← Back to sermon library

You may turn in your Bibles to 
Mark, chapter 10. Mark, chapter 10. While you're 
turning there, I forgot to mention that there is a luncheon following 
our service. Please feel free to stay for 
that to enjoy some time of fellowship and some good food. Mark, chapter 
10. This morning, we're going to 
look at the basis or the foundation for Christian baptism, the basis 
or the foundation for Christian baptism. When baptism comes up, 
a lot of Peripheral issues are dealt with. Why do we baptize? 
Who should be baptized? Those are all very important 
to be sure. But the very foundation of it 
is connected to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we're 
going to that primary reason, that primary basis or foundation, 
which is the death of the Lord Jesus. I'll just pick up reading 
in Mark chapter 10 at verse 35. Then James and John, the sons 
of Zebedee, came to him saying, Teacher, we want you to do for 
us whatever we ask. And he said to them, What do 
you want me to do for you? They said to him, Grant us that 
we may sit one on your right hand and the other on your left 
in your glory. But Jesus said to them, You do 
not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized 
with? They said to him, We are able. 
So Jesus said to them, You will indeed drink the cup that I drink. 
And with the baptism I am baptized with, you will be baptized. But 
to sit on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, 
but it is for those for whom it is prepared. And when the 
ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James 
and John. But Jesus called them to himself 
and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers 
over the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones exercise 
authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among 
you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your 
servant and whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of 
all. For even the son of man did not 
come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom 
for many. Amen. Well, as we look at this 
particular passage, we notice that the primary emphasis is 
on humility. The primary emphasis is on greatness 
in serving. But in order to illustrate this, 
Jesus mentioned something about his baptism and up and coming 
baptism. This isn't the first baptism 
of the physical water baptism that Mark Jesus and his public 
ministry. Remember back in the beginning 
chapters of Mark and in Matthew, we see that Jesus identified 
or Jesus publicly went into the water with John the Baptist. 
The Spirit came upon him and then he immediately conducted, 
he began to conduct his ministry. But here he references or he 
tells James and John, you do not know what you ask. Are you 
able to drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism 
that I am baptized with? We'll explain that in just a 
moment. But the two things I want us 
to consider this morning is first, the basis for Christian baptism 
and secondly, the instruction given through Christian baptism. So those two things will occupy 
our attention this morning. Notice first the basis for Christian 
baptism. I'm calling it the baptism or 
the second baptism of Christ. It is a clear reference to his 
death. It is a clear reference to the 
fact that he will be cut off. It is a clear reference to the 
fact that he will be overwhelmed, that the wrath of God will come 
upon him, that he will be separated from the Father in that instance 
where he will be handed over as a result of our transgressions. 
And we're all of God's fury and all of God's anger and all of 
God's vengeance will come upon him. That's the baptism that 
Jesus is referring to here. The scene, James and John, these 
sons of Zebedee come to him. We want you to do for us whatever 
we ask. What do you want me to do for 
you? He says, Grant us that we may set one on your right hand 
and the other on your left in your glory. And then he says, 
you don't know what you're asking. You don't know what this is all 
about. You have this strange notion, as many North American 
Christians do, that we should get the crown before ever going 
through the cross. That we should get all of the 
benefits and all of the blessings and all of the privileges connected 
with redemption and never ever have to live in any sort of battle, 
in any sort of trouble, in any sort of trial or tribulation. 
The sons of Zebedee here wanted glory. They wanted position. They wanted to be on the right 
and the left hand of Christ. And that's when he says, you 
don't know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup? 
That's a clear reference, brethren. Later on, in the Garden of Gethsemane, 
Jesus will fall to the very ground. He will be exceedingly sorrowful, 
even unto death, and he will cry to the Father, Father, if 
it is possible, let this cup pass from me. You remember that 
instance? You remember that particular 
scene? He's talking about the cup of God's wrath, that cup 
of wrath that God would mix and pour out upon the nation of Babylon, 
according to the prophet Jeremiah. That cup of God's wrath that 
the Psalter indicates is for the enemies of the Lord. In the 
Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is not exceedingly sorrowful first 
and foremost over the physical suffering that he will endure 
through man, but he is first and foremost exceedingly sorrowful 
over the wrath of God that is going to be poured out upon him. 
