I invite you to turn in the word of God to the book of Hebrews in the New Testament to chapter 10. Hebrews 10. Also, I'm going to make reference several times and quote portions from what we call the Heidelberg Catechism. And there's a thin book that should be somewhere near you that says Forms and Prayers. And you would find what I'm going to refer to on page 228. 228 in that forms book. Also, it's in the hymnal. under Hutterburg Catechism question and answer 69 through 73. So I'll make reference several times. Also, I forgot to mention something last week. I forgot to mention, where is intern Chris? Now, he, of course, did not, I mentioned this in the evening, but not the morning. Originally, he did not know, and we did not know, that he would have his internship extended. And wisely, he made arrangements for immediately after it. We had told him to, you know, find some things you can do with your gifts immediately after. So he had scheduled to provide pulpit supply to preach at several other churches. So this morning he is in Norfolk, Virginia at a URC church plant there. And then next week he'll be in Michigan. But he comes back during the week and has been about his business. He just leaves on Saturday, preaches and comes back. So he'll be back soon. He's not gone. Chris is around. Also this evening, Lord willing, take note, we will come to our final sermon in the four perfections of scripture, looking at different attributes of scripture. And this evening, we're going to be on what it means that scripture is sufficient. Is it really enough? Or in what ways is it enough? But this morning, we are working our way through the doctrine of sacraments as we summarize what the Bible teaches in the Heidelberg Catechism. And we are in a passage that relates to this, but in a broader context. Let me give you just some idea about this passage in Hebrews. The book of Hebrews, most scholars agree, is written to a second generation group of Christians. So there are the people who first came to faith, but also now probably younger people coming up, maybe 15, 20 years old, who have been around the faith of their parents for some time. And people in this congregation or this group of churches who are receiving the letter to the Hebrew Christians are struggling. Particularly, many of them were tempted to forsake the Christian faith and go back to Judaism. That's reflected in many of the things described throughout the book. Why are they tempted? Well, among the various reasons they're tempted is because they feel, when they look at the practice of Christianity, that it is less weighty and less impressive than old covenant worship with the temple, with the priests, with the sacrifices, the incense, the robes, the oil, all of that just appeals to the senses so powerfully. And then they look at the new covenant sacraments and the new covenant way of worship, and it just seems so much less weighty. And the writer is making an appeal that the realities that we possess now by the indwelling of Christ in his resurrected form via the Holy Spirit is in fact more significant and the sacraments, though speaking to the same substance, are even more rich because we have a greater idea of what they speak to. And that gives you some sense of what's really being said when he says in chapter 11 famously, faith is the substance of things hoped for. When he says substance, he's saying this is what's weighty The faith that you have in the reality is not even so much the outward sacrament. Faith is where the weight comes in because by that we lay hold of Christ. And that gives you some sense of the context here as we begin at verse 19. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh, And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Let's ask the Lord's special blessing. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to receive from your word, by your spirit, those things which you know we need. We ask that Christ would be exalted in our hearts, that he would be heralded in the words that you would please direct us into truth and guard us from all error, that we might live lives that are more pleasing to you. For in Jesus' name we pray, amen. If you weren't here last week, we had something of a general introduction to the sacraments. What is a sacrament? Which sacraments do we acknowledge? Those sorts of questions. But now this week, we are going to focus in particular on baptism. one of the two new covenant sacraments that Christ instituted. And so in this sermon, we're going to address basically three ideas under three main divisions. First, what are the core elements of the sacrament? What are the components that make it up in order to be a valid baptism? If you don't know even what baptism is, the rest is not going to help you. And then secondly, how does baptism connect to the cross? We saw previously that all sacraments are signs pointing to spiritual realities, to redemptive realities in Christ. So why is it that the water of baptism somehow connects to the blood of Jesus on the cross? And then last, by way of conclusion, we're going to reflect a little bit about how this then connects to your Christian life. Sadly, for many people, perhaps you, baptism is at best a very occasional thought. You think about it as you're seeing it, perhaps. But I would appeal to you that God's design in the sacraments is that they are much more recurring, that there's something you can draw upon frequently. And so these are the main divisions that we're going to look at is essentially what the Lord is calling you to this morning is to grasp the significance of the sign and seal so that in turn you can live out of your baptism on a regular basis. The Lord calls you to that because He's given it to you from his own providence. This is not something somebody just came up with. It's not just a good idea. And so he desires every person who has been baptized or who shall be baptized that you would receive what God shows you here. Now again, I'll state what each of the headings are as we come to them, but I draw your attention first to something very obvious to anyone above a certain age, but maybe your