"WATER MARK"
Look Up: Matthew
3:1-6; Romans 6:3-4
Sermon preached by Dr. Wayne
Poplin, Senior Pastor of
Carmel Baptist Church, Matthews, NC
INTRODUCTION:
I don’t remember
any details about my baptism. That is because it was a good while back.
I know it happened and know where it happened, but that is about it. I
think my pastor must have baptized me, but I don’t remember him doing it.
But that is okay. There is nothing saving about me remembering my baptism.
Even though I don’t remember any of the details, I know why I was baptized.
That’s the important thing. I was baptized because I had accepted Jesus
as my Savior. My baptism was believer’s baptism. So it was the
baptism that the New Testament teaches and was done in the right order
[following my salvation experience]. It was by immersion, so it followed
the biblical model. And it was a testimony to those who watched it that I
now believed in Jesus. So that is sufficient for me to know. I
don’t need to get rebaptized to refresh my memory. Neither do you.
And I don’t need to get rebaptized because I learned a lot more about baptism
and its significance after I was baptized. Neither do you. When I
was baptized, it was for the right reason and was a witness to the congregation
present that day and a celebration for the church—so it was sufficient.
Whether I remember all the details or not, I have a water mark.
Those who are being baptized today have accepted Jesus as their
Savior—recently or in the past [affirmation of faith—being baptized by
immersion to share in the biblical conviction of this fellowship]. Their
baptism expresses that, and is a witness to us and a time of celebration for the
church. That will be true even though at some point they may not remember
all the details of this day. They will have always have a water mark.
We are and have baptized in every worship room and in each
service this morning—even in the Uptown Auditorium. We have a portable
tank over there. As we baptize—you will hear testimonies of some of
those being baptized—in this room or in another room.
We call baptism an ordinance [a prescribed practice].
I.
ORDINANCE
We call it
an ordinance, rather than a sacrament [a term often used in the early years of
Christian history] because in some circles the word “sacrament” is used to
refer to certain practices having saving ability. That is, through the
doing of those things, God imparts grace, which results in the forgiveness of
sin. Baptism is not a sacrament. We don’t have to add anything to
the atoning work of Christ in order to be saved or to remain saved. Water
doesn’t save—whether you have a pool full or a spoon full. Jesus saves
and baptism expresses that He has.
II.
A PICTURE OF SPIRITUAL REALTY
When John
preached in the wilderness he called Jews, who were God’s chosen people in an
ethnic sense, to repent and become true
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the
Baptism declares that someone has repented of their sin and has accepted Jesus
as Savior. We are now united to Jesus spiritually [baptized into Him] and
physical baptism by water pictures that.
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 [Romans 6:3-4].
Baptism,
by immersion, pictures the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus—and that
the one being baptized believes in that death, burial and resurrection and has
received the saving benefits of that. Are the death, burial and
resurrection important? Yes. That’s the Gospel. We
baptize by immersion to picture the gospel. That is the only way you can
picture death, burial and resurrection.
Baptism for a believer is like the ring on the finger of a married person.
The ring symbolizes that there is a relationship. The ring
does not bring about what it symbolizes, but it pictures it. Baptism does
not bring about what it symbolizes, but it pictures it. It says that I am
taken—set apart for this person. That’s why baptism has led to
hostility, separation and rejection in many cases, because it makes it clear
what a person is doing and where a person stands. I stand with Jesus.
Some underemphasize baptism. Why should I be baptized? They
see it as optional. The thief wasn’t baptized. Who wants to be
like the thief? Besides he didn’t have a choice. You do. For
some it’s too inconvenient [get wet, mess up hair]. If we wanted to make
it convenient we would join over the internet and baptize photos. Jesus
does not call us to convenience but to obedience and taking a stand for Him.
Believer’s baptism is a step of obedience and obedience is necessary for joy
and fruitfulness in a Christian’s life.
Some overemphasize it. They see it as necessary to go
to heaven.
We see baptism as a testimony of faith, a symbol of union with Christ and a step
of obedience to our Lord. Jesus began His ministry with baptism and ended
with it as He commanded His ongoing mission through us. What He told us to
do [go into all the world, make disciples and baptize them] supersedes every
form of government [capitalism, socialism, communism, dictatorship], all
cultures [Westernism, Easternism, etc.], in all ages. He is Lord and has
all authority—over all. That fact is the foundation of missions.
As we baptize today we are following His example and obeying Jesus’
commission.
Let me close with this story.
Chuck Colson in his
new book, The Faith, wrote about the baptism of his grandson, Max, who is
autistic. One Sunday when Max was thirteen, he witnessed a baptism.
He turned to his mother and said, “I want to be baptized by Grandpa in his
pool.”
Chuck said that he had 2 obstacles. He believed that only ordained clergy
should baptize and also knew that Max would never get in the baptistery at
church, nor would he probably get into the pool at home with a stranger.
The first problem was solved when the church ordained Chuck for one day.
The second was more difficult. Colson, believing as I do in believer’s
baptism, said he would never baptize Max unless he and the family were sure Max
understood what it meant.
Max learns by pictures. And his mother is an artist. She often drew
little cartoon strips to help Max understand what was happening around him.
So she drew a cartoon strip entitled, “Getting Baptized.” This is a
representation of what she drew [The Faith, pp. 151-152].
Let’s celebrate
now with those who love Jesus.
INVITATION
If you
need Christ as your Savior—
This is what you need to know. God loves and God gave.
This is what you need to do. Believe in [those 2 words together mean to
“trust”].
If you
have believed and have not been baptized as an expression of that, you need a
WATER MARK.