That's what he's saying to these men. You do not know what you 
ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
that I drink? You want position. You want prestige. You want to be in glory. Well, 
you don't understand. There is a fundamental principle 
set forth by the Christ Himself, is that in order to get to the 
glory, there must first be some travail. You know, you ought 
never to be discouraged, brethren, when you are persecuted. Paul 
promises this will be the case. All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The writer to the Hebrews praises 
them or not rather praises them, calls them to recall when they 
were first converted and how they joyfully accepted the plundering 
of their goods. That doesn't mean they took the 
armed guards. That didn't mean they took the 
mobs and said, hey, come in and steal this. Hey, come in and 
get this. Hey, I want you to take this. 
This is my wife's. I've always hated it. I want 
it out of here. So go ahead. That's not the position that 
he's telling them to go back to. They joyfully accepted the 
reality that the greater riches of heaven far exceed and stand 
out in glory than anything this world has to offer. They were 
able to do simple mathematics. They were able to look at the 
ledger and say, this is a great asset. In order to get that great 
asset, I'll gladly endure the loss and probation of all those 
things. Jesus says, you don't know about 
this cup. And then he uses this language of baptism. Again, it's 
not his first baptism. It's not the physical going into 
the water and coming up out of it with John the Baptist that 
he is referring to here. He is speaking about the cross. 
This is evident in Luke 12, 50. In Luke 12, 50, he says, But 
I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am 
till it is accomplished. Remember the very context in 
Mark chapter 10. Just back up for a moment to 
verse 32. It says, Now they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, 
and Jesus was going before them, and they were amazed. And as 
they followed and were afraid, Then he took the twelve aside 
again and began to tell them the things that would happen 
to him. Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son 
of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes, 
and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the 
Gentiles, and they will mock him and scourge him and spit 
on him and kill him, and the third day he will rise again. 
I think this context tells us two things. One, James and John 
really should have checked their hearts. He has just announced 
that he's going to the city of Jerusalem to be spat on, to be 
scourged, to be mocked, and ultimately to be crucified. And they come 
running up and say, can we sit on your right hand and your left 
when you come into glory? They're just like us, aren't 
they? Just like us. How do I know that? Because when 
the ten heard this, they were greatly displeased with James 
and John. Do you think the ten were greatly displeased because 
James and John had such in noble purposes, such ungodly desires? I think the ten were greatly 
displeased because they wanted themselves on the right or the 
left. Jesus just announces that he's going to die by crucifixion. 
And these two men say, I want to sit on your right and on your 
left when you come into glory. They're just like us. How many 
times can we hear somebody say something very tragic and only 
think about how it affects us? But what about me? Dude, he just 
told you something horrific about his own self. And your question 
is, what about you? Just like James and John. Jesus 
announces his impending death by crucifixion, and they want 
to sit on his right and left. You see why Jesus says, you don't 
know what you're asking. I have a cup to drink that you 
don't know anything about. I have a baptism to undergo that 
you don't know anything about. He's already specified it in 
verses 32 to 34. They obviously didn't know anything 
about it because as he announces his crucifixion, they're still 
set and bent on where they're going to sit in glory. This baptism 
is his death. He is overwhelmed by the wrath 
of God for the sins of all those whom the Father had given him. 
When we come to the issue of baptism and we ask the question, 
who should be baptized? It is those who have a specific 
interest in the death of Jesus Christ. It is those who are, 
by God's grace, connected to that virtue. The baptism of Jesus 
is the very foundation for Christian baptism. And interestingly enough, 
notice what he goes on to say in verse thirty nine, just as 
we sort of summarize what this passage is all about. You will 
indeed drink the cup that I drank. And with the baptism I am baptized 
with, you will be baptized. There will be a cross before 
your crown, James and John. How do we know that this was 
right? Because Jesus said it first and foremost. And everything 
Jesus says is right because he's the way, the truth and the life. 
