So, what we're going to do is I'm going to push pause on our study of the book of Genesis uh because I want to give some context to what you're going to see here in just a little bit uh a little bit of time in the waters of baptism. So, we're going to be looking at different sections of scripture this morning and I'll have most of them up on the screen for you and you can follow along in your notes as well. And my hope is if you're a person who has already been baptized and that's looking out, that's the majority of you, that this will remind you of its importance and it will call you to a renewed faith in dying to sin and living to righteousness. If you're not a believer yet, my hope is, our hope is that the Lord will use this to open up your heart to the message of the gospel because baptism is a visible picture of the gospel. So you being here today is not an accident. The Lord is sovereign and he knows what he's doing in your soul even right now on a Sunday morning at 9:30. And then lastly, if you're here and you're being baptized today, our hope is that this will ground you in the glorious realities that you're affirming today in the waters of baptism. So, what does the Bible say about baptism? Five things. Note these five realities regarding baptism.

Here's what they are. You can try to copy them real quick, but don't worry about it. I'll get you through it slowly. Here's the first thing we notice is that baptism was proclaimed by Jesus and then practiced by his disciples in Matthew chap 28 after Jesus's resurrection. He gathers his disciples together and it's become known as the great commission and he says these words. He says, "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. Now, note what Jesus says because it's important. He says, "Baptism is an essential act of obedience to those who have started to follow him." And he proclaimed this to his disciples that they should be baptized in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. And that's why today you'll hear after the baptize the person who's about to be baptized after or yeah about to be baptized after they share their testimony the person who is doing the dunking who's doing the baptism will say based on your confession in in Christ I baptize you in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. And then they'll dunk them. So Jesus proclaimed it. And by the way, that's the reason why you'll you any church that takes seriously Jesus's command to make disciples and then to baptize his disciples, baptize them. They take that instruction seriously. They'll take they'll take the command to baptize people seriously. So Jesus proclaimed it and his disciples, they practiced it on the day of Pentecost. Think about the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. If you've been raised in the church, you know Acts 2 very well. But if you don't, Acts chapter 2, if you haven't been raised in the church, Acts chapter 2 is the day 50 days after Jesus's resurrection where the Holy Spirit is poured out on his disciples. And it's it's this amazing scene because after his resurrection, oh, I can't tell you the story. I only got 14 more minutes. Uh after after the resurrection, only 120 people believe in Jesus. Think about that. 300 three years of ministry, only 120 people believe in him. Peter stands up on the day of pent on the day of Pentecost. He's filled with the Holy Spirit. He proclaims the first spirit inspired new covenant Christian message centered on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and their part, the audience's part in crucifying Jesus. And the people heard it, and they recognized in that moment that they had rejected Israel's Messiah. The people were convicted of their sin. And they said to Peter and the other disciples, they said, "Brothers, what shall we do? What must we do?" And Peter says,"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." Peter says, "You come in faith. There's nothing you need to do.

There's no effort on your part." He says, "You come in faith to the person of Christ, confessing your sins and being baptized in his name." And at that moment, the moment you confess your sins and you put outgoing faith in the person of Jesus Christ, you can be transferred from death to life through simple faith in Christ. That's it. And then as an act of obedience, you come to the waters and you be baptized. This is what Jesus's death and resurrection procured. And it's what his disciples proclaimed and practiced. So baptism, it was proclaimed by Jesus and it was practiced by his disciples. That's the first thing to note. Second thing thing to note is it's a public confession of faith. It's a public confession of faith. Baptism is how you confess your faith publicly. And when you look into the New Testament, you'll see a pattern to it. Uh we saw the pattern in Acts chapter 2. People believe the message and then they were baptized. Belief and then baptism. That's the pattern. In Acts chapter 8, think about it. In Acts chapter 8, Philip's up in Samaria. is preaching to them the message of the gospel and he's saying you need to come to faith in Christ and then we read these words in verse 12 when they believed Philillip now note the phrase note the the order when they believed Philillip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized both men and women and then later in the same chapter in uh in Acts 8 Philip's out in the desert and he comes across uh eth Ethiopian unic who's traveling back to Africa and he's reading Isaiah 53 this great prophecy about uh Israel's Messiah and Philip says do you understand what you're reading and the guy says how can I unless somebody explains it to me and then we read Philip opened his mouth and beginning with this scripture he told him the good news about Jesus and as they were going along the road they came to some water and the unic said see here's water. What prevents me from being baptized? And he commanded the chariot to stop. And they both went down into the water, Philip and the unic. And he baptized him. So right then, right there, Philip bapt baptizes this man based on belief in the gospel. And this man takes the gospel back home with him to Africa. In Acts chapter 18, Paul was in Corenth. And after he had preached the gospel to the Jews and the Jews had rejected him, he takes his message to the Gentiles. And the house right next door that he was preaching in was uh was the synagogue. And so we read in verse 8, Christmas, the ruler of the synagogue, now note the order, believed in the Lord together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. So note the pattern of baptism. Just just note it. Um belief in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. And