children aren't aware of this. People have different opinions on what counts as a valid baptism. Once you leave a Reformed circle, or maybe you are visiting, you're from some other circle, maybe you're a guest and you're Roman Catholic, or you're raised in evangelical, broadly evangelical circles, you'll find out Christians have different ideas about what is a valid baptism. So for instance, let's say a person is baptized as an infant in a reformed church or even in a Roman Catholic church, it's not uncommon going into a so-called Baptist church that they will be told they need to be re-baptized. The one that you got, if you can't remember it, doesn't count. If you didn't have some sense of what was going on, it's not official. Or it may be that the mode of baptism is counted as problematic. If you weren't Fully immersed, it doesn't count. You have to be re-baptized because all you got was a partial watering in the first, and so you're going to get more next. I say this, by the way, not with a particular amount of judgment upon people, but we do want to be critical of error. I say this as a person who was baptized several times for various reasons coming up to a Reformed understanding. I wasn't raised in these settings. And so we have to ask, How do we know what is a valid baptism? It matters a lot in the first place because unless you are baptized, you are not included ordinarily in the visible church. We'll come back to that. So does yours count? So this is the first main idea. And the first thing that you should note about the crucial elements of baptism is this. First and most crucial is that you recognize it is a command. It is a command and an ordinance, an institution, given to us by God, given to us by Christ. Our catechism states this in question and answer 60 and 71 where it says Christ instituted baptism. In that sense, as important as a wedding ring is, this is invented by humans. Baptism comes from God. Matthew chapter 28 verse 19, Jesus says, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them. If people aren't being baptized, disciples are not being made. It is not enough to just simply talk about Jesus' morals and ethics. That is not Christianity. The Christian life, the recognition that somebody is in the community of the disciples, formally begins at baptism, because it is an initiation into the visible covenant community. Think about just a few of the implications there. That means that if you are going to regard yourself as a disciple, or if somebody else is, that maybe you are discipling, it is imperative that you recognize you must be baptized. They must be baptized. Now, we'll come back to, does that mean that people are saved by baptism? No. We saw last week, Abraham was justified before he had even been circumcised. But ordinarily, if a person refuses to be outwardly identified with the church, we are to understand that person as yet outside in faith, too. Christ calls you to die to yourself, to take up a cross, to do all the things that he teaches. That also means that it is essential that we do not obstruct anyone from being baptized if God has ordained for them to be baptized. We'll come back to that next, not next week, but the week following. We have a guest next week. But as we look at, does the Lord include children in the administration of baptism? But if it's a command, we dare not prevent anyone that God has commanded to be baptized. And that's the first and most crucial thing. It's not just an idea. Secondly, you wonder, what exactly did Jesus command concerning the element of water? I think all of us know that water is involved. But what did he command? I want to be very clear. We as Reformed Christians in our reading of the Bible are convinced the Bible does not teach that one must necessarily be immersed, fully put underwater in order to have their baptism count. Really, just plainly, how serious is that if the vast majority of us in this room don't have a valid baptism? Must one be immersed? But I think many of us are aware of the fact that there are lots and lots of people who do teach if you're not fully immersed. It is not a valid baptism. You are displeasing the Lord. I was raised in that view, and I remember I'd bring up things like, does it not say in Acts chapter 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch is baptized, that he went down into the water? That seems pretty clear. He was immersed. I want to be clear, I'm not saying it's wrong to be immersed, but that it is not essential The Ethiopian eunuch, he went down into the water. Does not the word baptism itself mean to immerse? And the answer to both is no, that is not true. In fact, if you want to look at verse 38 of Acts chapter eight and see this, or just listen carefully, Acts chapter eight, verse 38, Philip is the person who baptizes the Ethiopian eunuch. It says, quote, they both went down into the water. Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away. If down into the water meant immersion, then Philip himself went under as he's baptizing. It simply means they waded into the water. The context is key. They both waded into the water. They both came out of the water. Similarly, it says Jesus went down into the water and he came up from the water. The context of that verse doesn't prove anything, unless it proves too much that Philip also was immersed as he baptized someone. I don't say that to be light. I say that because oftentimes arguments are based on just something we heard and not actually looking at the text. It's worth noting, by the way, that, and I've mentioned this before, the earliest surviving church order A statement of what churches ought to do in worship is called the Didache. It's dated by scholars to between 120 A.D. and 180 A.D., so very, very early. In the Didache, it mentions different ways that are acceptable for baptism, not just one, but the first is that you can wade into a river and have water poured over your head three times. The second is that you can stand in a pool of water and have water poured over you. And then it mentions other ways that are acceptable as well. But the point there, even the earliest