Complete Obedience.
Acts 2:38ff
They asked "What must we do to be saved? Peter replied Repent and be Baptized for the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Complete obedience, do everything we are required to do in order to receive the prize.
In the Great commission we are told first to
Go Make Disciples:
What is it to make a disciple?
1. When Jesus made disciples he first
a. Called
b. Taught
We do the same when we invite people to services, Bible Study, or any other church function.
The Woman at the Well John 4:29
1. She had a one on one encounter with Jesus
2. She went and told others where He was
3. Come and see for yourself
John the Baptist
1. There goes the Lamb of God
2. He must increase I must decrease
Andrew and Philip
1. Met with Jesus then went and got Peter and Nathaniel.
2. They were always introducing people to Jesus.
We invite then we baptize
1. When someone is convinced and they want to be a part we baptize
2. In the Early Church it was done immediate and it was without question
3. Total obedience to the Word of God.
The issue is not baptism, or believism, or any of the other issues that cloud the salvation story. The issue is simply complete obedience. When we go to the doctors office and the doctor gives a prescription and tells us to abstain from certain activity or to do something we usually do it without question. When teachers tell us we must do a certain amount of work to pass the class, we usually do it without question. When our employer tells us what we must do to stay in that employ and get paid, we usually do it without question. Why is then when God tells us what we must to do to be saved, we question?
Namaan was a commander in the Syrian army. He was a man in good standing. Yet he contracted leprosy. He wanted to be healed when his wife’s mistress told about a Prophet Elisha in Israel. Namaan went to see him. Elisha did not come out to meet him, he sent his servant instead. Namaan was upset at that. It would be like going to the doctor’s office and as you check in the receptionist says "Here is your prescription and the doctors orders, just follow them." We would be a bit taken back by that.
Elisha’s prescription is to dip in the Jordan seven times. Seven times is implied because when Namaan finally obeys, that is what he did. Dip in the Jordan??? There are cleaner rivers in Syria, why not dip there? Again going back to that doctor’s visit, you look at the prescription and it says take aspirin 3 times a day. Aspirin you say? Why not Tylenol or Advil? Your doctor insists, take aspirin.
When I was in the Navy I sailed to Cuba. I saw the beautiful waters of the Caribbean; I sailed through the Bermuda Triangle twice and saw the beautiful white sandy beaches. Then a few weeks later we were in NY and the East River, yuck. Namaan would be comparing the Jordan and the rivers in Syria much like we would the East River and the Caribbean. Yet Namaan, at the behest of his servant, goes to the Jordan and dips seven times. It is at this complete obedience that Namaan is cured.
So it is with us. When we completely obey God’s way, when we do everything God has said to do in order to be saved, then we can have that Spiritual healing from sickness of sin and be saved.
Does Jesus ever say we must be Baptized?
1. Mark 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
2. Matt 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Does the Bible tell us elsewhere we must be baptized in order to be saved?
1. Acts 2:38
2. Romans 6:3-4 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
3. Gal 3:27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
4. Col 3:12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
5. 1 Peter 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Why then are churches taking baptism out of the salvation equation. Baptism is one part; we are not saved just because we have been baptized. As we see in Romans we are raised to live a new life. We have this new life to do the things He told us to do.
Matt 28:19-20 tells us to Make Disciples, Baptize them, and then teach them to obey everything.
We cannot teach if we do not know, we cannot teach if they are unwilling to learn.
Many Great societies started in bondage, just like each and every one of us. We were in bondage of sin. From bondage there was freedom, just like us, in Christ we have been set free. This freedom leads to abundance, look at most Societies freedom led to great Abundance. Israel, Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Great Britain, and even here in the USA, freedom brought about a great abundance, each of these Nations we wealthy nations, superpowers of their day.
That freedom led to complacency. This smugness leads us to apathy we become comfortable and maybe worse yet tolerant. Not that tolerance is a bad thing, but we become tolerant to anything. Israel became tolerant to the idol-worshippers within their borders, before you know Israel is a nation of idol-worshippers.
In the Christian life, we become tolerant to other behaviors. We start to join in, we start to become complacent. Too many things get in the way of our walk with God, suddenly we do not have the time to read, pray, worship, or learn.
Complacency leads to apathy, indifference, lack of interest, laziness, even boredom. Apathy will lead back to bondage.
Paul asked the Churches in Galatia, who cut in on you? GAL 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?
What stops us from total obedience? Who cut in on us? If this is us, there is hope. Two pieces of advice come to us in scripture.
HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
We can throw off these things that hinder our walk with God.
And then: Rev 2:5 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.
Get back to where we were when our walk with God was tight.
Complete obedience, nothing less.
Then we can say Thank God I am Free at last.
