Yeah, I was trying to hit it all on the piano yesterday, I was like, ugh.
The practice is happy.
Yes, it is.
Happy.
Yeah, I think everyone's getting better, like knocking off the rug really fast.
Yeah.
I know I can't feed y'all up in that and I can't feed it to your forehand.
Good morning.
Welcome to Steadfast Baptist Church.
You can turn your song books to song number two, Glory to His Name.
Song two in your hymn books, Glory to His Name.
Song number two, Glory to His Name.
Song number two.
Down at the cross where my Savior died, Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His Name.
Glory to His Name.
There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His Name.
Song number two on the second.
I am so wondrously saved from sin, Jesus so sweetly abides within,
There at the cross where He took me in, Glory to His Name.
Glory to His Name.
There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His Name.
O precious fountain that saves from sin, I am so glad I have entered in,
There Jesus saves me and keeps me clean, Glory to His Name.
Glory to His Name.
There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His Name.
On the last.
Come to this fountain so rich and sweet, Cast thy poor soul at the Savior's feet,
Plunge in today and be made complete, Glory to His Name.
Glory to His Name.
There to my heart was the blood applied, Glory to His Name.
All right, let's have a word of prayer.
Lord, thank you so much for this day and thank you for Steadfast Baptist Church.
Pray that you bless every single person here and also those that are sick and can't make it this morning.
Pray that you help them to feel better and be back in the house of God soon.
Pray that you bless this day and these services, and in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
All right, for our second song, we'll go to 379, Bringing in the Sheaves.
Song 379, Bringing in the Sheaves.
Song 379.
Song 999.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows, Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze.
By and by the harvest and the labor ended, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master, Though the law sustained, our spirit often grieves.
When our weeping's over, He will bid us welcome.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
Bringing in the sheaves.
We shall come rejoicing.
On the inside we have our service and soul winning times as well as our church stats.
And also on the right hand side we have our list of expecting ladies. Please keep all of them in your prayers.
We also have our prayer list which we have several prayer requests if you'd make sure to please keep them in your prayers.
If you have any additional prayer requests please submit those to us so we can try to add those in the bulletin.
And go over those on our Bible study on Wednesday night.
Also we have a couple upcoming events.
We have Brother Deacon, I always call him Brother Deacon, but it's just Deacon Oliver Gonzalez.
And he's from Verity Baptist Church and he's a really great guy.
And so it's exciting that he's going to be coming out here and preaching for us.
We're actually going to be having a luncheon that day as well.
And we've ordered some guest cards. We should be getting those hopefully Monday or Tuesday.
So on Wednesday and next Sunday you can get a special handout.
There's just kind of an invitation for that service.
And we're going to be having a luncheon right after following the morning service.
And so please stick around for that. Please invite people if you'd like to.
And then also we have our Solemnity Marathon in Shreveport, Louisiana September 11th.
Also October 6th to the 10th we have our Firebreathing Baptist Fellowship.
So lots of exciting events there.
On the back we have the best announcement.
Congratulations to the Urbanic family on Titus Jackson.
He was born 7-21 at 2-24 p.m.
That's interesting. Afternoon baby.
And he was 6 pounds 13 ounces and 20 inches long.
So congratulations to them.
And that's pretty much all I have for announcements at this time.
We'll go ahead and go to our third song.
Song number five.
When I survey the wondrous cross.
Song number five.
Song five.
When I survey the wondrous cross.
Song number six.
When I survey the wondrous cross.
On which the prince of glory died.
My richest gain I count but loss.
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it Lord that I should boast.
Save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most.
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See from his head, his hands, his feet.
Sorrow and love flow mingle down.
Love and sorrow mean.
Or thoughts composed so rich a crown.
Were the whole realm of nature mine.
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine.
Demands my soul, my life, my own.
While the offering plates are being passed around,
please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter three.
That's Matthew chapter three.
Matthew three, the Bible reads.
In those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea.
And saying, repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
For this is he that was spoken by the prophet Asias saying,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness,
prepare ye the way of the Lord.
Make his paths straight.
And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair
and a leathern girdle about his loins
and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea
and all the region round about Jordan.
And were baptized of them in Jordan confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism,
he said unto them, O generation of vipers,
who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth their four fruits, meet for repentance,
and think not to save within yourselves.
