BAPTISM: MY ACT OF FAITH
(Christian Sacraments I)
February 20, 2011
Sermon in a sentence: Jesus’ salvation is available to all:
you receive it personally through the “sacrament” of
baptism.
Scriptures (NASB): Romans 9:30 – 10:17; Acts 16:25-34;
Mark 16:16; Matt. 3:13-15; Acts 2:38-41; 1 Pet. 3:18-21
Discussion Points:
There are some things in life we wish we could have,
places we wish we could go, people we wish we could meet
and needs we wish could be met.
We could be at school, on the job or sitting at the kitchen
table at home, daydreaming and fantasizing about things
we’d like to see happen for us. (There’s nothing wrong
with that, as long as we use these dreams and desires to
motivate us to achieve our goals.)
However, there are some needs, some wishes we cannot
achieve through hard work, good planning or good luck.
There are some careers we cannot enjoy because of
certain obstacles, or relationships we cannot have because
of our own personal inadequacies or deficiencies.
(I will never be a jockey, gymnast, race car driver or
fighter pilot! Some of you will never be NBA basketball
players, singers or nuclear physicists.)
Then there are some sicknesses and diseases we have no
power to control, things that seem to leap upon us and
render us powerless.
1
-
Athletic lady – runner – knee pain – leukemia –
hoping for bone marrow transplant to save her life
Athletic man, plays hockey four times/wk –
shortness of breath and pain in chest – heart attack
– just made it to hospital in time
You go to the doctor – a little mole – a little rash – a
funny little pain – a little blood showing up in the
wrong place
When these things happen, we quickly start asking
questions. We want to know if there’s anything we can do.
Then we come in contact with the Word of God that tells us
we have a spiritual disease – the systemic blood poisoning
of sin! It is the worst disease known to man, fatal in all
untreated cases. (The 10 Commandments we’ve just
studied do a great job in exposing our sinfulness to us.)
What are we to do? Is there any hope for a dying sinner?
Once we know the depth of our problem, we can try to deal
with it in various ways:
Some come to church, cry their way through a service,
leave, and never come back, hoping they won’t feel the
conviction of sin ever again. Some are consumed by guilt
and shame and even end their lives because of their
feeling of despair. Some try to drown out the reality and
consequences of their diagnosis with drugs, alcohol and all
the pleasures the world has to offer.
Some try the most prevalent man-made solution to guilt
reduction: doing good works.
But here’s what we really have to do. This is the only way
out: call out to Jesus for His help and forgiveness. We
2
must believe His word that He truly loves you, died to bear
our sin penalty and rose again from the dead to guarantee
that we too can have eternal life!
Our key scripture today tells us that faith develops in our
hearts as we hear the word of God. It is imperative that we
truly believe what the Word says to us: we are all sinners
on our way to death. We have no way to help ourselves, so
there’s no use trying. Our good works cannot save us from
God’s wrath and judgment. Only the death of Jesus on the
cross, His burial and His resurrection on our behalf can
save us.
How do we make this work for us as individuals? Through
faith, confession and obedience to baptism. (Rom. 10:5-10;
Mark 16:16; Acts 16:25-34; Matt. 3:13-15)
Romans 10:5-10 (NASB) For Moses writes that the man
who practices the righteousness which is based on law
shall live by that righteousness. 6 But the righteousness
based on faith speaks as follows: "Do not say in your heart
, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ
down), 7 or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to
bring Christ up from the dead)." 8 But what does it say?
"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"—
that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if
you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in
righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting
in salvation.
Mark 16:16 (NASB) "He who has believed and has been
baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall
be condemned.
3
Acts 16:25-34 (NASB) But about midnight Paul and Silas
were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the
prisoners were listening to them; 26 and suddenly there
came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the
prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors
were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened. 27
When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened,
he drew his sword and was about to kill himself,
supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul
cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Do not harm yourself,
for we are all here!" 29 And he called for lights and rushed
in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and
Silas, 30 and after he brought them out, he said, "Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?" 31 They said, "Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household." 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him
together with all who were in his house. 33 And he took
them that very hour of the night and washed their
wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his
household. 34 And he brought them into his house and set
food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in
God with his whole household.
Matthew 3:13-15 (NASB) Then Jesus arrived* from Galilee
at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14
But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be
baptized by You, and do You come to me?" 15 But Jesus
answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this
way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he
permitted Him.
We need to receive this word with joyful hearts and obey it
quickly (Acts 2:38-41). This is how we personally receive
the salvation Jesus purchased for us 2,000 years ago.
