Buried, Then Raised

Transcript

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[0:00] Our sermon passage today is very short. It comes from Romans chapter 6, starting in verse 3. Let's pray. God, we thank you for this word. We ask your blessing over it. We ask that you speak to our hearts and our minds today. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[0:47] I really love the chapel at North Park because there's a little font. First of all, it's a beautiful little chapel. It's just white and clean. Everything looks fresh. There's a little teeny font at the front of the chapel where you first walk in. You touch the water, and as you touch the water, you're prompted to remember your baptism.

[1:14] I do remember my baptism. It was a very special time. I joined a Baptist church as a teenager. Before becoming a member, I had to be baptized. For me, since I was young in the faith, therefore, was a two-year course before my baptism. It's a lot like our confirmation process.

[1:35] You learn all about the Bible, you learn about the history of the church, you learn a little theology, and this is important because baptism is an important decision. And at the end of these two years, I affirmed that I had a personal relationship with Christ and I wanted to make my faith public. So I was baptized in a pool that was near to our church. And that is the baptism that I remember, but I was actually baptized twice. The Baptist Church did not recognize my infant baptism because I was not old enough to make the decision myself and because I was sprinkled instead of dunked. So for both of those reasons, it was declared null and void. So we as humans place a lot of emphasis on the human portion of baptism. Where it is, when we make the decision, how much water is used, what people joined us. We have special memories of our baptisms and that's important. And we make special plans for our baptisms and again I think that's important because baptism is a very special time. But there's something mysterious about baptism. There's something that cannot be forced by human hand. And whether everything goes according to our plan or not, our baptism is still a very special process because God does something very

[3:14] special within us at that time. God makes a new covenant with his people when they are baptized and they're empowered to live a life of holiness through his Holy Spirit. The Baptist Church would argue that my first baptism was invalid, but because of what I know of baptism now, I actually believe that to be my true baptism. My parents were not Christian. They got me baptized simply because my grandparents really, really wished it. My grandmother really, really desperately wanted me baptized and my mom wasn't religious enough to argue with her. And so she just said, fine, I'll do whatever this takes, you know. And I really honor that because I felt set apart for God my whole young life. As a very young child, I remember just knowing God even though I had no parents to teach me who God was. And I think that God set me apart on the day of my baptism.

[4:25] From a young age, I could feel God's call and protection over my life before I could form into words who I thought God really was. And there's something beyond human control that takes place in baptism. It's something bigger than just me making a statement of my own power. It's something that's in God's hands alone. Because baptism is so special and because the kids are joining us in this service, I'm so grateful that we have a place to share our stories. I wonder if some of us can share what our own baptism stories were. Whether there was something special that happened, whether you got baptized in a special place, or whether your baptism was as standard as they come. We'd like to hear about it. So Eric is going to come around with a microphone and if you have a story about your baptism to share, go ahead and raise your hands.

[5:28] Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. Right at the risk of one-upping the pastor, I've been baptized three times. of being political, I think it's a little bit silly to focus on the form of baptism, where I felt it was more of a covenant between me and God, and that I was called regardless of the form. And so I just wanted to share that I felt that calling strongly after the second. I did the third for rote reasons, I guess, to please others. But it's definitely a special time, so I'm excited to witness it for some others today.

[6:34] I always think I need to say something so that other people can feel like they can say something, but I was baptized as an infant in the Lutheran Church when I was just about two months old. And my parents asked a couple to be my godparents, and these were people who were in our town. And the wife of that couple had cystic fibrosis, and she thought she should say no, because she thought this would be a lifelong commitment to sort of mentor me spiritually. And so she declined, and it ended up being that she was one of the people who lived the longest in America ever with cystic fibrosis. In fact, she died at a ripe old age in her 70s, I guess. But we were still friends with them. So my parents turned to a couple who live in Minnesota, and they're still alive. My godparents are still alive, and every year they send me a check for $10 on my birthday, which is really sweet, but I stay in touch with them. And they've also been sending me pictures of my baptism recently. But to me, since I don't remember it, what I remember is that these people took this so seriously to be my godparents, that they saw this as sort of this formative thing that they wanted to help mentor me through my faith as a child. And it was a little

[7:53] harder for the family in the church to be able to do that. But I think that's what it's all about. In Minnesota, to do that, because they were at a distance, but they always made an effort to kind of contact me and send me notes from time to time. And they're still alive, and I still love them very much. So as a child, I was surrounded by the church in my baptism, is how I would say it.