But I encourage you later on this afternoon, look at Acts 
12 and see what happened to James, the son of Zebedee. He had his 
head chopped off by Herod. I encourage you to look at Revelation 
chapter one and look at John, the son of Zebedee. What happened 
to him? He was on the island of Patmos, 
not golfing. not sipping iced tea by the resort 
pool, but he was on the island of Patmos, a little rock out 
in the middle of nowhere, for the Word of God and for the testimony 
of Jesus Christ. Historians tell us he was boiled 
to death in hot oil. They understood ultimately something 
of this cup of wrath and the baptism of suffering and trial. So that's what Jesus is highlighting 
here. It is the death of Christ. And 
I want to encourage all of us to consider this right now. What 
do you think of Christ? Where are you at with reference 
to Christ? Was he a good moral teacher? 
Did he have some good ideas on how to be a good family man? 
Was he right up there with the Buddha? Was he right up there 
with the other prophets in history? Or is he the son of the living 
God? Is he the one in whom all of 
the Godhead dwells bodily? Is he the one who came into this 
world and lived in obedience to his father's law? He didn't 
get rid of the law. He didn't say the law is a bad 
thing. Rather, he put himself under the law and he fulfilled 
it and executed it perfectly. Where we grumble, where we cry, 
where we tremble, where we are full of shame and rejection and 
rebellion against God's Word, he always dutifully obeyed his 
father. Not just externally. Sometimes 
we think external compliance is all that is necessary. God 
looks upon the heart. So when Jesus obeyed externally, 
the internal heart was in complete union with his obedience. And 
then he goes to the cross, as he speaks of here. Behold, we 
are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed 
to the chief priests, to the scribes, and they will condemn 
him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles. They will mock 
him and scourge him and spit on him and kill him. And the 
third day he will rise again. That's not a man with an identity 
problem. That is a man on a mission. That is a man who set his face 
steadfast like a flint so he would go to Jerusalem and accomplish 
all that the Father had given him. You see, when we come to 
the water of baptism, we need to see that it is connected intimately 
with the doing and the dying of our Lord Jesus. Whoever goes 
into that blessed pool, as Spurgeon calls it, has a saving interest 
in the doing and the dying of our Lord Jesus. The Lord Christ 
indicates that he would be baptized, and I submit this morning that 
that is the very basis for Christian baptism. As we continue on in 
Mark's Gospel, we'll see Jesus institute the Lord's Supper. 
We see him in the Garden of Gethsemane. We see him being betrayed. wretched 
man Judas, betraying the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, 
handing him over, giving him a kiss in order to identify him 
to the opposition so that he could be taken away and so that 
they would mock him and scourge him and spit on him and kill 
him. You see, you need to think about this this morning. What 
do you think of the Lord Jesus? Remember that instance when Jesus 
comes into Caesarea Philippi and he says, who do men say that 
I, the Son of Man, am? Well, some say Elijah, some say 
Jeremiah, some say one of the prophets. He goes from the generic 
to the specific. But who do you say that I am? 
I actually do not care one bit about what sinners outside of 
this church think of Jesus right now. I do, and I pray for them, 
and I want the best for them. But it's easy for us to look 
at the Middle East. It's easy to look at other churches. 
It's easy to look at apostates and unbelievers and say, wow, 
they have a faulty view of Jesus. Who do you say Jesus is? Right here, right now. Some of 
you differ with me on baptism. That's okay. It's not the time 
for polemics. This is the time for heart searching. 
This is the time for examination. Do you have a saving interest 
in the doing and the dying of the Lord Jesus? Have you looked 
and lived? Are you able to say, blessed 
be God for the mercy and the grace given to me through the 
Lord Jesus Christ. What do you think about him? 
What do you think about his life? What do you think about his death? 
Jeremy is being baptized today. And the rest of us have been 
baptized because Christ was baptized. Because Christ underwent the 
wrath of God. Because Christ was overwhelmed 
with God's wrath. It's not because we behaved well. 
