You may turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 28. We're going to study the subject of the topic of the doctrine of baptism this morning. will be more of a topical survey as we look at the meaning of baptism, the subjects for baptism, and then the importance of baptism. So those will be our three points, our three observations this morning as we ask the question, what does baptism mean? Who should be baptized and why is it necessary?
And I thought Matthew 28, beginning at verse 11, would frame our thoughts aright as we approach this doctrine. Now, while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers saying, tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure.
So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain, which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." Well, let us pray.
Our gracious God, we thank You for this portion of Holy Scripture. We thank You for the great commission that You have given to Your churches. We pray, Father, that these things would be paramount in our minds and in our hearts, that we would seek to make known the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, that we would preach, that we would declare, that we would tell sinners everywhere that God is holy, that man has sinned, and that Christ alone can save to the uttermost. We pray as well, Father, that there would be baptisms people identifying with you, people professing saving faith and going into those waters to come out afresh in newness of life.
We also pray that churches would be places where people are taught, that we wouldn't just be taught so we'd have a head knowledge, but we would be taught to observe all things that the Lord has commanded, that your churches would be marked by justification and by sanctification, that there would be increase in holiness, increase in the knowledge of God Most High, and that in this you would be well pleased, Father. We would ask now that you would bless our study together, cause us to reflect upon baptism, cause us to reflect in such a way as to glorify and to honor you, to perhaps be refreshed in our own memories, that blessed time when we went into the waters as well. And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Well, as I said,
Introduction
we're going to take up three sections or three thoughts this morning. The meaning of baptism, the subjects for baptism, and then the necessity or the importance of baptism. Again, this is a wonderful topic. Certainly, this is not a doctrine that has been immune to confrontation or controversy.
You're all surely aware of the debates that occur over the subjects of baptism, who should be baptized, and over the mode. Should we immerse, or should we sprinkle, or should we pour? Well, this morning, I don't want to engage in polemics or apologetics. Rather, I just want to look at this topic biblically.
I realize everybody says that to be sure, people on both sides, but I want to make this a positive treatment so that we can be again encouraged by the doctrine of baptism. Well, as we look at the meaning, I want to just make two quotes. One is from G.I. Williamson, a Presbyterian author, who writes, baptism simply expresses the verbal content of the gospel in non-verbal form.
I think that's a great summary statement. Baptism simply expresses the verbal content of the gospel in a nonverbal form. So that when the young man goes into the water today, the water does not save him. The water is not magical.
It does not convey the redemptive benefits purchased by Christ through its own being as water. Rather, it symbolizes, it furnishes, it proclaims in a nonverbal way what the gospel is all about. We might liken it to a wedding ceremony. We put a ring on our bride's finger.
We put a ring on our bridegroom's finger. And it symbolizes, it's a non-verbal communication that something has transpired, that two has become, or two have become one. So I think that's a great definition. Our London Baptist Confession of Faith in chapter 29, paragraph 1, summarizes baptism this way.
It says baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ. It's very important that we get that. It is ordained by Jesus Christ. It's not just something that the Christian church decided, hey, this would be a good thing to do.
We speak of God ordaining marriage. Well, it was instituted. It was given by Him. And the same thing is seen in the doctrine of baptism.
It is ordained. It is dominical. That means it refers to the Lordship of Christ. It is not for ours to disregard.
The confession goes on to say, to be unto the party baptized. Baptism primarily this morning is for Austin. We all just get to be blessed witnesses of that fact. Do you remember that unit, that Ethiopian unit?
What prohibits me from being baptized? Philip said, if you believe in your heart that Jesus is the Christ, that God raised him from the dead, you can be baptized. So they went down into the water and came up. They didn't wait until they got to the church.
Now again, this is a wonderful time for corporate worship. It's a wonderful time for us to be reminded of gospel truth and to see this visible representation of a spiritual change. But it is to the party baptized. It is something to affect him.
