Stand together as you turn to Isaiah 43, one through 13, and then we'll read Matthew 28. Hear now the inspired and authoritative word of the living God. But now thus says the Lord who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel, fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you, because you are precious in my eyes and honored, and I love you. I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, I am with you. I will bring your offspring from the east and from the west. I will gather you. I will say to the north, give up, and to the south, do not withhold. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory. whom I formed and made. Bring out the people who are blind yet have eyes, who are deaf yet have ears. All the nations gather together, and all the peoples assemble, who among them can declare this and show us the former things. Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right. Let them hear and say it is true. You are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange God among you. And you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and I am God. Also, henceforth, I am He. There is none who can deliver from my hand. I work. Who can turn it back? Matthew 28 then. The first gospel of the New Testament. We read at the wonderful climactic ending as Jesus sends His apostles to go invade the world with His saving message. Matthew 28 verse 16, Now the eleven disciples went up to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him, they worshipped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all the 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 and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Amen. This is the word of God. Let's pray together. Our God, as we approach your word today and seek to meditate upon your divine glory and grace, we pray for the help of the Spirit of God that he would bless preaching with the unction from on high that we so desperately need. And that we would receive your truth, not, oh Lord, not to fight for party positions, not to argue and to bring up controversy to divide the church. But Lord, we receive your truth so that we can live enjoying all of the benefits that you've given to your people. And help us as we do that to enjoy Christ, the great Savior. In his name we pray, amen. Well, brothers and sisters, we are a body at war. You need to understand this. We are a group of people that fall into the category of what theologians have called the church militant. One day, that is not yet, we shall be, as the great hymn says, the church at rest. But that day is not today. Now any general worth his salt, or I suppose I could say worth his stars, will do everything possible in his power to send his troops into war with everything they need. They will need clothing, they will need food, they will need ammunition, they will need supplies and fuel, everything. And any general worth his stars will make absolutely sure, as far as he is able, to provide everything. But how foolish would it be? How foolish would it be for his soldiers, his troops, going into combat, living and enduring the hostility and the confusion of war, to neglect one key component of their equipment, to not use or to not pack or to not bring something that he has worked so hard to give them for their good and for their victory in the course of this war. I'm talking today about our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His provision of the gift of baptism for the sake of His church. And I'm wanting to address the fact that, sadly, sadly, I believe in great extent, the church has forgotten or misunderstands how do we utilize this gift of baptism. It seems like when we get into the realm of sacraments, there are so many ways we can get it wrong. But isn't that the same when we get into any kind of theological truth? There's so many ways we can misunderstand it. And so my task this morning, if nothing else, what I want to do is positively state to you, not simply say, well, baptism doesn't do this, and it doesn't do that, and it doesn't mean this, but positively, what does it mean? What are you doing? Whether you're an adult or baptizing, you can remember it. Whether you were a little child baptized because of your parents bringing you on the basis of the promises of God, why do we do this? And how do we actually use it? Is this just an empty ritual? Is it a magical thing that we do? What is it? The goal is to positively state today. not exhaustively, but hopefully helpfully and memorably, what in the world does it mean to be baptized into the name of the Triune God? Well, concisely then, what I believe most simply that this means is that baptism into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit signifies and seals union with the God of salvation. Simply stated, and I'm going to enlarge on this, I believe this is what it means. Baptism in the name of God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, it signifies and seals union with the God of salvation. Now, As I mentioned earlier, so much confusion surrounds this. So much corruption has polluted the church's understanding of this. Some people make the sign a reality. They think that it's got some sort of magical power, mystical power in itself. This, my friends, I promise you, this is normal water. Some of you may disagree with this. I'm a normal man. I have no supernatural abilities. And the writers of our confession and catechism helped us to see this when they said that the sacraments, the Lord's Supper, baptism and the Lord's Supper, these things don't have any virtue or strength in them. And there's nothing special necessarily about the minister administering them, but God uses these