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September 23, 2021 9:00 am
Jeannie Greer what it means to come to Jesus is across the river, metaphorically speaking, where you say I'm leaving behind.
The wilderness winding chart going into the place where God is in charge and that will be revealed by the fact that my life is surrendered back my pastor Jeannie Greer I Molly events is one of the subjects that tends to stir up some likely debate in Christian circles. Some people say that you should be baptized as a baby while others say you should wait for adult sunlight to sprinkle and others like to dock something that you're not actually saved unless you've been baptized and then some.
Just to see what the big deal is. Either way, but what we should really care about is what the Bible says on the issue and then in turn, why it matters. Pastor Jeannie Greer address those questions today on Summit life continues our series called the whole story to grab your Bible independent and like to start in those days John the Baptist Judea and his message was pretty simple. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is easily spoken about the prophet Isaiah when he said the voice of one crime in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord make his prostrate. Mel John wore a garment of camel's hair leather belt around his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey. Verse five the Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan going out to him, baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. First, I want you to note the simplicity of John's message you can summarize it.
Really, in one word repent all really means is turn away from your sin that was basically his whole sermon, and after a while you like okay John.when one want to move on to point number two job is a lot only have a point number two all really have is .1 C.
Evidently, most of the people listening to John did not need to be told what to repent of. They already knew what they needed to repent. The vast majority of people today do not need to be told they already know what area of your life right now is not under the full authority of God. Are you baby Missy first in your finances. A first in your heart is first in your relationships is the first with your dog.
The problem is not that we need to learn about the new things a problem in every age is that we just need to repent and come to Jesus in the areas we know are not not under his control. Second, note the tone of John's message. The simplicity was revamped tone was little apocalyptic repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Apocalyptic just means it concerns the end of the world. Jesus said for us to live ready that there's always an apocalyptic edge to the gospel because there are two things that can happen at any moment that none of us know what is it Jesus could return to come like a thief in the night. The other thing that can happen with with you not known his death. So you begin to live today in light of what you know is coming and that is the end and it got people's attention and they thought about their lives in the present from a glimpse of the future. The tone was apocalyptic.
Number three. Notice the response. Baptism verse seven when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to his baptism, all the religious people started to come because that's what religious people to they find out what Coolidge things are happening in the religious world so they go do the things I've been to the religious resume looks out there. There's all these guys Sadducees and Pharisees and Johnsons of them. You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come per se airfreight. Therefore, in keeping with repentance. Do not presume to say to yourself, we got Abraham as our father for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. In other words, stop hiding behind religion. Religion is going to delude more people out of repentance and send them to hell and rebellion ever will because it keeps you from understanding your need for grace and keeps you from doing with the core of your heart. Verse 11 John begins to show you the significance of his baptism. Now that he's prepare the way now finishing the significance of his baptism, verse 11, I baptize you with water for repentance. But there's more money coming after me, that's mightier than I sandals are not worthy to carry will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John says that his baptism in other words, is symbolic of something greater baptism. The real baptism happens not water like John was baptizing with the real baptism. He says can happen in the Holy Spirit. So verse 13 enter Jesus. Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by John recognizes them and their cousins.
After all, and John Wohl. You can do that just to Jesus. This is a baptism watch of repentance.
So what is Jesus answer, let it be so. Now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.
So Don consented. Jesus was baptized merely went up from the water below the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God sitting like a dove coming to rest on him to hold a voice from heaven said this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased to see it as a whole gospel writer Jesus. Let me know if that is baptized in repentance and easy baptize of the fill righteousness even though you need to repent. He doesn't need to become a more righteous, why is he doing those things because he is beginning listen to this is ministry of substitution see Jesus is going to live the life that we are supposed to live and die the death that we are condemned to die. It is true that Jesus did not need to repent.
But we did so Jesus does it perfectly in our place so that he can continue to live in our place so that when he dies, he's actually going to bear the condemnation that we bore you live a life are supposed to live and die the death recommended I see is almost as if you think of it this way.