It is something to bring blessing to him. It is something that he is to look back upon in his life. Just as we are all called to do in Romans chapter 6 verses 1 to 4, Paul uses our baptism as an argument, as a reason why we ought to live godly in Christ Jesus. So the confession goes on to say, it is a sign of his fellowship with Christ in his death and resurrection, of his being engrafted into him, of remission of sins, and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life.
It's a pact and a wonderful and an excellent statement of what baptism means. So
The Meaning of Baptism
let's just unpack this meaning. Three specifics that the confession touches upon. The first is union with Christ.
Union with Christ
Union with Christ. All of the blessings that we have are in Him. All of the benefits that we have are in him. Again, Romans chapter six, you may turn there just to see this union with Christ set forth in connection with our baptism as Paul's argument as to why justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, believers should walk in holiness and in righteousness.
Romans chapter 6, union with Christ, beginning in verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? You see, Paul comes to treat now a very pertinent subject.
It was being said that if we understand justification by faith alone, we might reasonably conclude it doesn't matter how we live. It doesn't matter what we do. We can continue in sin so that God's grace may abound. Paul says, may it never be.
He's treating the fact that justified believers will always be sanctified believers. Justified believers will always pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord. That's the context here. And as I said, union with Christ alluded to in our baptism serves as a grand argument as to why we ought to be holy.
So the next time you come to a fork in the road where whether it's the devil presenting a temptation or your own remaining corruption, think back to the time you were baptized. Think back to that day when you went into the waters and you publicly and visibly proclaim your identity with Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is saying here. How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
Verse three, or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father. Even so, we also should be should walk in newness of life. This baptism portrays our union with Jesus and his death.
And again, immersion fits the bill. We want to translate the word baptizo, it is simply immerse and it fits the picture. It serves the purpose. When the man goes into the water, he goes under the water.
It is as if he is dying. And then what is being raised anew is a new man in Christ Jesus. Again, not because that water is special. That water is the same water we brew coffee with.
That water is the same water we wash our hands with. It hasn't undergone any magical change or transformation, but rather it's symbolic. It is the non-verbal communicant of that verbal content of the gospel of free and sovereign grace. It pictures, it shows, it demonstrates our death with Christ.
We need to die to ourselves. We need to die to sin. We need to die to all the bondage and the slavery that we were in. And baptism pictures that.
It portrays our union with Christ in his burial. And Christ went into that grave. Christ went into that tomb. And he rose again on the third day.
We are in union with him. That's what Paul is highlighting in this particular section as an argument for our sanctification. And then it portrays our union with Christ in newness of life, which we'll see in just a moment. It's not only that.
I mean, that's enough, right? Wow, that's excellent. But consider Matthew 28 as well, what we read there in verse 18. Go therefore. and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of, beautiful, the singular name of the triune God, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
What is held forth there is the identification with the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a man goes into the waters of Christian baptism and he arises again, he is identifying with the one, the true, and the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's a blessed thing, isn't it? It's not just a matter of somebody getting wet.
I've witnessed baptisms before, and I've always wanted to get baptized again. because I believe in rebaptism or not, because I think it's efficacious somehow. But whenever I've watched a baptism, I recall my baptism and what a blessing it was to come up out of the water. publicly professing identification with Christ Most High who saved me by His grace. And I hope that is your experience today, that you reflect upon what Jesus has done. Wherever you fall out on the debate concerning infant or believer's baptism, we're not saved by our doctrinal apprehension of that particular truth.
We're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the blood of Jesus Christ alone. union with Christ. Secondly,
Forgiveness of Sins
baptism shows us, represents, or portrays the forgiveness of sin. That water doesn't provide forgiveness. That water portrays that forgiveness has been conveyed. It is through the blood of Jesus that we receive forgiveness.
We see this in Acts. You may turn to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9, the account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who, as we know, is the apostle Paul, was raised up as the missionary to the Gentiles to go and proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to Gentiles. In Acts chapter 9, verse 17, Acts chapter 9, beginning in verse 17, Ananias went his way and entered the house.
And laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and was baptized. Now turn over to Acts 22, as the apostle is recounting this, as he is rehearsing this. Acts chapter 22, beginning in verse 12.
Then a certain Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me. And he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth.
For you will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord. It doesn't provide forgiveness.
It portrays that forgiveness has been given. And this brings up an interesting consideration when we baptize a younger person. You know, you Christians, especially you Calvinists, you reform people, you talk about your total depravity. Talk about the doctrine of sin, and you paint everybody as monsters, horrible specimens of human beings.
Yeah, that's accurate. And then we only scratch the surface. You might ask a young person, what sins have they done that they need the blood of Jesus Christ to remit, to forgive, to get rid of? I love the answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.
It asks, what does every sin deserve? Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. Sin is a far more dangerous thing than we estimate. Sin is a far more serious concern than people give attention to.
Sin is a far more difficult obstacle to deal with than what we reckon. We think a little bit of therapy will help set men aright. We think a little bit of assistance will set men aright. We think splinting the cracked or fractured bone will make them better.
You know what sin demanded in terms of its payment, in terms of its restitution, in terms of its pardon? The death of Jesus Christ. There's a hymn that specifies this in a very powerful way. It alludes to this very thing.
It says, What does God think of sin? It pleased the Lord to crush him. Isaiah 53.11. It pleased Yahweh to crush him, the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did it please him? Was it some vindictive cosmic child abuse that the enemies of God portray? No, it pleased the Lord to crush him because in that transaction, God is both just and the justifier of the one who believes in Christ. God upholds his righteousness at the cross.
God does not renege on the demands of his penal sanctions with reference to sin, but he carries it out fully in the execution of his wrath upon his son. Ye who think of sin but lightly, nor suppose the evil great, here may view its nature rightly, here its guilt may estimate. Mark the sacrifice appointed, see who bears the awful load. Tis the word, the Lord's anointed, Son of man and Son of God.
Maybe for a younger man like Austin, he hasn't amassed the amount of sins that some of us as adults have, but nevertheless, reflecting on the catechism, what does every sin deserve? It deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. That baptismal font. That body of water, as he goes down and he comes up, verbally or non-verbally represents the forgiveness of sins that has come through the blood of Jesus Christ.
That's why baptism is wonderful. You ever thought about that, all the things you have in Christ? I hope you think that way. You know, sometimes people think about, OK, I've got money in the bank.
I've got a garage full of stuff. I've got a nice summer home. They sort of take an inventory of what they have. Perhaps as they get older, they start looking at paperwork.
They start sort of making files and getting things in place, getting things ready in case they die. We need to do that as believers. We need to take spiritual inventory of what we have. What does Paul mean when he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
What is this every spiritual blessing? Well, it's justification. It's sanctification. It's our eventual glorification.
It is pardon of sin. Do you realize that we are guilty, vile and helpless? We have offended the thrice holy God. We justly deserve his punishment.
We justly deserve that wrath and curse for all eternity. And we have received the forgiveness of sin. I hope you want to jump in that water. Of all the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, certainly, I hope for you, pardon of sin, forgiveness of sin ranks very high up in the list.
I bet if you ask that man that Jesus set forth in Luke 18, you know, when the two men went to pray, the Pharisee prayed thus with himself, I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like other men. I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like publicans like this particular man. Jesus then shines the light on that man. He says he could not even look up into heaven, but he beat his breast and he said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.
Jesus says, I tell you truly, this man went to his house justified. You go visit that man in his house and you ask him, what's one of the chief blessings that you've received? The forgiveness of sins, pardon from my iniquity. The blotting out of my transgressions.
This is how Yahweh publicized himself in the prophet Isaiah. I am he who blots out your transgressions. This is what causes the psalmist to rejoice in Psalm 103. As far as the east is from the west, so you have removed our iniquities.
This is what caused the prophet Micah to use the form of his word and say, Who is it, God, like you? Or the form of his name. That's what Micah means. It means, Who is it, God, like you?
What does he then go on to say? Because you made the heavens and the earth? Those are glorious things. Because you providentially sustain everything?