Acts 2:37-41 (NASB) Now when they heard this, they were
pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Peter said to
them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will
4
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is for
you and your children and for all who are far off, as many
as the Lord our God will call to Himself." 40 And with
many other words he solemnly testified and kept on
exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse
generation!" 41 So then, those who had received his word
were baptized; and that day there were added about three
thousand souls.
Illustration 1: Young man, great brain, little money,
offered $65,000 Dean’s scholarship to law school.
Skit: Boy runs in with letter, reads it to parent. Great
excitement. “What are you going to do now son?” “Oh, I’m
going to tell all my friends what I great offer I just
received!”
How will he actually receive the scholarship? By signing
the offer letter. No signature, no scholarship.
Illustration 2: If you’re offered a new job, you set up a date
to go in and sign your job offer letter.
Skit: Wife rushes into living room to see husband:
“Honey, you’ll never believe who just called! It was Mr.
Wilson from the Bank. He’s offering me the Regional VicePresident’s position I applied for. I just have to go in to see
him and sign all the paperwork.” “That’s fantastic Dear!
When are you going to go see him?” “Oh, I’ll get around to
it one of these days”.
No signature, no job.
Illustration 3: The children of Israel had the Red Sea
parted before them – they now had a way of escape from
Pharaoh and his army.
5
Skit: “Look at that Simeon! Have you ever seen anything
like it! The water is standing upright on both sides of us
and we can go right through the middle of it. God has
given us a miracle so we can escape these Egyptians one
more time!” (Runs through sea to other side. Turns
around and sees Simeon, still on the other side, looking at
the Egyptians, looking at the path through the sea,
undecided. “Simeon, are you crazy??!! Get over here!
Simeon!
Hurry up! (Simeon still looks confused.)
“Simeon!! Get ove….!” (Simeon puts his hands up to
protect himself as an Egyptian chariot runs over him and
he dies.) “Oh no! They got him! Simeon! Simeon!”
If they chose not to walk across to the other side, they
would have been killed. No crossing, no escape.
Illustration 4: Noah and his family had to enter the ark to
be saved from the flood’s destruction.
Skit: (Noah hammers the last nail into the side of the ark,
surveys his work as he wipes his brow.) “Finally, it’s
done.” “What is that you’ve built Noah?” “It’s a boat to
save us from the destruction of God that’s about to come
on the whole world. You had better get into the ark with
us right now!” “Oh Noah, I don’t know – none of my
friends are in there.”
The flood came and everyone outside the ark died. It
works exactly the same way with baptism. No baptism, no
salvation (1 Pet. 3:18-21).
1 Peter 3:18-21 (NASB) For Christ also died for sins once
for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to
God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive
in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made
proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20 who once
were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting
in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in
6
which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely
through the water. 21 Corresponding to that, baptism now
saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an
appeal to God for a good conscience—through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior stands before us today
with open arms, willing and ready to receive us and give us
His full and free salvation. He’s made the offer. All we
need to do to receive it is to believe, repent and be
baptized. No baptism, no salvation.
Make this the new date on your calendar – the day you
willingly participated in the sacrament of baptism – the
day you made a public statement to the world that you had
become a part of God’s family – the day all your sins were
forever forgiven and you started your new life in Christ.
Appendix:
WATER BAPTISM
The Sign Of The Covenant
(answers to worksheet questions in different font)
To be saved, a person must believe and be baptized . Mark
16:16
Jesus said we must be born again of water and Spirit. John
3:5
Baptism identifies us with the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus.
Romans 6:3-4
7
Through baptism we are washed, sanctified and justified.
1 Corinthians 6:11
Why should we be baptized? For the remission of sins.
Acts 2:38
Baptism shows that we have been buried with Him, we have
been raised with Him, and we are dead to sin! Baptism is
the New Testament equivalent of circumcision in the Old
Testament. It indicates that we have entered into a new life
with God. Colossians 2:11-14
Who should be baptized? Every one of you!
Acts 2:38 (Acts 8:36-37; Acts 18:8)
What is the biblical method of baptism? Full immersion.
(“Baptizo”: to dip, to immerse, to overwhelm, to cover
wholly with a fluid)
Matthew 3:16; John 3:23; Acts 8:38; 1 Cor. 10:1-2
What is the biblical ‘formula’ for baptism? (In other words,
what words should be spoken over you as you are being
baptized?)
“I now baptize you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of your sins and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost!”
Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 10:48; Acts 22:16;
1 Cor. 1:12-15; Colossians 3:17; Ephesians 3:14-15
Seven Catholic sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation,
Eucharist, Penance, Anointing the sick, Ordination, Marriage.
Two Protestant Christian sacraments: Baptism and the
8
Lord’s Supper. (The other five were rejected during the
Reformation as there is no scriptural injunction that all
Christians are required to participate in these activities.)
9