Christ Is Obedient | April 19, 2026 AM

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The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist

Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us

or contact us at my libertybaptist.org or just look

us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this

message from God's Word will be a blessing to you.

I do want to recognize with our baptistry out here today.

And all of that we got going on and do want to recognize my

friend here today, my dear friend, Brother Steve Smith.

And he's sitting here in the 2nd row.

He's the man that's taller than almost everybody here except for

Jim Weatherby necessarily. But we're glad to be able to

have Brother Steve with us. Some of you might remember back

in 2021 when I had my surgery on my jaw, that Becky Smith came

here to help assist our family while I was in the hospital for

10 days. She helped my wife help with the

children and their family has been a dear friend of ours since

as long as I can remember. Becky passed away two years ago.

And so we prayed for her during her illness and then prayed for

Brother Steve after her passing. And it's been good to have him

here the last couple days just visiting, just showing him some

of the sites around here. And so glad for that, but glad

that he's with us today and have a lot of stories I could tell

about brother Steve. He has a whole lot more stories

he could tell of me. So it's kind of one of those

things where let's just play nice.

All right? So neither of us are gonna say

anything about each other, but I'm gonna tell a story that I've

mentioned in passing before years before, but is certainly

relevant today, not just with Brother Steve being here, but

also with the baptistry out here.

This morning I was an intern for Brother Steve.

He was a pastor in Holden, MO at Holden Baptist Temple.

And he came to me about a couple months before the end of my

sophomore year and said, would you pray about coming to Holden

and living with us in the Parsonage and working for a few

months and helping out of the church, running a vacation Bible

school and doing those types of things.

And honestly, I jumped at the opportunity, one, because I want

to be to work with him and be with their family, but also

because I'd never lived in a small town before and I thought

it would be good to see another side of ministry that I hadn't

seen before being in Tampa and in Oklahoma City.

So it had a wonderful time. But I do remember at one point

he gave me the instruction very clearly.

He says, Adam, I want you to fill the baptistry.

Now, many of you understand most Baptist churches, unless they

rent like we do, have a real baptistry.

A fiberglass baptistry is probably back in the background

behind where I am right now, where people can stand up and

then be baptized fully immersed back up and then come out of the

pool. That's what most Baptist

churches have. Many of you are used to that.

And that's what it had it holding Baptist Temple.

She told me to fill the baptistry.

And I remember it getting close to being full.

And it was about lunchtime and, you know, I'm big on lunch.

And so I was about to be able to go over to the Parsonage to eat

lunch with The Smiths. And so before I left, I turned

off the water. And I remember reaching over to

turn off the water. And I don't know that I realized

or not, but I, I, I, I thought that I had turned it off, but it

actually turned it on full blast.

I went the wrong direction. Now listen, I'm no dummy.

No, no, no, no. You all, you all think you know

what's actually it's good what's happens, what you think's going

to happen. But I, I'm not careless.

I lifted up the hose to make sure.

It was off. No water came out of the hose.

Now the problem was I realized later, I kinked the hose when I

pulled it up. So no water came out.

Not because the water was off, but because I kinked the hose.

Went home, had lunch, came back in about an hour and I heard the

sound of running water and for some reason it was in the

basement. I went down in the basement and

water is running through the electrical sockets.

In the ceiling, running through the light fixtures, falling

down. I'm standing in the middle of

the water. There's about this much water

all over the basement. And all I could think of was

he's coming back from lunch too and he'll be here in 5 minutes.

And I thought maybe I can vacuum all of this up.

In 5 minutes and take it upstairs because we're in the

basement. I had to get it upstairs and

out. Guess what I could not do in

five? Minutes.

I could not vacuum it all up. Brother Smith came in.

He was very gracious about it, but at the same time, I had to

clean it all up. And he didn't pay me that

summer. But other than that, no, that's

not true. That last part's not true.

And then several years later when we worked together,

Westgate Baptist Church, I also flooded their baptistry but ran

the water overnight so that in the morning it was like a sea of

glass all over there was. So much water.

So basically we do the water this way here, one, because our

building can't support a baptistry.

But also when I'm the pastor, this is safer to be honest with

you for it to be that way. You you might even say something

like this. You might even say pastor.