Those are glorious things. He says, Who is it, God, like you, pardoning our iniquity? The forgiveness of sins. If you're not a Christian here this morning, I hope you get jealous.
I hope this baptism makes you jealous, not in an ungodly way, not in an unholy way. Jesus said, violent men take the kingdom of heaven by force. I hope there's a bit of that holy violence in your soul this morning. I want that forgiveness.
I want that peace of conscience. I want to be able to go to bed at night realizing that my sins have been dealt with, realizing there's a champion at the right hand of the throne of God, an advocate with me, one who forgives, one who pardons, one who through his death and resurrection and his life evermore deals with sin. That's a boon of the Christian life. Invite all the other philosophies, all the other religions, every other doctrine of man and ask them, OK, what do you have to offer?
What do you got? Well, we'll give you happiness here on earth, and then I die and go to hell for eternity. We give you influence over your friends and enemies, and then I die and go to hell. What does Christianity offer?
I love the Apostle Paul in Acts 13. He's preaching in a synagogue in Pisidia in Antioch, and he says, Therefore, let it be known to you today that through this man, Jesus Christ, is preached the forgiveness of sins. This is how Jesus commissions the disciples in Luke 24. Luke 24, Jesus holds this out as a boon, as a benefit, as one of the great redemptive privileges of gospel truth.
He says, Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. Forgiveness. Confession tells us that our Bibles highlight that remission of sins doesn't provide forgiveness, but rather it portrays forgiveness. So the meaning of baptism is seen in union with Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and then thirdly, in newness of life.
Newness of Life
newness of life. I love the way the confession summarizing the biblical data says this, and I've is giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. Giving up unto God, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Solomon says, and lean not on your own understanding. This was the sin that began in the garden.
This is the sin that is rampant or dominant in every unhumbled heart. As Bridget said, self-dependence, self-reliance. Some, no doubt, will hear a message like this and say, I need to try a bit harder. I need to quit doing this particular thing.
I need to add this particular thing. You've missed the point of the gospel. The good news isn't try a little bit harder and God will reward you. The good news is you are desperately wicked.
Or the bad news is you're desperately wicked. The good news is that God has provided a champion. God has provided a redeemer. God has provided the Lord Jesus.
Your problem is self-dependence, self-reliance, trying to do it on your own. That's the issue. So what happens when someone's saved? What does baptism represent?
What does baptism symbolize? It symbolizes the ones giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of life. There's an admission going on in that tank. There's an admission.
I've made a mess of my life. So we can't treat baptism as the great congratulatory thing. Well, now that you've been baptized, finally, you've accomplished everything fit and ready for you to be accepted with God. That's just the opposite.
People that go into that tank and other tanks, I don't want to say we've got the exclusive rights on baptism here, but people who go into that tank are not coming out a champion. They're not coming out as the victor. They're not coming out as the one who has figured out how to do this before God. They come out as admitters.
They come out as confessors. They come out as those who have said, I have made a mess of my life. Apart from the work of Jesus Christ, apart from his doing and dying and rising, apart from his precious blood, I am dead in my trespasses and sins and justly liable to God's holy wrath." It's an admission. It's a declaration.
It's a profession. I've ruined myself. I have degraded myself. God gave me a holy law, and I've busied myself in breaking each of those ten blessed words.
I've had other gods before him. I've been an idolater. I have misused his name. I have broken his special day.
I have dishonored lawful authority. I have been a murderer. I have been an adulterer. I have been a thief.
I have been a liar, and I have been a covetous man. I am ruined in and of myself. Baptism is an admission that in myself I fail. But it's God's grace, it's God's pardon, it's God's remission of my sin, and based on His Spirit and His work in me, I give up unto God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life.
That's what it's about. Isn't that a beautiful thing that God has given? If you hear me allude to weddings, I just did a wedding yesterday. You know, sometimes the bride or the groom looks at that ring, not because of the gold, not because of the diamonds, not because it fits so snugly, not because it makes that third finger look beautiful.