It's not because we did good. It's not because we are being 
rewarded. There is no salvation based on 
human merit or law-keeping or works. We need to say with the 
hymn writer, nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross 
I cling. I love when he says, foul I chew, 
the fowl can fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. We 
take that and we say, well, I'm not that foul. I'm not that polluted. I've been a religious person. 
I've gone to church. I've read the Bible. I pray. 
I'm not that foul. You don't understand the Bible 
then. Jeremiah's indictment is very clear. The heart is deceitful 
above all things and desperately wicked. You just hear it now 
if Jeremiah took a pulpit in modern America. Oh, that's bad 
for our self-esteem. Oh, that's bad for our self-image. 
We can't have you saying things like that, Jeremiah. Nobody will 
come to church. The heart is deceitful above 
all things and desperately wicked, he says. He's not saying, oh, 
you wretches out in Israel. Jeremiah includes himself in 
the mix. Paul the Apostle does the very same thing. It is a 
trustworthy statement. Everybody ought to accept this, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world, sinners to save. And then 
Paul says, of whom I am chief. What do you think of Christ this 
morning? Not what do you think of paedo-baptism or believers' 
baptism. What do you think of Jesus? What 
do you think of that baptism which is the very basis and foundation 
for Christian baptism? What do you think about the fact 
that He was overwhelmed, not for His sin, but for our sin? What do you think about 2 Corinthians 
5, verse 21? A most powerful statement concerning 
the redemptive work of Christ. It says that God made Him, Jesus, 
who knew no sin, to be sin for us. Isn't that amazing? Isn't 
that amazing? What religion or philosophical 
system has God himself, and her time and space in the likeness 
of sinful flesh, and yet sin heaped upon Him so that He can 
bear its punishment in His own flesh? Christianity is not one 
among many. It is unique. It alone is the 
salvation of God. It alone is the preaching of 
grace through faith in Christ for salvation. God made Christ 
who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the 
righteousness of God in Him. For you see, we need pardon of 
iniquity. We need to be cleansed. We need to be washed. We need 
to be purified. Jesus' death answers to that. 
But we also need a righteousness. We need to be able to stand before 
God clothed in a righteousness not our own. Jesus' life answers 
to that. The Westminster Shorter Catechism 
puts it this way. What is justification? Justification 
is an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all our sins. 
He pardons all our sins. You know what a joy that is? If you have a saving interest 
in Christ today, if your mouth isn't actually smiling, I hope 
your heart is. He pardons all our sins. Not some of them. Not a few of 
them, not the medium-sized ones, but you've got to work off the 
big ones. Wherein He pardons all our sins. It's a blessed 
statement. And then it says, and receives 
us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of 
Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. You see, He answers 
everything that we need in His doing and in His dying, and in 
His rising again. So the question here this morning 
isn't, are you going to leave here a convinced Reformed Baptist? 
Are you going to leave here a convinced Pado-Baptist? The question is, 
where are you in relation to the doing and dying of Jesus? 
Can you say, Christ is mine and I am His? Can you own Him as 
Lord and Savior? Can you say with Thomas, I mean, 
I just heard of somebody recently and it caused me to reflect. 
You ever notice when you miss church, that was when the best 
sermon was ever preached. I'm not saying there's best sermons 
here, I'm just using a convention. You miss church, wow, you should 
have been there. I've shared with our congregation, 
the first church I went to as a new Christian, men and women 
would serve in the nursery. So my wife and I would be in 
the nursery. Inevitably, when I got nursery duty, the best 
sermons were ever preached. Because everybody would tell 
me, they'd come to pick up their kids and say, oh, you really 
missed a good sermon. You should have been there. And 
me being as gracious as I am, smiled and said, I was doing 
it to love you. Actually, in my heart, I'm saying, 
yeah, you're right, I should have been there. That's what 
happened with Thomas. Remember, he was absent when 
the Lord appeared to the disciples on the first instance. What did 
they say? They said, Thomas, we have seen the Lord. We have 
seen him. And then Thomas, who we lovingly 
sort of call doubting Thomas, wasn't doubting. Thomas said, 
I'm an empiricist. That means I have to touch and 
verify and handle things before I'll ever ascend to the truth 
of God. That's a wrong position, Thomas. Remember, he makes that 
statement, lest my eyes see, lest my hand touches. What happens 
when Jesus comes to him? Jesus uses the precise language 
that Thomas did. And what does Thomas say? My 
Lord, my God. Christianity is a religion of 
personal pronouns. Paul in Galatians 2.20 said, 
In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in 
the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. People that enter into the waters 
of baptism are able to say that. They say, He gave his life for 
me. The baptismal water is connected 
to the death of Jesus, not in some hocus-pocus way, not in 
some magic ritualistic or sacramentary way. But the men and women and 
boys and girls who go into that water are professing outwardly, 
are professing non-verbally the very verbal content of the gospel 
itself. What think ye of Christ? The 
basis for Christian baptism, first and foremost, is the death 
of Christ or his second baptism. And then we have his command. 
