Baptism as God's Work

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[0:01] our gracious heavenly father we thank you for your word we pray now your special blessing on it that your spirit would move in our hearts and our minds that we would hear your word spoken to us and that we would uh what we are called to do we would obey and your promises we would hear these things we pray in jesus name amen so i started attending church as a middle schooler and the church that i attended was a baptist church and needless to say it's right in the name baptism is a really big deal there i had been baptized already when i was two months old i was baptized in the catholic church but my parents didn't attend church and my father was an atheist so somehow this baptism when i was an infant was very important to me because i thought if my parents don't find it a big deal to go to church and my dad doesn't even believe in god then it must be a really big deal to get baptized because my parents went out of their way to do it and so there's a part of me that had always been proud that i was baptized as an infant and it made me feel like i belonged to god long before i really knew what i was doing i didn't know much about him at all my parents didn't talk to me about god i didn't go to church

[1:32] i didn't have friends really that went to church for a while at least in my childhood so i had no other way of knowing who god was but i felt like i belonged to him and then when i did start attending church as a young teenager i was taught that i needed to be baptized again because my infant baptism was not sufficient and i never questioned that and i also never questioned why people needed to be baptized in the first place all i knew was that i had faith in jesus and i wanted to be obedient to his word so i got re-baptized and it wasn't until 10 years later as an adult and a member of then the covenant church that i felt like i could take pride in my infant baptism again because the ecc church for me included some me for me me for me for for for for for for for for for for for for for important work in my life even as an infant and I was aware of that work to some degree all through my childhood despite my non-christian upbringing. I knew God, I spoke to God years before I attended church. I just knew that God was important to me and that was incredibly important to me and I have I I certainly believe that my infant baptism had something to do with it. So I still didn't fully understand baptism but my concept of baptism shifted from the idea

[3:31] that I was in charge to the idea that Christ was in charge because before I thought that I had to perform an action in order to obtain salvation. Like I had to get baptized in order to secure my salvation but I learned that my salvation was God's work through and through even in my infant baptism which I had no say in so it couldn't have been my action it had to have been God's action.

[4:01] Baptism is still a mystery to me and I'm actually happy for it to remain a mystery to some degree. I'm happy to allow that God does works which we may not fully understand until we meet him face to face.

[4:18] And yet, baptism is a mystery to me. Baptism is incredibly important to our lives as Christians and it's so important that I do want to try to understand it and I think we should all try to understand it. Yes, we should allow there to be some mystery in our faith because I think our faith demands that there is mystery. That's what faith is is having certainty in that which is unseen. But I also think that because baptism is so important we need to understand that there is mystery in our faith. We need to at least try and dig into it a little deeper.

[4:54] In fact, a lot of Christians never get baptized and I think that that's because they don't understand the importance of it. We read today that Jesus himself was baptized and that should tell us something. Jesus always led by example. Jesus did not need to be baptized in order to be cleansed of his sin. Because he was without sin.

[5:23] Instead, he said he was being baptized to fulfill all that God had called him to. Jesus began his ministry by being baptized. And then at the end of his ministry, his very final instruction was to baptize disciples from all nations.

[5:43] So he bookended his ministry with baptism. And that should tell us something. Not only did he do it, which is important enough, but he started and ended his ministry with baptism. It's important. His intention was that all humanity would have faith in him and be baptized.

[6:07] And it was so important that part of his humanity included being baptized in order to identify with sinful humanity and fulfill all rights. So I don't know about you, but I once wondered about the origins of baptism. Because Jesus didn't just pull this idea out of a hat.

[6:31] He firmly instructed us to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And at the time when he was baptized, John had already been baptizing people for some time, and people were already seeking it out. so it must have come from somewhere. But the word baptism doesn't appear in Scripture until the New Testament when John is baptizing. And yet there are a number of references in the Old Testament to cleansing rituals that are meant to prepare the physical body for worship. So there was one ritual in particular called the Tevila, which meant like fully immersing yourself in naturally sourced water. And so that had some similarity to baptism. That sounds a lot like what John the Baptist was doing. And in Jewish tradition, immersion in water for ritual purification was intended to restore worshippers to this place of ritual purity in specific circumstances. For example, like people who came in contact with a corpse were ritually unclean. And so the word baptism was meant to prepare the physical body for worship. And so there was one ridiculous thing about So with that ritual we can kind of begin to see the idea that a new person could't remember how to remember to Christ or someone who just professed their faith in Christ might take on the idea of immersion

[8:21] in order to convert to Christianity. Immersion in the mikvah represented change in one's life, change in status in regards to purification, in regards to restoration, and qualification for full religious participation. So the cleansed person would have to be immersed before they could take part of any of this so that they would not impose uncleanliness on other people.

[8:52] This change of status by the mikvah was one that could be obtained over and over again, and it had to be because daily life led to unclean circumstances. So just going about... one's day-to-day life, they would have to be able to make themselves clean again.

[9:18] And on the other hand, Christian baptism is meant to only be hap... only happen once. So it's unique and it's not repeated. And I talked about how my first church asked that I be re-baptized. That was not because they thought that one baptism was not good enough.

[9:39] But it was because they just didn't acknowledge the validity of the first baptism. So some denominations don't accept the validity of infant baptism. And so they ask for another baptism as an adult. They do not believe that a valid baptism, though, needs to be repeated. So as Christians of any denomination, we believe that there is one baptism and that baptism is sufficient to last an entire life.

[10:08] Even if you are a believer who has backslidden. So let's say you get baptized and then you backslide, and you go through a phase of your life where you turn your back on Christ. Your baptism is still valid. So if you come back to Christ, you don't need to get re-baptized. Your baptism is a work of God, not a work of humanity.

[10:33] If it were a work of humanity, it would need to be redone. You've backslidden. Now you need to make up for it. But instead, your baptism is something that God has done through you. And that work of God is not what backslid. God did not backslide from your life. You backslid from God. So your baptism does not need to be repeated.

[11:00] The baptism is more than sufficient to carry through all the ups and downs of a person's life. So, and it's not just about the baptism. It's about the baptism of Christ. So, at any rate, it was the second temple period that the ritual washing in Judaism was referred to as baptmos, which is a Greek word. So John the Baptist was doing something that was a little bit different from the ritual cleansings. We already know that he was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. And that was what his entire ministry was about. His words proclaimed that Jesus would come soon. So it stands to reason that his actions also represented what Jesus' actions would be. So his actions foreshadowed what would happen when Christ would come. And so he washed people with water. It wasn't exactly what they were used to with the ritual cleansing. But the idea wasn't completely alien to them either. And it made them feel like they were being washed. So that's the point that one needed to be clean inside and out to prepare for the coming of Jesus and for the Kingdom of God that Jesus would proclaim.

[12:14] So this ritual cleansing was under the old law. And yet we still get baptized now, even though Jesus has come already and Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit. We still get baptized with water now. And I think a big question is why. Again, I think the reason that people do that is because they're baptized with water. And I think the reason that people don't get baptized is because they just don't really understand the importance of this. So why do we get baptized now? I think the most obvious comes from Matthew 28, 19 and 20.

[12:50] It's out of obedience. Jesus made a clear command. He said, Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything. I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. You can't get more clear and direct than that. Baptism is a direct order from Jesus.

[13:19] And then there's also Mark 16, 16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Now, this doesn't say if you're not baptized, you'll be condemned. It says if you don't believe, you will be condemned. But it does command whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

[13:43] Baptism is still a command that Jesus makes. In Acts 2, 38, when the people are moved by Peter's Pentecost speech, they ask, What should they do to be saved? And Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

[14:12] People don't get baptized because they don't understand the importance of it, but scripture shows us over and over again that it is a commandment, and not one to take lightly. So as followers of Christ, we want to be obedient to him.

[14:29] But as humans, we want to ask why. If somebody, on the street, told you to go and do something, and you didn't understand the purpose, you probably would not likely do it. As Christians, when Christ tells us to do something, it's a little different. We want to obey because he is Christ. But there's still this humanity in us that says, But why? And yes, I said that some things are a mystery, but I think we should investigate the why. And for starters, it's because baptism is a symbol. It symbolizes our new life in Christ. So Augustine said that a sacrament was Christ made visible in the action of the church. So we just took communion, and communion is Christ made visible through our actions in the church. In every sacrament, there's an everyday object, or a symbol, that points beyond itself and toward Christ. And in the case of baptism, being underwater is what points towards the cleansing. Being underwater is a symbol of being buried, and coming out of the water points to the resurrection.