[8:20] Hi. I was baptized as an infant, I think in Alum Rock, and I was baptized as an adult. And I was baptized as an adult in the Covenant Church. I'm not sure if it was in this one or not, the old one. But anyway, I later was belonging to a Presbyterian church. And at some point, I felt called to be baptized as an adult, knowing, you know, making it my personal decision. And so I wrestled with this off and on for a couple years. I thought, maybe I should, maybe I shouldn't. Anyway, I finally decided I felt called to be baptized as an adult. So I go talk to the pastor of the church I was at at the time, and he said, you can't be baptized a second time. You were baptized as an infant. I'm like, oh, and I'd worked all up to that. It's like, oh, okay. Eventually, we switched churches. And then I remember talking to somebody about it and saying, you know, I kind of wanted to be baptized as an adult and said, oh, we're okay with that at this church. And so I got baptized on an Easter. But I just thought that was so interesting at the one church, you know, it's like, no, you can't, you already, it counted. And so, but God works in all the different ways. And I think it draws us closer. So that's my.

[9:39] Thanks, Eric. I was baptized at Redwood Chapel Community Church over in Castro Valley. My parents were charter members of that church. They kind of helped get it off the ground. And one of the things that happens in baptism is sometimes the minister will kind of hold you in his arm, you know, put a handkerchief over your mouth and nose and submerge you in the water, you know, and because it was a dunking baptism, of course. And then when you come out of the, come up out of the water, he takes that handkerchief away. You wipe the water off your eyes. And it's like, you know, I'm all wet, I'm cleansed. And I was thinking about that, that sermon, or that text that we read about the spirit descending on Jesus. And for me, it felt like a spirit descending on me, you know, and I was awakening to a new world and shaking the water, getting the water out of my eyes. And so that that was really, really special, you know, having that experience of being underwater, having your breath cut off, and then coming up again.

[10:56] That imagery just has stuck with me for years. So my name is Andres. I grew up in a Pentecostal church, a Spanish Latin Pentecostal church. And when I was growing up, I felt a lot of pressure when it came to like receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues. So I was very defiant when I was, and very, I would question everything. So I didn't take the normal route where I go to take a class or, you know, you know, was introduced, you know, to, you know, the next steps of baptism. So I decided on the spot to be baptized. When there was a calling, it was my senior year, I was transitioning to college, I was going to move away. And I felt prompted in my heart that I should take the next step and be baptized. And so I took the next step and I was going to take the next step and be baptized. I knew that I needed protection because I was going away, a young, young man. And so I decided to get baptized. And I think it's ever since I made that decision has been a blessing and it kept me safe when I was away for college.

[12:17] Hi. So I became a believer as an adult in college. So my story might be a little different. I didn't have an opportunity to get baptized as an infant or as a child. But so I became a believer and I thought, well, I should look into getting baptized. So I took a class at actually a different church, my friend's church, and I went through a class for two years and then I was ready to get baptized. Or I said, yes, I want to get baptized. Well, I had not seen my parents in Japan after I became a believer. And so they were fine with me becoming a believer, saying I'm a Christian, but getting baptized, they also knew it was a little bit more than saying I'm a Christian. So I decided to hold off my baptism until I got to see them and show them that I'm still normal. I'm not, like a religious crazy person, because I think that's what they feared by this step of action. So I did that. And then I said, I still want to get baptized. And they're like, okay, well, you're an adult, it's your choice. So I got sort of their blessing.