sacraments with the blessing of the Holy Spirit and through the faith of the individual receiving them as he is instructed by the Word of God." So, we don't want to make the sign the reality. More on that in a minute. But on the other hand, we don't make this empty and unimportant. There is something, as God has given this to the Church, of vital necessity. And we need to understand what that is. It's not just, the Lord's Supper is not just remembering Jesus dying. It's communing with Him in His death and in His resurrection. Baptism is not just thinking about the realities of the forgiveness of sins because I made a decision. It's actually coming into an identified relationship with God according to His Word. So we're going to talk about these things. So I want to define a couple terms and then give you a bit of a contextual introduction to the Great Commission passage before us. and then move into the matter of this sermon. And I will say, while this is clearly from the text, I'm going to be preaching mostly just verse 19, it is going to be a bit more instructive, I should say, hopefully in a sermonic way. So just be prepared. I'm not trying to lecture you, but it is important for us to understand what's going on. I want to define two terms, sign and seal. It seems like we have some problems understanding what does that mean. Well, first of all, where do we get these words? Why do we use these words with respect to sacraments in the Bible? I will spare you the entire biblical theology behind it, but most clearly Romans chapter 4 It's talking about Abraham receiving the old covenant sacrament or sign of circumcision and Paul writes there he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. These words are biblical words. We're not making them up. Now, sacrament is not a technically biblical word. It's a word that came into use. There's nothing wrong with the term, just like there's nothing wrong with the term trinity and things like that. But what is a sign? Well, children, children, I want you to think about something. You know what a sign is, don't you? You're driving down the road on Saturday afternoon. It's hot. You want a milkshake because they're delicious. Maybe you want some chicken nuggets. And where do we go to get to the most delicious chicken nuggets and milkshakes? Well, we go to Chick-fil-A. And you look out the window, and lo and behold, there on the side of the road is a green sign, and on it is the universally recognized Chick-fil-A logo. And you say, there, daddy, there's a Chick-fil-A up ahead. Now, this is a sign. It's pointing us in a particular direction. It's on exit 149B, okay, on the right side, 0.2 miles down the road. Now, children, if you want your chicken nuggets and your milkshake, Would you say, Daddy, stop, stop, pull over? And you get out of your minivan and you walk over, or run down Suburban, and you get out and you stand on the side of the road underneath the sign and you say, I've made it to Chick-fil-A. Would you do that? Would you get your chicken nuggets and milkshake by standing under the sign for Chick-fil-A? No. And is that how the builders of the sign intended it to be used? No, they wanted to point you to the reality. And so as you think about it and you follow its directions, it leads you to that place where now you get to enjoy the substance that the sign was pointing to. Do you understand? So when we talk about sacraments in general and baptism in particular as a sign, it is a gospel indicator. It is a gospel indicator. It is pointing to Christ. You want to know what it means to be saved? You come to know Christ. Well, we also use this word seal. Children, we're not talking here about an animal. We're not talking about cementing something in or sealing your windows with caulk. It's not what we're talking about when we talk about a seal. Back in the old days, before we had phone numbers and emails and all of these things, people had to write letters. And back in even the older days, they would write these letters, and they would roll up the parchment, or they would fold paper over it. They would take some hot wax. They would drip it on the closure so that it would make it go shut. And they would take a special little ring or something called a signet ring, and they would push down on that little wet piece of wax, and it would make a little picture, an insignia, a sign. And do you know what that was for? That was to show the people down there in Colossae that this letter was really coming from Paul. Or that was to show the people down there in Wartburg that this is really a papal bull. That the Pope really sent this, not some Joe Schmoe off the street, but the people who have this reality. So it authenticates the reality of the message. Okay? That's what a seal is. It authenticates the reality of the message. So, very simply, the sign is a gospel indicator, pointing you to a reality that it itself is not. A seal is a gospel authenticator. It is telling you that what the sign's pointing to is really true. It is real. So let's go back to Abraham for a moment. God comes to Abraham and he says, I am reckoning your faith to you as righteousness. And Abraham could be standing there underneath the stars and he looks at himself and he says, well, nothing's changing about me. How do I know this is true? And God, remembering our frame, He knows that we're dust, He says, Abraham, I'm going to give you a sign to indicate this reality and a seal to authenticate this reality in your flesh so that you can remember and believe that these things are real. circumcision didn't save Abraham, he was already saved. He had the righteousness that comes through faith, and God is saying, you can't see