What Is Baptism?

Well, this morning, as you can see by this horse trough, also known as a baptismal, we

have a baptismal service.

We are baptizing three Christian women, three sisters in the Lord, Annalyn Faminas, where

is she?

There she is.

Barb Pierce, where is she?

There she is.

And Sandra Portillo, each has clearly expressed their faith in Jesus Christ.

Each has worked through a Bible study on baptism.

I had the privilege of sitting in an interview with each of them to hear about their clear

profession of faith, their eagerness to follow the Lord Jesus in baptism.

And so we have those steps just to make sure these people are genuinely converted to Christ.

But I'm aware that there are people in the room who may not know what baptism is or what

it means.

So this morning, here's what I'd like you to do.

I'd like to immerse you in what the Bible teaches about baptism.

I'd like to submerge you into God's thoughts on baptism.

I'd like to dunk you into four truths of what the Bible has to say about baptism.

And in so doing, I think it will help explain why these three women are being baptized today

and why, if you're a Christian and have yet to be baptized, why you should be baptized too.

So we're going to look at four biblical truths about baptism.

The precedent of baptism, the command to be baptized, the symbol of baptism, and the PSA of baptism.

So the precedent of baptism.

In Matthew chapter 3, verses 13 through 17, we see the ultimate precedent in terms of baptism.

Matthew 3:13–17

Jesus himself was baptized.

What we're going to see throughout the New Testament is a normative pattern of being baptized,

and it starts with Jesus.

And so if you'd open up your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3, if you have a pew Bible in front of you,

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

it's on page 961.

And Jesus has gone to the Jordan River, and he's gone to who we call JTB, John the Baptist.

And he's asked John the Baptist to baptize him.

John the Baptist is a bit reluctant, and then Jesus finally convinced him.

In verse 15, he says,

Let it be so, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.

So let's just be clear about something.

John the Baptist was baptizing with what's called a baptism of repentance,

of turning from your sin and turning to God.

Jesus did not need a baptism of repentance, because he was without sin.

And so what Jesus is doing here is he's modeling something for us.

John the Baptist, he says,

Okay.

And then Jesus is baptized.

He goes down into the Jordan, and John the Baptist pulls him up out of the Jordan,

and when he comes up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon him as a dove.

And the Father, in a loud voice, says this,

This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

Verse 17.

And so what we have here in the baptism of Jesus

is the beginning of a precedent for Christians.

Jesus is the ultimate example.

Did you guys notice?

The baptism of Jesus is a triune event.

You have the Son being baptized.

You have the Spirit descending upon him.

And you have the Father saying,

This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

It's beautiful.

It pleases God.

Jesus himself was baptized.

And so these three women today are going to follow Jesus in baptism.

They're going to be baptized as their Savior and Lord was baptized.

But there's another precedent from the book of Acts.

If you're not familiar with the book of Acts, A-C-T-S,

it's a New Testament,

and it is the authorized history of the early church,

the start of the early church,

and the spread of the early church.

And the early church spread as the gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed.

All around the Mediterranean basin in that first century,

there were people speaking of Jesus,

of who Jesus was, God in the flesh,

and what he's done.

He's died on the cross for sinners.

And as the gospel of Jesus is being proclaimed,

there are people from all different walks of life

who come to believe in this Jesus.

And then they're baptized.

So what we see in the book of Acts is a pattern.

Christ is proclaimed.

People believe.

They repent of their sins and trust in Christ.

And then they're baptized.

Let me show you three examples.

The first example is in Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

There's this guy named Philip.

He's called an evangelist,

which means he preaches Christ a lot.

He ends up in a town.

This is Acts 8, 12 through 13.

He's in Samaria.

And a number of men and women believe who are Samaritans,

which was just extraordinary.

And then they were baptized.

So there's the pattern.

There's the precedent.

Very simple.

Christ is proclaimed.

People believe.

And then they're baptized.

They're not baptized and then believe.

They believe and then they're baptized.

Acts 16.

Paul and Silas, well,

they're in chains in a Philippian jail cell.

God sends an earthquake,

throws open the jail cell doors.

It unshackles them.

The Philippian jailer runs out.

He's about to kill himself

because he's thinking,

all of my prisoners have now escaped.

And Paul says,

don't harm yourself.

Do you remember what the Philippian jailer said?

He said,

what must I do to be saved?