Wouldn't it be easier? To just sprinkle someone to

baptize them, especially when you are the pastor and these are

the problems. Would it be easier to sprinkle

them or would it be easier to just use a?

Little cup of water maybe make the sign of the.

Cross on top of you. Wouldn't that be easier?

And the answer would be yes, it would be easier.

But it wouldn't be obedient to what the word of God says.

And The thing is, is that baptism is all about obedience.

And so this morning, as we continue our series, Christ is

All, I actually want us to look at the baptism of Jesus Christ.

And the title of my message, as I mentioned you a few moments

ago, is this, that Christ is obedient.

And that might sound odd to your ears this morning, the thought

of God himself being obedient. We'll talk about why that's

important just a moment, but we'll also see about Christ

getting baptized and why that deals with obedience.

And why it still deals with obedience for us today.

Anytime anyone goes to the water for believers baptism, Christ is

obedient. And if I had a subtitle for the

message it would be this. Baptism is all about obedience.

Would you stand pleased? For the reading God's Word.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be

baptized of him. There it is.

I You probably should give me a round of applause for that.

All right, but thank you. But John forbade him, saying, I

have me to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

And Jesus answering, said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for

thus it be cometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

Then He suffered him, but allowed him.

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straight way out of the

water, and lo, the heavens were opened up to him, and he saw the

Spirit of God. Descending like a dove and

lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from heaven

saying, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.

Why don't you be seated? And I think we definitely need

to pray again here this morning. So let's do that, boy.

It's warm in here. All right, Heavenly Father, we

do thank you for this morning. And I do pray to just help my

heart to be able to be what it needs to be today.

Help me to be able to calm my thoughts on these scriptures

with the thoughts that you have, I believe given me this week

what I do. Thank you for those who are

being baptized today. I thank you for their obedience

to your Word. But I hope, I pray that that you

would help us to see why it's so important to see that Christ is

obedient and why baptism is all about obedience.

So be with us now as we go through these texts and I ask it

all in Jesus name, Amen. Well, you may have noticed in

the text. That we just read, that the word

obey or obedience is not actually found in the words that

we just read. But yet I would argue to you

that it's very much inescapable in that which we just saw in

those few short verses about Christ's baptism.

So as we have before, we ask ourselves this question as we

start what does it mean to be obedient?

Now, I think we probably all have a pretty good idea of what

obedience is and a good idea of what obedience is not here this

morning. But if you were to go to the

1828 dictionary and look up the word obedience, it is this

compliance with a command, prohibition or known law, the

performance of what is required by authority, abstaining from

that which is prohibited to constitute obedience.

The act of forbearance to act must be in submission to

authority. The idea is that you are doing

that what you are or told you are submitting yourself to a

power that is higher than that which you yourself is.

Now of course we could talk about obedience to God because

there is no power higher than God.

But we also understand that obedience is also found in a

home with children, to parents, That obedience is found in a

school with students to teachers.

Obedience is found in the workplace with a worker to a

boss. That obedience is part of every

area of our life. You can't escape the very issue

of obedience. But here's the problem with

obedience. Mankind likes to disobey.

In fact, we like the rebel, don't we?

We kind of look at the rebel and have a little bit of regard for

the rebel more than the one who just follows that which they are

told to do. And mankind doesn't need to be

taught how to disobey. Never have I run up to Peyton or

AJ or Bethany or Kaylee when they were very young, maybe when

they were two years old or so and said, hey, darling, here's

what I need you to know. The next time Daddy tells you

what to do, you need to yell and scream and kick and say no, no,

no as many times as possible. Never once did I have to explain

to any of my children how to disobey.

Why? Because they were born little

sinners. They were born in iniquities and

sins, as we all were. And no one needs to be taught to

disobey. We need a lot of reminders to

obey. But in our.

Flesh we like to disobey, like I said.

We almost like the one that disobeys and seemingly gets away

with it. We have some regard for the the

rebel, the one that sticks it to the man that shows people who's

in charge, who's who's the boss. This is what we like.

In our flesh. But yet God puts a premium on

obedience where mankind in the flesh likes.

To disobey and it comes naturally to the flesh.

Man and his thoughts are much different than God's thoughts

because Saul, King Saul back in First Samuel.

