Jesus Changes Everything

Heavenly Father, we confess, we confess this faith that your word is true.

That your word is able to make us wise on salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

So that's what we see this morning.

We want to be made wise on salvation.

We want to behold Jesus in all of his glory.

To speak to us.

Move among us by the power of Holy Spirit.

That we might see the face of Jesus.

We might hear his voice.

Your word is true.

In Jesus' name we say.

Amen.

Acts chapter 21.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

When the seven days were all created, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him.

Paul.

Crying out.

Men of Israel.

Help.

This is the man who was teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place.

Moreover, he even brought Greeks into his temple.

And as he filed this holy place, they had previously seen children.

He issued with him the city.

And he supposed that Paul had brought Greeks into his temple.

Then all the city was stirred up and the people ran together.

They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple.

And at once the gates were shut.

And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cult that all Jerusalem was in the tribune.

He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down from them.

And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains.

He inquired who he was and what he had done.

Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another.

And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.

And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.

For the mob of the people followed cried out, away with him.

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune,

May I say something to you?

And he said, Do you know Greek?

Are you not Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the assassins out into the wilderness?

Paul replied, I am a Jew from Tarsus in Solis, a citizen of no obscure city.

I beg you, permit me to speak to you.

And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hands to the people.

And when there was a Greek hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying,

Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.

And when they heard that he was addressed to them in the Hebrew language, they became even more part.

And he said,

I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel,

according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers.

Being zealous for God, as all of you are this day,

I persecuted this way to the dead, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,

as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness.

From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who are there

and bring them in Jerusalem to be punished.

As I was on my way and too near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.

And I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?

And I answered,

Who are you?

And he said to me,

I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuted.

Now those who were with me saw the light,

but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

And I said,

What shall I do?

And the Lord said to me,

Rise and go into Damascus,

and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.

And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light,

I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law,

well spoken of by all the truth who lived there,

came to me,

and standing by me said to me,

Brother Saul, receive your sight.

And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.

And he said,

The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will,

to see the righteous one,

and to hear a voice from his mouth.

For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

And now,

why do you wait?

Rise and be baptized,

and wash away your sins,

calling on his name.

When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple,

I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me,

Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly,

because they will not accept your testimony about me.

And I said,

Lord,

they themselves know that in one synagogue,

after another,

I imprisoned them Jesus to believe in you.

And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed,

I myself was standing by and approving,

and watching over the garments of those who killed him.

And he said to me,

Go,

for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.

This is God's holy word.

People who oppose Christ in the gospel

have a tendency to frame Christians

with the phrase,

Against this.

Christians are against that.

Against this.

And they try to define believers in those terms.

And that's exactly what the Jews here do to Paul.

Here is a man who is against the people,

against the law,

against the temple.

But this is here is a good example for us

of how we identify,

how we witness to people

in that kind of hostile context environment.

Paul definitely kind of

shifts away from their accusations,

and then he keeps the focus on Jesus.

He tells about who Jesus is,

that he is your risen Lord.

And he keeps saying to them,

But Jesus met me.

Jesus said this to me.

Jesus sent me to proclaim him to the Gentiles.

And that's why I'm doing the thing that I'm doing.

And so this is a good passage for us to learn

about how Jesus changes really everything

and how we can bear witness to him faithfully.

The main point of this passage is that God appoints his people

to see the light and hear the voice of the Lord Jesus

so that they might be washed of their sins

and sent out as witnesses.

And we're going to first see how Jesus changed the Jewish religion,

and then we're going to see how Jesus changed Paul

and how he changed us.

If you were with us last week,

you saw that Paul arrived in Jerusalem,

and he was warned that the Jewish believers,

the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem

had been hearing a rumor about Paul,

a slander about him,

that he is against the Jewish law,

that he counsels the Jews to not follow the Jewish law.

And that was a false rumor

because even though Paul did teach

that you no longer need to become a Jew

and observe all the Jewish law

and how to be saved,

but that he had no problem with Jews themselves

following their incestful customs

as long as he had it clear in their mind

that salvation is through Jesus alone,

by faith in Jesus alone.

