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ប្រតិចារិក
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Well, before we open up God's word, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, again, we come before you to acknowledge our dependence upon you. We ask God that the Holy Spirit would perform his ministry of teaching us. We pray, Father, that you would accompany your word, that you would effectually work these truths upon our hearts, We pray, Father, that we would not come to this matter of baptism with a familiarity and a dullness, that we would see the magnificent truths that are here and that you would encourage our hearts. Father, we thank you that we do have the Word of God to teach us. Help us to not take for granted that we have the great privilege of opening your word and having copies of your word before us. So Father, again we ask for your help. Help me to communicate the truth. Help all of us to receive the truth. In Christ's name, Amen. We'll continue in this second session on baptism. Just a brief review. Last week We dealt with what I would consider is the that regarding baptism, meaning that how the practice of baptism originated. When we look at just the practice in general terms, we also looked at as well as how the church has misunderstood the ordinance. We discussed how there are two extremes that the church has fallen into error where they have put too much of an emphasis on baptism and thinking that it's actually the act of baptism that brings about regeneration. And then more common in our day is the error that baptism has no significance. And since it's just ceremonial, it's a take it or leave it kind of attitude, and so why do it if it doesn't affect salvation? So why go through it at all? And there's a very lackadaisical view of baptism in our day. And what we hope to achieve through these brief discussions is to find out what the truth is and therefore bring us in balance where we don't take it to one extreme or the other. And we dealt with also, where does baptism originate? Because it's not in the Old Testament. We don't see it. dictated that people should be baptized. There were those instruments that were used in temple worship that were cleansed and that were baptized, if you will, in the washing for ceremonial use. But then we have John the Baptist on the scene in the New Testament where he's baptized. And then we see where Christ himself sanctified the act by himself being baptized. Obviously, if it was something that was inconsequential, we wouldn't have such an emphasis placed on the importance of Christ's baptism. He said that he did it to fulfill all righteousness. So it's not just a benign act, but it's actually an act of righteousness. very brief discussion of where baptism originated sometime between the intertestinal period this practice came into being and God ordained it and used it. And now we come to the question of why? Why are Christians baptized? Well, you're probably familiar with what's called the Great Commission the end of Matthew, if you would, turn to Matthew chapter 28 and we'll look at the Great Commission. Matthew 28 verse, the end of 18 through 20. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, just being the 11 disciples, Jesus came up and spoke to them saying, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So when we ask ourselves, why are Christians baptized? Probably the most fundamental reason is simply because the Lord, Jesus Christ, commanded it. We do it because He said to do it. And He is Lord. Now to use the term Lord is significant. It's very significant to the reason of why Christians are baptized. If you notice in the Great Commission that Jesus prefaced his command of going and making disciples with this comment. He says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. I think it would be helpful for us to take a moment to think about this phrase. To think about this concept. that all authority has been given to Christ. All authority in heaven and on earth. During Jesus' public ministry, you may remember that his authority at one point was put into question. Jesus had cleansed the temple. He had purged it of all the sellers and the merchants. And the way the text reads us in that narrative is after that, he went away, he spent a night at someone's house. He came back the next day to the temple and began teaching and preaching. And the Pharisees came up to him and they asked him, by what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority? So again, this comes on the heels of him having purged the temple. So they're asking him, who do you think you are? that you can come into the temple and preach and teach and then you can just act this way. Well, it's interesting, he didn't give them an answer. If you remember the story, he doesn't answer them directly. Now, I want to contrast this occasion with another occasion regarding the temple. In Matthew 17, 24, we have the issue of the poll tax. If you remember, one of the people trying to trap Peter came up to Peter and says, does your master pay the poll tax? And the poll tax being a temple tax. Does your master pay this? And Peter, he seems to answer yes. He does answer yes, but he doesn't know. Apparently he doesn't know why. So he meets with Christ. And Jesus begins to teach his disciple. And he teaches Peter this principle. He says to him, rather than me guess about what it says, let me look at Matthew 17, because I don't want to confuse the matter. In Matthew 17, 24, it says, When they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two drachma tax came to Peter and said, Does your teacher not pay the two drachma tax? And he said, Yes. And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, and this is his explanation to his disciple, He says, What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll tax? From their sons or from strangers? And upon saying, From