We have Abraham to our father,
for I say unto you that God is able of these stones
to raise up children unto Abraham.
And now also the axe is laid under the root of the trees,
therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down and cast into the fire.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance,
but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire,
whose fan is in his hand,
and he will thoroughly purge his floor
and gather his wheat into the garner,
but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John,
to be baptized of him.
But John forbade him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee,
and comest thou to me?
And Jesus answering said unto him,
Suffer it to be so now,
for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.
Then he suffered him.
And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water,
and lo, the heavens were open unto him.
And he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove
and lighting upon him,
and lo, a voice from heaven, saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Let's bow our heads for a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you for Matthew chapter 3
and for the story here in this chapter.
I pray that you fill Pastor Shelley with your spirit now
and give him clarity of mind
so that he can preach his sermon for us
boldly this morning,
and I also pray that you help us
to pay close attention to the message
so we can apply it to our lives.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
Amen.
Amen. Let's look back at verse number 16.
The Bible reads,
And Jesus, when he was baptized,
went up straightway out of the water,
and lo, the heavens were open unto him,
and he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove and lighting upon him.
So we have a story here in the Bible
where Jesus Christ is being baptized
by John the Baptist,
and the title of my sermon this morning
is just simply baptism.
It's baptism,
and I want to talk about baptism
from the biblical perspective here,
but a lot of people have different ideas
as far as what baptism truly is,
but the Bible is very clear on what baptism is,
and we see here in the Bible
that Jesus Christ is coming out of the water,
picturing a very important aspect of baptism,
that baptism is by immersion,
and that's what we believe as Baptists,
that baptism is by immersion,
and this is a picture we find in the Bible over and over,
yet there's so many Christians today
that really don't even believe this just very simple point
that baptism is by immersion today,
and what I want you to do is go,
if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter number 10 for a moment.
I'll go to 1 Corinthians chapter number 10,
but I have three points this morning.
The first point I have is the practice of baptism,
and we want to understand how we're supposed to practice baptism
according to the Bible,
not what the world says.
Now, if I look up the word baptism, baptize,
or some similar term in a dictionary today,
they'll say, oh, it's the practice of a religious baptism,
which can be by immersion or christening or sprinkling,
and really you can tell that the dictionary
has been heavily influenced by the fact
that there's so many Christian denominations today
that don't actually believe that baptism is by immersion,
but baptism can only be by immersion
whenever you let the Bible define the word for you,
because we see as a very clear picture in the Bible
of what baptism truly is,
and so I reject the idea that it could ever be christening or sprinkling.
That's simply not baptism,
and you can find in the Bible
many times where the Bible uses the word sprinkling
to denote sprinkling,
so it would be silly to say that God really meant sprinkling
in the Bible whenever he said baptism
when he actually does use that word in other places.
No, they're just two different words.
To sprinkle is to lightly throw some water on you
or something like this,
whereas baptism is a picture of a full immersion
where you're completely surrounded by water on all sides,
and many churches, like the Catholic Church,
do not practice baptism by immersion today.
Now, I'm sure you could find some random Catholic that does it.
I've seen these weird videos where they sprinkle
and then dunk the baby all at the same time,
and they do it three times,
because they're grabbing little babies,
and they're like, in the name of the Father, in the name of the Son,
and the kid's just wailing,
and it's just weird.
A lot of stores sell christening outfits and things like that,
and really, the majority of Catholics, though,
don't practice a full immersion baptism.
Also, Anglican or Episcopal churches,
they don't practice immersion by and large.
Lutherans do not practice baptism by immersion in large.
Methodists do not practice baptism by immersion.
They sprinkle, and many Orthodox do not as well.
Now, I'm sure you could find a random Methodist, Orthodox, Lutheran, whatever.
I'm just saying, by and large,
these denominations do not baptize by immersion,
and yet the Bible pictures this full encompassing of water
consistently throughout the Bible.
Now, I want to first show you a few pictures
that the Bible brings up about baptism to illustrate this.
Look at 1 Corinthians 10, verse 1.
More were brethren.
I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud,
and all passed through the sea,
and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
So the Bible brings up baptism,
and it's specifically talking about Moses and the children of Israel.
Now, what's the event that they're alluding to,
or is being brought up here,
is their parting of the Red Sea and them walking through.
They're passing from Egypt into the wilderness,
and the Bible is saying that they have water on what?
