Rev. David Holwick ZN
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 8, 1996
Matthew 3:5-11
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I. A dramatic event.
A. Baptism is at the core of what Baptists are all about.
Down South they tell about one old Baptist minister who preached
every Sunday about baptism by immersion.
His members agreed with his doctrine, but they were tired of
hearing the same subject dealt with week after week.
The deacons undertook to solve the problem through diplomatic
means.
They complimented him on his pulpit skills.
Then they suggested to him that he was such a natural preacher
that they wanted to try an experiment.
They wanted to hand him a piece of paper with a scripture lesson
on it just before he stepped into the pulpit.
"We believe that you're so good," they said, "that you can
preach a great sermon with no preparation at all --
just that slip of paper."
What preacher could resist an approach like that?
So, the deacons got busy searching the Scriptures for a text
which was totally unrelated to baptism by immersion.
They selected the opening verse of Genesis: "In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth."
There was absolutely nothing in that text that had anything
to do with baptism.
When they handed the text to him, the old preacher read it
aloud three times.
Finally, he turned to the congregation and said, "If I remember
geography correctly, the earth is one-fourth land and
three-fourths water.
Water brings me to my subject for the day: Baptism by immersion."
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B. Baptizing in Ohio river.
1) Some later became committed Christian leaders.
2) One was later an apostate who committed suicide.
C. What does baptism do for a person?
1) In most denominations, it is a standard rite of passage.
2) Others think it imparts salvation itself.
3) We believe it is not magic, but a powerful event.
II. Baptism portrays salvation.
A. Acted-out parable.
1) Bible contains many dramatic enactments.
a) Isaiah walked around stripped for 3 years. Isaiah 20
b) Ezekiel lay on side facing a pan, for 14 months! Ezek 4
2) John the Baptist followed Jewish practice.
a) Non-jews had to be "washed" to be converted.
b) John applied that principle to everyone.
B. Signifies death of old self.
1) Burial motif.
a) Romans 6 makes comparison with tomb of Jesus.
b) "Desert Storm" baptisms in military coffins.
2) Death of former way of life.
a) "Old Adam" or "old self" means our pre-Jesus days.
b) Repentance from sins and old way of living.
C. This death is an on-going process.
Martin Luther said that, even in baptism, the old Adam
remains a frightfully good swimmer.
However, when faced with satanic assaults, Luther
would grab a slate and chalk these words:
"I have been baptized."
Baptism signifies that we belong:
not to ourselves,
not to our guilty past,
not to our fearful future,
nor to the demonic powers of alcohol and sex.
Instead in our baptism we have been reclaimed as the
property of Jesus Christ.
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D. Signifies birth of new self.
1) Not just a slight makeover needed, but a new birth.
a) "Born again."
b) Faith is central, not water.
c) Reason we don't baptize infants. Acts 16
2) Faith must bear fruit.
a) Many so-called Christians are have little good to
show for their faith.
b) Not enough to get rid of bad - do some good.
3) A continuing experience.
God wants to see repentance. (Menno Simons...)
Menno Simons lived in the 1500's and is considered the
founder of the Mennonites, many of whom live in PA.
He stubbornly insisted that the New Birth was more than
simply the inner experience of forgiveness of sins.
Simons said the life of Christian discipleship must gave
tangible evidence of the gift of grace.
It will not "help a fig," Menno insisted, "to boast of
the Lord's blood, death, good deeds, grace or gospel
if the believer is not truly converted from his
sinful life."
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III. Baptism provides a public witness.
A. Testimony at event.
1) Difficult to do in church.
2) How effective are we in public?
B. To be effective, must be continued.
1) "Hand to plow, looks back..."
C. Baptism can be phony.
1) Pharisees and "fire insurance." Matt 3:7
IV. Baptism proclaims a commitment.
A. People want benefits, but not commitments.
1) Marriage, business..
B. Commitment to Jesus.
1) Make him Lord and Savior.
C. Commitment to fellowship of church.
1) Baptism makes us part of a Christian family.
2) Benefits and responsibilities.
3) Make this church what it should be.
V. Baptism is for real life.
Greg Asimakoupoulos pastored a church in California for
eleven years, then felt God was calling him to move on.
Many of the members gave him wonderful gifts before he left.
But the most meaningful gift arrived just a few days before
he moved -- an invitation to play golf with his friend Marty.
Seven years earlier, after much family pressure, Marty reluctantly
agreed to go with his wife and two daughters to church.
Marty had been turned off by institutional religion long
before -- to him, Sunday mornings were best spent on the
golf course.
The morning's worship folder promoted the annual men's golf
tournament the following Saturday.
Golf was a language Marty spoke.
He signed up for the outing and arrived with a sparkle in
his eye.
Pastor Greg had no idea Marty was a ringer.
After Marty won, the organizer of the tournament asked him if
he could be in church the next day to receive the trophy.
Marty complied. And he came every week after that.
Within a few months, Marty's two elementary-school-aged
daughters prayed with their Sunday school teachers to
make Jesus their Lord.
They began to ask their parents questions about their new faith.
Mom and Dad realized they needed to make the same commitment
as their daughters.
At the end of a sermon, Pastor Greg asked those willing to
entrust their lives to the Lord to lift their heads and
look him in the eye.
Marty and Cindy returned his gaze.
Within months Marty's tender faith was tested: He watched
his mother wither from cancer and die.
Marty threw himself into church life:
he became the church custodian; he and Cindy led the
Sunday school class that welcomed them.
But for some reason, known only to Marty, he was never
baptized.
The years sped by.
Then came the invitation to play golf one last time.
The day seemed perfect: the weather was warm, and Pastor
Greg's game was hot.
Two friends from church joined them.
There was laughter and honest conversation.
The pastor swallowed hard, realizing he'd soon be 2,000 miles
removed from these men he'd grown to love as brothers.
As they approached the ninth tee, with a meandering brook
and a cascading waterfall, Marty surprised the preacher
with a question:
"Pastor Greg, would you baptize me?"
He thought Marty was joking and reached for his driver.
But Marty reached in his golf bag and retrieved the Bible
Greg had given him the day he became a Christian.
"I'm serious," he said. He handed Greg the Bible.
"You know I've never been baptized.
And, well, here's water. What's standing in the way?"
Greg I remembered the Ethiopian eunuch's request of Philip
in Acts 8 and decided there was a precedent for
unorthodox baptisms.
They removed their shoes and socks, rolled up their slacks,
and stepped into the flowing brook.
While their friends looked on, Greg read aloud the 23rd
Psalm.
(Somehow "green pastures" and "still waters" seemed
appropriate).
He quizzed Marty about his faith in Christ.
He applauded his boldness.
Then he baptized Marty in the name of the Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
A circle of four men holding hands and praying God's blessing
on Marty could be seen by the twosome on the green behind
them.
They smiled their approval, although he wasn't sure what
they thought was going on.
A water hazard on the ninth hole had become holy ground.
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