be upheld of Christ from the rest of humanity. Yes, He fully immersed Himself into humanity; He was fully human like you and me, yet without sin. Christ asked the Jews who opposed Him if any of them could convict Him of sin, and they had no answer to respond with. Christ Himself said that He was the light of the world. He said, “I, I AM, (as opposed to all else) the light of the world.” What was it that Pilate declared concerning the Lord? He said, “I find no crime in Him.” Only God could pay for the sins of the world, only a sinless sacrifice would do. Christ was both.

If you want to know the Gospel in one verse, you need to memorize (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is a verse that you can memorize, and have a good grasp of, to use when telling others the good news of Christ. Christ was made sin for us. Do you know how profound that is? This doctrine of the atonement has been called “penal substitution” because Christ bore our penalty as our substitute. This is the message that the Apostle Paul deemed offensive, and it is the message that many have stumbled on when considering the faith. This is Christian doctrine at its core. Salvation is by grace through faith, meaning, we cannot save ourselves. We need someone, something outside of us to save us. We cannot earn it. We cannot attain it. We do not deserve it, but it is given to us freely if we simply trust in Christ.

His Exalted State and Heavenly Work

Well, Christ’s life and work do not end with the incarnation and substitutionary atonement. He is the One who was and is and is to come. He has been raised from the dead, and has ascended to an even greater place in glory. How can we affirm that He has gone to an even greater height? Because He can be seen now as our only hope for salvation, eternal life, and complete joy. Let us go back to (Philippians 2:9-11) to read about His exaltation.

One amazing note from the New Testament is that not only has Christ been exalted, but He is still at work (Hebrews 7:25). By His sacrifice, Christ continues to plead for grace on our behalf.

Conclusion

“The New Testament, in hundreds of explicit verses that call Jesus ‘God’ and ‘Lord’ . . . affirms again and again the full, absolute deity of Jesus Christ” (Grudem, 552). The greatest miracle in all of history is that our God put on flesh and blood to become a man. He humbled Himself in order to completely associate Himself with you and me. He lived a sinless life; the sinless God-Man bore our penalty in our place. This was and is the plan of God. There is no other way. And Christ has been raised from the dead to never die again. He has been exalted far above the heavens. There is no greater name than the name of Jesus and it is not the letters of the name, but what that name represents- His person and accomplishments. He is both Savior and Lord. We know that He will return one day when the Father sees fit to judge the living and the dead. We will talk about that in a future sermon.

There was a time when God overlooked the sins of men and women, He knew that Christ was to be sent to make atonement, but now he calls all people everywhere to repent. I appeal to you today to count the cost of following Christ. You must forsake this world and yourself to turn to Him, but you will be given eternal life and joy forevermore. The Bible affirms that today is the day of salvation. Stop waiting to commit to Him. Call on Him while He is near.

There are two things that we need to dispose of in American Christianity:
1) Lukewark Commitment
2) Inarticulacy of Our Beliefs