On the sides, which is the sea.
But not only they have water on the sides,
it has a picture of water above them, which is the cloud of God.
The Bible talks about God being this cloudy pillar,
and how he was passing over and leading them by the day.
So they basically are covered by water on all sides,
picturing baptism.
Because that's what baptized means,
is to be fully immersed or to be fully covered.
Now, go, if you would, to 1 Peter,
chapter number 3 for a moment, 1 Peter, chapter number 3.
Now, baptism, I'll say this, is not only water,
because baptism, if you just look,
just kind of take it as a basic word,
it just really means to be fully immersed.
You could be fully immersed, though,
in all kinds of different things.
It could be water, it could be dirt, it could be fire.
You know, the Bible brings up these three things
as possible baptisms.
You could be full of the Holy Ghost.
The Bible talks about a baptism of the Holy Spirit,
or of the Holy Ghost.
The Bible also talks about the baptism of repentance,
and we're going to get there and talk about these things.
But when it comes to water baptism,
and what we believe as the practice of Baptists today,
is that it is a full immersion,
otherwise you're destroying the picture
that God clearly gives us throughout the Bible of being baptized.
1 Peter, chapter 3, look at verse 20.
Which sometime were disobedient,
when once the longsuffering of God
weighed in the days of Noah,
while the ark was a-preparing,
wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water.
The like figure, whereinto even baptism,
doth also now save us,
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, what's important about this is,
first of all, the Bible talks about baptism being a figure.
Figure meaning a picture.
You know, this is some kind of a picture here.
And it talks about the world that was covered in water,
and really, what's that a picture of?
It's a picture of baptism,
because the entire earth was literally immersed in water,
was completely covered in water.
The Bible says all the high hills,
even up to the highest point, the highest peak,
it was 15 cubits above,
is what the Bible describes as the entire earth was baptized by water.
And so, here's another picture of the word baptism,
being used in the same context of a full immersion.
You know, it wasn't just a sprinkling.
It wasn't a light shower.
Obviously, it did rain, but it rained so much,
and the fountains of the earth were bust open so much
that the entire earth was fully submerged,
fully immersed in the water.
It wasn't just a light sprinkling or a little shower that came by.
No, the entire earth was covered in water.
That's what baptism is.
Go to 2 Peter, chapter 3, just flip the page.
And look how it describes it in 2 Peter, chapter 3, verse 5.
It says,
For this they willingly are ignorant of,
that by the word of God the heavens were of old,
and the earth standing out of the water and in the water,
whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, perished.
So notice how the Bible describes it in this place.
It's saying it was overflowed.
So we have a picture of baptism,
and in fact, some baptists,
baptisteries or baptisms, they overflow.
Hey, when I was at Pure Words,
Brother Sampson overflowed the tub, okay?
And you know, even when we were at Red Hot Preaching Conference,
a couple people, you know,
whenever they dip them down,
it kind of overflowed the tub a little bit.
Why? Because it's a picture of full immersion.
That's why you want to fill it all the way to the brim,
because you're putting a person all the way down into it, right?
Go to Colossians, chapter 2.
But the Bible makes it clear that baptism is a full immersion.
Every picture we have about baptism,
bringing up baptism, is a full immersion.
So it'd be silly to look at all the clear pictures
the Bible's painting for us,
illustrating how everything's covered with water completely,
to then say, oh, let's just sprinkle.
Oh, let's just christen, or let's just, you know,
drop a little bit of water, let's get a water gun
and just shoot them or something.
You know, it's silly, and again,
it also said it was a like figure, meaning what?
That this is picturing something.
There's something about why you would be fully emerged
or fully submerged that's important
and it's to picture Christ's death.
Because the Bible, you know, has that picture
of his death, burial, and resurrection.
Now fortunately for us in baptism,
we bring them back out of the water, okay?
It's not just a dunking down in,
no, it's a bringing them back up,
showing what?
The full picture of the gospel,
the death, burial, and resurrection.
Whereas sprinkling, a water gun, christening, all these,
that picture's completely destroyed.
You don't now have the picture of being buried with Christ,
and this is what the Bible clearly teaches,
is the importance aspect of the figure of baptism.
Look at Colossians chapter two, verse 12.
Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also you're risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God
who hath raised him from the dead.
So again, the Bible's bringing up the whole purpose,
the whole picture of baptism is what?