We saw it in Matthew 28. Go, therefore, and make disciples. 
Beautiful construction that Jesus uses there. He's not commanding 
them to go. He's assuming they'll be going. And in your going, you're making 
disciples of all the nations. And when you're making disciples 
of all the nations, you're going to baptize and you're going to 
teach. And then you're going to keep 
doing that. You're going to constantly do that. You're not going to 
look for new ways or new means. You might try to be strategic 
on how to reach a particular culture, but the fundamental 
means by which you are to go is to preach the gospel, independence 
upon the spirit, trusting in the sovereignty of God, to bless 
and to own that word, and to draw men and women and boys and 
girls to himself. And Jesus gives this sure promise 
in love, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. In 
Mark 16, he says, go and preach the gospel to every creature 
and baptize them. Christ commands it. We get to 
the book of Acts and we see that is precisely what happens. They 
preach the gospel in Acts 2 and it says, and those who gladly 
received his word were baptized. Then they continued steadfastly 
in the apostles doctrine, in the fellowship, in the breaking 
of bread and in prayers. We see a pattern emerge in the 
book of Acts consistent with Matthew 28. You make disciples, 
you baptize those disciples, and then you teach those disciples 
in local churches. When we think in terms of covenant 
theology and the larger rubric of scripture, we see this consistent 
with the announcement in the prophet Jeremiah at chapter 31, 
31 to 34, that the new covenant will be different than the old 
covenant. Though there is continuity, there 
is discontinuity, as the book of Hebrews 8 and 10 makes clear, 
that it is a better covenant, that Jesus is the surety of a 
better covenant, founded on better promises, with a better hope. 
It wasn't the case that it was a feature of old covenant religion, 
that everybody in it had the law of God written on their hearts. 
that everybody in it had the spirit, that everybody in it 
had the forgiveness of sins or the knowledge of God. Just look 
at Eli's sons, covenant members, but they did not know the Lord, 
even though they served as priests. But a feature of new covenant 
religion is that they will all know me, from the least of them 
to the greatest of them. I will put my law in their minds 
and in their hearts. I will be their God, and they 
will be my people. What one man calls the Immanuel 
principle, God with us, and they will receive the forgiveness 
of sins. So Christ's baptism in death 
and his command is the basis for Christian baptism. Now, let's 
move secondly, broadly, to the instruction. What does baptism 
teach us? First, what it is not. We can 
learn a lot about a subject by asking what it is not. It's not 
a magical rite. It's not like Jeremy is going 
to go in that water today and come out a Christian. It's not 
like there is some special tonic that we put into that tank. Quite a simple procedure, actually. 
We go into the boiler room and we turn a knob. The water that 
you'll drink if you stay here for lunch is the water that's 
in that tank. Not mysterious. We don't bless 
it. We don't change it. We don't 
make it something that it isn't. It is emblematic. It is symbolic. It's not a magic ring. Believers 
are made holy by the power of Christ's blood as communicated 
through the gospel message. Believers are blessed as they 
partake in every spiritual blessing secured for them by their Redeemer. This is not for unbelievers. 
