Sunday, July 20, 2008: Home Field Advantage

Home Field Advantage
Acts 9: 19 b – 31.

I. Introduction.

I have confessed to you before how much I love to watch sports on TV. But, I have never been one to watch the All Star games in professional sports. Last Tuesday night was the Major League Baseball All Star Game, and I didn’t watch it. I do know that the American League won again, and as a result they won the rights to have home field advantage in the World Series in October.

Among professional sports, the Major League Baseball All Star Game is the only All Star game that really means anything. Back in 2002, the baseball All Star Game ended in a tie. Of course, that didn’t really matter, because the teams were not really playing for a real prize. Sure, the winning league had “bragging rights,” but there was no real reason to break the tie.

That tie game was just what baseball needed to change the way they looked at the All Star Game. The next year, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig made a rule change. The league that won the All Star Game would be entitled to have home field advantage in the World Series.

In the world of sports, home field advantage make a big difference in the way players play the game and in many cases can determine the outcome. The home team gets to play the game on their home field—as a general rule, this is the field or court where they play half their games, so they are more familiar with that field than the visiting team is. The home team also gets first choice of the uniforms their team wears—again, they usually choose the uniform they are most comfortable wearing. Sometimes people accuse the home team of receiving preferential treatment from the referees or umpires. But, the biggest advantage for the home team is the encouragement and support they receive from their local fans.

In college sports, the home team is required to make tickets available for the fans of the visiting team. It’s a complicated system in which the teams agree on a certain number of tickets to exchange. Thus, if one team cuts the number of tickets available to another team, then that team has the right to cut the number of tickets they provide in exchange. However, in professional sports, there are no such requirements. Sometimes, the visiting fans cannot buy any tickets.

And the home fans make life miserable for the visiting players. The home fans cheer every small success their players have on the field. They cheer for every minor error or mistake the opposing players make. And athletes just play better when they have the support and encouragement of their home fans.

Don’t try to take my analogy too far. But, I think the church ought to give us a home field advantage. No. I do not believe we ought to cheer when other people fail. But, I do believe it is our responsibility as a church to support each other and encourage each other, so that we can be our best when surrounded by our church. After all, church is supposed to be a family. And family is made up of the people who love us more than anyone and support us no matter how badly we have failed.

We can witness this kind of home field advantage in the support and encouragement Paul received once he became a follower of Jesus.

Read Acts 9: 19 b – 31.

Last week, we read the story of Saul’s conversion. In some ways, Saul’s conversion was a normative experience—just like ours. He had a real-life encounter with Jesus that changed his life forever. He immediately entered into a community with other men and women who were also followers of Jesus. Then, Saul began to preach the Gospel to anyone who would listen to him.

In other ways, Saul’s conversion experience was something that has never been duplicated. He was blinded by a bright light from heaven. He heard the audible voice of Jesus calling him by name. And, he was blinded for three days until someone—Ananias—could come along side to support and encourage Saul.

But there is one thing we can say about Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus…When Jesus arrested Saul and changed his life, Jesus changed his life for a purpose. That purpose was to use Saul as an instrument—a carrying vessel—to spread the Good News of Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Immediately, we witness as Saul begins to fulfill the purpose of his salvation. He started right where he was. Damascus was not Saul’s home town. Damascus was not even the town where Saul was currently employed. Damascus was simply the town where Saul was in the days following his conversion.

The book of Acts tells us that Saul began preaching to the Jews of Damascus. That is interesting to me, because he had originally traveled from Jerusalem to Damascus to find the Jews of that city. He came to Damascus to find out if there were any Jews who had become followers of Jesus. Now he was trying to find the Jews who had NOT accepted Jesus.

Verse 22 tells us that Saul spent his time “proving” to these Jews that Jesus is the Christ. There are two important Greek words in this verse. The word we translate as “proving” is the word sumbibazo which literally means, “to put together.” The Greek word Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. Therefore, we can say that Saul spent his time sharing from the Old Testament prophecies how Jesus fulfilled God’s promises and Israel’s hopes.

This is significant, because we do not know how Saul came to this understanding of the Old Testament. We can assume that Saul already knew the Bible before he had his encounter with Jesus. He had excelled in Scripture reading and memorization. He had even broken into the order of the Jewish Pharisees and risen in their ranks to become a very prominent member. But until this very moment, he had a very legalistic view of the Bible and the promises of God. There is nothing in Saul’s background which could have led him to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

This leads me to believe that Saul had gained this new understanding of Jesus from a combination of two sources. First, God had opened Saul’s eyes through the presence of the Holy Spirit. Second, Saul had spent several days with the “disciples in Damascus.”