And then Paul and Silas explain to him,

believe in the Lord Jesus Christ

and you will be saved.

Paul and Silas goes to the jailer's home,

share that same gospel with the jailer

and his household,

and all of the household believes

in what Paul and Silas are proclaiming

about Jesus,

that he's Lord.

So there it is again.

You have Christ proclaimed

and you have people believe

and then the whole household

was baptized all at once,

the scriptures say.

So you see the pattern.

Christ proclaimed,

people believe,

and then they're baptized.

There's another example.

And it's the example from Acts 18.

Paul and Silas are now in Corinth.

And in verse 8,

they are testifying

that the Christ was Jesus,

that the Messiah

that the Jews have been waiting for

is Jesus.

And there's a man named Crispus

who is the synagogue ruler

in Corinth.

Well, he comes to believe

that Jesus is the Messiah,

the Lord,

the Christ.

And Crispus,

with many other Corinthians,

believe

and they were baptized.

So Christ is proclaimed,

a number of people believe,

and then they're baptized.

So what we have

in the New Testament

is a precedent.

The book of Acts shows us

a normative pattern,

Christ proclaimed,

people believe,

and then they're baptized.

baptized.

So if I can just take a step back,

now what we've looked at

is this.

Jesus is the ultimate example

of baptism.

He himself was baptized.

And then we see this

as the gospel goes out,

people believe,

and then they too

are baptized.

And might I add just this?

In Acts 8,

where Paul

is baptizing,

or Philip is preaching

and baptizing in Samaria,

later,

that same account,

Philip preaches the gospel

to this Ethiopian eunuch.

And the Ethiopian eunuch,

having believed,

points to some water

and says,

hey,

baptize me.

And he went into the water

and came out.

Both in Jesus' example

and in the Ethiopian eunuch's example,

it's a baptism of immersion.

Going all the way under the water

and coming back out.

And the significance

we'll get to in a second.

But what I just want you to show,

it's biblically precedented.

Now moving from the precedent

of baptism,

I want to point you to

the command to be baptized.

This is point two.

And if you turn in your Bibles

to Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

in verses 18 through 20,

here's what's going on.

If you've never heard

of the word gospel before,

when it comes to

the books of the Bible,

a gospel,

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

it's a biography of Jesus.

It's kind of the historical account

of his birth,

life,

death,

and resurrection.

And by the time we get to

Matthew chapter 28,

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Jesus has been raised from the dead.

And now he is appearing

to his disciples.

And in Matthew 28,

18 through 20,

he's back in Galilee

where his ministry started.

He says this to his disciples.

He says in verse 18,

all authority in heaven and earth

has been given to me.

And that's Jesus making a huge claim

that he's like,

I am the king of heaven and earth.

I'm lord of it all.

This is the risen Christ

making that claim.

And then he goes on to say,

go therefore and make disciples

of all nations.

So he's commanding,

commissioning his disciples

to go make more disciples

of Jesus

that they would hear Christ

proclaimed and believe.

And having believed,

they would need to be baptized.

Baptizing them

in the name of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

Again,

it's another Trinitarian moment.

One name,

three persons.

They're to teach them

to observe all that Jesus commands

because he's the king.

He's Aslan on the move.

And so what I just want

to help you see here

at the end of the Gospel of Matthew

is that the risen King Jesus

requiring baptism

of all who become his disciples,

of all who hear the Gospel of Jesus

and believe in Jesus,

they are then to be baptized

in the name of Jesus.

It's a way of going public

for Jesus.

Now I need to make

a quick clarification here.

Baptism is a command.

But it's not a command

that saves you.

In order to be saved,

you need to trust in Jesus.

Jesus saves you.

Baptism doesn't save you.

So,

baptism

is a command,

but it doesn't save you.

No,

those who are saved by Jesus,

they're commanded

to be baptized.

And so these three women

that we're going to see

baptized today,

they've already

believed in Jesus.

And now they're just

following Jesus' command

and taking the step

of baptism

and going public

with their conversion

to Christ.

You might know

Ephesians 2, 8, 9,

for by grace

you've been saved

through faith.

It's not of yourself,

it's a gift of God,

not by works

so that no one

should boast.

Baptism isn't a work

we do to save us.

Baptism,

it's a declaration

of the work

Christ has done

to save us.