And so in order to dispel the rumors,

Paul went into the temple

with four Jewish men under his wings

to go through kind of the Nazarite vow

and the men who were under the Nazarite vow

and to go through the ritual purification process

with them for such a reason.

And this was to show them

that he is in fact not against the law.

But before Paul can even complete

the seven days of purification,

he says that some Jews from Asia

spotted Paul inside the temple

and then began to disturb the crowd

and to seize them.

And they say in verse 28,

the man of Israel,

no, this is the man

who is teaching everyone everywhere

against the people

and against the law

and against the surplates.

Moreover, he brought Greeks into the temple

and had defiled his holy place.

So they claim that Paul is against three things,

the Jewish people,

the Mosaic law,

and this place,

which is the breakfast of the temple.

And there is a sliver of truth,

a moniker of truth

in these false accusations

that make them believe them.

So I'm going to address

all three of them in turn.

First,

Paul was never against

the Jewish people.

Paul answers this charge

in chapter 22, verse 3,

when he says,

I am a Jew,

born in Tarsus and Cilicia,

but brought up in this city.

Paul was himself a Jew.

How can he be against his own people?

In fact, in Romans 9, 3,

he says that he could wish

that he himself were cursed

and cut off from Christ

if that meant that his people,

the Jewish people,

could be saved.

Paul loved the Jewish people.

And not only that,

he says he was brought up

in this city,

Jerusalem,

the Jewish capital.

And later,

addresses God

as God of our fathers.

When Ananias addresses God,

he acknowledged that

God,

the fathers of,

the God of the Jews

is also the God of all.

In chapter 22, verse 14.

And even during

his missionary journey,

Paul made it a habit

in each city he visited

to first visit

the Jewish synagogue

and preach to the Jews there.

And then only after

the Jews rejected

his message,

he turned to go

to the Gentiles

in that city

to preach the gospel

to them.

However,

even though Paul

was not against

the Jewish people,

he did teach

that Jews,

like Gentiles,

are sinners

who need to be saved

by Jesus.

He also taught

that Jesus

broke down

the divide and all

the hostility

between Jews

and Gentiles

and made them

one in him.

That's why Paul

writes in Galatians

Galatians 3:28

chapter 3,

verse 28,

there is neither

Jew nor Greek.

There is neither

slain nor free.

There is no male

and female

for you are all

one in Christ Jesus.

Salvation is

from the Jews

since Jesus,

our Savior,

was Jewish,

he is the Jewish

Messiah.

But salvation

is not only

for the Jews,

it is for all

people who repent

of their sins

and put their

faith in him.

Gentiles can be

saved as Gentiles

without becoming

Jewish.

It's no longer

those who are

descended from

Abraham, Isaac,

and Jacob

who are God's

people,

but those who

are united

with Jesus

like faith.

Only a few of us

have any Jewish

background,

so this is great

news for us

that we too

who are formerly

not God's

people,

who are not

part of the

covenant of God,

we now can be

his people.

And this teaching,

if misrepresented,

can be portrayed

to be against

the Jewish people

and that's what

these Jews

are accusing

of.

You're against

the Jewish people.

Secondly,

Paul is not

also not against

the Mosaic law.

As long as

the Jews understood

that it's not

keeping the Mosaic

law that saved

them,

but Jesus

who by his

life, death,

and resurrection

that saved them,

Paul is fine

with Jews

observing the

Mosaic law

and continuing

the Jewish

customs handed

down to them

by their

poor fathers.

In fact,

Paul's Jewish

upbringing and

training in

Jewish law

were impeccable.

Paul says

later in

chapter 22,

verse 3,

in his defense

that he was

educated at

the feet of

Gamaliel

according to

the strict

manner of the

law of our

fathers,

being zealous

for God

as all of you

are this day.

earlier in

chapter 21,

verse 20,

the elders of

the Jerusalem

church described

the Jewish

believers there

as being

zealous for

the law,

and Paul here

used the same

word to describe

his own

upbringing.

I too was

raised that

way.

I was zealous

for the law.

Gamaliel was

a notable

Jewish rabbi

who served

as the

president of

the Sanhedrin,

the Jewish

ruling council,

and he

was a

grandson,

Gamaliel was

a grandson

of an even

more famous

rabbi named

Hillel,

and Paul

was trained

in the

Jewish law

by Gamaliel.