He was given some real instructions from the Lord, and

he decided he knew better. And he said he was doing it for

the Lord, but he was really doing it for himself.

And Samuel comes to him and says this.

The prophet Samuel, remember, remember Christ his prophet last

week, how the prophet says what needs to be said, and the people

are supposed to listen. Well, the prophet Samuel came

and told Saul what need to be said.

And he said, This hath the Lord as great delight and burnt

offerings and sacrifices, as obeying the voice of the Lord.

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken better

than the fatter Rams. Now for us, we may not

understand the full connotation of that, but to the Jew the

sacrifice was everything. Their life revolved around the

sacrifices. And Samuel looks at Saul.

Who said that he was saving some of the best sheep to make

sacrifices? He says.

You think God needs your sacrifice?

You think God is? Needing the blood of bulls and

goats, he said. The whole point of everything

that God requires to the sacrifice is it's all about

obedience and faith. And the fact is, Saul, God

doesn't want your sacrifices. He wants your heart.

And so God puts a premium on obedience.

Man was commanded to obey in the garden.

Genesis 217 But of the tree of the garden, or the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat, for in the day

that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Yet mankind failed Adam as a representative for all of us.

If you thought you would have done better in the garden, you

would not have, nor would I Adam was the representative for all

of us because each of us in the same place.

When left to our own devices, we get to the place where we

naturally in our flesh disobey the very clear commands of an

Almighty God. It was D Martyn Lloyd Jones who

said there is nothing that is so reveals the depth of our sin as

our persistent disobedience to God's.

Word. And that's true because sin and

judgment fell upon all of us. We needed a perfectly obedient

sacrifice to be able to take the penalty for sin and death and

hell. Romans 512 says, Wherefore as by

one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so

death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

But it says later on in that chapter, verse 19 For as by one

man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the

obedience. Of one shall many be made

righteous. Well, who was that one?

Well, that one was Jesus Christ, the obedient Son of God, who was

obedient from his birth to his death, who was obedient from the

beginning of his earthly ministry to the end of his

earthly ministry. And that's why it says in verse

21 of the same chapter that has sinned hath reigned unto death.

Even so, my grace reigned through righteousness unto

eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Christ was obedient. And really, that brings us to

our text this morning of what we have just seen here in Matthew

chapter #3 What do we see? Well, there's.

Baptisms that are taking place, and those baptisms are taking

place at the hand of none other than John the Baptist.

Go up to verse #1 Let's widen our scope here.

Of. What we've read so far, Chapter

3, verse #1 it says this in those, excuse me, in those days

came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and

saying, repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

For this is he that was spoken of by the Prophet Esaias saying.

The voice of 1. Crying in the wilderness,

prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

And the same John had his raiment of Campbell's hair and a

leathern girdle about his loins and his meat was locusts and

wild hunting. Then went out to him Jerusalem

and all Judea and all the region round about Jordan and were

baptized of him in Jordan confessing their sins.

Well, what is taking place here? John the Baptist, the forerunner

of Jesus Christ is preparing the way.

You can go to Malachi chapter 3. You can go to Malachi chapter 4.

Malachi 3 · chapter mention Malachi 4 · chapter mention

And you see the prophet is there the that which is John the

Baptist, he's going to come and he's going to preach the word of

God and his message is very clear.

It's this repent turn from the direction you're going and turn

toward the Savior who is going to come very soon.

And the Bible says that Judea itself all comes to hear that

which John the Baptist is preaching and John is preaching

and people are turning to the Lord.

And as that's happening, they are being baptized and they're

being baptized there in the Jordan River.

Now this is important. It says in verse number six they

were baptized of him in Jordan, meaning this that they had to

get in the Jordan. And they get out of Jordan.

He said, why is that important? Well, if you're being sprinkled,

would you go inside a body of water just to be sprinkled?

The answer is no. We're going to see that again in

just a moment. But the fact of the matter was,

and we'll see this again more in Romans chapter 6 in a few

Romans 6 · chapter mention

moments as well, is that they were going to be baptized by

full immersion. They were going into the water

to be able to be baptized. I was sprinkled as a baby.

As many of you were that are here this morning.

But that wasn't baptism. That was getting wet.

