CITSOS Baptism Part 2 - 9/1/2024 - English

This morning, we will be continuing our series churches in the shape of scripture and looking at this concept of salvation and shape of the New Testament. We send in the last few weeks that we have a few series goals. First, we want to convince ourselves that certain beliefs and practices of this congregation or biblically informed convictions, which should be preserved and defended. There's some things that we should be committed to and to equip ourselves with the knowledge to persuasively explain those beliefs and practices to others. If I were to summarize that I would say, we need to increase our commitment, to some of the principles, which shape the way in, which we live out our faith, we need to increase our competence for why we believe those things and intern hopefully increase our confidence in relating them to other people. Was the book written a few years ago, by a woman named Carmen Renee Berry the unauthorised guide to choosing a church to the therapist and a bestselling author author. And she's been on several popular television programs and one of the churches that she biography was Churches of Christ. This is what she had to say about Churches of Christ. They have no Central headquarters. There's no overriding organizational structure at all.

I respect the way they've translated their beliefs into action. They believe the original church was organized around local congregations, other groups, agree with this idea but go right ahead and organize denominations. Anyway, Churches of Christ are more consistent, and living out their beliefs, in my opinion than any other in this regard.

Would you listed the official websites of the 35 denominations in church groups, your profile. Only one had this entry no website when we have a website and the church is down the road, have a website and the churches in Kentucky and Tennessee at websites, but there's no one overarching website for Churches of Christ in town, in spite of no formal organization Churches of Christ have done things like this are ecologist some of, you know, or have attended some of these, I'm sure. Baby Savage, homes for abandoned children. And if it's a bust homes for the elderly elderly and she said not bad for a group that can't be caught up on the phone. And the thing that makes us most different is that we embrace the principle of restoration, restoration to the way, in which Jesus set up his church. Through the Apostle, the began on the day of Pentecost, this principle of restoration is not trying to restore us to Something in 1950s Southern America. What we're trying to restore is not something back to 1800. Colonized, America back to right after the Middle Ages or the Protestant Reformation. We're not trying to restore back to something. That's a Creed at a council. In the fourth century were trying to restore the church to the one. Holy church that Christ died for And we said last week that every single person and every single Church in every single place has the same responsibility to attempt this restoration mission. I thought often there's going to be something that my daughter thinks I'm pretty backwards about. I'm sure none of your kids have ever said anything to you. About how it mommy. How did you believe that? How could you possibly believe this? Every generation has it and every generation is going to continue to have it because they're going to be things. But haven't been restored. And our goal in this series is to give us all some principles by which our church can be shaped that are timeless. They go back to the very beginning to be true, 200 years from now and 2000 years from now. If Christ has not returned, and if we really dive in the things that make us different than other Church groups, we hopefully will find the pattern in the first century that we are to be restored to Last week we said is baptism really necessary for salvation and we have firmed soundly. Yes. Yes it is. And I said that there's this concept of a conscientious response to available light. That means that in view of the clear teachings of scripture on this subject, we must say that only those who have consciously received immersion is a saving work. Of God can be confident of their present. Status is Christians and his members of the body of Christ.

If you have not received the immersion in the waters of baptism, for the Forgiveness of your sins, If you have not done it so that God can perform his saving work on you in that time and place. I can't be confident in your present status and neither should you We should be concerned together about your present status of Salvation before the god of the universe. We also said with regard to the Future in the final judgment, we can expect God to judge all persons will receive baptism and properly in the same way. He will judge everyone else and everything else named Lee in accordance with their conscientious response to available. Why what that means is that God is God and he gets to be gone and I don't get to be God and you don't get to be God going around and telling every single person on this Earth that they're condemning going to hell. That's not what this is about. And that God being just if he should choose on the day of judgement to save someone who wasn't baptized the exact same way. You were baptized, are you really going to stand before the god of the universe to say? You can't do that. I don't think so.

It. So in view of the clear teaching a scripture, we are going to a firm that is baptism necessary for salvation if you want to be safe and sound in the arms of God today. Absolutely.