[13:38] And so, but the church that I was attending in college didn't, was not used to doing adult baptism. So they didn't quite know what to do with me. So I just talked with a youth pastor, and he said, well, we can have your private baptism, not like as a church ceremony, but you can have your friends from university come and some people you know from church and just make it a personal, but still public. And I went to Northwestern in Illinois. So, and I also wanted to be immersed instead of sprinkles. That's what the church practice, because I really wanted to experience being going through or underwater and come out. And the pastor said, okay, we can go to the Lake Michigan. So that was the plan, but it was scheduled in June, early June, and the water there was still a little chilly, like low fifties, I think. So the pastor said, it might be a little bit too dangerous to go in the water that cold. So they quickly found someone in the church who had a pool in the backyard. And so I got baptized in a private baptism. And so I got baptized in a private baptism. And so I got baptized in a private baptism. And so I got baptized in a private baptism. And so I got baptized in a private If any of the youth who's getting baptized is disappointed by not going in the ocean to get

[14:59] baptized, it's still meaningful. I'm still a little bit bummed about not being baptized in that lake, but still as meaningful. And what I remember is being surrounded by my friends and mentors, and that's what meant more. So.

[15:24] All right. I think we should clap for these stories because that's very celebratory. So it doesn't matter if your baptism was a great grand affair in front of a million people. And it doesn't matter if you were sprinkled or dunked, if you were an infant or an adult. What matters is that a public commitment was made either by you or by the pastor. And that's what we're going to look at now. So what matters is that a public statement was made either by you or by your parents who raised you or by your godparents, in Hans-Erik's case and his parents'.

[16:01] A public declaration of faith was made and you showed your willingness to follow Christ. But the most important part of that was that God renewed his covenant with you at that moment. The act of baptism itself is just the icing on the cake. It takes very little effort to be rinsed with some water. On the other hand, the call to be baptized is a very difficult command to follow. It takes a tremendous amount of faith either to raise a child in the faith or to walk yourself in the faith, to publicly commit to someone and to trust him with your life. Like most of God's commands, nothing could ever be so easy or so difficult at the same time. Now the Gospels tell us that John was raised up by God to prepare the way for the Messiah. He was a powerful speaker, filled with the Spirit of God to challenge sin in people's life. He called them to repent, and the common people of his day responded to his message The religious leaders didn't know what to do with him. Mostly they just stood back and kept a watchful eye on him. However, when people chose to turn from their sinful ways and follow God's direction for their lives, John performed the sacred ritual with them. He immersed them in water in the Jordan River. It was a way of sealing their commitment to follow God and

[17:37] leaving behind their sin. But all the while, as John confronted people about their sin, he also explained that someone else would be coming. A Messiah set apart by God to be a great leader of his people. Matthew 3, 11 through 12 says, I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am, so much greater I am not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn, but burning the chaff with never-ending fire Right after that, we see that Jesus had come to be baptized. And we read about that in our Scripture today. When Jesus chose to be baptized he therefore baptized, he did three really important things. And the first was that he was identifying with us. So Jesus was never guilty of sin, and yet he chose to be baptized. And he submitted to baptism as a means of recognizing the fact that he was fully human. So Jesus didn't come to earth to lord it above us that he was better than us, but he came to be God with us. Not God greater than us,

[19:13] not God, you should serve me, but God with us, even becoming a servant to us. So when Jesus approached John and allowed himself to be baptized, John was suitably impressed. He was shocked. He was a little worried. But Jesus identified with the average person who sought the direction and will of God. And that made him different than the religious leaders who saw themselves as over and above the common people and who believed that they were the sole authority on what the will of God was.

[19:57] So the second thing he did was become an example to us. So not only do Christians believe that God entered a human body and lived as a human, but we also believe that he lived as an example for us. And Jesus' constant command to people while he was on earth wasn't, go do this and go do that because I said so. Instead, he constantly told the people, follow me. He did, and we followed. He didn't demand we do things for him or do things that he was too great to do. He did the things himself, and we followed that example. Jesus came to earth to model the way we should live our lives. And one aspect of his model was that he was baptized. Because Jesus was sinless, it wouldn't have been wrong for him to skip baptism. But it was right for him to be baptized. I think that's what Jesus meant when he explained to John, it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.