It's not a converting ordinance. We don't just say, come and be 
baptized and you'll be saved. Come and be baptized and you'll 
go to heaven. There are baptized people that 
go to hell. There are those who make a profession 
of faith. There are those who own Christ 
as Lord for a time. They may identify publicly in 
baptism and then end up in hell. There is no magic conveyed by 
the water itself. And even it is not necessary 
for salvation. It is commanded by Jesus. All 
things being equal, we should obey Jesus. But remember the 
thief on the cross. He was not baptized. And he was 
with Jesus that day in paradise. Uniquely, or interestingly, in 
March 16, when Jesus says, preach the gospel to every creature 
and baptize them. He says, he who believes is saved, 
he who does not believe is condemned. It doesn't say he was believed 
and not baptized. There's no saving efficacy in 
the waters of baptism. It is an act of obedience. Christians 
should be baptized. Christians should identify with 
their Lord. Christians ought to own him and 
publicly declare him. Christians ought not to be afraid 
of them. Interestingly enough, in the 
first century, when you made this profession, you came and 
were baptized. There was no sign a card, raise 
your hand, every head bowed, every eye closed. It was believe 
the gospel and be baptized. There was no altar call in the 
first century churches. There was a call to faith and 
baptism. It's an act of obedience to the 
risen Lord. It is an ordinance of the New 
Testament given by Jesus Christ for the party baptized. It's 
to represent certain truths in your life. It's a time and an 
event when you're to recall. Paul does that in Romans six. 
He uses the theology of baptism to enjoin upon the readers that 
they pursue holiness. They need to consciously remember 
that act of baptism. He appeals to it as sort of a 
shorthand statement of gospel blessing. One man, G.I. Williamson, in his commentary 
or his book, Exposition of the Westminster Confession, he says, 
baptism simply expresses the verbal content of the gospel 
in a nonverbal form. It's beautiful, right? It expresses The verbal content 
of the gospel in a non-verbal form. It's a great statement. The Baptist Confession, Chapter 
29, Paragraph 1 says, Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament 
ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the party baptized, a sign 
of his fellowship with him in his death and resurrection, of 
his being engrafted into him, of remission of sin, and of his 
giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness 
of life. We ask the question, what is 
baptism? I think that is a very accurate 
summary of what the Bible depicts for us. We see identification 
with the triune God. Baptizing them in the name singular 
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Do a little background 
study on that. And Deuteronomy refers to the 
name of God. The fuller revelation of the 
New Testament indicates that this God, Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit, is the one into whom we are baptized. We are identifying 
with Him. His ownership is upon us. His 
seal is ours. And we are telling people. It 
also indicates our union with Jesus Christ. Our union with 
Christ. Paul provides that, as I said, 
in Romans 6. You died with Jesus. You were buried with Jesus. And you were raised with Jesus. Now the union with Christ, a 
lot of people get this mystical idea. It is first and foremost 
legal. First and foremost, representative. Christ died. Christ was buried. Christ rose again. We are legally 
connected to Him by virtue of God's covenant. That's what we 
are to reflect upon. The glory of Christ and the saving 
of our souls, that union with Christ, our head. The Bible says, 
in Adam all died, in Christ all shall be made alive. We need 
to reflect on what they call, or what men call, federal theology. 
He is our head. We're united to him by a bond 
called a covenant that cannot be severed. Brethren, it is an 
indication of union with the Lord Jesus. Baptism does not 
provide, but rather portrays the union believers have with 
Christ. Death, burial, resurrection with 
Jesus, according to Romans 6. And then the forgiveness of sins. 
Who's like to talk about the forgiveness of sins? Because 
I'm a sinner. And I know you're sinners. It's like talking about 
a great big glass of water to someone who's really thirsty, 
but not just talking about it so they can lick their parched 
lips and start to salivate, but talking about it in order to 
hand it to them. We're talking about a big piece 
of meat and some vegetables with somebody who's really hungry. Isn't the forgiveness of sins 
one of the chief boons of Christianity? Isn't it beautiful to hear God 
say, I, I am Yahweh. I am He who blots out your transgression 
for my own sake. Isn't it wonderful to see Jesus 
on that cross taking the wrath of God due us? Isn't it wonderful to see Him 
raised up for our justification? Isn't 1 John 1-9 balm to your 
heart? If we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive us. Have you ever wondered about 
that? You would think that a sinner, 
the last thing a sinner wants is justice. We want mercy. It's justice because we have 
an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. 