In other

words,

Paul had

a Jewish

Ivy League

education.

He belonged

to the

strictest

sect of

the Jewish

teaching.

So Paul

was not

against the

Mosaic law,

and he

takes care

to emphasize

that even

Ananias,

the man

who restored

his sight

and told

him about

Jesus,

was a

devout

man

according

to the

law.

However,

even though

Paul wasn't

against the

law,

he did

teach that

Jesus

fulfilled

and

completed

the law.

So he

says in

Romans 10

Romans 10:4

verse 4,

Christ is

the end.

He's the

end of the

law for

righteousness

for those

who believe.

Paul taught

in Romans

3,

21-24,

but now

the righteousness

of God

has been

manifested

apart from

the law,

although the

law and the

prophets bear

witness to

it,

the righteousness

of God

through faith

in Jesus

Christ for

all who

believe.

For there

is no

distinction,

for all

have sinned

and fall

short of

the glory

of God

and are

justified

by his

grace as

a gift

through the

redemption

that is in

Christ Jesus.

That means

that we

can't be

declared

righteous

before God

by observing

the law.

We have

all sinned

and fallen

short of

God's

standards.

By our

own moral

living or

good deeds,

no one

can make

the cut.

No one

can save

themselves.

Our only hope

of having

right standing

with God

is to put

our faith

in Jesus

who died

to make

atonement

for our

sins so

that we

might be

forgiven.

Jesus is

the one

who fulfills

all

righteousness.

So even

though

Mosaic law

more

written to

Jesus,

it pointed

to Jesus

and so

Paul didn't

oppose or

he wasn't

against the

Mosaic law

because Paul

taught that

the law

was fulfilled

by Jesus.

In

observance of the

law,

it's not

what saved

them.

He's being

portrayed by

the Jews

as being

against the

law.

Third,

Paul was also

not against

the temple.

the Jews

had seen

Paul with

Trothimus,

a Gentile

believer

from Ephesus

and he

was with

him in

the city

of Jerusalem

and so

they assumed

wrongly that

Paul had

taken him

into the

temple,

thereby

defiled

the temple

which Paul

in fact

had never

done.

Archaeologists

have discovered

the temple

warning inscription

that used

to hang

right outside

the sanctuary

of the Jewish

temple in

Jerusalem

and it

says this

in Greek

quote,

no stranger

is to

enter

within

the

Belgrade

out

round

the

temple

and

in

closure

whoever

is caught

will be

himself

responsible

for his

ensuing

death.

So that's

how important

to enter

the temple

as a

Gentile

to areas

we are not

supposed to

enter.

But Paul

didn't do

that.

He didn't

take

Trothimus

inside the

temple.

In

fact,

Paul was

just

reading

four Jewish

men

through

their

purification

rites

inside the

temple

to show

that he

actually

observes

these

Jewish

customs.

And later

he mentions

in chapter

22

verse 17

that even

after his

conversion

he went

to the

temple

to pray

to God

and there

he saw

the vision

of Jesus

telling him

to go

and preach

the gospel

to the

Gentiles.

So Paul

was decidedly

not against

the temple.

However,

Paul knew

that Jesus

taught in

John 2

that his

body is

the ultimate

temple of

God,

the new

temple of

God.

He knew

that Jesus

taught in

John 4

that true

worshippers

would no

longer

worship in

the temple

in Jerusalem

but that

they would

worship God

everywhere

where the

people of

God are

gathered

in spirit

and in

truth.

So following

Jesus'

teaching,

Paul did

teach that

sacrifices in

the temple

are no longer

necessary

because Jesus

has offered

up his

body once

and for

all as

the ultimate

sacrifice

for sin.

This is why

we as

Christians don't

need to

make

pilgrimages

to the

western

wall in

Jerusalem

or make

animal

sacrifices

because Jesus

is the new

temple of

God.

Because Jesus

is the ultimate

sacrifice of

God.

So wherever

the people of

God are

gathered in

his name,

like here,

we can

worship him

truly.

And because

of this

teaching,

even though

Paul was not

against the

temple,

he was

represented as

being against

the temple.