then that belief is followed by baptism as a public confession of faith. And it's when you get into the New Testament, it's never the other way around. It's never baptism and then belief. Baptism as a sign of a pledge of faith. No, no, no. It is belief in the person in the work of Jesus Christ and then that's followed by baptism. Um so there's a pattern to it. belief before baptism. And that's why at Faith Community Bible Church, we practice what's called believer's baptism rather than infant baptism. We believe the scriptures teach that once a person has made a conscious decision to trust in Christ, then they should be baptized. That's why I said public confession of faith. Now, with that being said, um because I know there are some within a room this size whose personal experience has been different or maybe whose doctrinal coni convictions are different than this. Some of you were raised in a Christian home where you were baptized as infants and it was a pledge of faith on your parents' behalf. And as you grew older, your faith became your own. And if that's you, then I would say your baptism stuck uh is stuck. And that's great. Uh and if if you don't feel the spirit telling you you need to be rebaptized, then that's fine. Um if you're not convicted of that, that's fine. Um you're welcomed here. I was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church. And I had no idea what I was doing, of course. Um I don't think my parents did either, to be honest. I don't think anybody had any idea what they were doing. But so when I came to faith in Christ at the age of 18, um I ultimately decided to be rebaptized as a public confession of of Christ. But again, if you were baptized as an infant, as a part of a Christian tradition, and now your faith is your own, that's great. That's absolutely great. Some of some of my very best friends hold a different view on baptism than I do. and if they invited me to their son or daughter's infant baptism, I would joyfully go. Um, it's not, this is not a deal breakaker for me. It shouldn't be a deal breaker for any of us. But I do think there's a biblical pattern. Faith in Christ followed by baptism in his name. So, I would simply recommend if you hold a different view, a fresh study of it for yourself and let the evidence lead you where it will. Go through the New Testament and look look for the pattern. So, what have we seen so far? First, baptism is proclaimed by Jesus, practiced by his disciples. Second, baptism is a public confession of faith. Here's the third thing to note. Baptism is a personal identification with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. Personal identification with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. In Romans chapter 6:3, we read these words. He says, the Apostle Paul says, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in the newness of life. So when you're baptized, what Paul's saying here is you're buried with Christ. By the way, uh this this is one of the reasons why we believe the proper mode of baptism is immersion because only immersion tells that story, the story of being buried. It's only in immer in immersion that someone is submerged underwater. they're buried for a second or if they've been really bad, you might hold them under there for a good 15 seconds just to make sure they're really clean. Um, it's it's nowhere else tells that story. You're buried under a watery grave and then raised back up. Resurrection. That seems to be the the mode the the the u pattern of baptism. And what baptism signifies is our union our union with Christ in his death, his burial, and his resurrection. And a person who's being baptized, what they're saying is what Jesus did on the cross paid for my sins. It counts for me, for my sins, my sins. And as he was buried, so I'm burying my old way of life under the waters by his resurrection. His resurrection from the dead is where I get new life. I've repented and I've trusted in Jesus alone for salvation and I've been incorporated into his death. His burial and his resurrection which again it expresses death to sin, burial of your old life and uh walking in the newness of life, resurrection life. So baptism it's personal identification with Christ's death, burial and resurrection. Fourth thing to note, uh, baptism is the pathway into the local church. And you guys don't seem all that excited about that. Wow. So what? Well, it's actually good news. Um, it doesn't sound all that exciting. And yet, it's true. When you come to faith in Christ, you're automatically when you come to faith in Christ, you're joined to the universal church that you're joined to the body of Christ of people across all times, all nations. But baptism is the pathway into the local church. Into the local church. And it's in the local church where you walk with Christ. It's in the local church where the one anothers are practiced. It's in the local church where you're held accountable and where you walk with others through seasons of joy and seasons of hardship. You're joined to the local church. It's the pathway into the local church. Again, you go back to Acts chapter 2 and Peter on the day of Pentecost, he's preached on Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection. He's exhorted them to be uh repent and be baptized. And we read in verse 41, so those who received his word, meaning they believed, were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. There were added that day. Added to what? They were added to the church. They were added to the local church. That's a boon of a day for the local church. there in Jerusalem but they were added to the local church uh through their public confession of faith in Christ. Now Christ has given two ordinances to the church and the initiatory one is baptism which again it signifies your identifi identification with Christ and then the second one is the Lord's supper. That's the ongoing sign. One's initiatory. I've I've repented and I've believed Christ. I've been baptized in his name. That's the initial uh act of obedience. And then the second one is the Lord's supper, which is the ongoing sign that you belong to Christ and to his people. So again, baptism is the pathway into the local church. Uh Bobby Jameson wrote a short little booklet on the topic of baptism. Here's what he says. He says, "In baptism, you step out of the world and into the church. In baptism, you declare your loyalty to Christ. In baptism, you enlist in Christ's company. Your commitment to Christ's people follows logically, necessarily, and immediately from your commitment to Christ. So, baptism is the pathway into the local church. Now, the act of baptism, please hear me, it doesn't save you. The waters aren't magical. We don't believe in baptismal regeneration, but you are identifying with the one who does save you. You are identifying with Christ Jesus, and you're pledging loyalty to him and to his people. Here's the last thing to note about baptism. It's a picture of the gospel. This is the time. Yep. Everybody, if you're being baptized, this is the time. Um, baptism is a picture of the gospel. And it's a very, very vivid picture of the gospel. But make no mistake, baptism is not the gospel itself. Again, we don't believe in baptismal regeneration. So, it's not the gospel itself, but it's very much attached to the gospel. In fact, the Apostle Paul uh in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I don't think I gave you that verse. It's it's not the gospel. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1, for Christ did not send me to baptize. This is Paul speaking. Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. So, there's a clear uh distinction between what the gospel is and what baptism is. Christ didn't send me to to baptize people, but to preach the gospel. And not with words of eloquent wisdom. I appreciate that. Lest the Christ, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. But then later in the same letter, Paul goes on and define defines what the gospel is. Well, what is it? Here's what it is. He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:es 3 and 4, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins. And when you read that, you can insert my sins. For Christ died for my sins, in accordance with the scriptures. That he was buried. That he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. So what's the gospel? The gospel is the good news of salvation made possible for you, for me through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus died for our sins as our substitute, paying the penalty for all of our sins and he was buried. And then on the third day, he defeated death and he was raised to new life. That's the gospel. And believing in the gospel story, believing in that message, the message of Christ, not doing any religious discipline, not having any any moral superiority on your part, none of that. Simply by believing in that message saves you. And baptism, it vividly pictures and it tells that story. Baptism is a dramatic, very visible retelling of the gospel because every time someone's baptized, they're plunged into the watery grave and then raised to walk in the newness of life. And again, they're saying, "My sins have been cleansed. My old way of life is being put to death. I'm being raised up in newness of life to walk with Jesus and alongside his people now and forever more. All because of of what Jesus has done. That's amazing. So, baptism, think about it was proclaimed by Jesus, practiced by his disciples. It's a public confession of faith. It's personally identifying with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. It's a pathway into the local church. And then lastly, it's a picture of the gospel. So, let me close three thoughts real quick. I'm out of time. If you've been baptized, if you're here and you're a Christian and you've been baptized, um, as we've looked into the word to see what it teaches, and now as we witness a number of people being baptized, let it do for you what what wedding ceremonies often time will do for your relationship with your spouse. You go to a wedding ceremony sometimes and on your way to the wedding ceremony, I don't know if this happens to you, you and your wife or your spouse will get into a little argument on the way to the wedding ceremony. Has that ever happened to anybody else besides me? Please tell me that's happened to you, too. You get into a little argument with your spouse on the way to a wedding ceremony for some reason. I don't know why. Um, and then you go to the wedding ceremony and you'll see this this couple who's so in love and you'll hear the words of the preacher and you'll see the covenant taking place, the sign and the pledge and all of these things taking place. And you know what it does for you in that moment if you let it. It renews your faith. You look over at your spouse and say, "Oh yeah, we committed to this. We we've I'm committed to you. We've we've made a pledge, a covenant with one another." So let it let it awaken your senses to your covenant. Let it bring forth fresh repentance, a a renewed um faith, a renewed faith, fresh repentance, renewed and re-energized faith, and propel you forward in dying to sins and living for righteousness. So let it function in that way for you. If you're a Christian and you haven't been baptized, let me ask you why not? Just straight up, why not? And you might say, 'Well, it's not necessary. I mean, the thief on the cross wasn't. He's with Jesus right now in heaven. Okay, yeah, great. He didn't have an opportunity. Uh, if he would have had an opportunity, I'll speak for him. He would have gotten baptized because he gave his life holy to Jesus. And every other person in the New Testament who you see who gives their life to Christ, they go to the waters of baptism. Christ's commanding. Anybody that takes Jesus's commands seriously and if they have opportunity, they will end up in the waters of baptism. So, I encourage you if you're a Christian and you haven't been baptized, I I encourage you to go back and search the scriptures and see what the Lord Jesus teaches. Lastly, if you're here and you're not a believer yet, if you're not a believer yet, um we're so glad you're here because this morning you've heard the basic message of the gospel. And now you'll see the gospel in visible. You'll see the gospel in visible form and you'll see lives that have been transformed because of Jesus. and we trust that the Lord will use it in your life right now to bring forth new belief in Jesus Christ. So with that said, let me pray and then we'll begin the baptisms. Father, we as your people, we're so grateful for the grace of King Jesus that you have made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins,

to be imparted with new life, spirit infused, spirit uh indwelling life within us, this resurrection life. We're so grateful for you, Lord. We're so grateful that you have called us to the waters of baptism as a public confession of faith. And we're so grateful for those who are taking seriously your command to come to the waters as a public confession of their faith. And we pray for them, Father, that right now and forever more, their walk with you will ever be increasing. in times of sweetness and in times of hardship they would be found walking with you day in and day out. We trust you for this. We love you Lord in Jesus name. Amen.