That you would be buried with him
and that you'd be risen again.
Again, that's the whole picture or figure of baptism.
Go to Mark chapter number one,
go to Mark chapter number one.
Now, again, I don't want to say that
any doctrine we believe is solely based on pictures
because we want clear statements as well.
However, the pictures are really clear.
I mean, the pictures are abounding right now
and they make perfect sense
and they fit perfectly together with our dialogue.
And show me the sprinkling picture,
show me the christening picture in the New Testament,
show me where it brings up the word baptism
and then illustrates a picture of a sprinkling
or illustrates a picture of a christening
that just doesn't happen.
It's always a picture of a full submersion,
immersion, something like that.
Look what it says in Mark chapter one, verse number nine.
And it came to pass in those days
that Jesus came from Nazareth the Galilee
and was baptized of John and Jordan
and straightway coming up out of the water
he saw the heavens open
and the spirit like a dove descending upon him
and there came a voice from heaven saying
thou art my beloved son and whom I am well pleased.
So again, it makes it clear
that Jesus came out of the water
and why is it that they would be going into a river
if all they had to do was sprinkle?
If all they had to do was christen?
Like it seems pretty inefficient
to have to go all the way out in the wilderness
into a river and then get into the river
so as to get baptized.
Yet it's funny because there's movies
where they'll illustrate Jesus
you know this long-haired hippie they call Jesus
it's not what he really looked like
but in those movies they'll go into the water
and then John the Baptist will just pour some water on his head
or like sprinkle him while he's in the water
and it was like couldn't you just done that standing on the shore?
It was like that was kind of weird
why would you get all the way in the water
and then not just go ahead and dunk him?
Or they'll do both
they'll like kind of sprinkle and then they'll dunk
and it's just like we want to be friends with everyone
you know?
But this is an important doctrine
and this is a part of separation when it comes to our church
you know I don't want to be yoked up
with churches that don't baptize correctly
go to John chapter number 3
I want to show you again
the emphasis of baptism being with lots of water
you know?
And again there's lots of different viewpoints out there
and there's lots of different doctrines out there
and not everyone is worthy of separating on
but I believe baptism is
hence the name
Baptist
there's a reason why we're called Baptist
I mean if you go into a Baptist church
you should expect something that they're going to baptize by immersion
I mean
God forbid they would ever get to a point where Baptists don't even believe in this doctrine
but you know it's important that we teach this
even if it's a really basic or a fundamental truth
so as that we teach the next generation the importance of baptism
so we show them why that we get baptized
and the importance of it
because so many people have been sprinkled
or they've been christened
yet they weren't biblically baptized growing up
I mean who was sprinkled
or christened or something as a child or whatever
I mean it seems like almost a third of the people here
were christened and sprinkled
I know lots of people that were
and you know it's a pretty common thing to happen
but it's not biblical
John chapter 3 look at verse 23
and John also is baptizing an anon near to Salem
because there was much water there
and they came or baptized
it's not only John baptizing in the river, Jordan
also in this other place
why?
because there's much water there
now again if you're doing this sprinkling ritual
if you're doing this sprinkling tradition or christening
you don't need the much water
but if you're dunking people
you have to have much water
you know some people are big and tall
you know
Pastor Aaron Thompson I mean you need much water
you can't just do that in the kiddie pool
I mean that's not gonna work
you gotta have a river or a lake
you gotta have something where there's a lot of substance of water here
not a little puddle or something like that
and at the end of the day
the importance here is the fact that they have much water
go to Acts chapter 8
let's see another instance here
but you never see someone getting baptized
where they say you know what I have a cup of water here
hey see here's a cup of water
what what does hinder me to sprinkle you
what does hinder me to christen you or whatever
that never happens
whenever they want to get baptized they're like let's go find a river
let's go find a lake
let's go find some body of water
you say well why are they doing that
because they have to be immersed that's why
otherwise it would make no sense as to why they would have to travel
all the way in the night or something or going way off
to get baptized
look what it says in Acts chapter 8 verse 36
and as they went on their way
there came unto a certain water
and the eunuch said see here is water
what doth hinder me to be baptized
so he's like saying well I want to be fully immersed
here's the water what's stopping me
verse 37 and Philip said if thou believeth with all thine heart thou mayest
and he answered and said I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God
and he commanded the chariot to stand still
and they went down both into the water
both Philip and the eunuch
and he baptized them
now again what's the point of going into the water
if you're not going to be immersed
I mean riddle me this
yet you watch Catholic services where they do these christening services
they just have a little you know fountain or something
or they have a little thing where they just have the water
they get a little cup or they get some kind of a pitcher or something
and they get a little water and they sprinkle and they drop it on there
you could do that anywhere
you wouldn't need the much water if that was the purpose
or if that was the point
and look it's not holy water
okay they didn't do any
they're getting it from a garden hose
okay
but at the end of the day
you know they do need much water
it's not so much about the water being special
or it happened to be a particular
it could be salt water it could be fresh water
it doesn't really matter
the mattering is the fact that it's all of it there to encompass you
for you to be fully immersed or submerged into the water
and notice they had to go down into the water to get baptized
look at verse number 12 also
I want to show you another verse here
it says
but when they believed Philip preaching things concerning the kingdom of God
and the name of Jesus Christ
they were baptized both men and women
so we have earlier in the chapter
it's saying
hey once people believed
then they got baptized
then we also have later in the chapter
a guy saying
hey what's stopping me from getting baptized
and he's saying well you got to believe first
because that's the whole point
is that you're pitching the death, burial, and resurrection
the gospel
what benefit is it for someone who does not believe the gospel
to then get baptized
and yet
churches all over
you know what they do is they sprinkle and baptize babies
but a baby cannot
understand the gospel
it can't believe the gospel yet
and so therefore it's meaningless
to sprinkle or even immerse in water at that point
you need to wait until the person believes the gospel
to then baptize
so you have two requirements
faith and enough water
I mean basically once you have those two elements
now it's possible for someone to be baptized
but without those two
it's not a real baptism according to the Bible
and when it comes to the practice of baptism
we baptize people that are already saved
and we have to dunk them in water
now another aspect of our practice though
go if you would to Matthew 28 for a moment
is what we would say when we baptize someone
now you say well how do you determine what to say
is it just as the spirit leads
no I just look to what the Bible says
I look to what Jesus Christ told us about baptism
look at what it says in Matthew 28 verse 19
go ye therefore and teach all nations
baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
so Jesus told us that we should baptize
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
now some people get really superstitious
about the wording when it comes to baptism
and they get confused about what this even is saying
or what this is even meaning
and typically the people that are really screwed up on this
are one that's been a Costals
but go if you would to Acts chapter 19
go to Acts chapter 19
I believe that it's biblical
to invoke the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
when you baptize
that's an important aspect of baptism
that's why when we baptize
we baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
or if you want to say Holy Spirit
I think that's a fine substitute
but as long as you're referencing all three
but again the importance of Matthew 19
is not so much the exact name per se
it's more like the authority and the power of
because really we're doing this in the authority of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
He's the one that gave us this authority
and it's not so much naming the name
because the name of the Son is Jesus
and when I baptize
I don't say Jesus necessarily
I don't say I'm baptizing the name of the Father
and the name of Jesus Christ
and the name of the Holy Ghost
I'm really referencing more their authority
their position
I'm doing it on their behalf
is really what that's emphasizing and is bringing up
now in the book of Acts
many times it'll say that someone was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
or they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus
and so people get superstitious about that wording
and they'll say, have you been baptized in Jesus' name?
but here's the thing
that's kind of a weird straw man argument
because number one
nowhere in the Bible does it have a clear instruction as far as saying
you must be baptized in Jesus' name
it doesn't say that
it did tell us to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost
and when you go through the book of Acts again
it doesn't ever say the exact same phrase every single time
it doesn't say, and they baptize in Jesus' name
and then they baptize in Jesus' name
no, it's like, and they baptize in the name of Jesus Christ
or they baptize in the name of the Lord Jesus
or they baptize in the name of the Lord
meaning it wasn't a verbatim quote that he's referencing there
it's more the fact of the authority
and the fact that it's representing
or on the behalf of Christ
or the fact that these people have trusted in Christ
that's what's really being referenced and brought up
now I'm going to point to a verse where I believe
it helps us understand what they were saying, though
whenever they would baptize
because if baptism is as opposed, Matthew 28, verse 19
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
then it would make sense
if you've been baptized, that you've heard
the words, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
right? Because you heard it right before you got baptized
or as you were being baptized in the practice
but look at Acts chapter 19 and look at what it says in verse number 1
And it came to pass
that while Apollos is at Corinth
Paul having passed through the upper coast came to Ephesus
and finding certain disciples
he said unto them
have ye received the Holy Ghost
since ye believed?
and they said unto him
we have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost
and he said unto them
unto what then were ye baptized?
now he's saying like this doesn't make any sense
how can you be baptized
and you've never even heard of the Holy Ghost ever
because he's saying that's incompatible
he's like what baptism did you have?
and then they bring up the baptism of John
now that kind of makes sense because
we don't really see Jesus Christ
giving the commission of Matthew 28
until after John the Baptist
after John the Baptist has died
so it stands to reason
that whatever John the Baptist said
at his baptism
may not have been the name of the Father
the Son and the Holy Ghost
but for sure Paul is thinking
if anybody's been baptized any time recently
they've heard the name of the Father
the Son and the Holy Ghost
and especially when he's going out here
through Gentile areas
you know this isn't the group that came
to John the Baptist's baptism necessarily
or you wouldn't be thinking that's the group
that necessarily came
you're thinking this is the group of the Gentiles
or Jews that were there amongst the Gentiles
living dispersed or something
so it was kind of a weird phenomena
where he says oh you've seen these people
have been baptized or you've been baptized
yet you've never even heard of the Holy Ghost
that's again to reference the fact that
I believe we should say
in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost
when we baptize and that's what I do say
and I try to say that every single time
to the best of my ability
and some people would say
well what about saying the name Jesus?
but here's the thing
it's not about the specific name
or the specific title
there's a lot of names to God too
you know you could call him Jehovah
God Almighty
there's the Holy Spirit, there's the Holy Ghost
it's not so much about saying a special
incantation or a special name
it's really that you're doing it in the authority
of these three persons
and we're giving reference to those three distinct persons
that's the real emphasis here
people that are one to Pentecostals though
they don't believe in three persons
they don't believe in the Trinity
they believe they're all the same
so that's why they just say in the name of Jesus
because they think that the name of the Father
the name of the Son
and the name of the Holy Ghost is Jesus
which really just takes the Bible
and just turns it upside down
and just like ruins all of the Bible
now go if you would to Mark chapter 16
Mark chapter 16
I'm not going to spend a lot of time debunking that
that's a different sermon
that would be more about the Trinity specifically
but if you believe in the Trinity
you can't just baptize in Jesus' only name
because now you're leaving out the Father
now you're leaving out the Holy Ghost
and you say well why
why do you reject that one is Pentecostals?
because they're unsaved
they believe you can lose your salvation
they're a bunch of toddler talking
demonic acting, unsaved heretics is what they are
going around on stage
it's like you're not saved
you don't even know what you're saying
my toddler sounds more American than you do
it's like these people just get up
and they say weird junk
and either number one they're faking it
or they're possessed with the devil
but in both cases I want to reject that
I want nothing to do with the person that's getting up and faking it
and when it comes to the most fraudulent people that have been caught
with all these embezzling schemes
and all these money laundering schemes
it's all these televangelists who are charismatic
that's who it is
that's the group
that's the people that are doing this
it's funny how the people who fake being a godly person
and fake it on TV to make a bunch of money
are the same people
who are faking all these tongue experiences
and all these charismatic gifts and whatever
because it's the same person that's a faker
it's the same person that gets up there
and pretends to be something that he's not
and look the Bible
nowhere in the Bible does it say talk like a toddler
you know the Bible emphasizes wisdom and instruction and understanding
and in fact when people did speak with other tongues
everybody was amazed
not sitting there thinking like these guys are drunk and idiots
I mean they did say they were drunk
but that was because they didn't understand their language
but I'm saying when they would come and talk to somebody in another language
and that person did understand
they weren't saying they were drunk
they weren't saying that these persons weird
they were saying wow the wonderful works of God
now obviously if I got up and started speaking in Chinese
it could sound like that to you
or you'd be like what happened to Pastor Shelley
but it'd be blasphemous to say someone was drunk
when they're filled with the Holy Spirit preaching in another tongue or another language
now it says in Mark chapter 16
in verse 16 this is what it says
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved
but he that believeth not shall be damned
now point one was the practice of baptism
and I want to emphasize this again
we baptize people that are saved
we baptize them by fully immersing in water
and we invoke or are under the authority of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
but one thing that's clear about the purpose of baptism
is that it's not to get saved
yet people believe this all day long
and they'll point to this verse
they'll point to Mark chapter 16 verse 16
and look they kind of have two verses in the Bible
where it kind of on the surface looks like maybe baptism might be a part of salvation
I mean if I'd never heard anything in the Bible
if I'd never seen anything in the Bible, read any verses
and you showed me this verse in isolation
I would say well it kind of sounds like you need to be baptized to be saved
so I kind of see where they're coming from
from that perspective
but then when I've read any other parts of the Bible
or seen any other salvation verses
I'm noticing that baptism is never a part of it
and it'd be silly to say well there's a hundred verses on how to be saved
one of them brings up baptism
therefore it must be necessary
whereas the other option
the more logical conclusion
is that baptism is not a part of salvation
and it just happens to be included in this one particular verse
now I'll explain why I believe it's in this verse
and explain how this is not part of salvation though
back up one verse
look at verse 15
and he said unto them go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved
but he that believeth not shall be damned
so he's telling them to preach the gospel
then in the next breath he's saying the person that believes and is baptized is going to be saved
but the one that doesn't believe is going to be damned
well first of all you do have to believe the gospel to be saved
that's heavily emphasized in the Bible
and when we think about baptism
why would he even bring this up in his breath
well he's not saying that you must be baptized
he's just saying someone that believes and is baptized is going to be saved
now here's the thing
that's a true statement
if you believe the gospel and you've been baptized
you're going to be saved
I mean is there anything wrong with that statement
I mean are you going to really argue with me and say people that have believed the gospel and been baptized are not going to get to heaven for some reason
they're for sure going to heaven
so the statement in and of itself is true
now what's the second statement
but he that believeth not shall be damned
now notice it does not bring up a person who believes and is not baptized
it only brings up a person who is not believed
that's also true
someone who's never believed the gospel
is not going to be saved
so really we have a third person that we don't know about
what about the person that believes and is not baptized
what would happen to this person
well go if you would to first corinthians chapter number one now
go to first corinthians chapter one
but remember he's bringing up the gospel
you say well why would someone you know add you know baptism into that statement
well you got to think about at that time
you know what would be a good indication
or what would be a public way to make it known that you've trusted in Christ
isn't baptism like the best way to let that be known
I mean if you're going to say hey I'm converting from all these pagan gods to christianity
what would be the most obvious sign of that wouldn't it be being baptized
and you know the bible emphasizes baptism
now some aspects of the bible are not emphasizing the gospel
okay as far as how to get saved
some parts of the bible are emphasizing other things
they're emphasizing other important factors
some parts of the bible are emphasizing following all of God's commandments
some parts of the bible are emphasizing how to raise a godly family
some parts of the bible
so again when it comes to Matthew, Mark, and Luke
I'll say this
I believe that what's being emphasized is really the whole package
you know think about Matthew 28 19 verse 20
the great commission
the great commission is not just getting saved
it's getting people saved and baptized and teaching them the whole bible
it's kind of emphasizing the whole package and everything
there are parts of the bible though
that do make it clear
the minimum requirements of salvation
or what's the very minimal thing that you have to do to be saved
or what must I do to be saved
it's called Acts chapter 16 verse 30 and 31
when he asked
what must I do to be saved
and they said believe on the lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved
he didn't say also get baptized
now that would have been confusing
if when he said what must I do to be saved
then he brought up baptism
that would be confusing
because that's not what the other verses in the bible emphasize or say
or bring up
but again
you know if someone came to me and said hey pastor Shelly
you know what should I do in my life
and I say well you should believe the gospel
you should get baptized
you should join a church
I'm not going to just sit here and say
you should only believe in Jesus
that's it
you know obviously you should
that's the most important thing
but if someone was kind to me and saying like what should I do in my life
I might add more things than just getting saved wouldn't I
because that's just logical
that you may bring that up
but that doesn't mean that's a requirement to get saved
and you also have to be careful sometimes when you knock on the door someone
asking them about salvation
they may get confused
and add stuff to the gospel
not thinking it's what's necessary for salvation
they're just bringing up anything
they're just like well you should go to church
you should read the bible
you should be a good person
that's why you have to sometimes clarify like
well is that necessary for salvation
or is that just stuff we should do
you know
because sometimes they just bring up anything and everything you should do
right
but let me prove to you
that whenever he says
go out and preach the gospel to every creature
it's not baptism
like what it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 17
for Christ sent me not to baptize
but to preach the gospel
now what sense would it be in Mark chapter 15
when he says go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature
if what was necessary to be saved was baptism
for Paul to go out and preach the gospel and not do baptism then
he's like not getting people saved then
he's not getting them all the way to salvation
but basically what he's trying to say is
hey my main goal
my main purpose is to go out and preach the gospel
and get as many people to believe as fast as possible
not to worry about wandering out into the wilderness
and making sure they all get baptized
not making sure we find much water
and get them all baptized
rather than doing that myself
I could let someone else follow up and do that
and I can just keep working on getting as many people saved as possible
going around preaching the gospel
getting them saved
because admittedly baptism is a slower process than preaching the gospel
it's a lot easier for us to go out and get a lot of people saved
than to get them all baptized too
think about if every door after you got them saved
you now thought okay instead of going to the next door
we're going to wait until we get you baptized
wouldn't that slow down the process a little bit?