In Acts 2,

just to help you

understand this command

of baptism

a little bit more,

the apostle Peter

is preaching

one of the greatest

sermons ever preached

and he's in Jerusalem

and he's preaching

to thousands

of Jewish people

in Jerusalem

and he brings

this sermon to a head.

He's been preaching

Jesus is the Lord

and there are

these thousands

of Jewish people

who then ask

in verse 37,

what do we do?

What do we do now

in light of Jesus

being the Christ?

And Peter says,

repent and be baptized

every one of you.

And that word repent

simply means

to turn from your sins,

from trusting yourself

to save yourself,

and trust in Christ.

It's shorthand

to be converted,

to trust in Jesus,

and then to be baptized.

And in verse 41,

we see that those

who received his word,

those who believed

what he proclaimed

about Jesus,

they are then baptized.

Peter doesn't make

baptism optional.

It's a necessary step

for those who believe

in Jesus

as their Savior and Lord.

It's a command.

It doesn't save you,

but it's a command.

So here's what that means.

For us as a church,

it means this.

We must be baptizing

those men and women,

boys and girls,

who become Christians,

who believe.

We are to baptize them.

That's why we're having

a baptism,

to baptize those

who believe in Jesus.

But it also means this,

that those who come

to faith in Christ,

who repent of their sin

and turn to Christ,

you need to be baptized.

This command applies

to you.

You need to take this step

to go public with Jesus.

It's a command.

It doesn't save you,

but it's a way

that we obey

and follow Jesus.

Now you might be

asking this question,

baptism, baptism,

baptism,

what's the big deal

with baptism?

Well, it's what it represents.

It's what it symbolizes,

which brings me

to the third point,

third biblical truth,

the symbol of baptism.

And I want to bring you

to Romans chapter 6,

Romans 6:1–5

verses 1 through 5,

and I'm going to read

that for us.

What shall we say then?

Are we to continue in sin

that grace may abound?

By no means.

How can we who died to sin

still live in it?

Do you not know

that all of us

who have been baptized

into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death?

Did you hear

the baptism language?

Do you not know

that all of us

who have been baptized

into Christ Jesus

were baptized into his death?

We were buried, therefore,

with him by baptism

into death

in order that

just as Christ

was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father,

we too might walk

in newness of life.

The Apostle Paul

is using baptism

as a way of

kind of

a visible demonstration

of our invisible union

with Christ.

He's talking about

using baptism

in a way of,

hey, your baptism

actually

is the visible

kind of seeing

of something

that God has done

within you.

It's called

being united to Christ.

I've been preaching

on Sunday mornings

through the book

of Colossians,

and I've been loving

every minute of it.

And you can sum up

the point

of the whole book

of Colossians

in two words.

Christ central.

Jesus Christ

is the controlling center

of our lives

as Christians.

He's the treasured center

of our lives

as Christians.

He's the life-giving center

of our lives

as Christians.

He is the glorious center

of our lives.

As Christians,

our lives orbit him.

He doesn't orbit us.

When a sinner,

a person who's been sinning

their whole life,

believes in Jesus Christ

for the first time,

at that moment,

they've been converted.

The Bible talks about it

as being made new,

as becoming a new creation.

From Colossians,

we've learned

that when someone believes,

they are delivered

from the domain of darkness

and transferred

into the kingdom

of the beloved son.

They have a new kingdom.

They have a new king,

Jesus.

And we've been learning

from Colossians as well,

as we see here

in Romans 6,

1 through 5,

they're given a new identity

in Christ.

That they're united

to Christ

in his death

and resurrection.

Remember in Colossians 2,

that we die with Christ

and in 3, 1,

that we are raised

with Christ.

This union with Christ

is absolutely phenomenal.

It makes you

a whole new creation.

And so here's what that means.

When someone believes

in Jesus for the first time,

God unites them

to Christ's death.

And so therefore,

that sinner's sin

is completely forgiven

and sin is no longer

their master.

And they're also raised

with Christ.

And so now,

they're given new life

so that they can live

for God.

You've been united

with Christ

in his death

and resurrection.

And that's why

this is so important.

You might see

a horse trough.

What you need

to be seeing

is a symbol

of Jesus' death.

So Anna Lynn's

going to be the first

to be baptized.

And so she's going

to come up here.

I'm going to introduce

you to her.

And then Eric and I

are going to put her

in the water.

And you're going to hear

me say to her

as she's going down

into the water,

united with Christ

in his death.

And that'll hold her

for three minutes.

We'll sing a song.