And we affirm the couple of principles last week, we looked at Joshua chapter 6 and if you remember the story of when the Israelites and circle the city of Jericho, I asked the question. If they would have walked around on the 7th Day six times and they hadn't made that last trip around, they were close enough with the walls of Jericho falling down. If they had blown, I don't know what other kind of horn, could you blow? I don't know if they're supposed to blow a Ram's Horn. Right. At the priest said, I don't like the Rams when I like the sound of something else. Better, do you think it's by God's command to use a Ram's Horn to blow down if the people hadn't shouted? What if they was saying, What if they would have just sang, their favorite song, do you really think that the walls of Jericho would have fallen down? And then you can ride or tells us that by faith the walls of Jericho fell down? So was it been doing what God commanded or was it? God bringing the walls of Jericho down. It was both. Right? We confirm this principle than it is a time and a place where God's plan. And his purpose for his people have to intersect with their obedience to his plan. If they want to experience is promise. There's another Old Testament example. In second Kings chapter 5, you may remember the story itself, the Syrian General named Damon and his second Kings chapter 5. We're told that namon who was this, conquering Force coming into Israel, leading his men from Syria in the battle. God was giving him victories. And one of the servant little girls that was taken captive and made his wife, servant, told him, pay naming. You got this bad skin disease, you're a powerful guy, but you're sick. Why don't you go to God's Prophet, Elijah? It's a thing to do anything for you. This one, a man came with his horses and his chance and he stood at the doorway of the House of Elijah. Elijah. Send a messenger to him saying, go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you, and you'll be clean. They went down and dip himself. 7 times in the Jordan according to the word of the man of God in his flesh was restored. Like the Flesh of a little child and he was clean.

you notice that according to the word of the man of God, And his flesh was restored. Let me ask you this question. You think Neiman would have been healed. He stopped after the six dip in the Jordan. Your name and was hesitant to go. Get in the Jordan at all. He was like, I'm from Syria. We got better Rivers there. Cleaner the better water. Why do I need to go in this dirty money? Jordan River. it's because the man of God told it to and he told him to go and dip seven times. So what would have happened if you'd only done 6 or 5 or 4 or even just once? God bless you to go dip in the Jordan 7 times. Would you stop at 6? Would you take a chance that your disease wouldn't be cured?

I think the very clear Prince was that we have to trust and Obey God's plan if we want to experience a promise, You can choose to follow his plan, you can choose to be faithful. And in the Bible biblical faith is faith, that trust. And obeys. It's an important lesson that we all have to learn that it's critical to meet every condition God attaches to a promise. And we said last week also that insisting. All of God's conditions are met is not a sign of legalism, but a sign of faith and trust, Telling someone hate know. You must be baptized. It's not a check in the box thing for us. We don't think we're getting anything out of it because we're doing such a good job. We are begging God to Performance saving work in the way. He said he will. I'll put it this way. He begins chapter 1 of Romans and he finishes chapter 16 in the exact, same way. He says concerning his son Jesus Christ Our Lord. He was a descendant of David according The Flash and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God. According to the spirit of Holiness, by the resurrection of the Dead through him, we have received Grace and apostleship to bring about The Obedience of faith. The Obedience which comes from faith. That means you have to do something in order to be obedient. You can't just say, okay, I believe I trust. Jesus has shown us. God has shown his ways to show that faith and I trust, you must be obedient to them out of an obedience, which comes from faith. And if you don't think it's important to call. Look at how he finishes in verse 26, according the command of the Eternal God to advance The Obedience of Faith among all the Gentiles, If I put this firmly in your mind, this principle that we have to trust and Obey God's plan if we want to experience as promised. It's been connected ever since the beginning of time if you want to experience God's promises if you want to relish them. If you want to live in them if you want to experience and enjoy them you must trust and Obey a my God promised to give it the Israelites victory at Jericho and its promise to heal name and of leprosy its promise to save us from our sins than Jesus. Blood comes with some conditions attached. And if you made baptism one of those conditions, no one has the authority to dismiss it for any reason. Because what happens is we saw and Luke chapter 7, there were a group of people that said, you know what, I'm going to acknowledge God's plan. I'm going to acknowledge God's way of righteousness because they had been baptized with John's baptism. But since the Pharisees and experts in the law and not been baptized by him, they rejected the plan of God for themselves.

What plan are you a part of the plan of restoration? With a plan that rejects the plan of God.

Because the heart of restoration will trust and obey. Well, heart of rejection wants nothing to do with anything. Got sus. I'll do it my way. And it's been that way since the garden.