it with your eye, Abraham. So here's a help. It points you to my saving righteousness that you have achieved by faith, and it shows you that this is not some fiction. It is real. Sign and seal, gospel indicator, promise authenticator. So here in Matthew 28, Jesus is standing victorious upon the mountain. He is about to, as I mentioned earlier, send his apostles to invade the world, to plunder the world of all of its people, to bring them all into his kingdom. That's what he's sending these apostles to go and to do. And he says, I am the king over everything. There is a gospel context to this command. I have risen from the dead. I have all... Remember this, dear saints. Jesus Christ has all authority in heaven above and in the earth beneath. And He says, on that basis, because I have that authority, you go and you make disciples. And here's how you're going to make disciples. Baptize them into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And you teach them everything I've said. Baptize and teach. And the sign of the victorious work of Jesus Christ and the identity of God with sinners accompanies the word of that proclamation. They must go together. Always remember this, dear brothers and sisters. The sign is worthless without the Word. The sign gives you, listen to this, nothing that the Word doesn't give you. However, it gives you the same substance in another way. Faith comes by hearing, hearing from the Word of God. The sacraments are the only two visual aids that God has given for the sake of the gospel. This is the cleansing work of God. Here's the redeeming work of the Son. Baptism, the Lord's Supper. And that is interpreted by the Word. And so the Word goes forth. And so, now we move into the matter of this passage today. I want to talk first about the sign of baptism. The sign of baptism. Baptism itself, in general, And the first part we're going to talk about here is its origin. From whence, they say, did it come? When and where and why? From where? Well, you see, Baptism in particular, and signs in general, has a very firm precedent in the scriptures. I've already talked about circumcision clearly given to Abraham as a sign, and God gave all kinds of visual aids and signs to his church throughout the ages. He used these things to instruct His people and direct His people and to help them in their lives of faith. It is part of God's way of acting in the world to give these signs with the preaching of the Word. That's what He's done for ages. But the origin of this sign, you need to understand, is of divine origin. Man did not create it. The apostles didn't get together after the resurrection of Jesus and his ascension and say, hey, how should we go about this work? Oh, let's baptize people. No, no, no. We baptize because of the command of God. That's why we do what we do. It's not man's constrivance. The water itself is nothing special, just as in Abraham's day circumcision was nothing special. The bread and the wine is nothing special. People eat that and drink that all the time, except for around here when they think wine is wrong. God's Word sanctifies or puts a particular use and meaning upon the sign, and God's been doing that. throughout history. So it's got precedent. It's consistent with how he's worked through history, and it's from him. It's not a man's innovation. But this baptism, this Christian baptism, comes in a context. And the context is in the context of John's baptism. You see, even Jesus didn't... This wasn't innovative with him, even. But John comes preaching the gospel of his day. And the message was this. The Kingdom of God is at hand. You repent. You repent. And that was the exact same message that Jesus brought. Don't you remember from the beginning of Mark? John's out there preaching, you must repent and be baptized. Jesus comes saying the same exact thing. Repent and be baptized. Believe. Believe. And this is an amazing shift in history. Because with this new sign, God is saying two things. I am rejecting the old way. I am rejecting the now defunct apostate Jews and their old way. And I am coming to baptize. I am coming to save people and to place my name upon them. There is a great shift in the way God works. But also there's a shift in the focus even of the sign. Circumcision, bloody, painful, anticipated the death of Christ. Baptism, not painful, for us. Not bloody, for us. anticipates both, or actually now looks back both on the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. So baptism's origin as a sign, there's precedent for God to do this. It comes from Him. It's a divine sign with a context. And Jesus is preaching these things now in this world. And He accompanies the preaching with this sign. in the seal. So baptism's origin. Well, next I want to talk about the sign of baptism, baptism's necessity. It is necessary. It is not necessary as an effectual, listen, an effectual cause of salvation. Baptism is not necessary because it by itself as a sign saves a sinner. It does not. However, baptism as an effectual, listen, means of salvation is necessary. What's the difference? One has the power in and of itself as a cause. One is utilized as a means that God uses to bring about saving faith and to confirm saving faith in His people, to bring them and to help them in their salvation. More on that in a little bit. So the necessity of baptism, it must be applied because Jesus Christ commands it. It is not an option. Paul does not go to the Philippian jailer and say, well, sir, I'm really glad you didn't fall on your sword, and now repent and be baptized if you want. No, it came as a command, as authoritatively as it was required for him to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He