strangers, Jesus said to him, Consequently, the sons are exempt. So this very practical truth Jesus is teaching Who do people collect taxes from? Are the privileged, the sons of the king, are those people taxed? No, they're given a free ride, if you will. They don't have to pay tax because they're sons of the king himself. It's everyone else. It's the strangers who have to pay the tax. Well, what's the relationship between this matter? Well, this is a temple tax, and Jesus is telling them essentially I'm the son. I'm the son of God. And you, as my disciples, are the children of God. Technically, you don't have to pay the temple tax. This is the house of God. We are the sons of God. We wouldn't have to pay the tax. But of course, he goes on and says to him, go ahead and pay the tax. You see in verse 27, he says, but lest we give them offense. Go to the sea, throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. And when you open its mouth, you will find a stater. Take that, and give it to them for you and me." He says, rather than offend them, go ahead and pay the tax. But the principle is, Jesus is the Son of God. He has this authority, and he doesn't need to pay the tax. So this is the relationship. By what authority did Jesus have going into the temple, to cast all the people out, well, because He was the Son of God. That is His authority. We also see throughout the New Testament Christ's authority as Creator, as we see His power and authority over nature. In Matthew 8, 27, this was the occasion when Christ calmed the sea. And the disciples looked about one another and said, what kind of man is this? that even the winds and the sea obey Him. So we see Christ's authority over nature as Christ Himself being the Creator. We also see His authority over the nature and healing of individuals as He heals their physical bodies. One of my favorite stories about Christ is the occasion when He was He was in a house teaching and the crowds were so great that no one else could come through the door. And what happened? They cut a hole in the roof and lowered a paralyzed man right down in front of him. And the Pharisees have their eye always watching to trap Jesus. And Jesus sees this man's faith and what does he say? He says, your sins are forgiven. And the Pharisees were appalled by this. How can you say that? Only God can forgive sin. And Jesus says, well, what's easier to say? Is it easier for me to say your sins are forgiven or rise up and walk? Well, it's easier to say your sins are forgiven because how can you prove that? It's spiritual. It's immaterial. So it's easy to say that. But he says, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority, I say to you, rise up and walk. healing of the people were all to prove who He was, that He was indeed the Son of God. We also see that Christ had authority over demons as He cast them out. So Christ has authority over nature, He has authority over the spiritual world, Christ says here in Matthew 28, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. The timing of this is significant. Christ has risen from the dead. So we see that Christ even had authority over death itself. We see Christ's authority in that he was prophet, priest, and king. And with the advantage of having the book of Revelation, we see all the worship of heaven given to Christ, as He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. So it's no small thing when we say that we are to be baptized because the Lord commanded it. We are to submit ourselves to the authority of Christ. The Lord, King Jesus, based on His authority, commands us to go, make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe all that I commanded you. Now the next question to consider in the matter of baptism is who is to be baptized? Who did Christ command? to be baptized. Well, from this text in Matthew 18, pardon me, Matthew 28, 19 and 20, he says very clearly to the apostles that they are to go and make disciples, baptizing them. So when we ask the question, who is to be baptized, the answer is very clear from Christ's command, that his disciples are to be baptized. One of the issues that we briefly discussed last week was the matter of infant baptism, and why it is that we perform what's called believer's baptism. and why we believe that it's the scriptures that teach believers baptism over infant baptism. And this, in my mind, is the paramount text for that truth and for that doctrine. That disciples are to be baptized. So that begs the question then, how do we define a disciple? We saw a matter The matter with John the Baptist, over and over again, was that John had disciples that became an issue throughout the gospel narrative. There were the disciples of John and there were the disciples of Christ. So what is it about being a disciple? What is it about baptizing and the relationship? Well, we see from that example that the cultural practice of that time of baptizing was taking an individual and that person becoming identified with the preacher or the teacher. If you wanted to identify or align yourself with a particular person, that man baptized you. So what you did is you said, I am in agreement with his teaching, I identify myself with this person, therefore that person is baptized. So you make this public, expression of your being identified with that person. The people who responded to John's preaching who believed it were baptized by him and therefore became one of his disciples. Baptism was the public mode of identifying oneself with that particular teacher. So here in Matthew 28 we see this as the purpose of baptism. to go and make disciples. So there's the relationship. Go and make disciples. Baptize them. Disciples are baptized. Now the accounts of baptism in Acts was always in response to the teaching and preaching of the gospel. Just as with Christ's first disciples, Christ continues to call his disciples. I think this is very