So why is it that we are so different and that we affirm baptism is necessary for salvation. Why do we connect those two things? I'm going to try and go through about a 10-minute history lesson with you, because I think it's important that we understand that for the majority of the first fifteen hundred years since Jesus, Baptism in Salvation were connected. And it was connected with salvation from sin and death. Justin Martyr very close to the beginning of the second century said new Converse or brought by us where there is water in a regenerated. For they didn't receive the washing with water in order that we may obtain in the water. The remission of sins sounds like a pretty good summary of baptism. Tertullian said happy is our sacrament of water. In that by washing Away The Sins of our early blindness. We are set free and admitted into eternal life, sounds like baptism and salvation are still connected. Augustine in the fourth Century without baptism. It is impossible for any of man to attain to Salvation and everlasting life You'll get the Nicene Creed in 8325. Says, we believe in one God, the father of the Almighty maker of heaven and Earth, and all that is seen and unseen. Amen. Pretty straightforward. We believe in one Lord. Jesus Christ. The only son of God eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, life from like true. God from true God, begotten, not made of one being with the father. Threw him, all things were made for us. And for our Salvation, he came down from heaven, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary. It was made, man, for our sake, he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried on the third day. He rose again in accordance with the scriptures, he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, The Giver of Life. We proceed from the father and the son with the father and the son he is worshipping glorified. He has spoken through the prophets, we believe in one Holy Catholic and that we're just at the time that Universal and Apostolic church. We acknowledge One baptism for the Forgiveness of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the Dead in the life of the world to come. Amen. Pretty clear. Up through the beginning and end of the 4th Century people. Had this very intense connection between baptism, salvation of goodness of sense.

Fast forward a little bit. And this is Martin Luther and Martin Luther the guy that nail the 95 Theses on the door of the Catholic church. And he wrote several books. One of which was his small catechism meant for fathers to encourage and instruct their children on matters of scripture, it was sort of a call-and-response thing. They're still some of them today. But there's some really fascinating points that he makes about baptism what did Martin Luther. Whose name is on many churches. In this town, have to say about baptism, sit at the head of the family, should teach it in a simple way to his household first. What is baptism, answer baptism, is not simple water only but is the water comprehended and God's command connected with God's word, which is that word of God answer Christ. Our Lord says, in the last chapter of Matthew, go into all the world, teach All Nations. Baptizing them in the name of the father, and the son and of the Holy Ghost. Secondly, what does baptism give her profit answer? It works forgiveness of sins delivers from death and the devil and gives Eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and Promises of God. What's your thoughts words? And Promises of God answer Christ. Our Lord doesn't last chapter of Mark he that believeth and is baptized shall be safe. Either believeth not shall be damned.

Thirdly, how can water do such great things answer? It's not the water indeed that does nothing. But the word of God which is in and with the water and Faith, which trusted word of God in the water for without the word of God. The water is simple water and not and no baptism, but with the word of God it is a baptism that is a gracious, Water of Life in a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost is impulses Titus Chapter 3 by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, Our Savior and being justified by his grace we should be made errors according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying

Fourthly, what is such bad ties in with water. Signify answer. It signifies that the old Adam and I should buy daily Contrition and repentance, be drowned and died with all sins and evil us. And again a new man. Daily come forth and arise who shall live before God and righteousness and Purity forever. Where is this written? Saint Paul says, in Romans 6, we are buried with Christ by baptism into death. That like as he was raised up from the dead about the glory of the father even. So we should also walk in newness of life. That sure. Sounds an awful lot, like everything I've ever been taught about baptism into Christ.

He said to be baptized in, God's name is to be baptized not by men but by God himself, otherwise performed by man's hand. It is. Never the last truly God's Own act, less you see plainly that baptism is not a work which we do, what is a treasure which God gives us in faith grass, and it is large, got his own, he said to put it more, simply the power effect benefit fruit and purpose of baptism is to say

So Derek, why in the world did F1 connect baptism in Salvation for the first fifteen hundred years of Christianity?