had to be baptized. It is necessary. It is not an option. And that's obviously, hopefully you can see, it's tied to its divine origin. Well then thirdly, baptism as a sign. We talked about its origin, its necessity, but now I want you to think about its focus. What or whom do we see in baptism? Children, some of you might have heard the story of the blind men and the elephant. Have you ever heard that story? It's a little poem, I think it's an Indian philosophy poem or something. where six men, I'm not gonna talk about all six of them, but they all come up to an elephant, and elephants are large creatures, and they come up from different sides, and one of the blind men walks right into the side of the elephant, and he says, wow, an elephant's like a wall. He's touching on the wall. Well, the other man walks up to the front of the elephant, and thankfully, he doesn't poke his eye, he puts his hand out and touches his tusk, and he goes, oh, an elephant's like a spear. And another man comes up behind the elephant and grabs its tail. And he says, oh, an elephant's like a rope. And you see, all of them had a completely different understanding of what in the world are they touching, because they all have a completely different perspective or focus on this object. We must be sure to have the proper focus and perspective on this object. so we can understand what it is. You know those blind men, they had no idea what an elephant was. So what is baptism? What does it mean? There's a fundamental divide when it comes to understanding baptism. And I believe it's helpfully stated it comes down to two completely different perspectives. One perspective says this, that baptism, baptism is the result of a decision of an individual. Baptism is a confession of faith. That's one side. Baptism is a reflection of what the individual has done, and it is a declaration to the world of that fact. Maybe a little too simplistic, but I do believe that is one fundamental perspective. I'm ready to do this. I'm going to be baptized. It is much focus upon me. It's a sign of what the individual has decided to do and proclaims to the world. The other side is that baptism is a sign of what God does, what God has been doing and will do in the world. That God comes to a sinner, places his name upon sinners, and brings them into his fellowship. Do you see how they are fundamentally opposite in their perspective? And until we get down to that fundamental grounds, we're just going to be arguing about how to baptize and what does it mean, all those things. We have to understand this. There's a vast difference. Now obviously, well hopefully obviously, I agree with the latter. Baptism as a divine origin of necessity through the command of God is a sign that not of my individual confession of faith primarily, It is a sign of God's saving action in the world and His initiative of grace. It's not focused on the individual decision. It's not focused, listen, on an infallible understanding of the recipient's condition. What do I mean by that? Whether it's an adult or a child, we can't fully know the state of the person's heart. Baptism is not given on the basis of a full, infallible understanding of the person's spiritual condition. We give the sign, according to the Word of God, to those who are in the covenant of grace, because God is merciful. So baptism is not those things, but what it is, it is a God-oriented declaration. that salvation is of and from the Lord. I will say that again because I want you to remember it. Baptism is fundamentally a God-oriented declaration that salvation is of and from the Lord. He is the God who saves sinners. He is the God who draws sinners near to Him, even to the extent that He will place His holy glorious name upon them. I need to hasten on. Much more I could say. The sign of baptism, its origin, its divine, its necessity, it is of divine command, and its focus, it's not on the individual. It wasn't on Noah. It's on God, who saves the helpless. Secondly then, the meaning of baptism into the name. What does this mean? Baptism in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's name is fundamentally tied to his glory, to his reputation, to his revelation in the world. And when God says, I want my name placed upon my people, just as he saw in Isaiah 43, this is his bearing witness to his work in the world. And so I want to look at each of the elements here of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. How does being baptized into the name of the triune God, what does it communicate? If baptism is a God-oriented declaration of His saving acts in the world, what are we talking about here? Baptism into the name of the Father is a declaration of His eternal and undeserved and unsought-after love for sinners. This is where we have to begin, because this is where salvation begins. Salvation begins in the eternal plan of God, not in the temporary decision of man. Salvation is something that God planned from eternity past and He promised in time and has been bringing about through history from the very time He said, let there be light. Or more particularly, when He told Satan that a seed was coming that would crush his head. This is what God has been doing in the world. It's a declaration of God's eternal and undeserved faithfulness. His unwavering faithfulness. God promised to save. And he has given us a sign of that promise coming to fruition. This is a sign of God's initiative in the world. This is the glory of baptism. I hope you see this is why it's such an encouragement, not just to look at the sign and stand under it, right? But to go to the reality. What kind of God baptizes? A God who comes to a naked, fig-leaf-clothed