The word “disciple” is used in two important ways throughout the book of Acts. In some instances, “disciple” is general term for the men and women who gave their lives to Jesus. In other instances, “disciple” is used to refer to the specific group of twelve men who had spent their lives with Jesus and had served as witnesses to the Resurrection. The “disciples” in Damascus probably did not include the original twelve disciples. No. These were men and women just like you and me. They were Christians. They had given their lives to Jesus. They were a church.

II. Saul Discerned His Call to Ministry in the Church.

The church in Damascus played an important role in Saul’s life, and by implication, played a significant role in the spread of the Gospel.

These Christian men and women invested their lives in Saul. God is the one who stopped Saul in his tracks. God is the one who changed Saul’s life. God is the one who called Saul to be a preacher and missionary. But it was the church that explained the Scriptures to Saul. It was the church that gave Saul his first opportunity to serve God and to become the man God wanted him to become.

Ten years ago, I read the biography of George W. Truett. Ray Scott—from our church—recently gave me a copy of Truett’s biography which I read for a second time this week. I find parts of the biography hard to believe. Truett is responsible for “saving Baylor University” by campaigning all across Texas to raise the money to pay off the university’s debts when Truett was only 23 years old. Then, he became the pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas when he was only 30. In World War I, Truett was recruited by the President of the United States to spend six months preaching and encouraging the U.S. troops stationed overseas. In the early to mid 1900’s, there was no other preacher more famous that George W. Truett. The first time I read Truett’s biography, I was so impressed that we actually gave our second child the middle name, Truett.

How do you think this world renowned preacher heard his calling to become a preacher? He heard it from his home church in Whitewright, Texas. As a 23 year old young man, George Truett was the Sunday School superintendent and filled in for the pastor when the pastor was unable to preach. But Truett didn’t want to be a preacher. He wanted to be a lawyer.

One night in a church business meeting, the church’s oldest deacon made a motion that the church ordain George W. Truett to the Gospel ministry. Before Truett could object, the motion was seconded and approved unanimously by the church. Truett asked his mother what he should do. She replied, “Son, these are praying people. These are God’s people. And you saw how they felt. They felt that they couldn’t—even in the face of your plea, your protest, your exhortation to delay—they couldn’t delay. It was a whole church in solemn conference assembled.”[1]

There are several important lessons in that story of Truett’s call to ministry. First, it is important to come to business meeting at the church. You never know when someone might “volunteer” you for a big job. Second, it illustrates the important role our church can play in the formation of the next generation of Christians. What are we doing to identify young men and women in our church and to steer them toward a calling to be pastors and missionaries?

After Saul was formed by the church at Damascus, they affirmed his calling by allowing him to begin preaching. Saul was taught by the church, affirmed by the church and encouraged by the church. But not everyone was so encouraging to Saul. The Jews conspired together and devised a plot to kill him.

This type of persecution was yet another affirmation that Saul is doing the right thing. When we answer God’s call and obediently serve God, the world and the forces of evil will do everything they can to stop us. So, once again, Saul needed his church.

III. The Church Helped Saul in the Face of Persecution.

Saul’s conversion immediately resulted in the fruit of new Christians giving their lives to Jesus AND persecution. This is the fulfillment of what Jesus told Ananias in Acts 9: 16, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

This demonstrates for us that our own salvation has a purpose. God has not saved us so that we can become satisfied—or perhaps more satisfied. God has saved us so that we can be a blessing to other people. And this often brings suffering.

God never promised us that Christians would live easy lives. No. The Bible shows us through the life of Saul and others that we will continue to face sufferings of all kinds. We will suffer the natural consequences of human life in a fallen world. We will face the same issues all humans face: diseases, cancer, tornadoes, hurricanes, broken homes. But, we will also face a kind of suffering that is unique to Christians. The world will not accept us. The forces of evil will marshal their strength against us in every effort to stop the work God has called us to perform.
When Saul faced persecution, the church came to his rescue. They helped him to escape through a hole in the city wall.

