(Illustration ...)
Aman lived in a country where a person’s religion was stamped on their birth certificate. His said muslim. He grew up in a muslim household. He was taken each week to the mosque. He read the koran. He kept all of the religious observances that he knew of.
One day Aman was listen to some music on his radio and while searching for another station he came across a station called World Mission Broadcast and they were talking about Jesus. He had heard very little about Jesus and that He was a prophet so Aman kept listening. He heard about sin and how it separates us from God. He heard that Jesus was actually God and not just a prophet. He heard that Jesus came to earth as a Man and died to pay the penalty for our sins and that three days later Jesus came back from the dead.
Aman could hardly believe his ears. Jesus, the Son of God, had died for his sins? Aman kept listening and one day He became a Christian. He didn’t tell anyone because he would be killed. Aman kept listening and heard that he should be baptized. It took some time for him to figure out what that meant. Eventually, he found another Christian and one night they snuck out to the river and secretly baptized each other as best as they knew how.
Aman and his friend have learned much from World Mission Radio and they try to spread the word about Jesus their Savior as best as they can even though it may mean their death by stoning.
But, it still says “muslim” on their birth certificate.
Did the actions of Aman's parents dictate his final belief?
Today we’ll be baptizing Crystal and Vicki Lynn. It does not specify any religion on their birth certificate. They are making this decision as adults.
Muslims specify the religion of a child at birth.
Jews have a ritual that they perform, at least on the boys, and it’s called circumcision.
The bible says in
Genesis 17:12a
“For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised …”
And again in
Leviticus 12:3
“On the eighth day the boy is to be circumcised.”
This marks a boy as an Israelite. He is then a descendent of Abraham and is part of the covenant between Abraham and God. As it says in the verse, this is done on the eighth day after birth. The baby bow certainly feels the pain of the circumcision but he does not know the meaning.
This young boy is now marked as a Jew, a son of Abraham and as he grows his parents and the teaching of the Jewish elders have an impact on his life. But, the sins of this world and the deceit of the devil also pull at him.
There were many in Israel in the Old Testament who were circumcised who lived faithfully for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
And, yet, in the end of the Old Testament it seemed as if the whole nation turned away from God even though they had been circumcised from birth.
When Jeremiah is prophesying judgment against Israel what is his accusation?
Jeremiah 9:26
“Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. All these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
And in the New Testament as we read last week, as Stephen was testifying of Jesus the Christ to the Jewish elders he said
Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”
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And so, we come to baptism. Some branches of Christianity practice infant baptism and basically it is for the same reason that Jews practice circumcision as they believe that it marks the child as a Christian in the eyes of God.
We, in the Church of The Nazarene generally do not perform infant baptism although it is allowed and included in the rituals section of the manual. However, if you read the section on infant baptism it much more closely resembles the baby dedication than it does the adult baptismal ritual.
We dedicate our babies to the Lord because we see this as a pattern in the Bible. Samuel was dedicated to the Lord by his mother Hannah.
Jesus was taken to the temple and presented to the Lord
Luke 2:22
“And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him (Jesus) up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord.”
Matthew 19:13-14
“Then little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’”
Suppose I brought a baby up here and read this to her?
“Now little Suzie, listen carefully to this because I’m going to ask you if you agree with this or not …”
“I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the
Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He
shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
“I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Church of Jesus Christ, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”
Will you be baptized into this faith? If so, answer, “I will.”
I don’t mean that to be a mockery but we know very well that an infant does not understand even one word of the Apostles Creed and baptizing them into the faith would not make one iota of difference in their spiritual condition.
So, we charge the parents to do all they can do in their power to raise the child from his or her infancy to know and love Jesus and to walk in the paths of righteousness with all the strength that the Lord will give them.
This is dedicating the child to the Lord. The child will have to make her own choice just as you and I have made. No one else can make it for her. No ritual you perform on behalf of your child will guarantee their eternal life. It’s between them and God.
Salvation is a one-on-one relationship with God.
John 3:18
“Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Matthew 28:19-20a
“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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
So, the great commission of the church, the body of Jesus Christ is to:
Make disciples - bring people to saving knowledge of Jesus (explain)
Baptize them - a sacrament and a testimony of salvation (explain)
Teach them - raise them up to maturity in Christ (explain)
In salvation we die. Did you know that?
Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Crucified - no one ever lived through crucifixion
(Explain the plan of salvation - soul that is dead in sin - no hope in good works, religion, philosophy, morality - only one hope - the blood of Jesus.
I have been crucified (dead) ... BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME!
We lay down our earthly lives (which are not really living) and God gives us a real, eternal spiritual life.
And so, we baptize because the Bible says we should and because it is a testimony to the awesome transformation that has taken place in the life of the person being baptized.
Baptism says, “God has done something awesome in my life. He has changed me from the inside out and made a new creation out of me. I am no longer in control of my life, Jesus is. He is my God. He is my Lord. He is my Savior and I will live every day of my life for Him from this point on.”
So, when the person being baptized goes under the water it signifies death to her old way of life and the new life that Christ has given her.
Baptism does not save you. Baptism says, “Praise God, He has saved me!”
Baptism does not change you. Baptism says, “Praise God, He has changed me.
I was a child of sin and now I am a child of the Savior!”
It is possible that baptism might wash some dirt off from the outside but what baptism really does is give testimony to the fact that your soul is now clean!
All the sins of the past have been washed away by the cleansing blood of Jesus.
Your soul has been made clean. The sin is gone. The guilt is gone. The past has been forgiven and your future is one that will not be filled with regret caused by sinful choices.
Baptism testifies that you now have a heavenly partner in life and that partner is God Himself. Living in you. Strengthening your soul through God’s holy Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit and prayer.
Baptism says that you have joined a fellowship of believers who will lift you up in prayer, who will put their arms around you when you stumble in your faith, who will encourage you when you are down and celebrate with you when the Lord gives you victory, who will weep with you in times of sorrow and will walk with down the path of life.
Baptism is a testimony to the awesome God we serve!