Just to make the point.

And then we'll

pull her out

of the water

and you'll hear me say,

and raised with Christ

to newness of life.

So here's what

the water represents,

the death of Jesus.

United with Christ

in his death,

raised with Christ

to newness of life.

So you know what

this baptism symbolizes.

An individual's union

with Christ.

It's a statement

about their conversion.

All three of these women

are saying this

this morning.

I've come to believe

who Jesus is.

I have been united

with Christ

in his death

and resurrection.

I am a new creation.

Three times this morning.

It's a huge statement.

I've been saved

from my sins

because I've been

united to Christ.

That's the big deal

about baptism.

It's what it signifies.

It's an outward expression

of an inward change

that has been brought about

by God himself

in each of these women's lives.

And that's what

they're announcing.

Which brings me

to the fourth point.

The PSA of baptism.

It's the fourth

biblical truth.

You know what a PSA is,

don't you?

Public service announcement.

Years ago

when people actually

watched the Tennecock news

on TV,

there was a

Milwaukee TV station,

a news station

that would make this

PSA at 10 p.m.

It's 10 p.m., parents.

Do you know

where your children are at?

It is just kind of

raising awareness,

making something known.

That's the point

of a public service announcement.

baptism is a biblical

public service announcement.

Let me ground it

not just in its

precedent and command

and its symbolism,

but let me just ground it

in Matthew 10

as an outworking of this.

Listen to what Jesus says.

Jesus is talking

to his apostles

about not fearing

man,

not being afraid

of what other people

think about you.

And he says this,

fear not,

therefore,

you are of more value

than many sparrows.

In verse 32 he says,

so everyone

who acknowledges me

before men,

I also will acknowledge

before my Father

who is in heaven,

but whoever denies me

before men,

I will deny

before my Father

who is in heaven.

And at a minimum,

Jesus is saying

something quite extraordinary.

He's making it very clear

that those who follow him

are not to be ashamed

of him,

but must be willing

to go public for him,

to publicly identify

with him.

And what baptism is,

is a beautiful,

commanded way

to go public

for Jesus,

to acknowledge Jesus

before men.

So when each of these women

are baptized,

do you know

what they're saying?

What Jesus thinks

matters more

than what anybody

in the room thinks.

That's what they're saying.

They're saying,

Jesus is my treasure.

And they're going

public for him.

They're acknowledging him

before this company

of men and women.

Now you can ask the question,

well, who then

is a PSA for?

This thing called baptism.

Well, for sure,

it's for these three sisters

being baptized.

It's for them.

It's for them to go public.

For them to make

an announcement

by way of their

baptism that they

belong to Jesus.

And it's not something

they're going to forget

anytime soon.

But it's also

for everyone in the room,

this public service

announcement.

If you're not a Christian

in the room,

when you see these

three women baptized,

there could be a two-fold

kind of effect.

First one is this.

It's a delineation.

You're thinking,

oh, Sandra,

oh, she's now

a Jesus person.

And she's one of them.

She's no longer

one of us.

She's one of them.

That's what baptism does.

It's a delineation.

It helps people

understand that

this person being

baptized,

it's a PSA.

Hey, I am living

for Jesus now.

So a non-Christian

hears that and like,

okay, sounds good.

The second effect

is this.

When a non-Christian

sees someone baptized,

to be asking this question,

and if you're a non-Christian

in the room,

I hope you're asking

this question when you see

these three women baptized.

Why would someone

ever do something like that?

What is it about this Jesus

that would cause

these women

to take that step?

And it's got everything

to do with who Jesus is

and what he's done.

And so if you're

a non-Christian in the room,

be asking the question,

why would they do this?

Who is this Jesus?

There's another group

of people in the room,

the Christians in the room.

This PSA is for you.

And again,

it's a delineating effect.

It's when you see

Anna Lynn or Barb

or Sandra

going into the water

and coming out,

you're like,

oh,

they're no longer

one of them.

They're one of us.

They live for Jesus now.

And so we get

to be able

to recognize

that these three women

have been brought

into the kingdom of God,

part of the family of faith.

That's why we're having

cake downstairs afterwards.

We're celebrating

their step of obedience.

But it also has this effect.

Last two sermons,

I've been talking about

this thing called

Christocentric resonance.

Here's the illustration

I've been using.

Imagine on the stage,

two baby grand pianos,

each just perfectly tuned.