Why? Because it wasn't following the

biblical pattern of that, which is baptizing for several

different reasons. And I was given a glass of

water. Why?

I wasn't giving it, but I was. I had it next to me and the

pastor just made the sign of the cross three times and I was

considered baptized by the Lutheran Church.

Is that simpler? Yes.

Is that obedience? No, and baptism's all about

obedience, but here comes Jesus Christ.

Remember, we just read about him a few moments ago in in in some

chapter of the Bible. Where were we?

All right, Matthew, chapter 3. I'm just kidding.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

I'm locked in now. All right in.

Matthew chapter 3. We read that Jesus.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

Came. For baptism.

Now, did Jesus need baptism the same way we would need baptism?

No. Well, let's go back a step

further if you're unclear about that.

Did Jesus need to be saved like we are saved?

The answer is no. No, we needed Jesus to be saved.

Jesus does not need to be saved. We needed Jesus to be saved.

So Jesus was not going to be baptized to signify that he had

just gotten saved. No, rather he was giving us a

pattern to be able to follow. He was showing obedience to that

which God had put into place so that we could also be obedient

to the same command. This is what baptism is all

about. And so then cometh Jesus verse

13, from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him.

That's also, by the way, a pretty great distance for Jesus

to cover if. This was something that was

small or minor. Why would he do this?

No, he went a great distance to make sure he was baptized by the

proper authority and to be obedient of what was going to be

for us to do as believers later on and what believers were

already doing at that time. Verse 14 says John forbade him,

saying, I have need to be baptized at thee.

Why cometh thou to me? John?

Recognize the fact that I know who you are.

Corresponding texts tell us he said this.

Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the

world. He knew who Jesus was.

Oh no, He didn't just know him because they were family

relations, which they were. He knew that this was very much

the Christ. And he says I don't need to be

I. Don't need to baptize you, you

need to baptize me. Who am I?

And Jesus said, no, no, no, you got it all wrong.

Verse 15. This is important here.

This is really key for us today. And Jesus answering said unto

him, suffer it to be so. Now allow this, for thus it

becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

You see those those red letter? Words there suffer it to be so

now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.

Jesus looks at John the Baptist. I'm not trying to change the

word of God here, but if I could summarize what Jesus was saying,

it'll be this. This is God's righteous plan and

you don't have the ability to change it because you would

rather do something else. John, this is what God has

ordained. And you and I, it says the word

us, you and I have to fulfill all righteousness.

We have to do that which is commanded.

And there's a word we can boil that down to, and that word is

this obedience. We're going to obey, John.

We're going to do what's right. John could have said, but, but

Lord, I'm not comfortable. With this, it doesn't matter

what you're comfortable with, you need to obey the Lord.

But but but Lord, this doesn't seem right.

It doesn't matter in your faulty senses what seems right.

You need to obey. But but, Lord, I'm not worthy.

Of this your worthiness is not found in yourself, John.

You just need to obey. Why was Jesus baptized?

Because baptism for him was all about.

Obedience. This is what this is what the

Father has told us to do. We must obey.

And then it says in verse 16 in Jesus when he was baptized

straight way out of the water, once again reminding us he went

into the water and he went up straight way.

Out of the water, OK, You can't go in and out of a water glass.

You say you're being unkind. I'm not trying to be unkind.

I'm trying to show you that the Bible's pretty clear about this.

And that modern, well, not even modern religion, but even

ancient religion has tried to take that which is very clear in

the word of God and muddy it up. And so would it be easier in a

rental building to take a cup of water and then be able to

sprinkle someone and baptize them?

Of course it would. Would it make people that maybe

don't want to go all the way into the water feel better if I

just sprinkle them? Absolutely.

It would would it be easier? For the pastor who sometimes

finds a way to get himself wet even though I'm outside the tub

and they're in the tub and I still get myself wet of.

Course it would. But it's not about like John

said. But Lord, I don't think this.

It doesn't matter what we think about it.

We just obey, you know, we're some kind of robot or something

like that, Pat, Like we don't have any thoughts or we don't.

Are you thinking things right now?

I'd say most of you are probably thinking something right now.

If we hooked you up to a, to a machine, I'd imagine there's

some thoughts going through your mind.