[15:44] So this symbolism is an important proclamation. It is us proclaiming to the world that we have faith in Jesus Christ, and we want the world to know that we have faith in Jesus Christ. It is our proclamation to others that says, You can hold me accountable as a member of the body of Christ. It is our proclamation to others to say we belong to the body of Christ. And the symbolism is also a proclamation to the world of the gospel. We can say that our baptism symbolizes that Jesus took on the grave, and battled death and rose again, cleansing us from our sins for all eternity. And people look on that, and they say, why do you get baptized?

[16:31] And I think that's a symbol of the world. And they can see that symbolism and start to understand the gospel a little more. But we also get baptized because we are not passive watchers of faith. We are active participants. And participating in baptism is a major part of that.

[16:51] Participating in baptism also means participating in faith. And there's a ton of scripture to support this. Galatians 2.20 says, I've been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

[17:09] Colossians 2.12 says, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And then we read Romans 6 earlier, but Romans 6.3-7 says, or don't you know that all of us who are baptized into Christ, Jesus, are baptized in Christ, were baptized into his death. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in death, like his, we will certainly also be united with him in resurrection, like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that we may be united with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with and we should no longer be slaves to sin. Because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

[18:12] So participation in baptism means participation in our own cleansing. And no, we cannot cleanse ourselves from sin, but through baptism we can be active participants in the cleansing work that Christ does in us.

[18:31] So, participation in baptism also means participation in the life of the risen Christ who is made present to us through the Holy Spirit which was received at the time of baptism. And participation in baptism means participation in the body of Christ. We are one body. 1 Corinthians 12, 13 says, For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles. Whether we be bond or free. And have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

[19:09] So, we get baptized because Christ himself was baptized. And God demands this for all righteousness to be fulfilled. We get baptized in order to be obedient to Jesus' command. We get baptized as an act of symbolism and we get baptized to be active participants in our faith. We also, and this is incredibly important, we also get baptized to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

[19:42] Acts 2, 38 says, Peter replied, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So, we said earlier that sacraments are symbols in our faith walk and we are not When I was a student at North Park I often heard the story about generations gone by when people would refer to the weekly communion as the magic show. It was a reference to transubstantiation which is the idea that the bread and wine transform into the literal body and blood of Christ in the Catholic tradition. So, in the ECC, we don't believe that the bread and wine But many people tend to downplay that. If you don't believe it transforms into the literal body and blood of Christ, then it's easy to downplay the importance of the sacraments.

[20:47] And to say that they're mere symbols or signs, that baptism is a mere symbol or communion is a mere symbol that reminds us of what Jesus did for us. Many churches have fonts where people dip their hands in before they enter into the sanctuary. And this is meant to remind people of their baptism. That is a symbol. The font is a symbol because it reminds you of your baptism. But it would be strange to have a symbol to help yourself remember another symbol. Instead, that font helps to remind us of the divine work that Christ does through us in the act of baptism. So P.P. Waldenstrom said that the grace of God, which was first made available through the work of Christ on the cross, is made present to our faith in the moment of baptism.

[21:44] So the work of the Holy Spirit is to exalt Christ in our hearts and give us life and faith in Christ and at baptism, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is made present to our faith. So that being said, Christians do not get baptized for the sake of being saved. They are saved through Christ alone.

[22:10] We see this in Luke 23 where Jesus is hanging on the cross and one of the criminals was hurling insults at him but the other criminal rebuked him and said, Don't you fear God? Since you are under the same sentence, we are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve.

[22:31] We have nothing wrong. And then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus answered him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. That criminal was not baptized and yet he had faith and Jesus had the power to forgive him his sins and to say with certainty you will be with me in paradise.

[22:57] Baptism is important but it is not our own actions that save us. God is not limited to our baptism. We are saved through Christ's work on the cross and his resurrection. And he did not need to get baptized or he does not need us to get baptized to save us. The Holy Spirit does not need us to be baptized to be at work.

[23:23] But there is an inexplicable and absolutely beautiful thing that happens through baptism. We are made one in the body of Christ and the work of the Spirit within us is brilliantly magnified. And so that's what I'll leave you with is that Christ cared for us so much that he got baptized and wants us to share in his baptism as well. So that we can see this beautiful incredible work of God through us.

[23:56] Let's pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of baptism. We thank you that you are good and that you pour out your many blessings upon us. God, we pray for we pray for your gifts in our lives for your blessings that we would seek to know you more whether through baptism or through the sacraments or just through daily time with you.

[24:31] We pray in Jesus name. Amen.