He would be unjust to not forgive us. That's beautiful. This isn't to promote license, 
this isn't to promote sin, this is not to be what Paul argued 
against in Romans 6. What? Shall we continue in sin 
that grace may abound? May it never be. But sinner, 
know this. Saved sinner, know this. There 
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. Psalm 
130. Out of the depths I have cried 
to thee. Out of the debts, the psalm makes it clear what debts 
he was in. It wasn't physical problems. It wasn't difficulties and trials 
in his marriage. It wasn't a wayward child. It 
wasn't the threat of job loss. Out of the debts I have cried 
to thee. He says, Lord, if thou should mark iniquities, O Lord, 
who could stand? Think about it. God took every 
one of your sins to account. Could you stand? I don't care 
how good you are. I don't care what kind of an 
upbringing you had. I don't care how much catechism 
you learn, how many Bible verses you've committed to memory. We 
all stand justly under the wrath and curse of God most high for 
every sin. But the psalmist doesn't stop 
there. He said, if you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, 
who could stand? But, it's a great but. It's a 
great but, Psalm 130, but there is forgiveness with you that 
you may be feared. The blood of Jesus Christ, His 
Son, cleanses us from all sins. Forgiveness is portrayed through 
baptism. It is not provided by baptism. It is pictured by baptism. When that brother goes into the 
water, the symbolism is loud. The symbolism is powerful. Not 
only death, burial, and resurrection in Jesus, but the washing away 
of sin, the purging away, the cleansing of our conscience, 
the blood of Jesus sprinkling and speaking of better things. 
Brethren, that's what baptism is all about. In conclusion, 
Want to make a specific charge to our brother Jeremy? Where's 
Jeremy? Good. The confession, I touched on 
union, identification, but it also says, and of his giving 
up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of 
life. Paul does that essentially. Romans 6, 1 to 4 is the foundation 
upon which he deals with sanctification. He will later say in verse 11, 
likewise, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God 
in Christ Jesus. You'll say, therefore, do not 
let sin reign in your mortal bodies. Don't present your members 
as instruments of unrighteousness. Consider the fact that Jesus 
saved you. Consider the fact that you've been dead, buried, 
and rose again. Live consistently with that. 
And so with that in view, Jeremy, you need to pursue righteousness. You're justified freely by grace, 
as all those who by God's grace are saved, but we are saved to 
glorify God. We are saved to walk in holiness. 
We are to pursue peace and the holiness without which no one 
will see the Lord. The Christian gospel, justification 
by faith alone, far from providing license, is the only sure guarantor 
of holiness. When we understand what God in 
Christ has done, that's the motive, that's the ground, that's the 
basis by which we pursue Christ-likeness. Faith in Jesus is the one thing 
needful, always. Live the cross-centered life. Always be found looking to Jesus. Right? If you all have figured 
out a better way to live the Christian life, write a book. 
The scriptures are very emphatic. The best, nay, the only way to 
live the Christian life is by virtue of our union with Christ, 
by looking constantly to Him. How does Paul describe it? God 
forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me and 
I to the world. So justified by faith, man, that 
world no longer holds the allurement that it once did by virtue of 
his union with Christ and his death. The best way to feed that 
faith is to read, study, and meditate upon God's word, giving 
constant attention to the cross. That's absolutely imperative 
for each of us. speaking specifically to Jeremy, 
but I hope you all realize I'm speaking to you. The best way 
to feed that faith is to read, study, and meditate upon God's 
Word, giving constant attention to the cross. That's so elementary, 
it seems like it should go without saying. But I wonder at times 
if we don't look a bit like Israel in Hosea's time. My people perish. Why? For a lack of knowledge. We have Bibles. We have books. 
We have publishers. We have sermonaudio.com. We have 
so many resources, and yet there is a biblical illiteracy that 
is rife and rampant among evangelical and, dare I say it, Reformed 
churches. Confessions are good insofar as they explain the Scripture. 