This is another role our church can play. We provide support and encouragement for Christians who face both types of suffering. Sometimes our encouragement takes the form of a casserole delivered to a grieving family. Other times it is a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on.
Church is not supposed to be made up of perfect people who wear masks to hide their pain and suffering on Sunday mornings. Church is supposed to provide a “home field advantage” of support and encouragement when one of our brothers or sisters is facing a crisis. We are to provide support to people who suffer, even when that suffering is the consequence of sinful activity.

After escaping from the Jews of Damascus, it was necessary for Saul to go to Jerusalem to meet with the “disciples.” More than likely, this reference to the “disciples” is a reference to the original 12 followers of Jesus.

Not surprisingly, the disciples were skeptical of Saul’s conversion. They knew his reputation. They knew of the sins and crimes Saul had committed against the church. They had feared him for a long time. And, now Saul wants to become one of them.

The interesting thing about this meeting in Jerusalem is the role Barnabas played. When the disciples distrusted Saul, Barnabas stepped in as an advocate for Saul and a mediator. Only then were the disciples willing to meet with Saul. But then something magical happened. The disciples not only heard Saul, they welcomed him into their church. We see this in verse 28, where we are told Saul stayed “with them.”

Again, Saul received a “home field advantage” from a church. Then, the cycle of preaching and persecution resumed.

IV. The Church Validated Saul’s ministry.

Saul’s meeting with the original 12 disciples was an important step, because they validated his ministry. Before meeting with the disciples, Saul had no visible connection with the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. These 12 men had witnessed all aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry. Without this connection, all Saul could possibly claim was personal experience.

This is sometimes lost on contemporary Christians. We are much more subjective and individualistic than the early church was. Contemporary Christians are inclined to think that a person’s calling is something between them and God only. That was not the case with Saul. AND, that was not the case with George W. Truett.

There are two sides of God’s calling in our lives. First, it must include a personal experience. Second, it must be nurtured and affirmed by the church.

V. Conclusion.

Personal experience grounded in the Truth of the Gospel and nurtured among the community of the church.


[1] Powhatan W. James. George W. Truett: A Biography (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1939), p. 49.

Sunday, July 13, 2008: The First Steps of Faith

The First Steps of Faith
Acts 9: 1 – 20.

I. Introduction.

Tomorrow will be the first day of our annual Vacation Bible School. I expect this week will be one of my favorite events of the year, because VBS always is. I like VBS week, because I get to watch our church pull together and do something as a church that no individual church member could accomplish on his or her own.

We try to use people where they are gifted. People with the gift of hospitality are in charge of providing snacks for the children and adult workers. People with the gift of teaching are utilized as Bible Story teachers. People who are gifted with organization and administration do their very best to keep us on some semblance of a schedule. Musicians lead the children in music and worship. We even have a place for crafty people turn toilet paper rolls into works of modern art.

I like to think of VBS week as an investment. We are investing our individual and collective resources into the future generation of leaders for this church and for churches all over the world.

We invest ourselves in children, so that these children can learn the stories about Jesus and what it means to live as a follower of Jesus as Lord. Some children come to us with a foundation of faith on which we can build. We pray that these children will take childlike steps of faith through the week and carry these lessons with them as they grow into the Christian men and women God wants them to become. Other children come to us without a foundation of faith. We pray that these children will hear the Gospel in ways that are age-appropriate so they can respond accordingly.

It was during VBS 1980 that I took my first steps of faith. It was not the first time I had ever heard about Jesus. My parents had taken me to church all my life. It was not the first time I had heard stories from the Bible. My parents had read Bible stories to me every night of my life. But it was the first time I realized that I had to make my own profession of faith.

The profession of faith I made in 1980 was not the end of my faith. It was the beginning of a journey that continues today. And just like any journey, my journey of faith started out with a first step.

Today, we read the story in Acts about a man named Saul who took his first steps of faith. This was not the first time Saul had heard about Jesus. But it was the first time he realized he had to make his own profession of faith. This was not the end of Saul’s faith journey. It was just the first step. If this had been the end of Saul’s journey, our world would be incredibly different today.

Read Acts 9: 1 – 20.

For most of us, the story of Saul on the road to Damascus is not a surprise. We have heard this story dozens of times and have reviewed it numerous times in Sunday School lessons and in Sunday morning sermons. For some of us, there is nothing “new” remaining to be discovered in this story.

Understanding this story is very important to us, if we hope to understand the rest of the New Testament. After all, this is the story of Saul the Pharisee, who became Paul the Apostle and the author of approximately one-half of the New Testament. So, we can say that Luke has told us a story which has far-reaching impact on the spread of the Christian faith from the First Century through the Twenty-First Century and beyond.