There's nothing wrong with our thoughts, but our thoughts are

to be brought into obedience to that which God has.

His thoughts are not our thoughts.

His ways are not our ways. And praise the Lord for it.

Because His ways are so much better than ours.

His thoughts are so much better than ours.

You ever get to this place where you're thinking something like,

what on earth am I thinking about?

Where did that come from? The kind of stuff that we

wouldn't even share with anybody else in church because people

think we were crazy church people.

But the fact of the matter is we're all in the same boat there

and we have these thoughts. Lord, what am I thinking?

Where did that come from? Why would it?

That's why every thought has to be brought into captivity and

into the obedience of Jesus Christ, and even he in his

perfect example, says John, whatever you think is better is

really not up to you. We're going to follow the

righteous plan of God. And what happens?

Lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of

God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him, and low a

voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, and whom?

I'm well pleased if everybody tells you that you can't find

the Trinity of the word of God, just take him anywhere where

Jesus is baptized, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, because what

do we have? Jesus is baptized in the water,

the voice of the Father. This is my beloved Son, and whom

I well pleased and also said in the corresponding passage, Hear

ye him. Obedience and then also the

spirit and the representation of a dove.

What do you see? Father, Son and Holy Ghost?

So people will say, well, you don't find the Trinity anywhere

in the Bible. You don't find the the word

Trinity anywhere in the Bible. And that may be true, but you

find the Trinity all over the Bible.

What the Bible calls the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy

Ghost. You can't read this book and get

away from the fact that Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three and

one and one and three working together.

Now some of you might be troubled by the fact that you

think, well, if if Jesus is God as much as God the Father, then

why did he have to obey? Because usually one that is

greater gives the commands to one who is lesser, and the one

is lesser is the one who obeys. But here's what we see in

Philippians chapter 2 verse 8. It says it being found in

Philippians 2:8

fashion. As a man, he humbled himself and

became obedient. I could just stop right there.

There's more obedient unto death, even the death of the

cross, which reminds us that He was obedient throughout His

earthly ministry, just as He's obedient throughout his

lifetime. But He became found in fashion

as a man. What did he do?

He willingly gave up the prerogatives of heaven and came

to earth 100% God, 100% man, to willingly obey the Father, to

give us an example of that which we're to do, to obey the Father.

He's our example. He is our guide now.

He's more than an example, and he's more than a guy, just as

he's. More than a prophet, but yet

those words do help us understand his ministries so

that we can in turn learn what we're supposed to do in our

Christian life. How do you respond to people

with grace when they try to get you into situations that you

ought not to be in the 1st place?

Well, Jesus Christ can help you with that.

He's our example. What do we do when we're

tempted? Well.

The Bible says that He was in all points, tempted as we are,

yet without sin. We look at his example.

By the way, quick timeout. You know what his example was?

He kept quoting Scripture. He could have vanquished Satan

with just a word. But you know what?

We can't. So what did he do?

He showed what we can do as the example and used the word of

God. You know, Father, Son, and Holy

Ghost. There is an equality of nature,

but a distinction of roles. I'm going to say that one more

time. There's an equality of nature

meaning this that. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are

all equal, but yet that's a good one, Ralph.

And they're all equal, but they have different.

Roles. You know, my wife and I, we have

different roles. The world won't tell you that's

the way Bible marriage is supposed to work anymore.

But that we have roles as husband and wife.

Does that mean I have more value than her?

Equal in value? Different roles.

There's some families where the children run the house.

It just so happens at our home. That's not the way that it

works, I think. But here's what I do know.

Because we have to tell the children what to do.

Does that mean we have a more value than the children?

No varying roles, equality of value.

Jesus was obedient not because he was subservient to the Father

or less than God, but it's because it was his God ordained

role as he who is robed in flesh to come to this world to show us

that which we should do. And if Jesus Christ could be

obedient? You could be obedient now, maybe

you say, well, Pastor, but he was perfect, right?

You think that would have made it easier for him to obey?

You know, I don't know, there's no struggle with the Lord, but

just follow what I'm saying here for just a second.

When we have to obey. We obey the Lord who's above us,

and we have to obey sinful man who is our equal because we're

sinful. Yet Jesus Christ obeyed His

Father who was his equal, and He obeyed His own creation of which

was sinful. I can't comprehend that.