And why do so many today? Disconnect baptism from salvation. Bring a question, right? Nothing that any of these people in history have said, is authoritative the way that scripture is. But Martin Luther basically just gave you a commentary on the scriptures of baptism in the New Testament. So why did everyone connect baptism in Salvation for fifteen hundred years? And there's a very simple answer because the plane is simplest and most straightforward. Meaning of so many new testament, passages connect baptism, salvation,

If you look through history, the consensus view on the meaning of baptism rain for about 1500 years. And it was challenged and changed by one, man, he was a contemporary of Lutheran. A guy named huldrych zwingli. Winglee was a Swiss guy in these statues are still I believe in Zurich.

Is there a cure to go see the statue of Holdrege willingly for some reason, go for it? We wrote this and I'm thankful he wrote this because I want you to read this statement with me and I want you to think through the attitude one has to have in order to say this. He said in this matter of baptism, I can only conclude that all the doctors, all the theologians, all the, the learning people. I've been in error from the time of the Apostles. For all the doctors to prescribe to the water a power which it does not have. And the Holy Apostles did not teach fathers were in there because they thought that the water itself effects cleansing. And salvation.

What kind of attitude does it take? to say that the fifteen hundred years of people who are sincerely committed, their lives to the Jesus of Nazareth who died for their sins, who taught that baptism is the time and place the guy performs his saving work on a center How do you sit there and say they were all wrong? I figured it out.

The question, right? The same thing that, you know, older folks tend to look at younger folks and say, all the things that are. They look at this arrogance, they think they've got it all figured out, right? That's exactly what he was doing.

They thought they had it figured out, they didn't understand. They thought there was something magical about the water, then you just get a little wet. And somebody that says it's in the name of Jesus, then then you're you're cured. No, no, no. Martin Luther his contemporaries said there's nothing. Magical about the water. If the time in the place where Heaven and Earth are overlapping that God is performing the saving work and putting you into his son.

New England rejected this fifteen hundred years of teaching and was based around this concept of covenant theology. That there has been a one Covenant all through time. It was an old Covenant in the New Covenant and since there was a sign of Covenant in the Old Testament called circumcision will now it's baptism and now it's baptism. And circumcision. Wasn't for salvation for baptism for salvation. That's the full of logic. It. Disconnected Grace. And baptism. He said announcer person's intentions to join others in their service to Jesus. It was a sign assemble. The one that one belongs to God's New Covenant, Community. And unfortunately, this non solvation view is now held by most Protestants, but it's actually the new view. See that the newer more recent view is the baptism in Salvation or not connected. The older view is that they are. Really died soon after publishing this belief and another contemporary John Calvin adopted it and it became part of reformed theology. And it paved the way for things like infant baptism because it disconnected Grace and baptism and you can serve God and size a baby, you can baptize a baby. Those two things were never synonymous in the New Testament. until we have to ask ourselves, why must we connect baptism in Salvation as was the consensus for the first fifteen hundred years, the church existed, Well. What were Jesus final words? Many of the young man that were baptized, when I was studying with them in the first place. I would take them as I would say. Okay, we talked about Jesus, we know who Jesus is, we agreed that he sent us and he's the son of God, right? What did he say as his last words before leaving this Earth? He said it was Apostles, go therefore and Make Disciples of all Nations. Doing what? Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And I've yet to sit down with someone, do you have to talk to someone where we can cool read this passage?

And I asked him. Do you think that we should be Disciples of Jesus? Yeah. What did Disciples of Jesus do?

Baptized. The simplest plainest of straightforward reading of the text.

He says and teach them all deserve all that. I commanded you. What it is, take teach him to observe that size and then the father Son and the Holy Spirit,

And then you go through acts and this isn't the only example but in Acts chapter 22, Paul is were counting his story of conversion. It says, now why do you delay get up and be baptized? And wash away your sins calling on his name.

How do you disconnect salvation from sin and death and baptism? The clear pattern, all through the book of Acts as the churches getting started is that? They are intricately connected. Be baptized wash away your sins. He doesn't say get up and say a prayer. Or confess belief or say that you trust him. And wash away your sins after he doesn't say that your sins were washed away when Jesus met you on the road. He doesn't say your sins will be washed away after you're baptized. She says, get up and be baptized and wash away your Calling on his name. Why? Because it does Paul have the physical power to wash away his own sins. Or does he have to meet God in the water and gone perform? This saving work on him. He's going to have to pray for that, isn't he? You can have to call on his name and beg him to do that. Doesn't that sound like faith and trust? Any port wine. Romans chapter 6. Do you say then are we to continue in sin? So that Grace may increase, may it never be. How shall we who died too soon? Still live in it.