significant as we understand the purpose of discipleship. We see in that account where Christ came up to the disciples to be and said to them, come and follow me. And they left their nets, they left everything, and they followed Christ. They therefore became his disciples. In the Great Commission, he ends it by saying, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. So we see that this is something that continues on for the church as Christ calls his disciples. And I hope and I trust that each one of us has heard that very distinct call upon our hearts. For we have heard the command of our Lord, come and follow me. And we've done that. And we've heard the teaching of Christ, and we understand the gospel, and we receive the truth. It goes beyond just an intellectual assent where we agree to these things. but we actually receive the truth it affects our hearts and we respond when we hear Christ say come follow me our hearts leap for joy and we respond and we say yes Lord I will follow you and we become Christ's disciples we hear Christ's call we receive the truth and we respond in faith So another question is, who has been regenerated? And why do I use that term? Do you remember Titus 3.5? When it says, when I quote it, that God saved us? It's better for me to read it than try to quote it from memory. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. You remember that John said that I baptize you with water, but Christ would baptize you with what? The Holy Spirit and fire. So the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit is this baptism of the Spirit that Christ performs. So we see that it's not just a physical baptism. The physical baptism is a symbol of the spiritual baptism, where we as disciples, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, come to have new life and to be a disciple of Christ. So discipleship is not just an intellectual ascent, but it's something that incorporates the whole person, the whole soul, as he gives himself over to Christ. And this is the order of events, as we see it unfold in this command, as well as by example, is that there's the preaching and teaching of the gospel, so this would be the truth that is sent forward. Then there's the response of faith. It's the response of, yes, I agree with these things. I wholeheartedly agree with these things. I give my all to Christ. I am His, and He is mine. And therefore, that individual becomes a disciple and is baptized. Now, I'd like to give an example of this in Acts chapter 2. This is the preaching of Peter right after the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. And if we were to read this entire sermon, there are certain truths that would come to light. Now the point of this section, of bringing this up, is this. that we see clearly that baptism occurs at the beginning of the time that a person becomes a disciple. So there are certain truths and there are certain things that an individual needs to understand and needs to believe in order to classify him as a disciple and therefore be baptized. But it doesn't mean that the individual has to know fully the whole counsel of God and be in perfect agreement with it before he is baptized. We all recognize that baptism is something that occurs at the beginning of our walk with Christ and the beginning of our time of discipleship. But what is it that we need to understand and what is it that we need to believe in order to classify us as a disciple and therefore be baptized? And the key element are evident in this passage in the preaching right after the Pentecost. Well, let me just list some of these facts. A disciple who would be baptized would believe that Jesus was sent from God. In verse 22, The sermon begins, men of Israel listen to these words, Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through him in your midst just as you yourselves know. This man delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. So this would be one of the most elemental facts and to know that Christ was sent from God and that all that he did was according to the plan and foreknowledge of God. Secondly, a disciple would need to know and believe that Jesus died on the cross. There in verse 23 it continues, that you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men, and put him to death. And God raised him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power." So this is another key element of the gospel, to believe that Christ died on the cross, and that he rose from the dead. That God has made him both Lord and Christ. It might be worth noting that one of the theological debates in our time with this matter of Lordship Salvation is, I'm sure you're all familiar with, is do you have to believe and accept Christ as Lord? Can't you just accept Him as Savior? And we see that that is totally preposterous because the two go together. In order to be saved, a person needs to understand who Christ is, that He is Savior, and also that He is Lord. God has made Him both Lord and Christ. Now in verse 36 we see, Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now look at their response. This is key. This is very important. Verse 37. After hearing this truth, it says, Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And this is key to understanding that once the truth is preached, there is the reception of the truth. They were pierced to the heart. It wasn't just an intellectual ascent, it was a piercing of the heart. And Peter's response to them, repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. So here we have the basic elements of the gospel. A person who is baptized needs to believe that Jesus was sent from God, that Jesus died on the cross, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that God has made him both Lord and Christ. And there's also the element of personal guilt. Doesn't Peter bring this back to them, this Jesus whom you crucified? It's very important for us to recognize our guilt. Because without a recognition of guilt, what need is there for repentance? And that is one of the conditions for baptism, repent and be baptized. Now there's another very interesting facet to this sermon, and very key and integral to the matter of baptism, and something that a disciple needs to understand before he is baptized, and that is the doctrine of the Trinity. Understanding the Trinity is not just a very obscure kind of theological nitpicking, not by any means, but it is integral to the Gospel itself, and the disciple needs to understand the Trinity before he is baptized. Now, on what basis do we see that? Well, in Matthew 28, in Jesus' command, He says, Go therefore to all the nations, making disciples, baptizing them. How? Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. That is the very identification. The person that's being baptized and becoming a disciple is aligning himself and identifying himself with the Trinity. He's being baptized in the name, singular, in the name of the three, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The reason that I think this is particularly important personally, and perhaps you might have a similar experience, is there are those that we may know who claim to be Christians, I think of those in certain Pentecostal denominations, for instance, who deny a trinity, and I think, well, you know, this person seems to have a great love for Christ. And it's true, they do profess the name of Christ, and they have an enthusiasm about serving Christ, And I'm sure that there are many Pentecostals who are the true believers and true disciples of Christ, but there's that element of Pentecostalism, as well as others, that deny the Trinity. And as I read this, I come under the conviction of how can that person be a true disciple of Christ? when here the commission is, baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So if the person is baptized, and he's not baptized to come under identification of the Trinity, then who is it that he's identifying himself with? And it can't be the true Lord, in Christ, because the true Lord in Christ is identified with the Trinity. He is part of the Godhead. So it must be a different Christ. So this person, as sincere as he may be, is in great and serious error when he denies the Trinity. And his baptism, if it's not baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, than it is a false Baptist, and he's a disciple of someone other than the biblical Christ. And we know that it's not a matter of just ritual, that you say these magic words, the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but instead we know that it's identifying truly with the complete and perfect God. We need to be baptized with the understanding that we are aligning ourselves with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now the next matter of baptism is that baptism provides us with the opportunity to publicly express our relationship to Christ. We can put it in these terms, that baptism is to the Christian what a wedding day is to the bride. You think about it. A couple, in private, commit themselves to one another. And they come into agreement of saying, where the husband calls the woman and asks her and invites her to be his bride. And her heart responds in commitment. and affection, and devotion, and they make that commitment in private, and they say, yes, we will be married. And at that point, the betrothal is, in many ways, just as good as marriage in terms of the commitment that each other has expressed to themselves. However, there is a day in which, publicly, that commitment is made known. And it's at that point that the bride takes on the name of her husband and publicly identifies herself in submission and devotion and affection to her husband. In very similar terms, the baptism, the ceremony of baptism is that public display where the individual has said, I have heard Christ call me and I have committed myself to Him. and I am betrothed to Him, He is my Lord and my Savior, and I'm going to tell the whole world that I've made that commitment, that He has called me, that He is mine and I am His. So baptism is that public expression of the devotion that has occurred in the heart in private. So baptism is the Christian's wedding ceremony, where he publicly identifies himself with Christ, as belonging to Christ, and takes on the name of Christ. Now also, don't we know that Christ has told us in John, if you love me, you will keep my commandments? And we have here, in the Great Commission, the commandment of Christ to be baptized. It is no small jump to be able to make that link and say, if you love Christ, you will be baptized because he commanded it. And you do love him. If you're a disciple of Christ, you do love Christ. Here's some key verses, other verses on baptism. If you've witnessed a baptismal service, the trust we all have, you know that there are always some comments that are made about the symbolism of baptism. Now Christ's directive says to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He doesn't go on to say, and also include all of these symbolisms, you know, and tell everyone of, you know, of the different symbols of baptism. So we don't have that directive to do so. However, it is helpful for us to know what the symbolism is, and it is biblical. Because throughout the Bible there are relationships and symbols made, or correlations rather, between baptism physically and spiritual truth. And I'll just touch on some of these briefly. We know that baptism symbolizes the washing away of sin. In Acts 22, in verse 16, this is where Paul, at that time Saul of Tarsus, was baptized. Let's see, Acts 22, 16. Now bring this verse up for another important point, besides this one. Acts 22 16, and now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on his name. So we see this correlation between baptism and washing away of