There were people that were talking to Jesus like He was a

fool and He created the mouth that they were speaking to Him

with. There were people that talked to

Him like He had just showed up and appeared out of nowhere and

He created the Gray matter of which was in their heads in the

1st place. And yet Despite that, He still

obeyed. You say, well what?

What did he obey? Everyone.

He obeyed righteously because He was righteous and there was no

sin found in Him. And He's our example.

If Christ is obedient, then we are called to live the obedient

life as well. You say, pastor, how are we to

be obedient? Well, I think our text shows us

three ways that we need to be obedient as well as other texts

as well. First of all, you must obey in

salvation. You must obey in salvation.

Why were people being baptized in the 1st place?

The call of John was to repent and to turn to God because the

Kingdom was at hand. And like I mentioned a few

moments ago, Jesus was not baptized because he just got

saved. Jesus was baptized to follow the

pattern of which we were to follow, but we are saved because

of. Jesus and his righteousness.

Now, you never see someone baptized in the Word of God to

become saved. I'll be very clear about this

this morning, particularly of those of you, the Catholic and

the Lutheran and other persuasions where you might have

grown up or even as an adult, where we are told that the

sacrament salvation is conveyed through the baptismal water.

Never in the Word of God do you find anyone who was saved by

their baptism. Do you see the order so clearly

in Acts, Acts chapter 2 particularly they were saved,

Acts 2 · chapter mention

they were baptized and it says they were added unto them being

the church. The Ethiopian eunuch says in

Acts chapter 8, he says, what's stopping me from being baptized?

Acts 8 · chapter mention

And Philip the evangelist didn't say, well, if you give me some

money, he didn't say, well, how many good works have you done?

He said this, if you believe in your heart the message of the

gospel, you may. The Bible says that they got

into the water, he was baptized. There's a Philippian jailer, and

this Philippian jailer hears Paul and Silas singing during

the night. And then an earthquake comes

and. Now the prisoners are free.

At least God's prisoners who were there.

And this Philippian jailer says, what must I do to be saved?

And never was the response be baptized.

The response was the gospel message, and then they were

baptized. This is important.

If you are here today and you don't know that you're going to

heaven, this water will not get you to heaven.

The thief on the cross never went through the baptismal

waters. The thief on the cross never did

those things which were called. Sacraments, either 7 by the

Catholics or two by the Protestants, whatever they may

be. The thief on the cross knew none

of that other than saying Jesus, I believe you will you Remember

Me in paradise? And it was that declaration of

faith whereby he was saved. If you look at what happens here

today at this water, and you wonder if those who are passing

through are getting saved, the answer is no.

They're passing through because they are saved, and you need to

be saved today as well if you don't know where you'll spend

eternity. The answer is not in this water,

but rather this water symbolizes that which took place in each

candidate's heart. And that's the fact that they

understood that they were sinners, that they stood in face

of judgment, and that only Jesus Christ could save them from that

judgment of hell in the lake of fire.

And because they called upon Him to save them, and Him alone they

are. Saved and they obeyed in

salvation. So if you want to get to heaven

after church, you come to me and said, pastor, I want to get

baptized too. Here's what I'm going to tell

you first. You're not getting in that water

until we talk about what that water means, you say.

Would you actually do that? Well, there's a couple people

here getting. Baptized that had that same.

Conversation. People will ask me all the time.

I want to get baptized. Maybe they're not saved.

You know what I tell them. I'd love to talk to you about

that. You know why?

Because I'll tell them before I can baptize you.

This is what the Bible says. And then call upon Christ.

This is a blessed event. It's a blessed event.

I do sometimes feel like we're more casual about it than we

should. I, I am because it's a horse

through in the middle of a building.

There's no pomp and circumstance here.

It's a horse through. But I would say this, it may not

look like much, but it signifies a lot.

What does it signify? Turn to Romans chapter 6 and I

Romans 6 · chapter mention

know I'm right this time. Romans chapter 6.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 6. Because we must obey in

Romans 6 · chapter mention

salvation, but we must also obey in biblical baptism.

If you're saved, you know what God wants you to do, be

baptized. We call it this.