Know your Bible. Prayer is essential in this walk 
of faith. Fellowship with other Christians 
is essential. John Proctor gave me a beanie 
once, what I call a beanie, you call them a toque here. It's 
from Liverpool. Liverpool, England. Their theme 
song is, You'll Never Walk Alone. So this beanie says, You'll Never 
Walk Alone. That's how it's supposed to be in the Christian life. 
You're not supposed to walk alone. I realize you may be smarter. 
Not you, Jeremy, I'm not picking on you here. But people think 
they're smarter, they're more efficient, they've figured out 
a better way. You haven't. Being in imperfect churches with 
imperfect people who have issues and problems and difficulties 
and trials and who may even sin against you is God's purpose 
for your growth as a Christian. If anything, it teaches you how 
to be patient with wretches like me. Praise God for that opportunity 
for sanctification. You need to be among God's people. 
Just want to read a quote from C.H. Spurgeon. This isn't from 
a sermon. This isn't from his doctrinal writings. It's a quote 
probably familiar to some here, but it's an instance from his 
own diary dated May 3rd, 1850. May 3rd, 1850. He said in the 
afternoon, I was privileged to follow my Lord and to be buried 
with him in baptism. Blessed pool, sweet emblem of 
my death to all the world. May I henceforward live alone 
for Jesus. Accept my body and soul as a 
poor sacrifice. Tie me unto thee. In thy strength 
I now devote myself to thy service forever. Never may I shrink from 
owning thy name. Witness, ye men and angels, now, 
if I ever, or if I forsake the Lord. I vow to glory alone in 
Jesus and His cross and to spend my life in the extension of His 
cause in whatsoever way He pleases. I desire to be sincere in this 
solemn profession, having but one object in view, and that 
to glorify God. Blessing upon Thy name that Thou 
hast supported me through the day. It is Thy strength alone 
that could do this. Thou hast, Thou wilt. Thou hast 
enabled me to profess Thee. Help me now to honor thee and 
carry out my profession and live the life of Christ on earth. 
May that be Jeremy's testimony. May that be all of our testimonies. 
Interestingly enough, C.H. Spurgeon's parents believed in 
infant sprinkling. They were quite happy when Spurgeon 
got baptized and they said, oh, but we wished you would have 
come to the Presbyterian church. And he said, well, mother, well, 
father, God is able to do exceedingly above and beyond all that we 
ask or think. Not a polemic dig, just a humorous 
quip. I hope you take it in the spirit 
of charity for which I meant it. But that is a sound confession 
of a man who goes into that blessed pool, resigned and resolved to 
live for Jesus Christ. Jeremy and Jules are joining 
our church. We need to hold them accountable. They in turn us. 
We need to pray for them. We need to encourage them. The 
body of Christ needs to love Christ and love each other. We 
need to work at this. It does not come easy. We need 
to go outside of ourselves at times. We need to be a prayerful 
people. And then finally, as I mentioned 
earlier, my concern this morning is that you know Christ. The 
way that you know Christ is not by getting wet. The way that 
you know Christ is by believing the gospel. by believing the 
truth, by believing that Bible, by believing everything it says 
concerning Jesus, that he came into this world to live in obedience 
to the Father, that he came as the surety of a better covenant, 
that he gave himself up at Calvary for the sins of others, for the 
sins of all those whom the Father had given him. He went into the 
tomb, he rose on the third day and he ascended on high. He led 
captivity captive and he gives gifts to men. He now sits in 
throne. He pours out his spirit. He blesses 
the preaching of his word and he calls all men everywhere to 
believe. Believe the gospel, repent from 
your sins and you will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray. Our 
Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the 
doctrine of baptism as set forth in the scriptures. And God, how 
we thank you that we have seen your grace and mercy displayed 
in our local church. We thank you that we have seen 
it displayed in our individual lives. And we just pray that 
more and more people would own Christ as Lord and Savior. This 
is our genuine desire, God, and we call upon you. the one in 
whom is all power and glory and majesty to do this great work. And we ask through Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. Amen.