church testimony is not one of having to be immersed for it to count. What about the word baptizo? Maybe you've heard that that Greek term means to immerse. I invite you to turn with me and look at Mark chapter seven. I want you to see that that is not the case. Mark chapter seven, Jesus is the one who's speaking there, and he's gonna use two different words that are related but different. He's gonna use first a word that was not the word that we translate baptism, and then he uses the word baptism itself, and he uses them more or less synonymously, and that's important for getting at the sense. If I say cats and dogs, you take the relationship of those words and you figure out what I'm talking about. A canine in the case of a dog. If I say hamburgers and dogs, you make a different connection. Here dogs are hot dogs. The words and context will tell us what baptism is getting at. Verse three and following, chapter seven, Jesus says, for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash, that's the first word, unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash, this is the word baptism, wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing, the baptisms, literally, the baptisms of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. It is not a question, it is a fact, well attested. It is a fact, well attested. that when the Jews then, and to this very day, perform hand-washing rituals, it's dictated down to the kind of cup they use, and they pour over each hand so many times. Likewise, one does not put one's dining couch necessarily underwater every time, and the pots, et cetera. Most homes in the first century, when Jesus is speaking, don't have big sinks with running water, a bathtub, Everything is by pot and pour. And so the context here, the essence of what that word means is not so much how much water is used, but the concept, the idea of cleansing, of washing. And so what's core to this is a ritual application of pure water, unadulterated water. Throughout church history, there have been those who mixed other things with the water. You may not be aware of that. I don't bring it up so that you can have a terrible bad idea to do it again. But be aware, pure water is what is really in view because it has to do with cleaning. You have people who added oil because of the spirit. You have people who added milk because of the word. But Hebrews chapter 10, verse 22, as you look at the imagery involved in our faith, Hebrews 10, 22, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." Here he's talking about the spiritual realities that are pictured in baptism, which were previously pictured in the sprinkling by the priest with blood. And already we start to see a connection between the blood and the water, both being emblems of ritual cleansing, of cleaning. Well, what's crucial here is that the water be pure, that there be water. The media, not the mode, is what is essential. So I want to be very, again, I'm speaking in part knowing there are young people here who go to schools, many of them with Baptist at the school. The point here is not to have you go beat them up with an argument. It's that you might help free them through the word from any misunderstanding, any superstition. It doesn't mean you can't be immersed, but if somebody superstitiously or legalistically clings to that, then we certainly would not immerse them. If only to make it clear to the church, we are not under such a rule. What about the words? Are there certain words that must be used? Here we have to avoid also superstition on one side, legalism on the other. This is not theoretical. Just in February, here in Phoenix, just in February, NPR reported on story that happened related to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. I've mentioned before that diocese has 1.2 million people nominally in it. You know people who belong to that diocese. In February, they reported that it came to light that a priest for 20 years had been using the wrong form of words than that which is prescribed by the Roman Catholic Church. What had he been saying? He had been saying, not, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That's what they require. He had been saying, we baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And I'm quoting from the diocese. If you were baptized using the wrong words, that means your baptism is invalid, and you are not baptized. That is the official position, and they ruled that over thousands of people whom he had baptized. that they are not baptized and then add to that in the Roman doctrine the great question what happens to someone who has not been properly baptized because they believe that it actually washes away original sin. Ideas have consequences and bad ideas have bad consequences. So are there words that are essential? I posit to you what is essential is that baptism is conducted first with proper reference to the word of the gospel. It's a sign But it points to something, and if you don't speak what it points to, then it is empty. It's to be spoken in, or to be administered in the context of speaking to those present, giving some sense of what is happening. And then in time, in the case of children, just as children were circumcised and couldn't remember it, they would have it explained to them. Likewise, baptism is to be explained to all recipients as they receive it and as they recall it. But then also, there should be proper reference to the authority upon which baptism is taking place. That's why we say, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as it says in Matthew 28, verse 19. It's to show this is coming with the authority of God, and it's committing all the things pictured in baptism to the work, to the power of the United Trinity. And so I would exhort you, don't be superstitious about a particular, oh, the words were wrong, it doesn't work. but that it's done with respect to the gospel and to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are less crucial questions. There are less crucial questions about who can baptize, because ordinarily, we would, in our Reformed tradition, say that it ought to be a