Or do you not know that all of us have been baptized into Christ? Jesus have been baptized into his death. I mentioned last week, we just missed Romans 6 through 8 when we talk about the salvation of God and his plan. So many churches, just completely, ignore that Paul and Romans, chapter 6 is just assuming that everyone he was riding too. Has been baptized into the death of Christ.

Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that is Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the father. So we to my walk in newness of life and people will say, well during baptism is just a symbol as a symbol of the Resurrection. Know, this says that this is your access to the resurrection. He says that just as Christ was raised from the dead, for the glory of the father. We too. May walk in New Life.

Doesn't mean that baptism. Just have symbolism. It's not just a

That doesn't do it for your paperwork to chapter 34. You are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus, your son's, your daughters are his chosen, his adopted children. for all of you who were baptized into Christ, Clothe yourselves with Christ. What does it mean to be baptized into Christ? Will look it up if you agree, dictionaries. And Greek Lexicon is, the original root verb of Baptist. So is that it means completely overwhelmed. Completely covered. Completely shielded. Completely protected.

that's what you wearing now, you wear the total clothing and protection and overwhelming sense of presence of Jesus that he is your shield and Defender

for all of you who were baptized It doesn't get any clearer or planer, or more straightforward. Colossians chapter 2. In him, you were also circumcised is the surgical procedure of cutting off a Flash. And he says that it's a circumcision made without hands in the removal of the body of The Flash by the circumcision of Christ. And this is where some of that stuff by Holdrege Wingo gets a little confused. But what this is saying is having been buried with him in baptism God is come down and met you and performed his spiritual surgery to get rid of the sin that has been plaguing you. Since you've known what it was.

In which you were also raised up with him through faith. In the working of God. do you say b a Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Put on an Obedience of that face. You're baptized, so she can be brought up and raised with him. And it's by God's work. Not yours. people get on me, they get on people from Churches of Christ all the time and I say you shouldn't get baptized

by faith. Not scripture seats, right? Who says you are saved by faith. Through Grace, not of works, right? Whose work is baptism.

Not mine, it's not yours. You're putting your faith and trust and when you get in that water, you're coming out. Something totally new.

and in the passage of a bread for this morning, corresponding to that,

Flood. The ark, you know, the story of Noah, that 8 people got on a big boat. And God delivered on through the flood. Corresponding to that baptism. Now saves you. There's a flood. You're going to be buried in it. And you've got an orc. That Ork is that God meet you in the water and he raises you up a new creature. Baptism, is your Arc? It saves you. It's the plan and purpose for God, so that you can experience his promise.

And it's not the removal of dirt. Flash. Not a holy bath. But an appeal to God, for a good conscience.

Clean. Don't let me keep making mistakes. I've been making Don't let me trip and fall over the same stupid sin that keep the thing in falling over and has been for years.

Comes. Because Jesus. It's through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So why must we keep baptism in Salvation connected? because the plainest simplest most straightforward, meaning of so many new testament, passages connect baptism, salvation, Not corresponding to this baptism. Now, saves you.

It's not your work. It's saving you Scots It's you appealing to God for a clean conscience and a new life in a life, Everlasting eternal. if you rise up out of the water to walk in, Have to trust and Obey God's plan if we want to experience it promise. this morning, if you have not been baptized We will fill up the water in the baptistry, and we will do that today. There's no reason to have the concern. If you believe that Jesus Christ is the word of the world, and you are willing to make him, Lord of your life, you will defer to him. You will submit to him and you will let him rain and be king. And if you have decided, I need a clean conscience. I can't keep making the same stupid decisions and I want to turn to him and let him help me make better decisions live with fewer regrets. Because I'm walking in his way. It is taught. Today is its time. It's the occasion. The God wants to meet you in the water. Performance saving work to forgive, you of your sins and give you the gift of the Holy Spirit. You can do that today. You do it any day. Until it's too late. You have been baptized and you are turning back and walking back and going back to the way they used to be. Christ died. So that you can still send. The Christ died. So that sin May abound that because of his grace that you can live, however, you want to live and just ask for, forgiveness in the future, is that what you were baptized into?

Ask for forgiveness today, renew your commitment and faith and trust in Jesus. If you have any of these needs,