Identification Through Baptism

Identification Through Baptism

Various Scriptures

Good morning,

Today is a unique day for us. The normal schedule of things is intentionally different because we are going to celebrate several baptisms this morning and the scriptures will be on the screen.

Because we are taking an entire Sunday for baptisms, it is probably a good idea to describe a Believer’s, Water Baptism.

Since the beginning of the creation of man in Genesis, the Lord has called His chosen people to be separate from the rest of the world and to be identified with Him.

This happened in different ways, but by the time Abraham showed up, the Lord asked Abraham and his descendants to perform a specific identifying marker, circumcision.

Genesis 17:9 And God said to Abraham: "As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.

Genesis 17:10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;

Genesis 17:11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. NKJV

Circumcision was the cutting off of the flesh as a sign and covenant with the Lord. It also represents the fact that God wants to be Lord of even the most intimate parts of my life.

Circumcision was an outward sign of an inner decision made to dedicate oneself to the Lord, and even though we are no longer called to be circumcised as believers in Christ…

There are 3 lessons from circumcision we can apply to our lives:

a. Our bodies belong to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

b. True circumcision represents the cutting away of the flesh out of our hearts.

Deuteronomy 30:6 the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. NKJV

The sign of cutting away the flesh was simply to be an outward sign, showing surrender and allowing the Lord to change hearts.

c. When I am weak, He is strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." NKJV

Humanly speaking, weakness is not a good thing…but when we are weak, then we allow God to work, which is real strength.

So, circumcision originally was the sign that showed Abraham was in a covenant relationship with the Lord.

The question for us in 2023 is, “Has anything changed, between the time the Lord told Abraham to be circumcised until now, after the cross, for us who believe in Jesus?”

After Jesus paid our sin penalty on the cross, we are no longer under the Mosaic Law or the Old Covenant.

For those who have received Jesus’ free gift of salvation by faith in what the Lord accomplished on the cross, we have become part of the Church and are under the New Covenant of Grace.

While there are parallels between baptism and circumcision, they symbolize two very different covenant relationships, between us and the Lord.

The Old Testament rituals were mere copies and shadows, but Jesus Christ is the substance and meaning of those rituals as well as the only way to have a relationship with the Father.

The Old Covenant was temporary because man could not reach the perfection needed to commune with a Holy God.

The New Covenant is Eternal because Jesus paid the price as our mediator to God the Father and gives us Eternal Life!

The Lord promised in Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:27 I will put My Spirit within you. NKJV

The New Covenant is ours because He who has Promised is Faithful and He has given us a new circumcised heart!

When Jesus gave up His Spirit on the cross, and rose again, sin was handed a death blow. By simple faith in Christ, we gain new identity, and we become Children of the Most-High God.

Now, is there an identifying marker for those who are in Christ?

You can wear a WWJD bracelet, or a have Christian bumper sticker on your vehicle, or even wear a cross piece of Jewelry.

But what did Jesus instruct His followers to do in order to identify ourselves with Him as a Christian?