So these

three charges

that the

Jews brought

against Paul

reveal how

the Jews

were grappling

with the

profound changes

that Jesus

brought about

in their

faith.

Jesus changed

the Jewish

religion forever,

not by abolishing

it or opposing

it, but by

fulfilling it.

It's what he

called the

righteous one

in chapter 22

verse 4.

Jesus is the

one who lives

righteously,

who fulfills

all the

righteous

requirements

of the

law.

But many

of the

Jews

misunderstood

Jesus,

and because

of that,

they misunderstood

Paul.

And after

the Jews

from Asia

stirred up

the crowd,

the total

chaos and

confusion

ensued.

There's a lot

of running

around and

a lot of

shouting,

and it says

in chapter

21,

verses 30

to 31,

the people

seized

Paul and

dragged him

out of the

temple.

And as they

were seeking

to kill him,

word came to

the tribune of

the cohort that

all the

Christian ones

had confused.

They dragged

Paul out of

the inner

part of the

temple because

they were not

allowed to stone

anybody in the

inner part of

the temple because

that would be

fire.

So they had to

take him out

to the outer

part, and

the mob tries

to kill him

there.

This is an

attempt of

winching.

It's not an

official execution

because the

Jewish people did

not have the

right under the

Roman Empire to

meet out

capital

punishment.

So this is

they're just

going against

the law and

they're trying

to kill

Paul out of

their zeal

for the

law.

And when the

Roman Tribune

intervenes, he

asks the

crowd what

Paul had

done, who

he is, what

he had done.

But he says

that in verse

34, some in

the crowd were

shouting one

thing, some

another, and

as he could

not learn the

facts because

of the

uproar, he

ordered him to

be brought

into the

palace.

And as

they're escorting

Paul to the

barracks, he

says that he

had to be

carried by the

soldiers because

of the violence

of the

process.

It's quite a

volatile situation.

Paul could

bear or be

killed.

And given

such a violent

reaction from

the crowd, the

Roman Tribune

assumes that

Paul is some

kind of violent,

dangerous revolutionary

and he asks

Paul in verse

38, are you

not the Egyptian

men who recently

stirred up a

revolt and led

the 4,000 men

of the assassin

down into the

wilderness?

So this, the

existence of

this Egyptian

pretender, the

false Egyptian

Messiah is

recorded also

independently by a

Jewish Roman

historian named

Persephone from

the first century.

And he records

that this man from

Egypt who was a

Jew claimed to

be the Messiah.

He deceived

thousands of

Jews and led

the knowledge of

wilderness and

then to the

Mount of Olives.

Jerusalem to

take over,

reclaim Jerusalem

from the Romans.

But then the

Romans promptly

crushed him,

captured 200

of his followers,

killed 400 of

his followers,

and that was

the end of

that.

But this man,

the pretender

himself, did

escape the

Roman grip.

And so this

tribune thinks

that he's found,

he's caught this

man that had

escaped.

He thinks he

has a great

fine in his

hand and he's

going to get

some kind of

reward for

taking him

in.

But Paul speaks

to him in

Greek which

shows that he's

not an Egyptian

and shows that

Tobin was very

confused.

Paul was not

a political

revolutionary

but he was

turning the world

upside down

simply by

teaching the

good news of

Jesus Christ.

And in this

volatile situation,

even while

narrowly escaping

his own

death from

the mentioned

mob, Paul

asked the

tribune for

the permission

to address

the Jewish

people so

that he might

bear witness to

Jesus and

tell them about

how he changed

his life.

That brings me to

my second point

beginning in

chapter 22,

how Jesus

changed Paul

and how he

changed us.

The Roman

tribune,

hoping that Paul

will clarify what

is going on,

gives him

permission to

speak and

Paul addresses

his own

people in

the Hebrew

language,

the Hebrew

dialect,

likely,

the most

likely

Aramae,

which was

the Jews

at the time

spoke.

And as

people hear

him speaking

in their own

language,

they quiet down

and they start

to listen.

And this is

what he tells

them in

verse 45,

he tells

them that he

was formally

persecuted,

he formally

persecuted this

way to the

dead,

binding and

delivering to

prison both

men and

women.