minister of the word and sacraments. There are exceptional circumstances, though, that typically we acknowledge. Who baptized the Ethiopian eunuch? It was Philip. The only ordination we know that he had was as basically like a deacon. But this was a situation where he's never in all likelihood going to see that eunuch again. In fact, moments from then, the Holy Spirit's going to catch Philip away and eunuch is going to go back to Africa. And so in that situation, there are extraordinary circumstances where it may not be as crucial. Ordinarily, we reserve it to a minister and for the benefit of everyone, we reserve it to the context of a church worship service. Those things are not as crucial. But that leaves us with two major questions. The two major questions are, how does this connect to the cross, and how does that then connect to your life? And I want to take up that second question right now. How does this connect to the cross? If somebody asked you, how does your baptism assure you concerning salvation? What would you say to them? I invite you to look with me in the catechism at question answer 66. We saw this last week, but we're gonna look at several questions here. Question answer 66, recall the purpose of the sacrament. It says that they are visible, holy signs and seals. So in some sense, baptism is a holy, outward, physical sign that points to and impresses upon us some promise or reality of the gospel. Basically, this is the promise. Everyone who rests in Jesus Christ by faith, who looks away decisively from anything in themselves which they might do or be or become, who looks away entirely from themselves and looks to the sufficiency of Christ as their Savior, baptism is a pledge that through faith they have been one, washed by the blood of Jesus from the guilt of sin once and forever. washed from the guilt of sin by the blood of Jesus once and forever. And two, that the Holy Spirit is poured out in order to continually cleanse you from the pollution, from the power of sin, until finally that day comes when we are glorified. It has both significances. Both significances. Justification and then sanctification unto glorification. Many people not grasping that think of it primarily as a pledge that they really do believe, that they were sincere when they believed on Jesus for salvation back then, and that they're going to live a better life. It's their commitment, I'm gonna live a better life now. And then when they're struggling with sin, if they even think of their baptism, their baptism becomes for them mainly like a tool to flog themselves. I ought to be obeying, I made a commitment. Why aren't I clean yet? As if you have to make that water yourself. The water came from outside of you as a pledge that all who believe on Christ will be cleansed. And in that moment when you're struggling, you believe and you embrace that. Consider what it says in question answer 70 as an explanation of this. What does it mean to be washed with Christ's blood and spirit? And the answer, to be washed with Christ's blood means that God by grace has forgiven our sins because of Christ's blood poured out for us and his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ's spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed and sanctified us to be members of Christ so that more and more we die to sin and live holy and blameless lives. Two sides, both are gracious. Now where are we getting this from? It's one thing to confess it, it's a different thing to see it from the scripture. One passage where this first begins to develop is found in the Old Testament. I'm going to draw your attention to just a few passages so you can see where do we end up at the water of baptism? Because it's not at first obvious why the blood of Jesus, I mean, why don't we use blood? Why do we use that? Or in communion, why do we choose to use wine and not water in that instance? There's significance to each of these. Exodus chapter 30, mark this for your own study later, I suppose, Exodus chapter 30. is detailing the ways that the priests are going to practice old covenant worship with the tabernacle. And there it describes one aspect of that tabernacle where it says this. You shall also make a basin of bronze with its stand of bronze for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, with which Aaron and his sons, so the high priest family, the people who have access once a year, into the Holy of Holies, nobody else has access, for Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet. When they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn a food offering to the Lord, they shall wash with water so that they may not die. Their life depended upon a ritual washing with the water to signify the requirement, this was a symbol, to signify the requirement for perfect cleansing in order to offer a sacrifice to God, in order to commune with Him, hear a food offering, that we are reconciled, that we are in a good relationship. And the priests, who were themselves sinners, had to wash in order to signify, now we're putting on the character of our perfect high priest, our mediator who's to come. Only the priest had access to that cleansing, and it was only a ritual. Many centuries later, as we got near to the time of Christ's coming, there are many passages that talk about the fullness of what would come, but one is Zechariah 13, verse one, where it says, Zechariah 13, one, on that day, looking forward to the coming of Christ, on that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from all sin and uncleanness. When the prophets of the Old Testament spoke concerning new covenant realities, they spoke using the kinds of words and idioms that were familiar to their time. So they speak in terms of the water rushing out, gushing out. But the idea here is you're going from just a laver, that is for a discrete group of people, to now a fountain for all those who dwell in the city of God. And it's giving them some sense that a way of cleansing is coming for all. Then Hebrews chapter 10 verse 19, our original passage, here again. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, or pause and even appreciate that, the new and living way he opened for us, his flesh, Christ, the divine being who exists forever, taking on our human nature, has become, as it were for us, the door. It's because he was incarnated that we can pass into God's presence. Because we need a mediator, wearing our nature. We were the ones who sinned. Christ's flesh is, in that sense, our gateway into the presence of God. And then it says, he's opened the way for us that is through his flesh. And since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean. It had just mentioned the blood of Christ, sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. The image is of you now, like a priest, being welcomed through a washing that came from Christ, and now you have access to go have a meal with the Lord. Baptism is not just, I made a commitment to Christ a long time ago to live a certain life. It is an invitation to communion. It is a drawing you into fellowship with the Father. But I ask you, how many people think about baptism that way? How many people put on their baptism on a regular basis, on a daily basis? I get ahead of myself in the sense that we have to connect this then to our Christian life. It matters, brothers and sisters. We have but two sacraments under the new covenant. And he hasn't given them to us to deprive us but they are so rich because we now know so much more, or can, if we'll give ourselves to the word. How does this connect to your Christian life? First, I want to encourage you, dwell under the weight of baptism as a witness concerning the visible church. I want to be clear, Baptism does not of itself save anyone, but it is the barrier, humanly speaking, outwardly speaking, of who we ordinarily recognize as a believer. If someone refuses to be baptized, we ordinarily do not count them as a member. But that's not enough. We have to go to the other side and say, if someone has been baptized, God has providentially worked in such a way as to call them to discipleship. If somebody has been baptized, that's part of the whole process of discipleship. Jesus sent us out to make disciples. And therefore, we ought to take seriously, if you have been baptized, whatever ways you might define your identity in our culture is increasingly on fire with how we define ourselves. By money, by bizarre intuition, by the most esoteric group politics. You are baptized. God has made a claim upon you. He will have you clean. He will cleanse you from your sin. If you have believed upon him, you're already clean. You cannot, you cannot perish. You're clean. Jesus said, I have already washed you through my word which I have spoken. Get over your filthiness. Get over the fact that you stumble. Embrace the fact that you're justified through faith and get on with Christian living. Instead of going back over and over and over to, I don't know if he accepts me. He has already put a sign on you that says, I only accept people once. And it's through faith alone. Get on with it. Hebrews chapter 10 verse 23 says, hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promises faithful. And baptism is a faithful witness to all who will receive the promise by faith As certainly as you are touched without water for cleansing, so truly I have washed away your sins and I will finish my work of sanctification in you. And it comes to be that even though, I give you an example from the Lord's Supper, even though I'm not partaking of the Lord's Supper when I eat just common bread, sometimes bread makes me think about the supper and I'm reminded, oh God, I thank you that we have communion with you. How much more in the actual act of communion? but also water. It wouldn't be to your benefit that as often as you shower or wash your hands that you remember, I've been baptized with something far better. It's not for occasional use to remember your baptism. At first I thought it was unrelated to the sermon, but just this morning I was walking, I was up in the morning walking the dog and I was thinking about sermon prep and thinking about how unworthy I am to preach because of my sins. I'm thinking about particular sins from this past week and then having to say to myself, he wasn't lying when he said that we are clean and that he will clean us. And yet it is so easy to make God seem stingy with grace and he's not. Question and answer 69 of the catechism. Look at me there. Question 69, how does holy baptism remind and assure you that Christ's one sacrifice on the cross benefits you personally. And note, this is spoken of people who have faith. The whole context of the catechism presumes faith. In this way, Christ instituted this outward washing and with it promised that as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and His spirit wash away my soul's impurity, that is, all my sins. How does your baptism benefit you? I hope that when you have this conversation with someone who's never been baptized or maybe with a person who comes from a different Christian background within the broader tradition, maybe a Roman Catholic who thinks that their baptism itself cleanses original sin, then you speak with them about faith. Maybe you're speaking with a Baptist who predominantly, in many cases, this was me, thought of it as a commitment they made. Then you can say, for me, according to the scripture, baptism is God's comforting sign that he truly will cleanse me through faith. He's begun it, he will finish it. That's an everyday benefit. May God grant that to us. Let's ask him for it even now. Heavenly Father, thank you, oh Lord, for speaking to weak people Not only through words, but tangibly through these signs, we ask, Father, that you would please teach us and remind us and empower us to make proper use of the sacrament of baptism and to know how to spread this joy to others. Help us, Lord, if we have not yet been baptized to take seriously that duty. Help us, O Lord, if we would call ourselves disciples at all. to seek to live a constantly cleansed life. Help us, O Lord, to know in time how to explain these things to our children. Heavenly Father, for Christ's glory we ask these. In His name we pray, amen.