Someone comes up

and hits center C

on one baby grand.

Ding,

ding,

ding,

ding,

ding.

Do you know

what's going to happen

in the other?

Center C will hum

because it's on

the same frequency.

And so here's going

to be some

Christocentric resonance,

brothers and sisters.

When these three women

go in and are baptized,

it's like they're hitting

Christ central

in the room.

Jesus is everything to them.

And let that resonate

in your being.

And let what comes up

be thankfulness to God.

A yes and amen.

So it's very appropriate

for one,

each of these women

are going to go down

and come up

to say glory to God.

Yes and amen.

All praise to his name.

It's the edifying effect

of a baptism,

of a PSA

among God's people.

So this baptism,

well,

it's a biblical PSA.

It's like

each of these people

are saying,

hey,

it's 11 a.m.

Sunday morning.

do you know

who my Savior

and Lord is?

Jesus.

What is baptism?

Well,

it's a biblical precedent.

We've seen that.

Jesus is the greatest example.

We've seen it

throughout Acts.

Christ proclaimed,

people believe,

then are baptized.

It's a biblical command.

Jesus himself

commands it

by virtue of saying,

go baptize

those

whom you are

making disciples.

it's a biblical picture

of our union

with Christ.

It is beautiful.

And it's a biblical

public service announcement

that these three women

are saying,

hey,

I'm going to acknowledge

my Jesus

before this company

of men.

So if you're a Christian,

a non-Christian

in the room,

a non-Christian

in the room,

let me ask you

just very,

very lovingly

but clearly,

what do you need

to know

in order to become

a follower

of Jesus yourself?

What do you need

to know

in order to turn

from your sin

and turn to Christ?

What else do you need

to know?

What is keeping you

from becoming

a follower

of Jesus today?

I'd be happy

to talk to you

about that

after the service.

If you're a parent

of children

who are expressing

interest

in baptism,

this is the second

group of people,

if your kids

are expressing

interest in baptism,

I would encourage you

as your pastor

to err on the side

of waiting.

Here's why.

So that your children

fully understand

what baptism means.

They're going to be

eager.

They want to please.

We've got a lot

of compliant kids

that want to just do it

because they know

it's good.

But you want to be sure

as their parents

that they understand

why.

So here's what

you're listening for.

I would say

this is what you're

listening for

for both baptism

and the Lord's Supper.

It's listening

for your child's

understanding

of their own

sinfulness.

Does your child

know

that when they

do wrong,

it's ultimately

against God.

It's a Godward

repentance.

It's a Godward

grief.

And I would

encourage you

to wait

until you're

hearing that

in your child.

That they

understand more

and more

that their sin

not only hurts

other people,

but it grieves

the God

who created them.

that will

help them

understand

both the

significance

of the

Lord's Supper

and baptism.

Third group

of people.

If you're a

Christian in the

room and you

have not been

baptized yet,

here's what you

need to put on

your calendar.

Sunday,

August 11th.

It's our

church picnic.

We're down

at Eichelman

and we use

this really

cool baptismal

called Lake

Michigan.

And when I

say really

cool,

I'm literally

like really

cool.

But you want

to get that

on your

calendar.

In that

vestibule on

the Connect

desk,

there are

Bible studies

on baptism.

If you want

to be baptized

on the 11th,

grab one of

those.

And then you're

going to want

to get a hold

of Kelly Schneeberger.

Kelly, are you

in the room?

Here she is

down front.

She's the

coordinator.

So if you want

to be baptized,

you're going to

want to talk

to her and

she'll set up

a time we

get together

and then make

sure you're

ready to be

baptized.

So if you're

not a Christian

and you want

to be baptized,

Sunday,

August 11th,

which now

brings me to

the fourth

group of

people,

Anna Lynn,

Barb,

and Sandra,

let's apply

this biblical

teaching on

baptism.

Let me pray

and then we'll

have Anna Lynn

come up.

God, we're so

thankful for what

your word has to

say about

baptism.

You don't

leave us

guessing.

It's very

clear.

And God, we want

to thank you for

what you've begun

in these three

women.

And thank you for

this step that

they're taking in

terms of going

public with their

union with Christ,

their conversion.

God, would you

impress this upon

their memories for

the rest of their

days?

Would you help

them use this to

communicate your

goodness to them?

And God, would you

bring about a

Christocentric

resonance in the

room?

Pray this in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.