MARK 1:2 It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"— 3"a voice of one calling in the desert, ’Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’ " 4And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." 12At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
If we are going to talk about baptism this morning, I thought it best to look to our example.....Christ. Why in the world would Christ need to be baptised? He was the only perfect being to walk this earth....literally "God on earth". So why was it necessary for Him? And why is it given as an ordinance for us today? Why should we be baptized with water after we have accepted Christ into our lives? A couple of things I would like to point out to you about Jesus’s baptism.
1. John the Baptist was baptizing in the river Jordan. He was NOT sprinkling anybody or simply speaking a few words over them. He was immersing them into the river. I won’t say anything bad about the way other denominations baptize, but here at LWF we take the Bible as Gods infallible Word, and take it literally as well. If it was good enough for Christ (our example) to be submersed, then it’s good enough for me! By the way, the Greek word for baptize (baptizo) means to fully immerse something in a fluid.
2. This is the very FIRST thing that Christ did before beginning His ministry. He was about to set out on three very volatile years of ministry, which would cultimate in His death upon the cross. The first step in Christianity is repentance....Christ knew no sin, but even He recognized the need for His water baptism...the symbolism of "washing away" our "old man" and coming up with the "new life" in Christ.
3. After His baptism, what happened? Vs 10 tells us that heaven was "torn open and the Spirit descended upon Him". WOW! I believe with all my heart that when we baptize tonight, heaven will be split open and God, Christ , and all of His creatures will be watching in sheer joy! Praise God! These are some of the moments that Pastors live for! John said that he (John) baptized with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." Folks, we can’t make this journey, this new life without the power of the Holy Spirit. I can’t emphasize that enough. Jesus had to have water baptism AND the Holy Spirit to begin His journey, and we do too! Just as Jesus was suddenly whisked away to the wilderness as soon as He was baptized and received the Holy Spirit, we must ALL realize that on this earth, we Christians are in the "wilderness" and need the power of the living God to keep us going.
Here are some other things we need to know about water baptism. Some baptize only in the name of Jesus. ACTS 2:38Peter replied, "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. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." I want you to notice that Peter INCLUDES the act of baptism for the forgiveness of your sins! But he also only uses the name of Jesus.
We have to understand this..... Jesus, God and the Holy Ghost are ONE! So whenever we talk about Jesus we are also including the complete Trinity...God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. But let’s look closer and see how Jesus intended for us to do it. MAT 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." We can CLEARLY see the name we are to baptize under....the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And, of course, being Bible believing literalists, that is how we baptize here at LWF.
A couple of other things you should know about water baptism. COL 2:9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, (there’s the confirmation of what I showed you earlier)10and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Whenever you go down into that water, you need to understand that you are symbolizing the "death" of your old sinful nature just as Christ died on that cross. You are buried with Him....but here’s the great news....you are also "raised" with Him! The power of His Resurrection lives inside you now....and that is true power! That is power to overcome the death that sin has sentenced us to...ROM 3:23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ROM 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That is the free gift of God. Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t always get what we deserve? I knew a guy that told me about a job offer he had gotten. He told me they offered to pay him what he was worth; he told me that he couldn’t afford to work that cheap! We all deserve death because of sin...but we receive eternal life as a gift!
Now I want to address the issue of re-baptism. I was baptized at an early age, as I am sure some of you were. After a while, I disregarded God and turned my back on Him. Some of you may remember the first year I came here, I was re-baptized. Again, I want to look to the Bible for our answers...ACTS 19:1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." 3So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John’s baptism," they replied. 4Paul said, "John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7There were about twelve men in all.
Certainly, John the Baptist water baptism was good, so why the re-baptism of these folks? When I was baptized and left God, when I finally came crawling back to Him, I had to repent. When you get re-baptized, you are reaffirming your commitment to Christ. You are saying, "hey, I may have made some mistakes, but let’s start with a clean slate" Isn’t it great that God gives us "do-overs" in this life? Also, notice that after these men were re-baptized, just like with Jesus the Holy Spirit came upon them! WHEW!
One last thing I want to share. Whenever Nanci and I got married, I committed my life to her, I said publicly that I would be hers as long as I lived, that I would love and honour her for the rest of my life. Now, as a sign and a symbol of that commitment, we gave each other rings. This ring symbolized to me and to others that I am committed to Nanci in love and in marriage. It is for the whole world to see!
Baptism is like this ring – It’s the outward sign and symbol of a life committed to following Jesus Christ. Further to this, one more step, baptism is also a sacrament---sacrament is a means of grace an instrument through which the Holy Spirit can act (and flow) into our lives. Baptism is more that just an outward sign of our faith (and more than a symbol), it is also a Holy moment – where God’s presence meets us as we follow His direction and will in our lives.
Baptism is a declaration done publicly within the community, yes but it’s also done before God (and God takes part in it). And in these moments of baptism – God meets with each person in a very special and unique way to convince them of their new life in Christ and to give them confidence of His place and presence in their lives. These are precious moments to God and to His people.
My love and devotion to Nanci is very much prized, and we both have to work at...(probably her more than me!) and you will need to work on your relationship with Christ. After you are baptized, nothing will change unless you allow it. The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and will only come where He is welcomed!
The people that are being baptized tonight have made significant steps and have chosen to take those steps among us – we are family with these people. They belong to us and we belong to them. So encourage them! Together God is building something great and powerful and amazing among us that will change all our lives...as well as this city.