The story of Saul on the road to Damascus has always been one of our favorite conversion stories in the Bible. Conversion is another word for change. We preach this story, because it shows how the Gospel can and does change lives. Saul was changed from a judgmental and angry Pharisee to a Christian who preached about the love and grace of Jesus.

Luke introduced our story today by re-introducing us to Saul. This is not our first time to see Saul in the story of the early church. Saul quietly gave his approval when the Jewish leaders condemned Stephen to death. Saul collected the coats and outer garments for the individual members of the mob that stoned Stephen to death. Saul then went on a rampage against the Christian church.

Luke tells us that Saul began interrupting Sunday worship services in house churches. He burst into the doors of the house, arrested the men and women present, then led them off to Jerusalem to stand trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Now, Saul is expanding his persecution to the city of Damascus.

Saul requested the membership records from the Jewish high priest. Evidently, the Jerusalem Temple had a record of every Jew who held membership in the various synagogues. Saul’s motive was to find out if there were any more “good Jews” who had converted to Christianity. Then, he would arrest these men and women and bring them to judgment. But, Saul never fulfilled this plan.

On his way to arrest Christians in Damascus, Saul was himself arrested by a vision of bright light. The light was so bright that it actually blinded Saul for three days. But the light was not the only thing Saul encountered. He also heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
The Bible tells us that Saul answered the voice with a question: “Who are you?” The voice answered, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting…”

I’m certain this was confusing to Saul to hear Jesus identify himself and to claim that Saul was actually persecuting Jesus. It was confusing, because Saul was not directly persecuting Jesus. He was persecuting the church. There is an important theological point to be drawn from Jesus’ words to Saul. When you mess with the church, you are messing with Jesus.

Jesus then instructed Saul to go into the city of Damascus and wait for further instructions. At this point, Luke shifts his emphasis away from Saul in order to tell how this story intersects with the life of a man name Ananias.

II. Encounter With Jesus.

The first thing that happened in Saul’s experience was beyond his control. Jesus stepped into Saul’s life at a time when no one would have expected. This first step of faith was a real life encounter with Jesus.

We are not talking about knowledge of the Bible or even an awareness that Jesus died for our sins. Saul experienced something intensely personal that can only barely be contained in words.
I believe this is why the New Testament was written in the first place. The Apostles lived with Jesus and experienced him in personal relationship. They wrote about their experiences with Jesus so that you and I could have the same kind of experiences. Yes, the words of Scripture are important. Yes, the Bible teaches us facts about the life of Jesus. Yes, the Bible teaches us about correct doctrine. BUT, the most important thing we can find in the Bible is not a thing at all. It is a person. Jesus is a real person, who continues to live today.

You might memorize the entire Bible and know all the facts, yet miss Jesus. Faith begins when we realize Jesus is a real person who knows us intimately and wants to be known intimately.

III. Conversion.

The second step of faith for Saul is his conversion. Again, conversion is another word for change. And Saul’s life before and after Jesus demonstrates a radical change. He changed from being a judgmental Pharisee to a missionary who can’t stop talking about God’s grace. He changed from being the church’s chief persecutor to the church’s chief ambassador.

This is one part of the story that differs among God’s followers. Saul had a radical transformation in his life. I was a nine year old boy when I became a Christian. Yes, there was a change in my life. But how much trouble can a nine year old boy get into? I mean, I didn’t even know what all Ten Commandments meant. How could I have broken those commandments?

Yes, every one who becomes a follower of Christ will go through a change or a conversion. But not all conversions are radical changes. Saul had a radical conversion. Zacchaeus had a radical conversion. But what about Andrew, Peter, James and John? We know there was a change in their lives, because they gave themselves fully to follow Jesus and even faced extreme persecution as a result of their faith. Yet, their stories in the Gospels seem like a relatively easy transition from following their parents to following Jesus.

It is a wonderful thing for us to teach our children about Jesus and lead them to profess faith in Jesus as Lord at an early age. We save them a world of heartache and pain by introducing them to Jesus at an early age.

After Jesus spoke to Saul, Jesus spoke to Ananias. Just as Jesus called Saul by name, Jesus called Ananias by name. However, there is a difference in the ways these two men responded. Saul did not recognize Jesus’ voice and asked Jesus to identify himself. Ananias immediately recognized Jesus’ voice and responded, “Yes, Lord.”