Adam hiding behind a tree and promises the salvation that he has planned. It's the kind of God who comes to an Abraham who is worshipping idols across the river somewhere and says, go into a new place. I'm going to do my work. It's the kind of God who comes to a nation that's enslaved in Egypt and says, I've made a promise. I'm going to redeem you. It's a sign of the Father's eternal, unchanging, glorious faithfulness. that is kept in Jesus Christ. It's a sign of His love. The love that is so profound that He is willing to draw near, as I mentioned earlier, and place His name and His glory and His love upon a sinner, upon an undeserving sinner. That's glorious. If you think about that, whether you're an adult or a child, God does this. And objectively and foundly, every single time, this is what's being declared. The eternal, faithful, initiating love of the Father. Baptism into the name of the Son. The Son who stands as the central figure, not as more important than the Father or the Spirit, but as our mediator, the one in whom we are given life. Baptism into the name of the Son assures us that everything God has promised has come to fruition in the Son. His work has been accomplished. God promises the reconciling death of His servant. Jesus did it. And this is where that passage in Colossians 2, 11 and 12 is so critical. There, Paul puts circumcision and baptism together. Do you know what real circumcision was? It was the crucifixion. Do you know what real baptism was? It was the crucifixion. Jesus is cut off. crucified and killed. Jesus is baptized with the wrath of Almighty God. And any circumcision before then, done in faithfulness, any baptism after then, is simply a reflection of that objective, unchanging and unchangeable fact, declared to the world and to the Church. his reconciling death, his cleansing blood where he would wash away our sins, his justifying righteousness, where I cannot stand merely naked before God, neutral before God. No, I must have perfect righteousness. And here God says, I give that to you. Here's a sign of it. Here's the authentication of that that you must grasp by faith. These things are declared in this passing little moment of placing water upon a sinner. It declares the resurrection life of Jesus Christ, baptized into His death, buried with Him in baptism, that we might be raised with Him in the newness of life. Christian baptism. does not mean we must contribute to that work. It doesn't mean that we must somehow contribute even our initiating decision to that work. We must respond in faith to this glorious message of salvation. Christian baptism is the sign, indicator, and seal Authenticator of union with this Savior in whom sins are destroyed and through whom life is freely given. These things are objectively, unchangingly declared in baptism and must be believed for salvation. Baptism in the name of the Holy Spirit. It declares All that is fulfilled and accomplished by Jesus is given to us by the Spirit through faith. I want you to back up a moment and think about this. Talking about the eternal, unsought after, faithful, initiating love of the Father. A lot of adjectives, I get it, but they're wonderful. Talked about the wonderful sin-destroying, sin-cleansing, righteousness-giving death of Jesus. These things happen, whether you know about them or not, you understand. They're not dependent upon your understanding for them to exist. And praise the Lord for that! This baptism, or this glory, this gospel, okay, how can a sinner Get His hands on that. How can a sinner have any kind of share in that? Well, we have to have faith. We must believe. Well, how can I believe I'm dead? Ah, the Lord says, I'll tell you. It's through the regenerating glorious work of the Holy Spirit, who comes in His sweet, sovereign ministry, and He gives you light in life, just as the Lord said, Let there be light, so the Lord has shown light into our dark hearts, and given us the revelation of glory in the face of Jesus Christ. This is what the Holy Spirit does. And it's declared to you in baptism, that in and by the Spirit, God does what is impossible. bringing someone like you and someone like you into saving union with Jesus and all of His benefits in fellowship with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Now, I wonder if you agree with me that all of that, I know we're getting a bit long, just be patient, that all of that is actually declared in baptism. It is. It is. And it must be believed. It must be believed. It is not, it is not based upon the reality of what I have just told you, or what's called objective realities. They are true outside of you. You must embrace them by faith. Children, you must believe these things. Adults, you must believe these things. All of you, believe these things. This is the gospel. Baptism proclaims the gospel! Just as the Lord's Supper does, and just as the faithful preaching of the Word does. And just as you sit through a sermon and derive no benefit unless you believe these things, so you can be baptized and receive no benefit for not believing these things. Or you can take the Lord's Supper and receive no benefit because you don't believe these things. By the working of the Spirit and the taking hold of by faith, this becomes yours. the meaning of baptism in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is being brought, it is signifying and sealing the union with the God of salvation in all of its glory, which we have just begun to begin to scratch the surface of. Finally, and hopefully rather quickly, the value of baptism. Why is this so important? I hope you can make some conclusions based on what I've told you already, insofar as it aligns