[21:09] Now, some people might be tempted to say, you don't have to be baptized to have salvation. And yet, as we read earlier, we are commanded by Jesus to go into all the world, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So no, we don't earn our salvation through baptism, but it is a commandment nevertheless.

[21:35] When we convince ourselves that baptism is an unnecessary step in our faith journey, it looks at salvation from the perspective, what is the least I can do to get into heaven? And that isn't a godly perspective at all. Jesus said, if you want to follow me, you have to take up a cross. So becoming a follower of Christ means that you turn your life over to him. Paul says we become a living sacrifice. There is no room here for just a half-hearted commitment. It is all or it is nothing. This is why I see baptism as a part of a covenant relationship. Because Jesus provides the salvation, but we need to follow him. By taking this on ourselves, we are making a public proclamation of our faith. Right here on the cross, he declares the Righteous Righteous Righteous Righteous faith. In the second chapter of Acts, Peter preached the first sermon after Jesus had been resurrected from the dead. He ended his message with these words, Therefore let all Israel be assured of this, God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. The people agreed with him and they responded. When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? Peter replied, Repent

[23:37] 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. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call. With many other words he warned them and he pleaded with them, save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized and about 3,000 were added to their number that day." So I hope no one misunderstands what I'm saying here. The Bible clearly teaches that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

[24:20] If somebody trusts the water baptism for their salvation, then there's no doubt in my mind that all they have done is go for a nice swim, or a cold swim, or a not-so-nice swim. The point is, all they've done is taken a bath. Our salvation is the work of God. Jesus did the work for our salvation by going to the cross and dying in our place. It's his blood that covers our sin and makes us clean. However, God did give us a choice about accepting the gift of salvation or not. The Bible portrays the same thing. God did not give us a choice about accepting the gift of salvation or not. The Bible portrays baptism as that defining moment when we determine whether we accept this gift or not. It's the physical response to the question, do you follow Jesus?

[25:09] And then the third reason Jesus baptized himself was to end one part of life and begin another. Up to this point in Jesus's life, he was probably a carpenter, but this marked the change in direction. From this point on, Jesus was a carpenter. He was a carpenter. He was a carpenter.

[25:36] Right wrote in Romans 6, as he challenges his readers to understand what it means to be a follower of Christ. And I'm going to back up a little bit, starting in verse 2. Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ, we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you should also consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

[27:16] So this passage, is the only place in the entire Bible that explains how a person can be identified with the death and resurrection with Jesus Christ. And it says that reality occurs at baptism. When someone accepts Jesus as the Lord and Savior, that means they are saying that the life they live is now not their own anymore. It belongs to Jesus Christ. And the Bible, uses the language dying to self. So what do you do with a dead person? You bury them. The waters of baptism symbolize that truth. A person dies to themself. They are buried. But we don't leave them under the water. They are resurrected from their grave to live a new life. They are a new person, born again. It is an end to your old life. And the beginning of your new life following Christ all wrapped into one. So of course the act of baptism is quite simple. It takes minutes. But the reality of baptism is life-changing. It may end up being both the easiest and hardest thing you ever do. It is a calling to a life lived for Christ. It is a life lived denying yourself. A life lived putting yourself last so that others may be put first. A life lived for God's justice. A life of making the right choices instead of the easy choices. All this wrapped up into that moment of being

[29:01] dunked under the water or sprinkled. God has done all the work for salvation and the one who baptizes you will do all the hard work in the water. However, it's a difficult thing to do because it means giving up the hard work and the hard work in the water. giving your life away. But the promise of God is that when you give your life to him, he will give you a new life that lasts forever.

[29:25] Our only choice left is, will we obey him? Let's pray. God, thank you for your promises over our lives. Thank you for your salvation on our behalf, that you died on the cross and were raised again. And thank you that you offer a new covenant through baptism, that we can die to our old lives and be raised again to follow you. God, we pray that you would guide us and help us each to make that choice. These things we pray in Jesus' name.