That is when Ananias probably wished he had not heard Jesus’ voice. Jesus was asking him to do something that no Christian wanted to do. Jesus wanted Ananias to meet with Saul face to face.

Ananias did what you and I often do when Jesus calls us to a specific job. He argued against doing what Jesus wanted him to do. “But, Lord, I have heard about Saul. It would be dangerous for me to meet with him.” Jesus replied with a simple command, “GO!” Ananias was afraid of Saul, because he did not know about Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus. He did not know that Jesus was already working in Saul’s life.

IV. Community.

The third step of faith for Saul was his experience of community. This is best seen in the biblical story through Ananias’ first words to Saul. Ananias did not address Saul any differently than he would have addressed any other Christian man. He addressed him as “Brother Saul.”

No matter what you have done or how badly you have failed, there is a place where you can still be welcomed as a brother or sister.

Ananias obeyed Jesus’ call and did two things that are very significant. First, he accepted Saul. He indicates that he accepts Saul by greeting him as “Brother.” From a purely human point of view, Ananias was not willing to accept Saul. It took a divine encounter with Jesus to prepare Ananias for what was taking place in Saul’s life.

The second thing Ananias did was to lay hands on Saul. Laying on hands is a symbolic gesture described several times in the book of Acts. It is a symbol of the coming of the Holy Spirit. There are stories of people receiving the Holy Spirit apart from laying on hands, like the 120 men and women who received the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. And, there are stories of people receiving the Holy Spirit through laying on hands, like Saul in this story and the Samaritan Christians in Acts 8.

V. Spirit-Empowered Mission.

The fourth step of faith for Saul was participating in a Spirit-empowered mission with God. Another way to say this is to say that Saul joined God in the work God was already doing in the world around him. Another way to say this is to say that Saul realized that he had not been saved just to sit. God saved him so that Saul could do God’s work in the world.

I find it significant that when Ananias lay hands on Saul, Saul immediately received the Holy Spirit AND regained his sight. The physical sense of sight is a biblical symbol for understanding and knowledge. It functions in the same way in the story of Saul on the road to Damascus.
Saul knew the Bible. He had dedicated his life to reading the Bible and learning all the rules and regulations of Jewish tradition. He had heard the reports about the Apostles’ teaching about Jesus. He was present in the Sanhedrin when Stephen preached the Gospel message about Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy. Yet, despite all his biblical knowledge, Saul was still blind. He lacked spiritual knowledge and insight. The only way Saul could have this kind of spiritual knowledge was for someone to come along side and help him. Ananias was the human person God sent to “open Saul’s eyes.” The Holy Spirit was the Divine person God sent to provide Saul with spiritual understanding like he had never experienced before.

After receiving both his physical sight and his spiritual sight, Saul went on a different kind of mission. Saul was no longer trying to destroy the church. Now, he was being used by God to expand the church. Notice what happened when Saul received the Holy Spirit. As soon as Saul received the Spirit, everyone around him knew it. Saul demonstrated an external sign that something invisible had happened inside him. The sign that Saul demonstrated is the same sign we find throughout the book of Acts. Anytime someone received the Holy Spirit, they did something…They preached the Gospel of Jesus. The evidence of the Holy Spirit in our lives can be confirmed when we begin to tell others about what Jesus did for us.

VI. Conclusion.

What would the world be like today if the story we read this morning was the end of Saul’s spiritual walk? What if there had been no Ananias to come alongside Saul to include him in Christian community? Or what if Saul had never participated in God’s mission to tell the world about Jesus?

Every man, woman, child and teenager has a God given mission to complete. For some people our mission is like Saul’s mission. It is public and extraordinary. For some people our mission is like Ananias’ mission. It is behind the scenes, but it is just as important.

Profession of faith that Jesus is your Lord is only the beginning of a great adventure. We must take the next steps of community and mission, whether that might be…

Sunday, July 6, 2008: The Foundation and Practice of Baptism

The Foundation and Practice of Baptism.

Matthew 3: 13 – 17; Matthew 28: 18 – 20;

Acts 8: 36 - 40; Romans 6: 1 – 7.

I. Part One: The Foundation of Baptism.

(Part One of this sermon was preached from the pulpit.)