with the Word of God. Well, some particulars though. The value of baptism. One, covenant identity. That is, a relationship with God according to His promise. God sovereignly, graciously, initiates. He moves toward us, not the other way around. He initiates to identify with sinners. He places His name on sinners. And so, you think about yourself. There's a principle here of identity. You are marked out, identified with God of the Bible. This is one of the great blessings for our children. This is why I encourage you, as you think about your own children, if you're a Christian, your children, Paul says they are holy. Not individually, morally, but status-wise, objectively, they're not pagans, they're not random pagans, you've never heard the gospel, no. They're your children, they're children of promise. And God cares for you and cares for them, and he says, I'm gonna give you a promise, because I care about you and your children. covenant identity. There's no category of being unclaimed here. Church or world? Which? Please, please understand, there's great blessings to being identified with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Covenant identity. Covenant promise. Covenant promise. He says, I will forgive your sins. I will remove your transgressions from you as far as the East is from the West. You don't deserve that. But He's saying, I will do it, and nothing can take you out of My hand. Nothing can remove it. Nothing can take away from it. Nothing can add to it. Here's a promise for you. I will do this. You need to believe this. And he goes even farther. As I prayed earlier, he doesn't work individual by individual, atom by atom through the world. That was A-T-O-M, atom by atom in the world. He works larger than that. It's wonderful, household by household. He brings households into the kingdom of God. Glory be to God. And the problem is we say, well, people have rejected the faith. People walk away from these things, so we shouldn't do that. We need to wait until they make a decision. God doesn't say to do that. He says, believe these things. Here's a sign that you can believe these things. I will be a God to you and your children after you. Covenant identity. Covenant promise. And then thirdly and finally, a call to faith. It is a call to faith. We must understand that the working of the Spirit and the ministry of the Word together is what brings us to faith. It is not presumptive to believe these things for us and for our children. Do you know why? It would be presumptive, that is having no basis, if God hadn't said it. And I'm fear that because we are afraid perhaps of our children abandoning these things, perhaps because of our bitter experience in other places, even maybe ourselves, that we feel like we can't believe this because it might not work. But God says, you trust. You trust my promises. And as you live out of those promises, believe them. Teach, pray, model, instruct, worship, discipline, nurture, admonish. Brothers and sisters, God saves through those things. He does. It's a call to faith. You don't trust baptism, the sign, standing under the sign. You don't do that. You don't trust the baptizer, your pastor. You trust the true baptizer, God Himself. It's from Him for our good. Brothers and sisters, this sign is a call to discipleship. It's a call to discipleship. It's not empty. It's a call to grow, to learn, to believe, to trust, to obey, to love, to die, and to follow. That's the call of baptism. Do you see how the message of baptism is the message of the gospel? Brothers and sisters, my friends, you must believe the message of the gospel. And baptism simply presents that message in another way. And you, no less, must believe that. and are privileged to have seen it today again. Let it remind you of the goodness of God. Let it be a gospel indicator that these things are here. Let it be a promise authenticator that as surely as God has promised, as surely as you saw the sign applied, these things are true, and you must believe them, and believing them by grace, through faith, through the work of the Holy Spirit, they will be yours forever and unchangeably. What a glorious promise! Oh, my friends, this is one of the great privileges of living in the covenant of grace. It's a covenant of promise, where you live with the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God who made it. You live in communion with Him. And that is eternal life. That's what I want my children to know every day of their lives. That's what I want you to enjoy every day of your lives. And that's what's proclaimed in baptism every single time. Believe it. Worship God. And enjoy this great benefit in the midst of this war. Amen. God in heaven, we praise you for your faithfulness and even your tender kindness toward us who are so prone to unbelief in assuring us further and your great mercy by not simply giving us the word preached as glorious as it is, but for the building up of our faith and for the further solidifying of it in our hearts and in our minds with your blessing, the work of the Spirit. You've given us these signs, baptism here in particular, not as a magical incantation, but as a glorious declaration of your saving mercy and union with God. Oh God, please let no one here reject, repudiate, and care little for the message and the God of baptism. Let us not confuse it. help us to use it as you intended and as it indicates to us the gospel realities and assures us of that, that we would live in joyful communion with you our God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We ask it in the name of our mediator, our older brother, and the true baptizer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.