Imagine all these people standing around the shore of John's baptism and they all are wanting to repent and be baptized imaginable that a name tag on in the name tag says hi I'm JD I'm a sinner and everybody's got their own name and and now I'm a sinner below and Jesus has a name tag on it says hi I'm Jesus on righteous Jesus from the back of the crowd begins the walk-through, but as he does. He begins to take on people's name tag to put them all over his chest and he walks down into the water and he gets baptized confessing, not his sin but there's and then Jesus is going to go to La Crosse where Paul is going to say in second Corinthians that God is gonna make him who knew no sin become sin for us to Jesus is going to be beaten with a cat of nine tails of that leaves his back, flayed open it lacerate his skin is going to be beaten to where you can't even recognize him is your ripped out with a crown of thorns and shove it down on his face so that is his face is so disfigured. People can even recognize him who know him. When people are new to Christianity there like that's disgusting. What we say in response is. That's the point you're saying disgusting and Jesus actually became your set on the cross, he became your sin. We say that Jesus did not merely die for us. He died instead of us took our place so watch when Jesus gets out of the water and the father looked at him and says this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, because Jesus repented and died for me. I can actually take that accolade and applied to me because we traded places so now the father looks at me and says this is JD.
He is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Not because I live in a way that deserves that because Jesus lived for me.
He died for me and all that was my became his and all that was his became my gospel at its court substitution Jesus in my place. This this is what separates Christianity from every other religious message in the world. Every other religious message as a prophet gives you a list of things to do do this. Say this rub this touch that don't touch that you do these things made aloft and often welling up, God will accept you. The list may differ, but the content is essentially the same. Jesus did not give us a list of things to do a ritual to go through Jesus gave us a story about something he has done for us. He substituted for us and he gave himself for us, so that in him I could become the righteousness of God and I can hear.
I'm his beloved son in whom I am well pleased you wore my name tag of sin so I could put on his name tag righteousness. Substitution is the core of the gospel. It also was something that I just think so few people really get in the way that you know that you haven't gotten it is, it's never offended you deeply when you really get it. You're going to suddenly be very offended because I don't like to think of myself as needing a substitute substitute means your helpless, I would. I prefer to think of myself as God's like HDTV project. I'm a little fixer-upper when you say I need a substitute. That means I can even really get him again was my wife and I will sometimes go to the same gym to work out and I want the classes I will go to his abilities. Things copartner workout. You know what part of workout is you have a certain like reps of a certain exercise and one person does it while the other when rest eliminates hard you switch back and forth. What I learned there are certain exercises that my wife is just a lot better than me at one of them is a Burpee University is Burpee or something invented by the devil for the vexation of God's people what she is a lot better at Burpee's and I am so if were doing with his partner works out and if you like 100 Burpee's then what that means is that she does about 65 of them and I'm doing about 35 which is humiliating for me because I'm the man and I want to be able not just to carry my weight I want to be able to take care my girl right, but it's usually because she just to make what essentially the gospel is not Jesus say you do what you can and I'll do the rest.
You can even get off the floor.
I would have to do all 100 because you were dead in your sin and you can go anywhere someone to do them all in nondescript credit you with them because I'm going to be your substitute. And when you feel that it suddenly becomes at the same time, really humiliating and totally blessed because your salvation no longer depends on you. It's Jesus who did it in your place is the sweetest and most difficult gospel truth to let me in today about talking about baptism for us, for you and me what it means for us today because Jesus you see This is to take this thing from John, his cousin is to make the centerpiece of the great commission to the great commission says go make disciples baptized, it can be the centerpiece of the message because it was a symbol of us there were Gentiles and Jews norms or by years of Gentile is the symbol of eyes crossing over from the wilderness of sin where we are in charge the land. The promised land of faith and obedience were Jesus is in charge. Paul is going to say in the same way. It's a symbol of us going from the death of sin to new life in Christ, therefore running 63. We are buried with him by baptism into death, just like Christ was raised from the Deb of the glory of the father, even so we also now should walk in the newness of life. So, let me point out for quick things that we learn about baptism from John that still apply to us number one from John. We see that baptism publicly declares your events. Baptism was a public symbol that symbolized I'm leaving the wilderness of sin entering this promised land of obedience passing from death to life. There are many people, especially in the South who get baptized but never repent and that's revealed by the fact that they're not really living in the land of faith and obedience are still essentially the wilderness of sin because somebody commenced you. Somebody commenced you wrongly that you could accept Jesus as Savior and not surrender to him as Lord Jesus was a salad bar that you can take apart you one week apart. You did what it means to come to Jesus is across through that river, metaphorically speaking, where you say I'm leaving behind. The wilderness rhyming charge going into the place where God's in charge and that will be revealed by the fact that my life is surrendered to him.