The next step of obedience in the Christian life.

Well, why is that? Well, Romans chapter 6 will tell

Romans 6 · chapter mention

us here in just a moment, but to be biblically.

Baptized. You have to have the right

candidate that someone who's already trusted Jesus Christ

their Savior. You have to have the right mode,

which is immersion, which we've shown you several times here

this morning. You also have to have the right

authority who who was given the authority to baptize?

Matthew chapter 28 says in the Great Commission it was the

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

church, God's biblical. Church was given the authority

to baptize with the Great Commission and with proper

doctrine. But what does it say in Romans

Romans 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6? Look at verse #1 it says, What

shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that

grace may abound? Well, we could preach a whole

message on this right there. God forbid.

How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?

See, there were people who were saying something like this.

If I am saved and when I do wrong, God gives grace to

forgive me, then the more I sin, the more grace I get.

No, don't work like that, He says.

God forbid, he says how shall we that are dead to sin live any

longer there? And he says, why would you want

to go there? Why would you want to go there?

Just to get grace? God can give you grace without

you sinning. He's good at that.

Verse 3 Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into

Jesus Christ were baptized into his death.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death that like

as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father.

Even so we also should walk in newness of life or if we've been

planted together in the likeness of his death.

We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Now stop right here. What's taking place here that we

have someone who gets into the water, they are seated, or if

they're in a baptistry like that, I overflow a lot.

They would be standing and what are they doing?

They are representing Jesus Christ on the cross.

Then they are buried as Jesus Christ was buried.

And then what happens? They come up and they walk and

newness of life all it is the picture of that which Jesus

Christ did. And that's 'cause that's why we

can't sprinkle, because it ruins the picture.

That's why we can't make the sign of the cross because it

ruins the picture. This is the death, the burial

and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That which took place in the heart is now being shown on the

outward for everyone to see. How do you know that I'm

married? Well, there's a lot of different

ways you can. One of those ways is this

wedding ring that I have that I'm kind of swelling up right

now and I can't take off. But if I couldn't show it to

you, right? Now this is an outward symbol of

that which has taken place privately between Diane and I.

What is baptism? Is it the wedding, if you will?

No, it's the ring of which shows the union that took place

between you and Christ, and for it to be anything else ruins the

picture. You need to be obedient in

salvation, to be obedient in baptism.

Now, some of you were here this morning.

Probably a lot of you say, pastor, I'm obedient in

salvation. I've been obedient in baptism.

So this message isn't about me. You know, I got something for

you right now. This is true for all this.

So we need to understand the doctrine behind us.

We do. It's sorely lacking today.

But just as you need to be obedient in salvation, you need

to be obedient in baptism, you also need to be obedient in

Christian living. Because God still tells us what

to do after we get saved, not because he hates us, but because

he loves us. You know, he's seen a few

things. You understand the sarcasm here.

He's seen a few things. He knows the end from the

beginning. And so when he tells us

something, it's not because he hates us, it's because he loves

us so much that he wants us to avoid that which could harm our

souls. Just like a parent who tells a

child don't do that and the child thinks the parent doesn't

know anything. It's amazing to me how much

older I got and how smarter my parents got because they were

dumb when I was a kid and the older I get there were pretty

wise. What was that really them

changing? No, that's me changing and

understanding. Now take that by Infinity with

God to us. He's seen a few things.

I must to keep you out of things that'll trouble your soul.

You need to obey. I need to obey.

Say, where do we find that? Well, interestingly enough, in

Romans chapter 6, and we're almost done.

Romans 6 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 6, The verse #6 Knowing this, that our old man

Romans 6 · chapter mention

is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,

that henceforth we should not serve.

Sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin.

That's what he said back in verse #2 don't go back to that

which you were saved from. Now look at verse #12 Let not

sin. Therefore reign in your mortal

body that you should not. What's that next word?

Or that that you should. And what's the next word?

Obey. Oh, we're getting back to

obedience here. Obey it in the lusts thereof.

Now drop down to verse 16. Know ye not that to whom he

yield yourself servants to obey his servants, ye are to whom you

obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto

righteousness. And God be thanked that you were

servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form

of doctrine which was delivered you here.

Here's what it comes down to after you get saved.