I have to admit, Baptizing is one of my favorite things to do as a Pastor…Especially on a day like today when we have three people to baptize, from the same family (a father and two of his daughters)… Baptism is a sign that our church is doing something right…We are teaching our children about Jesus and we are reaching out to families in our community…

If you need something to be excited about this morning, then think about this…the three people we baptize today are here as the culmination of a couple of things: First, this is a family that first came into contact with our church, because someone invited them to church. Pauline and Homer Kroeker invited their neighbors to come to the Matthew Party in April. Second, the two daughters participated in G.A. camp for girls.

When we have several people to baptize, I like to do a couple of things. On one hand, I like to observe baptism on Sunday morning. This way we can all celebrate together and worship through this symbolic act that is so rich with theological meaning. On the other hand, I like to take the time to explain what our church believes about baptism.

For the past several weeks, I have preached from the book of Acts. My intention is for us to observe how the first Christian church grew through reaching out to other people. Sometimes, they reached out to their community. At other times, they extended their outreach into other communities. The early church was a missional church. I believe God is calling our church to become the same kind of missional people.

Last week, we read the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch. Philip used an Old Testament prophesy about Jesus to witness to the Ethiopian. Then, they came to a pool of water in the desert, where the Ethiopian asked Philip to baptize him.

What is so important about baptism? Why do we continue to practice baptism in the Twenty-First Century?

a. Modeled By Jesus (Matthew 3: 13 – 17).

In the Gospel of Matthew we learn about a connection between the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus. John was not the Messiah…John was the Forerunner of the Messiah, or the one that Isaiah had called the Voice Calling Out in the Wilderness, Preparing the Way for the Messiah.

Matthew also tells us that John prepared for Jesus’ ministry by doing two things: Preaching about Repentance…and…Baptizing the Ones Who Repented…

John basically had two sermons…Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand… AND…I baptize you with water, but the One coming after me will baptize you with fire…

When John said, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” he was announcing to the people of Israel that their time was up. They had disobeyed God’s will and perverted God’s ways long enough. Now it was time for them to come to their senses and become a part of God’s Kingdom and God’s work in the world. And the sooner they got on board, the better…

John’s other sermon is not quite as obvious to us as his first sermon. When John said, “I baptize you with water, but the One coming after me will baptize you with fire,” he was warning about the coming judgment. Fire is a common symbol in Scripture for God’s judgment. And the water of baptism was the way of marking God’s people and setting them outside the coming judgment. Passing through the waters of baptism was the way to avoid the fires of judgment.

John’s preaching was a warning to the people that when the Messiah finally comes, it would be too late for them to enter into God’s Kingdom and become a part of God’s rule in the world. The time to enter the Kingdom is now…And there is only one way to enter the Kingdom…You must REPENT…And the symbol of that Repentance was Baptism in water…

Now there is a twist as we consider this passage…Jesus was baptized by John. This raises a couple of very serious questions…Was John a higher authority than Jesus, that Jesus needed to submit to the Baptism of John?…And…Did Jesus need to Repent and be baptized?

We can answer these questions very simply by looking at what John’s baptism actually means…John did not preach that Baptism could save a person from the coming judgment or make them become a part of the Kingdom of God. Instead, John said that REPENTANCE was the only way to avoid judgment…REPENTANCE was the only way to enter the Kingdom of God…Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Baptism was a sign indicating that a person was now a member of God’s Faithful People. When Jesus was baptized by John, he did not repent or submit himself to John…Rather, Jesus identified himself as a member of God’s Faithful People.

The same thing is true for us this morning…When we are Baptized, we identify ourselves with Jesus and claim to be a part of God’s Faithful People.

b. Commanded By Jesus (Matthew 28: 18 – 20).

When Jesus gave his Great Commission—or his Last Instructions—to his disciples, he also gave instructions to the Christian church. We find our mission and purpose as a congregation in this commandment of Jesus…

Wherever you go…Make Disciples…Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…

Now pay close attention to that second part of Jesus’ command…He said that each time we make new disciples, we are to baptize those disciples…This is significant, because at this point in the Gospel of Matthew, we almost do not expect Jesus to command us to do something that could be called a RITUAL…

Think about that…Throughout the Gospels, Jesus has gone head to head against the Scribes and Pharisees…These are the Jewish religious leaders who had everything wrong…They followed every ritual; kept every dietary law; observed all the religious feasts and festivals; but they had lost the spirit of the law…They were furious when Jesus healed the sick and preached the Good News on the Sabbath Day…There was even a time when these people criticized Jesus and his disciples for not following the exact procedures for washing their hands before they ate…Not to mention the ways they tried time after time to back Jesus into a corner and trick him into making religious errors…But Jesus couldn’t be tricked…

When the Scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus, “What is the most important commandment?”…Do you remember what Jesus said? He said, “Take every law, every command, every feast and every ritual and throw them out the window. Everything in the Law and the Prophets can be summed up in just two commands…Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength…Love your neighbor as your self…”

Now, at the very end of Jesus’ earthly ministry he closes by giving the church two rituals that we should observe…The Lord’s Supper…Baptism…

If Jesus rejected all other Jewish rituals, we ought to take very serious the two rituals he commanded us to observe.