sins. So we have this symbol of the water cleansing because what happens spiritually is our sins are cleansed. Now, another one is Romans 6.4. Romans 6.4 is this, Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." So we see in the baptism service, you'll often hear it referred to as the person being buried, and then being raised again unto new life. And this gives us biblical warrant for that, and understanding more clearly what happens in the spiritual, Holy Spirit baptism, as we see it performed in the physical baptism. Now regarding the issue of baptismal regeneration, some may say or some may accuse us of interpreting passages according to our view instead of having our view being shaped by Scripture. And isn't this always the issue whenever two people disagree on interpreting Scripture? They would say, well, you just have your view and you're twisting Scripture to make it fit your view. And they'd say, well, no, I'm not doing that, you're doing that. Well, we are accused of doing that by those who believe in baptismal regeneration, and they point out to us certain verses, like this verse that I just read in Acts, in Acts 22, 16. If you picked up on that, It's said there, and these proponents of this false teaching will say to us, the Scriptures clearly say right there, arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name. So you see clearly, the act of baptism is responsible for the washing away of your sins. Well, our response to that is, and I haven't looked it up in the Greek, but the commentators that I've read make this point, The way that the relationship of that verse is, is the directive is to be baptized and the washing away of your sins is related to the calling on His name. The verse says, and now why do you delay? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on His name. So the washing of our sins is a relationship with Christ. It is Christ who washes our sins, not the physical act of baptizing. Well, again, they may say, well, you're just twisting that. Well, okay, if that's what you believe, let's go on to the next one. The next verse, 1 Peter 3.21, is another very key one. I've heard this so many times by those who align themselves with the Church of Christ, who believes in baptismal regeneration. They like to use this particular verse, 1 Peter 3, Now, I bring these verses up to you because you probably will have occasions to dialogue with these people at one point in time, and this might be helpful for you as it has been for me. Acts 3.21 says, and corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. And if you read any of the literature by the Church of Christ, there are those who are very dogmatic, and they will say, the scriptures say, baptism now saves you, period. And that's where they end it. And they'll just hound you with that, those verses, those words. Baptism now saves you. How can you ignore that? Baptism now saves you. That's what it says. Well, the problem is, is they stop there. And if you go on to read, it says, not the removal of dirt from the flesh. Peter is making it very clear that it's not the physical act. It's not the removal of dirt from the flesh. It's not being dipped in the water that saves you. But it is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm kind of glad that these people, if they're going to pick a verse, would pick that one. Because there's not a stronger case. How more strongly could you say it? That baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, not the physical act of being baptized saves you, but it's the inward spiritual component of appealing to God for a good conscience. If baptism were to save you, we might be able to argue, what about 1 Corinthians 1-11? Verse 11 and the following verses, where the church was having this problem of being baptized. They were saying, I'm of Apollos, I'm of Paul and such. And Paul's response to them was, I thank God that I baptized none of you. He goes on to say, for Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. There we can clearly see that if it was baptism, the physical act that saved you, Paul would not say, I'm glad I didn't baptize any of you, and that God didn't send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the gospel. Would Paul say, God didn't send me to bring any of you into a relationship with himself? Would Paul say, God didn't send me to bring the gospel of truth, that you might be saved? No, he wouldn't say that. So likewise, he's free to say, God didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Now finally, baptism marks the disciple's entry into the church. Now that a person has heard and believed, has received the truth, is seeking Christ, and is seeking Christ that lasts a lifetime, the disciple is now a member of Christ's Church. The person who is a disciple is baptized, and being baptized, the person enters the communion and fellowship of the Church. And therefore, the disciple is now subject to the duties and responsibilities to his brothers and sisters in Christ and he takes his proper place in the functioning of the local church. And we will leave there. Next week we will deal with this matter of now that a person has been baptized and has entered into Christ's What are his duties and responsibilities in regard to church membership? Well, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that we've had the time to look into the matter of baptism. We thank you for reminding us of these truths, and we pray, Father, that we as a church might have the wonderful privilege of seeing many souls brought into the Kingdom of God, many disciples brought out of the world and into the church that we might be able to baptize them and have these public displays of these ceremonies of expressing the commitment of your children with yourself. In Christ's name we pray, amen.
Baptism part 2
ស៊េរី Spiritual Disciplines
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