They look at that ring to reflect upon the one they love. The one who has taken them to themselves. The one who has completed them. The one who has blessed them immensely.
I hope we all look at our rings that way. You might wonder why I don't wear a ring. My finger got too fat for it. I'm sorry.
I wish that wasn't the case. If you've ever wondered why Pastor Butler doesn't wear a wedding ring, I love my wife. I esteem my wife. I don't need to look at a ring to think about her.
She is always right there in the front of my mind. She is a delightful human being to me. The reason Pastor Butler doesn't wear a ring on his fingers, kids, is because his fingers became like Vienna sausages and he needs to lose some weight. If I publicize that, there's some impetus for me to get serious.
But you know, the person doesn't look at that ring and stop. The ring is the vehicle to take them to the person. That tank of water is there to take us to that blood. That tank of water is there to bring us to Calvary, to take us to Zechariah 13, 1.
There will be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. Brethren, newness of life is pictured. Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Don't continue in your breaking of those ten commandments.
Don't continue in your rejection of God's holy law. Don't continue in your revolt and rebellion. You are baptized. You've been brought into union with Christ.
Your sins are pardoned. You've made a public avowal of walking in newness of life. Don't go out and carry on like a heathen. Don't go out and carry on like a pagan.
You're a Christian. You're a believer. You have something that the world does not have. You have something that no one can take away from you.
You're in Christ. based on that reality, pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Subjects of Baptism
That, briefly, is the meaning. We ask the question, who should be baptized? I think the answer is evident. Those who have experienced those blessings, right?
Doesn't it make sense? Those who have union with Christ, those who have the pardon of sin, those who walk in newness of life are the subjects of baptism. They are the ones to go into the water. They are the ones to come up out of the water.
They are the ones who have right and priority to the baptismal waters. They are the proper subjects of baptism.
Old Testament Witness: Jeremiah 31
The Old Testament confirms this. I'm going to mention a text that I know Free Grace Baptist Church, or I hope Free Grace Baptist Church, is very familiar with. There's an announcement of the New Covenant in the Old Covenant. There's an announcement of what God will do in Jesus Christ in the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. What God through the prophet is showing us is what the New Covenant community will look like. Remember that? Yes, we remember.
Great text, we love that passage. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This means the church, as Hebrews 8 and 10 tell us. Hebrews 8 and 10 applies this to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and the new covenant.
It goes on to say, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. It's unbreakable. In other words, when by God's grace you come into this new covenant, you're not going to lose your salvation. You're not going to be finally lost.
You're not going to be damned. Those for whom Jesus died are secured so that they will be able to say with Newton, when we've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first began. We're going to sing that in a few minutes anyway. It's unbreakable.
God says, I will internalize my law. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. Remember, he's announcing what the new covenant is going to look like. He says, they will have a personal knowledge of God and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother saying, know the Lord, for they all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. It's not talking about the catechism here. It's talking about experiential religion. Of course, everybody in old covenant Israel knew who Yahweh was.
He's talking about that knowledge of intimacy. That knowledge of relationship, that knowledge of covenant, that knowledge of entering into the very presence of God Most High. And then he says, fourthly, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more.
It's the parameters of the New Covenant community. That's what the New Covenant community looks like. That's why we as Reformed Baptists say only those who profess faith in Christ, those who profess repentance unto life, are the worthy subjects of baptism. It's not rocket science.
It's not that difficult. It really isn't. God, through the prophet, defines. And then
New Testament Pattern in Acts
when we turn to the pages of the New Testament, what do we see? It's fleshed out. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them. Who?
The disciples that are made. Not the nations indiscriminately. Rome used to take their water and just sprinkle masses of humanity in order to make them Christians. That's not what the text says.
The text says, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, the disciples made from within the nations. They are the ones, they are the subjects, they are proper and fitting to go into the baptistry. We see it in the book of Acts. Repent, therefore, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Our dear brethren that hold to pale sprinkling, oftentimes sight, Acts 2, when it says, the promise is for you and your children, all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call. That last phrase limits it. As many as the Lord our God will call. That's the modifying clause.