II. Part Two: The Practice of Baptism.

(Part Two of this sermon was preached from the baptistery.)

a. Believers Only (Acts 8: 36 – 40).

Since Jesus commanded us to baptize each new disciple, we can find some form of baptism in every denomination of the Christian church. However, only a few denominations practice baptism as it appears in the Bible.

This Scripture in Acts 8 is one example of many throughout the book of Acts of the Apostles preaching the Good News, men and women accepting God’s offer of salvation through Jesus, THEN being baptized.

In EVERY example of baptism in the New Testament, the person made a decision to follow Christ first…Then they were baptized.

That is why Baptists do not baptize infants…Because infants cannot make their own decision to follow Christ. And the New Testament teaches us that Baptism is for Believers Only.

(Bring all three baptismal candidates into the water to be baptized.)

Baptize the first candidate.


b. Immersion Only.

The second thing we can say about Baptism in the Bible is that Baptism was ALWAYS by immersion. In fact, that is what the word Baptism means.

We get our English word Baptize directly from the Greek word baptizw which literally means IMMERSE. We just changed the last letter from “O” to “E” to get the word “Baptize.” This same word was used outside the New Testament to describe Baptizing the Dishes—Washing the Dishes—as well as the Baptism of a Ship—the Sinking of a Ship. You can’t wash dishes just by sprinkling a little water on them…And a ship cannot sink with just a sprinkling of water.

You can also see Baptism as Immersion by looking at John the Baptist’s sermon… “I Baptize you with water, but the One coming after me will Baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire.” No one would suggest that Baptism of the Holy Spirit means that we receive just a sprinkling of the Spirit. We have been engulfed by the Spirit and totally Immersed by his presence.

Baptize the second candidate.


c. Symbolic Only (Romans 6: 1 – 7).

The third thing we can say about Baptism, is that it does not Do anything…It is Symbolic Only. It is a Visible Sign of Invisible Grace. But what does baptism symbolize?

The Apostle Paul is our best source for interpreting the Gospel…And this is his interpretation of Baptism…

There are some who say that Baptism is the way we receive the Grace of God—That is why they sprinkle just a little water on the forehead, because it only takes a little Grace; AND that is why they Baptize infants, because if Baptism is the way to receive Grace, then we need to do it as soon as it is possible.

But we Baptize by Immersion, because it is Symbolic Only. We use Lufkin City Water, not Holy Water. And we put the person completely under the water and bring them up again as a symbol of what Jesus has done for us.

Jesus died on the cross to offer us forgiveness of sins. Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb, where he remained for only three days. Then, Jesus rose to life again, proving that he is the Son of God and proving that he has the power to give us eternal life that goes beyond the grave.

In baptism, we symbolically participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. My old sinful self is now dead…It is buried under the waters of Baptism…And through the Power of Christ, I am raised to live a new life with Jesus.

Baptize the third candidate.


III. Conclusion

Should you be baptized? The answer is YES…Not to become a Christian, but if you already are a Christian.

Baptism cannot save you. There is only one way that we can be saved… Nothing except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

Baptism cannot wash away your sins. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

But if you believe that Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins…If you trust him as your Savior…And if you follow him as your Lord…Then you should be baptized. Baptism is the only way described in the Bible that you and I can identify ourselves as members of God’s Faithful People.

Understood in this way, Baptism is like my wedding ring. I wear this ring so that the world can know that I am married to Shauna. But if I take it off…What happens? Am I still married? Of course I am still married! There was a Saturday in October 1993 that Shauna and I committed ourselves to remain together “Until Death Do Us Part.”

The only difference is that when I take off my wedding ring, nobody knows that I am married and committed to Shauna.

Baptism is the way we tell the church, our friends, our family and all the world that we have been saved and we are committed to follow Jesus as Lord.