There is a large number of people in the South that have gone to baptism, but not actually repentance if your life did not radically change when you got baptized there is not a baptism of repentance, you got wet in front of a bunch of people. It's a baptism of publicly it appears your repentance as a person with our number two. Baptism is by immersion baptism by immersion. I'm not trying to theologically quibble and there's a lot of things we would consider more important, Christianity than this, but I want to explain to you why we do it the way we do it we submerge people when we baptize them for two reasons. One, because that's how they did in the Bible. John wasn't standing on the shore throwing water out on top of their heads. He brought them into the river baptize back then back and look at literature what it meant was to soak or to plunge. They use it was a muddy ground not as a Job like real I chose a grounding that were baptized when the ship sank that meant someone was baptized. We even have a recipe that was written down in the first century by Greek poet and position mean the Condor on how to make pickles. He says the first thing you do when you're making a pickle is you bad toe.
The cucumber and water, which meant that bad toe means to quickly use after that you that he'd so the pickle in vinegar which regional different quickly you put in vinegar and hold it down until the vinegar so solo in and it changes the constitution of the cucumber to make it a pickle is you pulled up it will come out, the spirit speaking in tongues is not man-made apart up, but what it shows. This is there's a way that they thought baptism and so will we do when we baptize you to put you on the water to include the entire Nicene Creed and then we please not get it, but there's a sense in which in which it is unclear what the word means it is not unclear at all. It means put somebody under which the second thing is what it symbolizes. It symbolizes death when you bear much to be cute but we very somebody won't sprinkle dirt in her head. You put them in the ground so we are being buried with him by baptism into death. That's why we do it by immersion.
Number three we see from this story were John the baptism is not a condition of its and evidence of salvation. Repentance came first. Nowhere in the Bible is baptism made a condition of salvation, but I still meet people like a guy get baptized will go to heaven. I can prove that's not true.
In one story, one story you got Jesus and the thief on the cross right next to it and the thief on the cross. After a lifetime of sin realizes that Jesus is the Messiah. He repents and says will remember me when you come in here can and what she is going to hose quick and get your bucket known he that he says today, this very afternoon to be with me in paradise. The apostle Paul said that that he will confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead that that Jesus was your substitute then you will be safe because with the heart. You believe in the righteousness with the mouth to make confession under salvation.
Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved for another about baptism anywhere in that baptism is not a condition of salvation, but it's an evidence of salvation. I often describe it to my kids and I've said this, he reported that like is what a ring that I wear this wedding ring. I tell my kids symbolizes and I married your mom. I take it off. I didn't suddenly become a married your mom if somebody else put this ring on it does make them married your mom, but this ring just shows everybody that I have a covenant with your mom in the same way. Baptism is this public declaration that we have repented and that we have been saved by Jesus, which is why we teach people you want to do it.
After becoming a believer because of an is an evidence of your repentance. If you do it before you repent and it can be an evidence of repentance you haven't done and if you do when you're an infant that's not an evidence of your repentance is an evidence of your parents repentance in your parents faith and by the way, thank God for your parents faith.
Thank God for what they wanted for you when they baptized you what we say is you should be baptize the way they are in the New Testament which is as an evidence of your salvation and not a hope for your salvation to everybody we see in baskets baptized after they believe. Actually, 41, 3000 people believe in a baptize activate Ethiopian unit believes is baptize Exxon Mobil leave and is baptize accident. Those ripples and all who believe a word and a bad time in a baptize at 1650 Lydia's heart open by God that he repulses benches baptize at 1630, flipping jail, mother to be safe. Bloom or Jesus Christ, you and all your household will believe they can baptize articulate many refusals in the vault reaching may believe in baptize. Now we read the verses and explain the verses where the people in the book of acts to baptize before they repent only a baptize a sentence. And now I'm completed with that list. Okay, there are nine not a single one. So what we say is yes and I'll try to make a mountain out of a mole hill but were the same as an evidence of your salvation. It one is easier baptize when you're an infant.
Thank God for the faith that your parents showed in the moment you get the joyous privilege of calling them and say mom and dad what you hope for me 19 years ago 35 years ago what you hope for me is come true.