That's absolutely crucial. Or we should just go sprinkle all who are far off and make them Christians. No. And John Gill points out that some of the children in attendance there were being specifically appealed to because, if you remember, when the Jews invoked the wrath of God upon themselves, they said, let his blood be upon us and our children.
Now, there's forgiveness through that blood. The text does not demand, necessitate, or give warrant for infant inclusion. Just trying to be polemic, just trying to set forth what the Bible sets forth to modify. And then we go through the book of Acts, what do we see?
The Ethiopian eunuch, I believe he's baptized. Saul of Tarsus believed he was baptized. Acts 18, they believed and they were baptized. There's a particular priority.
The lawful subjects under Christ who are fit candidates for baptism are those who, by God's grace alone, have believed the gospel. Those who have received the benefits of new covenant membership. Those who, by God's grace, are in an inviolable or unbreakable covenant. who have the law written on their hearts, who have a personal knowledge of God Most High, and who have received the forgiveness of sins, they go into the tank.
Confession on Proper Subjects
The confession summarizes this way in chapter 29, paragraph 2. Those who do actually profess repentance toward God, faith in and obedience to our Lord Jesus, are the only proper subjects of this ordinance.
The Necessity of Baptism
We've seen the meaning, the subjects, thirdly and quickly, the necessity. Why? I hope the answer I give will carry everyone's conscience. Because Jesus commands it.
Right? Jesus commands this. Go, therefore, and make disciples. If you want to, baptize them.
If you don't want to, don't baptize them. No, go. Going. Literally, going.
Disciple. When you have disciples, baptize those disciples and then teach those disciples. You see the mission of the church right there, don't you? But he talks about being missional today, but he talks about being on mission.
Well, the church's mission is pretty clearly defined there. Make disciples, baptize disciples and teach disciples. It really isn't rocket science. Sometimes the church is doing things that Jesus never called her to do.
And then people blame her for not doing other things. The church's focus is quite narrow, brethren. It's like the state's focus is quite narrow. God's made families, made church.
He's made state. He's made specific functions for that. The church isn't supposed to be doing a lot of the things she's engaged in. She is to faithfully and accurately and exegetically preach God's truth.
Baptize or make disciples and baptize them and then teach them. When you're looking for a church, may I suggest Matthew 28 take priority? Not you have the cleanest nursery care. I'm not saying put your child in a pit.
I've shared with the brethren here at the church I came from, at one point we had a pit for a nursery, not literally, but physically. Me and the other deacon used to have to go on spider patrol before children would come in there on Sunday mornings. That meant walk around and make sure the big gargantuan Mojave Desert spiders weren't lurking behind the carpet shag so that they could attack our dear ones. That's legit.
You can weed out spiders. That's good. You know, people shop, if I can use that language, for churches in that way. They let the needs of the desires of the wants of their hearts, or sometimes the wants of their children's hearts, define for them where they will worship God.
Who should define where we worship God? God should define that. Does the church preach the Bible accurately? That's primary.
That's of the utmost. That's absolutely crucial. Do they practice the ordinances biblically? Baptism in the Lord's Supper.
And do they teach? Do they nurture? Do they feed? Do they get people grounded in the Holy Scriptures?
Most of you know, my son is gone now. He's in Mississippi. I encouraged him with this church that he is going to go to in Biloxi. Be a blessing.
Be an encouragement to your pastor. Don't whine. Don't grumble. Don't complain.
If he handles accurately the word of God, love him, esteem him, and be there. It's not rocket science. One of the most encouraging things for pastors, believe it or not, is when people show up. Boy, you set the bar pretty low there, pastor.
That's what it's about. That's what the Great Commission says. How are we supposed to teach people that don't come? How can we rightly break open the Word of Life to people who aren't here?
How can we engage in the shepherding aspect to people that are unknown? You see, it isn't rocket science. Jesus commands it. Mark, chapter 16, in another version, not another version, but Mark's record of the Great Commission, Mark 16, 15, he said to them, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes in his baptized will be saved, but he does not believe will be condemned. That's Jesus words, that's what Jesus says. Go and preach the gospel. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.