Paul is

trying to

convince the

Jews that

he's not

some Romanized

Jew who

is foreign

and who is

against and

doesn't care

anything about

Israel and

about the

law and the

temple,

but he was

once a

zealous

proponent of

the law,

was trained

in the law,

and he was

a fierce

opponent of

Christians.

And just

as the

Jews are

now trying

to kill

Paul,

Paul once

tried to

kill Christians

as well.

In fact,

Paul mentions

in verse 20

that when the

blood of

Stephen was

being shed,

he himself

was standing

by and approving

and watching

over the

garments of

those who

killed him.

Stephen was

the first

Christian

martyr,

and we saw

him get

stoned to

death by

Jewish mob

in Acts

Acts 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7.

And when

Stephen was

being stoned,

it was Paul

who was

providing the

cold check

service to

people who

were throwing

the stone

at Stephen.

And interestingly

enough,

and ironically,

what the

Jews charged

Stephen of

in Acts

6.13

is exactly

what the

Jews charged

Paul of

here.

He is

against

this

holy place

and the

law.

This shows

just how

thoroughly

Paul has

been transformed

by the

grace of

God.

The man

who used

to persecute

the followers

of Jesus

is now

being persecuted

for following

Jesus.

I hope

this is a

comfort to

some of

you.

It's

possible

that some

of you

have strayed

far away

from God.

Maybe

you have

doubted

that you

can ever

become a

follower of

God.

With all

that I

have done,

I could

never be

a follower

of Jesus.

Perhaps

you have

even mocked

Christians

have

slandered

the

church

in the

past.

But if

Paul can

be saved,

you can

still be

saved.

By his

own admission

in 1 Timothy

1.13,

Paul was

formerly a

blasphemer,

persecutor,

and insolent

opponent of

the church.

And yet

now he

was the

apostle.

He was an

apostle of

the church.

No matter

where you

have been,

and what

you have

done,

you are

not too

far gone.

And this

passage teaches

us that

there is still

time to

repent and

believe in

Jesus.

In

verses 6-16,

Paul recounts

how Jesus

graciously

appeared in

him.

He says,

as I was

on my way

and drew

near to

Damascus,

about noon,

a great

light from

heaven suddenly

shone around

me.

And I

fell to the

ground and

heard a

voice say

to me,

Saul,

Saul,

why are you

persecuting me?

And I

answered,

who are you?

And he

said to me,

I am Jesus

of Nazareth,

whom you are

persecuting.

Now those

who were with

me saw the

light, but

did not

understand the

voice of the

one who was

speaking.

This is the

second time

that Luke is

now telling us

the story of

Paul's conversion.

In the first

account that

Luke gave us

in chapter 9,

verse 7,

he noted that

the men who

were traveling

with Paul

stood speechless.

They were

hearing the

voice but

seeing no

one, which

seems to

contradict verse

9, which

says here that

the man saw

the light, but

did not

understand the

voice of the

one who was

speaking to.

But this is

not a

contradiction.

Chapter 9

tells Paul's

conversion story

from the

perspective of

Luke as

a missionary.

And chapter

22 tells the

story from

Paul's

perspective as

it unfolded.

And both

accounts are

actually highlighting

the fact that

the revelation

of Jesus Christ

to Paul was

personal and

private and was

reserved for

him alone.

Paul's

companions saw

the heavenly

light, but

they did not

see the

person of

Jesus.

Paul's

companions also

heard a

sound, but

they did not

hear the

voice of

Jesus.

They could

not understand

him.

They didn't

recognize him.

Only Paul

understood what

he saw and

what he heard.

heard.

So while this

encounter with

Jesus was very

public, and

the witnesses

can't corroborate

what happened,

the meeting with

Jesus was very

personal and

private.

I think that's

the wonderful

truth, that

God who created

the hospitals by

the word of his

mouth is not

too preoccupied,

not too

important to

attend individually

to us and

speak to us and

save us.

This was the

case where each

of us came to

know and

believe in Jesus

for the first

time.

You may have

heard a sermon

delivered to a

room full of

people.

You may have

been reading a

book that was

written for

thousands of

people.

But in that

moment, when you

encountered Jesus,

Jesus spoke

personally to

you, and you

came to see

him and behold

him in his

room.