And now I have repented and I belong to Jesus and I've enter the promised land of faith and obedience. I ratified, I ratified what you hope for me by joining my baptism to what you did for me so that now I publicly declared that I belong to him. I put on that ring, which leads me.
Lastly, the number four. John shows us a baptism is important. The soul story shows us about this is important also. I once owned with the big deal is just a ritual. What you have to go through it. It's and change anything. That is what happens. Jesus was baptized, he hears the affirmation of God. This is my beloved son and gets filled with the spirit. He's about to go into the wilderness to be tempted. Matthew four if you read ahead is rubbing on the worth repented by Satan for 40 days and this affirmation from the father is going to become the core of his strength in resisting Satan because he's going to say the father has declared over me, his love and that love and that assurance is good to give me the strength to withstand Satan to his face. Your baptism is important because it's a marker that you put in the ground where you say I have left the jurisdiction of Satan. You have no more authority here because I now have crossed over the Jordan River and I'm now in the promised land of obedience to God rules you shut up Satan that's essentially what what why so important becomes his mark. I have struggled with what I should do this next barbecue for some users it with the remember from Olson and I deftly lost about when I asked the other pastors but you know what I got the mic so here we go. Martin Luther is one my favorite theologians 16th-century Martin Luther said that the devil every single night would come to dispute with him what he meant by that was.
He would tempt him. He would whisper discouragement in his heart lied to him. He set up like a little wrestling with Satan in my soul every night. He said I learned that there are two things that could drive away the presence of Satan. Number one he says is I say out loud to him. Satan I am baptized and I declare to him that I have left is wilderness of sin where he is jurisdiction, and I've entered into the promised land of Jesus were Jesus rules and that he could not talk to me because I'm not under his rule anymore and that drove the devil away. That was number one is the second thing that I do as he says I pass strong gas. He said because Satan's core sin is pride and there's nothing that shows greater disrespect for somebody than passing gas in the face.
He says so Satan can handle it when I mock him that way and so I humiliate him by passing gas and that drives his presence away.
You gotta admit, the logic is pretty sounds correct now there are two ways that Luther is giving you for you to wage battle against Satan. The first is more effective and more pleasant for the people around you, then, is the second but it is important that you have this confession that you hearken back to that.
You say that is this simple that I made to God and I made the people that I made in my family that I made to Satan himself said, I'm leaving the wilderness of sin and I'm not going back. I'm crossing over this river and this is the land of repentance and obedience. The question have you repented and asked him even baptize as she prayed a prayer have you really repented as you like. Showed you repented our use of your perfect are you surrendered to Jesus right now is there anything in your life you know is not in control of the Jews have yielded to him than that's what you need to do. It's what John's message is repent.
You receive Jesus as the preparation is repented to be then receive Jesus as your substitute.
The gospel do it right now.
Today, repent and believe. Repent and receive Jesus as your Savior not to work with you through that process. Get in touch and learn more about becoming a follower of Christ. When you visit Jaden career.com you're listening to Summit life Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Judy Greer a regular listener, you know that every month we pick out a resource to go along with our study in this time we paired the whole story with something pretty unique set of books of the Bible cards.
So in this series the whole story were going from Genesis to Revelation and continue with the main thing that you're hoping listeners will take away from the study and did the cards help us in learning one of the challenges of studying the Bible is at 66 individual books written on. I think it's three different continents by 40 different authors.
Sometimes it's hard connecting them all to this one story because the whole Bible Jesus. It was all about him was all about how he was coming his love for us in his salvation plan. I'm hoping that through this series, you'll get a picture of the whole story here and realize that everything really connects that these are not primarily stories of of sayings that were supposed to emulate their stories about a Savior. God wants us to hope in and a door to go along with this and help them out were giving you something here with the series called the books of the Bible cards. It's a set of cards that will help you as you read to make connections between whatever book your study and with the big picture, historical contacts, but even more importantly how this particular book with the story. Jesus is a wonderful resource produced our friend Mary Wiley getting keep your Bible study the Bible that make sense of love to get these in your hands are connected to other resources that may help you Jaden career.com. Suggested donation is $25 or more. Every penny goes to producing these programs on the radio and more people you can help ensure that training eight 663-3524. Give online Molly minutes.
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