You know you are Church of Christ if…
You have ever heard an invitation at a Funeral and a wedding
You have never been in a sanctuary but you have been in lots of auditoriums
Sermons on the Birth of Christ always come in July
A Church get together always involved Pot Luck
If you had ever wondered what would happen if the preacher did not have a ready recollection of the things he had prepared.
If you think tithing is wrong but you believe every Christian should give 10%
If during a service you have laughed, cried, dropped a book, spanked a child, gone to the bathroom, emptied your purse on the pew, chewed some gum, eaten a cookie, taken medicine, whispered to the person beside you, winked at a friend, coughed, sneezed, burped, or said Amen, but you have never never clapped.
Easter was celebrated with Chocolate Eggs and Jelly Beans
If you believe Jesus turned water into Grape juice
You believe that the age of miracles has passed but you do believe that a closing Prayer will ask God to leave so that you can have a business meeting or a chorus.
And if before you buy a Bible you check out the translation of Acts 2:38
Is there anyone here today Guilty of that? Hold up you hand. I’ve done it.
You see Acts 2:38 has sort of been our verse. Because we have grown up with a prominent teaching on Baptism. And I am not here to say that’s all wrong. Baptism has a prominent place in Scripture.
But you know we hear a lot less about Baptism today. I wonder why that is? It’s not because the Scriptures are silent about the subject. We will look today and see the Scriptures have a lot to say about it. But let me give you three reasons today that I think we hear a lot less about it than we used to.
1) A Reaction to an over emphasis.
I believe that many of us got very uncomfortable going to a church where once a month there was a sermon on baptism. And as we got uncomfortable we realized that we were hearing a lot more about baptism than we were hearing about Jesus. The more I study the scriptures I see that Baptism is the reaction to Jesus and not the message.
I have heard people say that the Plan of Salvation is the Gospel. Now I am thankful for the Plan of Salvation. I won a few ribbons in the 2nd and 3rd grade because I could quote it. But the Gospel is not the plan of salvation. The Gospel is the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I remember when I was 19 years old working with a congregation is Hazel Green Alabama. I got to preach 4 times while I was there. After the first time one of the Elders told me that I needed to end every sermon with the Plan of Salvation, Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Be Baptized, and Live A Godly Life. I agreed because I knew it was a good idea. But then I started reading my Bible and I realized that there is not a single sermon that wraps up with the plan of salvation. In fact that usually came because the audience interrupted the sermon and wanted to know what am I supposed to do? Then they would mention Baptism.
2) A Concern for Works of Righteousness.
Many of us are reacting to a Legalistic teaching that says Baptism is something I do to save myself. And that’s really what Legalism is all about when we believe that by my thoughts, deeds, actions, and reactions I am able to secure my salvation.
I have always been afraid to ask members of the Churches of Christ why are you saved, because I knew the answer would be, Because I got baptism right.
Family the only reason that you are saved today is because what Jesus Christ has done for you.
Many of us react to that. And we react to what other beliefs say about our teachings on Baptism.
It’s like that old story where a man is studying with His neighbor and he agrees to be Baptized. On the way to the Church, you can see the building, a Log truck come out from no where and hit’s the car the unsaved man is in and kills him. Now my friends from other beliefs would ask, “Is that man going to hell?”
Now many people were appalled when I would look at them and say “Absolutely, he is lost.”
We as a Church have reacted to that and don’t preach baptism anymore.
3) Not wanting religious controversy
I believe that it’s kind of like a men’s meeting. You get to the point that you are to tired to argue so you just let it go.
We got tired of being known as that group of people.
We got tired of talking to people who didn’t know the difference between Believe, Baptized, Saved and Believed, Saved, Baptized. So we just backed away.
Now let me say that I believe strongly in Baptism. And as the walls of division among belief groups are coming down I know that there are a lot of things that I can learn from other faiths. But I also believe that we have something to offer.
So today we are going to look at this. Today we are going to look at where we in the Churches of Christ have been right. Then next month we are going to look at where we in the churches of Christ have been wrong.
I don’t know where you come from Biblically, You may be confused because you have traveled from faith to faith until you don’t know what you believe, or you may be Born and bread Church of Christ and have all of this imprinted in your subconscious. Wherever you are today I hope that you will open your Bibles, your Minds, and Hearts, as we take a fresh look at Baptism.
I believe that it is important to try to look at this fresh, not only today but the first Sunday over the next four months. You see my problem, and I am sure that I am not alone here, is that when I get into a Bible Study I have already made up my mind before I even open my Bible. So today when we read these scriptures we already know what they are supposed to say because of how we were taught to see it. But everyone might not have the same view.
It’s like a man who is traveling through Nashville and sees a wild pack of dogs attacking a boy. The man get’s out of his car, grabs a stick and beats the dogs off the boy and as he is helping the boy up a man runs over to them as introduces Himself as a reporter for the Nashville Banner. The reporter says you are a very brave man for helping this young boy and I can see the headlines, Nashville man saves boy from wild pack of dogs. The man replies well I’m not from Nashville.
The Reporter says, “The headline will read, A Tennessee man saves a boy from a dog attack.”
The Man replies “I’m not from Tennessee, I’m from Michigan.”
The reporter says, “The headline will read, Yankee kills families pets.”
It all depends on the way you are looking at something to the way you respond. Today I am going to ask that you try something new as we take a new look at Baptism.
If you have your Bibles today hold them up. Now let’s open them up.
Matthew 28:18-20
Look first and notice that Baptism is an indispensable part of becoming a disciple of Christ.
Also notice that Jesus separated Baptism from the things that a new Christian needs to Obey. Now many people today will tell you that Baptism is a good thing that a Christian needs to do, just like reading their Bible, or praying, or going to church. But that’s not where Jesus puts it. As you look through scripture you will see lots of lists of things that we as are supposed to do. But Baptism is never on a list of Christian duties. Because according to Jesus it is a part of you becoming a disciple.
Mark 16:15-16
Pretty straightforward language in the English, but in my Greek classes at Faulkner we saw that it takes on a whole new life.
The way that the Greek words are constructed here you have a choice. You will either believe in Christ and be baptized or you would choose to deny Christ. There is no option of doing one or another. You either do both or nothing. You will notice that Paul never talks about some of the arguments that we have today because there was no such thing as an unbaptized believer.
John 3:5
Look here at the tremendous link between water and spirit. Jesus says here to enter heaven you have to be born again of the water and the spirit.
I was at Wal-Mart Friday night and waiting in line behind a guy who left his wallet in the truck. He asked me if I would mind if he ran out and got it. I said I didn’t and he took off. Well he comes running back in and his card wouldn’t swipe. I have been there and gone through that. He looked at me and said he was sorry and again I said I understand no problem. Well they finally got a manager to come over and help out and 20 minutes later it was my turn.
The casher commented on how patient I was and asked me if I was a born again Christian. I replied to her that I was baptized and had the opportunity to work with you here at Atlanta Road.
Now I have changed a lot in the past years. Four years ago I would have told her that she was being redundant. In the Bible every Christian was born again, and those who were born again were Christian. It’s just that Plain.
Acts 2:38
Peter is preaching the first Gospel sermon here. Now I want you to notice that he wasn’t working towards the Plan of Salvation but Preaching Christ and Him crucified.
The crowd interrupts him and says we’ve blown it, now what do we do. How do we get right with God? Peter says Repent of your sins and be baptized.
When a person comes to the Lord, they obviously believe and have repented, and then were baptized. Two things happen.
They have freedom from the guilt of their sin and they are washed away.
And they have freedom from the Power of sin through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 6:3-4
This might be the most important verse in the Bible about Baptism, because it explains the significance.
The significance is not in the water, not in what you are doing, The power is in what Jesus did. Paul says when you have been baptized what happens is that you are buried with Christ and you are resurrected with him.
Now someone might say Jeremy that’s just symbolism. I would grant you that it’s symbolic. But I think that Paul would argue with you that its’ just symbolism. Paul is not teaching symbolism. Paul is teaching that it is Participation.
He is saying what is happening at that moment is that you participate in the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus. The whole reason that we can be saved is because of a day back in Calvary and three days later when Jesus resurrects. That is what saves us.
The moment in your history when you know that you have been linked to that moment is the moment that you have been baptized. The blood from that cross comes in to contact with you life when you participate in a death, burial, and resurrection.
1 Peter 3:21
Now Peter has been talking here about Noah and his family were saved from the judgment of God through the water on the ark. Then he makes a parallel argument.
Baptism is not just an outward deal. You are not taking a bath. It is the Appeal or Pledging to God a clean conscience. And the Power is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now I believe that Peter has got this right. If you want to contact the Blood of Christ you make an inward pledge for a changed life.
Now I don’t know how God is supposed to make it any plainer than he has made it. The Scriptures are pretty plain.
What else is he supposed to say? Baptism Super de Doper Saves you? What will it take for us to see that this is an important part of the Gospel?
Lets look at 4 things to close with today. 4 things Baptism pledges.
1) It is a request for newness.
It’s a part of becoming a disciple, being saved, a new birth, remission of sins, receiving the Holy Spirit, becoming a new creature, and on and on and on.
I love when Hollywood gets something right. And it happens so rarely that it sticks out in my mind. A Few years ago Harrison Ford was in a movie called Regarding Henry. In this move Henry is a creep and is fooling around on his wife, his daughter is scared of him, he is dishonest in all of his business dealings and one night as he stops into a Convenience store to by cigarettes and walks in on a hold up. He gets shot in the head but it doesn’t kill him. He dies for a little while but when he is revived oxygen has not been getting to his brain and he had forgotten everything. They have to reteach him everything. When he is able he goes back to work and sees how unethical he was, and quits. He realizes how scared his daughter is of him and he begins to reach out to her. He is blown away by the women he has had affairs with and he stops that. His life has changed.
The question I see Hollywood asking is how do you change a jerk? The answer they give is you kill him and let him start all over.
That’s God’s answer. How do you change a sinner? You kill him and let him start all over. That’s what Baptism is all about. It’s a do over or in Golf a mulligan.
2) It’s a statement of Faith
God has always asked people to express their faith. The Old Testament is filled with crazy stories:
Snakes are killing children of Israel so what do you do? Go out and look at the Golden snake on the pole.
What about when they marched around the Walls of Jericho 7 times? Did the walls fall because they marched right. No the walls fell because of the power of God.
Naaman has to go dip in an old dirty river 7 times to be cured of his leprosy. Was it the water, no it was the Power of God.
God wants to see our faith expressed. And Baptism is an expression of Faith.
3) It’s a Call for unity
Baptism adds you to the family, so act like family. It doesn’t matter what the preacher, song leader, bible schoolteacher’s wife thinks about you, you are family. Now love one another like a family should.
Baptism is a call to unify us but unfortunately the religious world has used it as a tool to divide us.
4) It’s a Pledge of Allegiance.
It’s when I say I am serious about this, I am ready to declare my allegiance to Jesus Christ.
It’s like the little boy who walked up to the preacher after a sermon on baptism and said I am ready to be advertised. Maybe that’s a truer statement that we think. Baptism is an advertisement of who I live for and who I am.
So what should our response to this be?
First I want you to know that Jeremy Houck believes in baptism.
Secondly I want to conclude today with this scripture. Acts 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
If you love Jesus and you want to live for him, I don’t know what you are waiting for why don’t you get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
To the rest of us I want to ask you. Do you need to remember what happened at your baptism?
Let me remind you that most of the things we read today were not written to non Christians but to those in the family of God.
Paul is saying in Romans 6 remember that when we were baptized we were buried and resurrected with Christ. We were dead to sin and alive to God and a baptized person doesn’t act the way you are acting.
The sermon is yours. As we stand and sing.
* This sermon passed several hands before it got to mine. I believe Rick Atchley preached the original series.
