WASHED and READY (Water Baptism)

This afternoon we’re going to afford those of you who would like to, an opportunity to stand up and stand out for Jesus.  Maybe you’ve been a Christ follower for many years but have never publically devoted yourself to Christ.  Maybe you’ve only recently given your whole life over to serving God’s purposes and not your own.  Well this can be the day for you to declare what God has done in you.  Today at 2pm you are invited to witness or participate in God’s expression of faith called water baptism.

Some churches teach that someone else can choose your direction in life, but at CFC we teach that only you can choose Christ for yourself.  No one can decide you will be a Christian and no choice another person makes gets you into heaven.  The only way to enter heaven is by you choosing Christ’s sacrifice and not at the request of someone else, not even a loving parent.

Let’s work really hard at not making this action; God has called people to participate in, into a religious hoop to jump through.  According to God’s word you can’t be baptized unless you are first saved, you can’t be saved until you repent for living life on your own and without God’s guidance and you can’t repent unless you recognize you are a sinner in need of a savior.

(Mark 16:16) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

We may have seen infants brought to be baptized in pretty white gowns, to symbolize purity and innocence.  We see them sprinkled upon to declare their entrance into the eternal kingdom.  Maybe you were told that Hell awaits those who were not baptized as infants.  This is not what we see revealed in the scripture text at CFC.  We teach that man comes in his sinfulness not purity, repentant not silent, and gets washed clean by the blood of Christ’s sacrifice not holy water.  We are very interested in following the Biblical mandate even if it flies in the face of long time church tradition.

If you were baptized as an infant, don’t panic, water never hurts a baby but what we see from the Bible is that salvation must precede water baptism.  We must also conclude that God’s great hand of mercy is extended to all babies who have yet to reach an age of accountability if they should die before being water baptized.

Remember the part of Pastor Joe’s message last week where he taught on the substitutionary offering of the ram, goat or dove?  This animal was killed as a way of describing the price to offset the sin of a person.  So Jesus died for our sins and baptism helps us to understand that we must connect with His death and going under the surface of the water tells the story of our death with Christ.

(Romans 6:3-5) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus 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.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

The very word baptism has the original meaning of immersion.  This implies full body immersion in water, fully wet, encompassed by water, but to argue this with sprinkling is fruitless if in either case the baptism doesn’t reflect its actual purpose.  If baptism is just about getting wet, then get out the fire hose and let’s all go to heaven.

Baptism in truth is an outward symbol of something invisible having transpired in the inward part of a person.  If you get wet but you’ve not renounced your life of sin and invited Christ’s life of righteousness, then what’s the point?  Even getting a really holy person to do the baptism doesn’t make any difference if the heart of a person is not repentant.  But if the baptismal candidate has made a willful decision to repent from living apart from God and now chooses to lay down their own personal plans and purposes to follow Jesus Christ, then and only then does the symbolic gesture have validity.

(Acts 2:37-41) When the people heard this (That they their sin had crucified Christ), they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  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.  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 three thousand were added to their number that day.

At CFC we welcome families to be baptized together if they so choose.  Teens and kids are welcome to participate if they understand the expression and believe in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice.  

This is what the Bible says about a man who had encountered the power of God in Jesus.  This man had brutalized the Apostle Paul and Paul still shared the gospel with him.  Because of this, he realized that Jesus died for him and he spoke the gospel to his whole family.

(Acts 16:33) At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.

In scripture, Christians are instructed to declare publicly the work of Christ in their lives. Water immersion (baptism) is symbolic of the death (willfully putting yourself in God’s hands), burial (submerged under the surface of the water like in death) and the resurrection (rising up out of the water) declaring our new life in Christ.  

(Matthew 28:19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,...

So, should you be baptized this afternoon?  The first thing to determine is your present spiritual condition.  Have you determined in your heart and mind that Jesus alone is the Savior of the world and that he has in fact become your personal Lord and Savior?  Have you repented of living life without God, received His forgiveness and chosen to follow Christ’s leadership in your life?  If you can answer yes to this then by all means get baptized today. If you haven’t signed up for baptism you are still invited to come.

If you struggle to answer yes to this inquiry, then consider your need for salvation, speak to someone you trust who can direct your questions on how to accept Christ into your life.

Finally, what should happen after baptism?  Well, you are now washed and ready.  You are washed from your life of self-sufficiency and ready to live dependent on God.

The above notes are from Pastor Pasch’s August 16, 2009 message.  To get a free CD of the complete message, contact Christ’s Family Church @ 651.437.2340.