This is because

only those whom

God has appointed

for salvation

can be saved.

Jesus says to

Paul in verse

10, rise and

go into the

masochist, and

there you will

be told all

that is appointed

for you to

do.

Here the word

appointed refers

to Paul's divine

assignment.

Paul used to

take letters

from the

Jewish ruling

council, authorizing

him to persecute

Christians and

to imprison

them.

But now he

is following

orders from

another place.

He takes

orders on the

Lord Jesus.

He does what

he's appointed

to by him.

Instead of

prosecuting those

who believe in

Jesus, now

Paul proclaims

Jesus and

calls people to

believe in him.

And then when

Paul obeys

Jesus' voice

he goes to

Ananias.

And then

Ananias helps

him to see,

or lies again

to see, and

then talking

about Jesus.

He says in

verses 14 to

15, Ananias

says to Paul,

the God of our

fathers appointed

you to know

his will, to

see the

righteous one, and

to hear a voice

from his mouth,

for you will be

a witness for

him to everyone

of what you

have seen and

heard.

it's because

God had

appointed Paul

to know his

will, it's

because God

had appointed

Paul to see

Jesus, the

righteous one, and

to hear his

voice, that Paul

was able to

recognize Jesus

and hear him

and understand

what he was

saying.

Paul's blindness

immediately after

he became

kind of a

Jesus is a

metaphor for a

spiritual

blindness.

Paul could

not see the

truth.

Paul was blind

to spiritual

realities, and

it is on the

day of his

conversion that

he is able to

see again, we

see in fact

his sight.

Every single

one of us is

also spiritually

blind apart from

God's special

revelation to

Jesus.

Unless God

shows us Jesus,

we cannot see

him.

We cannot

understand the

spiritual reality.

But when God

appoints us to

know his will,

he enables us

to see his

face here in

voice.

Paul writes

about this in

2 Corinthians 4,

3, 6,

he says,

even if our

gospel is

veiled, it

is veiled to

those who are

perishing.

In their

case, the

God of this

world has

blinded the

minds of

the unbelievers

to keep

them from

seeing the

light of the

gospel of the

glory of

Christ, who

is the

image of

God.

For what

we proclaim

is not

ourselves, but

Jesus Christ

as Lord,

with ourselves

as his

servants for

Jesus' sake.

For God, who

said, let

light shine

out of

darkness, has

shown in

our hearts to

give the

light of the

knowledge of

the glory of

God in the

faith of

Jesus Christ.

Do you hear

the voice of

Jesus calling

on people?

Do you see

the light of

Jesus shining

into your own

heart?

God?

If yes, then

the only

appropriate

response is

found in

Ananias

invitation to

Paul in

verse 16.

And now,

why do you

wait?

Rise and

be baptized

and wash

away your

sins, calling

on you.

The Greek

word for

baptized literally

means to

reverse.

For Jews,

immersion in

water for

the purpose

of purification

from ritual

and purity

was a

habitual

thing.

They did

it often.

They had

public pools

dedicated

solely for

that purpose.

But for

Christians,

baptism is

a one-time

initial

sacrament.

Because we

only need to

be committed

to the

ones of

our sins

once and

for all

by the

blood of

Jesus.

For those

who have

repented and

come to

faith in

Jesus Christ,

baptism

signifies the

washing away

of guilt

and the

purifying of

our own

conscience.

If you're

baptized,

you can be

assured that

you have

indeed been

cleansed of

your sins

by the

blood of

Jesus.

You have

indeed been

pure

conscience

before that.

Christian

baptism also

represents the

believer's

union with

Jesus through

faith,

through his

witness,

death,

and resurrection.

being

submerged under

the water

signifies the

Christian's

death,

death to

self.

We are no

longer living

for ourselves,

I have

died to

myself,

I no

longer live

to promote

myself,

but I now

live to

proclaim

Christ.

That's what

that death

signifies,

we are

submerged under

the water.

And then

when the

believer

emerges out

of the

water,

that signifies

you like

in Christ.

Christian now

lives for

Jesus.

That's what

all of us

who follow

Jesus now

have done,

baptized

to follow

Jesus.

And this

morning we

have the

privilege of

baptizing

two new

followers of

Jesus.