Notice, he who does not believe will be condemned. You can go to heaven without being baptized. You need to obey this command. You need to submit to the Lord.
You need to follow him in the waters of baptism. But rejection or exclusion from the kingdom of God comes based on the gospel, whether we believe it or we don't. The thief on the cross entered into heaven without having been baptized. We need to make sure we understand that.
There's no saving efficacy tied up in that tank. Regular water. And
Baptism as Gospel Testimony
it is not only commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a testimony to the glory of God in the gospel. When our young brother goes into that tank today again, don't congratulate him. I mean, there's nothing wrong with shaking his hand and giving him a big bear hug and loving on him and all that sort of thing. But it's not as if he's accomplished something today.
The great accomplishment is in the work at Calvary. The great accomplishment is what God in the gospel has done. That water, again, should serve like that ring to lead us to that person. That water should lead us to the triune God of heaven and earth. the Father who chose, the Son who redeems, and the Spirit who applies.
It should lead us to consider sovereign grace. It should lead us to consider that sovereign power that brought a sinner out of darkness into marvelous light.
Spurgeon's Baptismal Testimony
Austin, may your confession this day be similar to that of Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I'd be remiss as a Reformed Baptist to preach on baptism and not quote Spurgeon. It's like an unwritten rule. You just don't do that.
Headquarters would get very mad with me. Just kidding. Here's his journal or his diary entry for May 3rd. May 3rd was his mother's birthday.
So he notes that. My mother's birthday says something glowing about his mother to be sure. But then he said this. And I want you to think about this and I hope it is your testimony as well.
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 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. Wonderful words from our dear brother and ones I hope Austin will reflect upon. We as the church are receiving a young man into our membership today.
We are to pray for him as we pray for each other. This is a presupposition. We are to seek, by God's good grace, to hold him accountable, to be an encouragement to him, and to be of benefit to him. We have reciprocal duties in the body of Christ.
You don't just come to get in the church. John F. Kennedy said it with reference to the state. I don't know if he actually said it.
It's attributed to him. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. Let's bring that into the ecclesiastical sphere. Again, going back to that shopper's mentality, what can the church do for me?
Let's look at what we can do for the church. Let's look at how we can honor the bride of Christ. Let's look at how we can serve her. Let's look at how we can deny ourselves for her.
Let's ask about someone else on the Sabbath day than making them hear all about us. Again, it's reciprocal. It's one to another. The New Testament is filled with one another's.
Love one another. Be hospitable to one another. Give preference to one another. Be kindly affectionate to one another.
You see, the Bible says we are to scope out others. And we are to put them before ourselves. And we are to value them and prize them. And we need to be apprised afresh of not only our privileges of church membership, but the responsibilities.
It's not just a matter of what we get here. It's what we're able to give by God's grace and for his glory. And I'll summarize or I'll close with this.
Application
Baptism does not save. Jesus saves. Jesus Christ alone. If you're trusting in your works, if you're trusting in your performance, if you're trusting that you're not as bad as the kid that lives down the street, your trust is without foundation.
There is one alone who can save. There is one alone who brings forgiveness. There is one alone who brings righteousness, and it's Christ. The Bible says whoever believes on him will be saved.
Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank you very much for the scriptures. Thank you for this wonderful doctrine of baptism. Thank you for what it signifies, what it symbolizes, what it portrays. We pray that this morning would be an encouragement to each and every one of us as we reflect again upon the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We just pray for young Austin that you would bless him in his Christian life, cause him to pursue holiness, cause him to be a man of God, to be faithful in every area that you call him to. Give us grace as the Church of Christ to engage in these one and others, to reciprocate, to seek to be a blessing, to seek to give, to seek to deny ourselves on behalf of others. We just thank you, Lord, for this glad hour. We thank you for the grace that has made all of this possible.
We thank you for your grace displayed through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen.