Intro: There was a family who lived in rural South Carolina who’d never been to a big city before. They didn’t have a TV and didn’t know much @ anything except for farming. Well, the father decided he wanted to take his family on a special trip. So he bought tickets for them to go to New York City.
-When they arrived there they were totally amazed by the tall buildings, the lights, and fast pace of life. But they equally impressed w/the hotel they were staying in. After they were told where their room was, the father and son went to the elevators while the mother and daughter decided they were going to look in the souvenir store in the hotel.
-The father and son had never seen an elevator before so they watched as an elderly lady w/a cane came over and pushed the button and waited for the door to open. After it opened, she got on and the doors shut. The father and son sat there and waited for what was going to happen next. After just a couple of minutes the same elevator doors opened again and off stepped a young, beautiful woman.
-The father and son were totally amazed at what had seemingly happened to the old woman. The father then turned to his son and said, “Hurry up and go get your mother!”
-We all have an identity. Sometimes the way we look and the clothes we wear identify who we are. The jobs we have can give us our identity. And also the amount of wealth we have can help identify who we are. But those are things that are temporary. They are good at identifying who we are for a time but after a period of time those things don’t do that great of a job.
-For instance, your looks can be a major part of who you are. But if you’ve gone to a high school reunion lately you know that looks change over time! Our jobs can identify who we are but there comes a day when we retire. And our wealth can be a main source of pride for us but we won’t always have our wealth. Why not? B/c there’ll be a day when we’ll die.
-So what is it you really want to be the identity marker in your life? We’re continuing our series “Cliff Notes for Xians.” And it’s my hope that we’ll be able to grasp some very basic beliefs that have been a part of Xianity since the beginning.
Sermon Idea: Today in our passage of Scripture we’re going to see Paul discuss the importance of baptism. For a good while I’ve been wanting to address this subject b/c baptism is something we practice at VillageChurch. And it’s one of the main questions I’m asked @. Very often someone will ask me, “Why is baptism so important? What does it mean?”
-We’re going to address that subject and see that baptism, while it’s not something that makes a person a follower of Christ, is an important tool in identifying a person’s relationship w/Jesus.
TEXT: ROMANS 6: 4-7
Bckgrd: There was an idea among many Xians in Rome that you could be a Xian and still live like you wanted to. But Paul set out to refute this. And he did it by telling the believers, “Don’t you remember what your baptism was all @? Don’t you remember what your baptism symbolized concerning your relationship w/Christ?”
-Paul wrote in Rom. 6: 1-2-“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
-In this section of Scripture Paul reminds followers of Christ the importance of baptism and what it represents, what it symbolizes. So what does baptism symbolize? Well, we’re going to see 3 things baptism symbolizes.
-The 1st thing baptism symbolizes is:
DIV. 1: THE DEATH AND BURIAL OF JESUS (v. 4)
Exp: Once a quarter we host a class at my home called “Discovering VillageChurch.” And in the class we cover the basic beliefs of the church and how we operate and how you can be a part of the church. By the way, next Sunday we’re hosting this class and if you’d like to sign up you can do so today using your Welcome Card in the bulletin.
A. But one of the 1st items we cover in the class is the issue of baptism. Now we practice baptism by immersion not sprinkling. And this generates a lot of questions b/c we live in an area where there are a lot of people whose church backgrounds included sprinkling.
1. So I’m asked a lot, “Why do you immerse?” We do it for a few reasons. For one, it’s the way Jesus was baptized. Two, the word “baptize” literally means “to immerse.” And three, b/c baptism best symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
a. How many of you have seen a baptism? Well, when the person is standing up that’s a picture of their life before they became a follower of Christ. It’s a picture of that person living for himself. But when he goes under the water, that’s a picture of that person dying and being buried!
b. Sounds sort of creepy doesn’t it? But it’s actually a beautiful symbol. It’s a picture of that person dying to himself; dying to a sinful way of life. Remember, some of the Roman Xians thought that once you became a follower of Jesus that you could live any way you wanted to.
2. Why? B/c you’d been forgiven of your sins. They used the logic that many people used today that once you become a follower of God then there’s nothing you can do that will separate you from God’s love and God’s saving grace. That’s a true statement but the Romans were abusing this. So Paul had to remind them that when a person became a follower of Jesus they didn’t start sinning more but they would sin less! Why? B/c they DIED to sin; they died to living for themselves and were identifying themselves w/Jesus.
a. And what did Jesus do? He DIED on the cross to pay the debt of our sins. What is our debt? It’s death. Rom. 6: 23-“For the wages of sin is death.” Now if there’s a cost that comes w/sin and Jesus paid for that cost, I can guarantee you one thing He doesn’t want us to do is go and mess around w/sin again!
b. That’d be like me being a chronic gambler and I’ve lost a lot of $. But fortunately for me, a friend came along and paid off my huge gambling debt. Now that my debt’s been paid off, what do you think he’d think if I caught a plane to Vegas and started hitting the casinos again?
B. I think he’d have a real problem w/that. Baptism symbolizes us dying to the control of sin. Most of us probably wish there was another way this could be achieved. And it does leave you wondering, “Well, if dying is my requirement to be released from the control of sin, what good is that going to do me if I’m dead?”
1. It doesn’t seem like that great of a trade-off. But the fact of the matter is we can’t experience victory over sin w/o death.
ILLUS: Think @ it like this. For a seed to be able to have life what do you have to do w/it? You have to plant it in the ground so that it can sprout into a living plant. If the seed’s not planted in the ground then it’s not going to do anything. It’s not going to produce anything. So before the seed becomes a plant, you have to plant it.
-And do you know what happens to a seed once it’s planted in the ground? It dies! It’s sort of strange, but before there can be life, the seed has to be buried.
-Archaeologists were excavating a courtyard from a medieval monastery, when they found seeds that had been dormant for over 400 years. King Henry VIII had closed the monastery in 1539 and the herbs tended to by the monks died. But the seeds from the herbs began to grow again after the archaeologists had stirred the dirt up and some of the seeds had fallen in the upturned dirt.
a. Jesus said this in John 12: 24. He said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
b. Baptism symbolizes the death of Jesus. While death isn’t attractive it’s necessary when it comes to our faith. B/c before there can be regeneration; before there can be a new life, there 1st of all has to be a death.
Reit: The 1st thing baptism symbolizes is the death and burial of Jesus. The 2nd thing baptism symbolizes is:
DIV. 2: THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS (vv. 5-7)
Exp: When you read the Bible you’ll discover that Jesus was executed on a cross. At the time, people thought Jesus was executed b/c his religious views went contrary to the Roman government. But when you read the Bible you discover Jesus offered Himself up as a sacrifice for our sinfulness.
A. Then 3 days later, what happened? Jesus rose from the grave! He conquered death. And ever since then we have had hope that it’s possible for us not to be totally conquered by death. Jesus promised He could raise us from the dead as well.
1. Focus on what v. 5 says. It says, “If we have been united w/Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united w/Him in His resurrection.” Jesus Himself said in John 11: 25-26-“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
a. Baptism is a statement of faith in what Jesus said concerning the resurrection. It’s a picture of believers saying, “Jesus I believe there will be that day when you will raise me from the dead.” Baptism is a testimony to everyone who sees your baptism that you believe and trust in Jesus to give you a new life here and to give you a new life after your earthly death.
b. You see, w/o Jesus we have no hope of the resurrection. Now we all know that we’re going to die. I’ve told y’all before that the statistics on death are pretty overwhelming. It’s something like 1 out of 1 persons will die! I’m not a betting man but I’d say those are odds I’d be comfortable betting on. Heb. 9: 27-“It is appointed unto man once to die and then to face the judgment.”
2. Everybody’s going to die, but not everyone’s going to go to heaven. Heb. 9: 28-“so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”
a. Jesus said in Matt. 7: 13-14-“For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter thru it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Baptism gives an outer sign; a symbol that you have faith and confidence that Christ will raise you from the dead and keep you from having to pay the penalty of sin by being separated for an eternity from God in hell.
ILLUS: Let me tell you something. The penalty of sin must be paid and its penalty is death. And death is like gravity. It’s a natural law. Once you die, it’s over. Once you die, you don’t come back to life again. So how in the world can it be overcome? Consider the effect of gravity on a book. If I take a book and hold it up in the air and let it go, what’s gravity going to do to it? It’s going to fall and hit the ground 100 out of 100 times.
-So how can gravity be rendered “powerless” against the book; how can the rules of gravity be altered? Well, one way is to place a table under the book. As long as the table is under the book, gravity can’t cause it to fall. Of course, gravity hasn’t really lost its power. It’s just that the table is “stronger” than gravity’s effect on the book.
b. For the Xian, Jesus is like that table and our sin nature is like gravity’s pull. But when we place our hope and trust in Jesus, He’ll hold us up and give us victory over the power of sin. He’ll resurrect us from the dead and bring us w/Him to heaven. And that’s what baptism symbolizes
Reit: The 1st thing baptism symbolizes is the death and burial of Jesus. The 2nd thing baptism symbolizes is the resurrection of Jesus. And the final thing baptism symbolizes is:
DIV. 3: OBEDIENCE TO JESUS (vv. 6-7)
Exp: Now the big question is, “If baptism doesn’t make you a Xian then why in the world do we find baptism important?” We’ve mentioned one already and that is that it gives a testimony to the people around you that you’re a Xian.
A. But it’s also important b/c Jesus commanded that His followers be baptized. Jesus said in 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 HS.”
1. The word “go” is not a suggestion. It’s a command. And being baptized is a sign of obedience to Christ. It’s one of the 1st steps of demonstrating that you are no longer following your own lead but they you are now following the lead of Jesus.
a. And the only way we give up leadership of our own lives is when we’ve been transformed by Christ. In v. 6 we’re told that our “old” self was crucified w/Jesus. The word “old” isn’t in reference to chronological age. The word “old” is in reference to something that is “completely worn out and useless, fit only for the scrap heap.”
b. That’s our life before we become followers of Jesus. Our lives before we give them over to Jesus are fit only for the scrap heap. But once we become followers of Christ our nature is changed to where our allegiance is to Jesus and we’ll be obedient to His call on our lives.
2. We all know that obedience is important. W/o obedience, w/o people following their leaders, a lot of things aren’t going to be accomplished.
ILLUS: UPS takes pride in the productivity of its delivery men and women. On average, a UPS driver delivers 400 packages every working day. The company gets such high productivity micromanaging the details of the deliveryman’s routine.
-Robert Frank wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “W/a battalion of more than 3,000 industrial engineers, the company dictates every task for employees. Drivers must step from their trucks w/their right foot, fold their $ face-up, and carry packages under their left arm.”
-UPS tells “drivers how fast to walk (3 feet per second), how many packages to pick up and deliver every day (400, on average), even how to hold their keys (teeth up, 3rd finger).”
-This approach may work well in the package delivery business, but it’s a complete failure in the spiritual business. You know what happens when we approach our faith and our obedience in terms of punching the clock for Jesus? We take the life out of serving Christ and obeying Him. We remove the joy from being obedient to Him.
a. You know why God wants us to be obedient to Him? It’s very simple. It’s b/c we love Him. Obedience rooted in love is what God wants. Hosea 6: 6-“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.”
b. God’s not interested in us going thru the motions w/Him. He’s interested in us loving Him so much that we live in a way that honors Him. Think @ it like this. Husbands, why are you faithful to your wives? Why do you share a home w/your wife? Wives, why do so many of you cook meals for your home and do the majority of the house work for your husbands?
B. Is it b/c it’s what’s expected of you or do you do it ultimately b/c you love your spouse? I’d say for the majority of us it’s b/c of love. Why be baptized if we’re already followers of Jesus? The answer is to be obedient to Christ and to be obedient to Him b/c we love Him.
Conclusion: As we close today I want to remind you that baptism isn’t what makes a person a follower of Christ; a Xian. Baptism is merely an outward sign of what’s taken place inside a person’s spiritual life. So what is baptism? It’s a symbol. Baptism symbolizes the death and burial of Jesus. Baptism symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus. And finally, baptism symbolizes obedience to Jesus.
-Maybe you’re a believer and you’ve never been baptized before. Let me encourage you to take that step of obedience and submit yourself to baptism. You can sign up for baptism using the Welcome Card in your bulletin. Simply tear it out and put your name on the card and check the box that says you’d like to be baptized.
-I’ll get in touch w/you @ our next baptism service. It’s always a special event. Others of you are intrigued by what baptism represents. Maybe you’re drawn to the aspect of having a “new” life. Maybe you’re drawn to the idea that Christ provides eternal life in heaven and you’d like to know you have that for yourself.
-If you’d like that, it comes down to submitting yourself to Jesus. You can do that by praying this prayer after me. “Dear Jesus, I know I’m a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. I know you died for me and rose from the grave. I ask you to save me.”
-If you prayed that prayer take the Welcome Card in the bulletin and put your name on it and check the box that says you committed your life to Christ and place it in the offering basket in a few moments. And we’ll get you some information in the mail @ how to grow in your walk w/Christ.