There's things we need to do in our Christian life, and you

still need to obey. But the Bible says don't obey

the flesh, don't obey sin. And here's the real interesting

part about obedience, that obedience is not about just am I

going to obey God or not? Everybody obeys somebody.

Because if you don't obey God, the Bible says this, you obey

your flesh. I do what I want to do because

we are disobedient creatures. But you will obey somebody.

And if you're not obeying God, you're obeying your own sinful

flesh and that which prompts by the devil.

And that's not what you're looking for.

That's not what you want in your life.

So I don't obey anybody. I do what I want to do.

That's then you obey yourself. And the Bible says that's

dangerous because you think you know, but you don't know.

I think I know I don't know. All I know the older I get is

what I know in that book. Because there's a lot of things

I thought I knew that I don't know.

But this book's never let me down.

I need to obey it. I need to obey him.

And not the prompts of my flesh, not my emotions, not what I want

to do. But it's all about this, Lord,

what would you have me to do? Your flesh didn't want to come

to church this morning. Very likely.

But you're here why? You obey God rather than your

flesh. Praise the Lord for that.

Amen. Tomorrow you're not going to

want to read your Bible. Very possibly you got a lot of

things to do. Obey God and not your feelings.

You'll find that you'll be much better off.

We're not big prayer people like we ought to be.

Obey God in prayer if you feel like it or not, there's some

things you're going to do tomorrow.

Believe it or not, they'll be contrary to what the Word of God

tells you to do. Obey God and not your own sinful

desires. Baptism is all about obedience.

But you probably want to listen to someone who's been there

along the way to help you. Not your flesh, which hasn't

been there, but he who created all and knows all.

Listen to him. Baptism is about obedience.

I'll give you the story and I'll be done.

The second baptism we did here at Liberty Baptist Church at

Houghton's Pond. I mean, you know where

Houghton's Pond is over in Dedham.

OK, gentlemen that baptized Jim Jerome says, you know, I was a

kid. I used to go up there to, to to

Houghton's Pond. So I'd love to get baptized

there. We didn't have the horse through

back then. We didn't have the building then

at that time. And we know where Houghton's

Pond. I think Dwight and Diane, you

were out there on the on the seaside out there.

And I remember taking Jim out there and I was getting rid of

baptized, but all I've ever baptized with is fiberglass

pools, you know, the, the, the kind that I flood, right?

So that's, that's all I had done.

And I remember taking him out there and I remember, you know,

buried in the likeness of his death.

But as I planted this foot over here, which is what you do when

they're standing, I didn't realize that the rocks were such

that I ended up stepping down about 6 or 8 inches.

So instead of planted in the likeness of his death, I did

planted. I mean, he went and.

Then raised the likeness of his resurrection was.

Because he was so deep, raised in the likeness of his

resurrection to walk a newness of life and.

Thank the Lord still comes to church here, all things

considered, but it was bad. I mean, it was.

Really, really bad and I remember as I was doing still a

young pastors only the second baptism I done as a pastor.

I did a few at Westgate, but never outside in a in a in a

lake or anything like that. I remember thinking this, you

know, I said in the liken of his death and in the likeness was

resurrection. I said this wasn't in the

likeness of his death or his resurrection because this was

chaotic and his was playing before the foundation of the

world. I don't want to give anybody the

wrong idea of what Jesus burial and resurrection was like

because they. They did Jesus struggle to

resurrect. Not like Pastor.

No, he didn't struggle at all. When we don't obey, we give

others the wrong picture. If you want to show Christ to

the world or to those people that you've been trying to

reach, then obey. Because when you don't obey, you

give them the wrong picture. You know what the world has the

picture of Christianity is right now.

It's something that you wear across and do whatever you want.

You put a cross on your forehead on Ash Wednesday and you live

however you want. Jesus didn't die so you could be

the same. Jesus died so that you could be

radically different in this life and in the life to come.

Baptism is all about obedience. Christ is obedient.

Will you be obedient in salvation?

Will be obedient in baptism, Will be will you be obedient in

Christian living so we can show the world the picture of what a

believer ought to be? Thank you for listening to the

sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church.

If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we

can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at

[email protected]. Or you can visit us this Sunday

at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA.

May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.