WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Today we are blessed because we are observing baptism and communion. Both of these are very meaningful and symbolic. Today I want to explain what both of these mean.
BAPTISM
We began the service with baptism of 6 people. Why do we baptize? What does the scripture say? What does it mean?
The scripture teaches baptism and we as Baptists believe in BELIEVERS BAPTISM… that baptism is only for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior… expressed faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The bible teaches that each of these young people was lost in their sins, lost because of their sins, blinded by their sin, and incapable of doing anything that would save them from their sin. In fact, they were incapable of even wanting to be saved because they were blinded to sin and had no desire to do good.
That is what church people commonly refer to as BEING LOST
BUT… God is good and God desired for them to be saved, SO… according to Revelation 3:20 (Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.) God knocked on their hearts door… that means He came to them as the Holy Spirit and he opened their eyes so they could realize their sin and their lost-ness and He also drew them, wooed them, called them to turn from their sinfulness and accept His free gift of salvation.
Praise God they were obedient and came to accept the free gift. That is what church folks call GETTNG SAVED.
This took place earlier, before today, and today they came to take the next step… Baptism.
Baptism is not the next step in salvation… there are no more steps in salvation. Their salvation is a done deal. The day they confessed their sin and asked for forgiveness… God saved them… completely… totally… 100%.
He forgave their past sins… their present sins and every sin they will ever commit. All of their sins were forgiven and washed in the blood of Jesus.
They were forgiven of the consequences of their sin… death/separation
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus died for their sins, descended to hell and paid for their sins, and rose from the dead to give them victory over the power of sin.
Nothing else remains to be done for their salvation… Jesus paid it all.
But the next step is the next step in OBEDIENCE
Today they came to be obedient in submitting to baptism
What is Baptism… it is a symbolic act
Standing in the Baptist symbolizes their life before faith, before salvation… the old person
Then they made a profession of faith which is a reminder of the decision they made to accept Him
Then they were plunged under the water… (baptidzo means plunge under). As they go under the water they symbolize DEATH… their death to the old life and the old nature… and Jesus’ death and being buried in the tomb for three days.
As they came up out of the water they symbolize their new life, their new nature which was given to them when they accepted Jesus
It also symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus from the dead… when he gained victory over the grave and death.
As they are baptized it is preaching the whole gospel in about 10 seconds.
NOW… in a few minutes… they will take another step on the road of obedience as we will observe their first Communion, Lord’s Supper.
What is Communion? What does it mean?
Like Baptism, Communion is the gospel, the whole story of salvation, in one symbolic act.
In the baptism, most of us were observers of the gospel being preached by these young people.
In Communion we will all be participants in preaching the gospel.
Our practice of the Lord’s Supper goes back to the night before Jesus was crucified, as he ate his final meal with his disciples. The things he said and did in that meal are the basis for what we do in Communion.
HOWEVER… what Jesus did in that meal was based on something that had happened another night hundreds of years earlier… in Egypt. On that night the Israelites also had a supper.
On that night the Israelites were slaves living in bondage for 400 years
(Just like all men are slaves to sin, living in bondage
God decided to set His people free from bondage to Egypt
(Just like He decided to set us free from our sin… to save us)
The Pharaoh refused to set God’s people free so God did some extraordinary things… (plagues) and this would be the final plague… that night the first born male in every family would die.
They were doomed… with no hope.
(Just like all men are helpless and hopeless because of their sin)
God offered a way of escape… a lamb could die and its blood would be placed on the doorposts.
(Just like Jesus, the Lamb of God died for our sins and shed His blood)
When the death angel came, if he saw the blood, he would pass over the house and the people inside would be saved… because of the blood
(Just like we will stand in judgment one day and if God sees the blood of Jesus covering our sins, he will not punish us)
Inside the house the people ate a meal called Passover. Every year, Jews observe the Passover holiday to remember what God did for them.
(Just like we observe the Lord’s Supper to remember what Jesus did for us… he died on the cross to pay for our sins and rose from the dead to give us the victory of sin and death.)
When Jesus was with His disciples in the upper room, he used two of the elements of the supper to give new meaning to the meal.
First He took the bread… not just any bread… UNLEAVENED bread. This bread had no yeast… no leaven. For that ceremony, yeast represented SIN.
Jesus held the bread which had no yeast and said, “This is my body.”
His body was sinless.
Then He broke it. It symbolized how His body would be broken by the whip and by the nails, and the thorns.
He prayed, and shared the bread with his disciples
(Just like he offers himself… his forgiveness… to all)
Then Jesus took the cup of wine
Wine is red liquid from the crushed grapes.
(It symbolized the red blood that flowed from the crushed and beaten body of Jesus)
He took the cup and said, “This is my blood”
It symbolized the bold He would shed the next day on the cross.
So you see, when we observe the Lord’s Supper, we are really preaching an object lesson… we are proclaiming the gospel.
1 Cor. 11:26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