and when we have so many times
it's not pastor Shelley sent me out to baptize
pastor Shelley sent me out to preach the gospel
it's not to say that baptism isn't important
it's not to say that baptism isn't the best step after getting saved
it's saying that it's just not part of the gospel
but obviously if you believe and you're baptized you're saved
why? because whosoever believes in him should not perish
but have everlasting life is what the bible makes
very clear
go to Mark chapter number 1
go to Mark chapter 1
so in Mark chapter 16 it said
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved
but you know earlier in the book of Mark
it also brings up what you have to do to be saved
now let's see if it brings up baptism in the early part of Mark
Mark chapter 1 verse 15
and saying the time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God is at hand
repent ye and believe the gospel
so what was Christ going around trying to get people to do?
believe the gospel
he didn't bring up baptism though did he?
he wasn't saying you have to do this in order to get saved
go to Romans chapter 10 for a moment
go to Romans chapter number 10
and I'm kind of dancing around a little bit
but I want to show you a few different verses here
so before we discover what the real purpose of baptism is
I want to make it clear though
baptism does not save
because that's what a lot of people will teach
that's what a lot of people emphasize, believe
I've met Baptists at the door
I've met other denominations at the door
that say you have to be baptized to be saved
and the Bible makes it clear that the only thing you have to do to be saved
is believing the gospel
now obviously getting baptized isn't going to change
if you're saved or not
isn't going to stop you from being saved
or if you believe but don't get baptized
you're not going to not get to heaven
so baptism, while it's very important
has no impact on whether or not you're saved
but if you believe that baptism is necessary for salvation
that's actually a problem
when you start trying to say that baptism is necessary to be saved
or you believe you have to be baptized to be saved
that's where you start changing the gospel message
you start adding some kind of a work to salvation
and now no longer are you believing the right gospel
now what it says in Romans chapter 10 verse 16
but have they not obeyed the gospel?
now I bring up this verse for this reason
the people that add baptism as a necessary requirement to salvation
they never stop there
the people that really believe this heavily are the church of Christ
and there's other people that believe this
but a church of Christ will teach you have to be baptized to be saved
but they never stop there
and then they bring up all these other verses
about stuff like, well, you've got to obey the gospel
and they'll say you've got to be faithful unto the gospel
and the Bible does say you have to obey the gospel
but you know what?
it defines what obedience to the gospel actually looks like
what did it say?
it said, who hath believed our report?
so notice what obedience to the gospel is
believing it!
that's why it says in the next verse
so then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God
so you hear the gospel
and then what's obeying the gospel?
believing the gospel
putting your faith and your trust in the gospel
it has nothing to do with then getting baptized
it has nothing to do with then being faithful for the rest of your life
no, obeying the gospel is strictly believing on the Lord Jesus Christ
that's why it also says in verse 9
that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and shalt believe in thine art that God hath raised him from the dead
thou shalt be saved
now where in this verse did it say get baptized?
where did it say here go to church?
where did it say here be a good person?
where did it say here repent of all your sins?
it didn't say any of that
because none of that's necessary for salvation
so we must believe all the verses of the Bible
not just the ones that fit our doctrine
you know, someone that believes baptism is necessary for salvation
yeah, they could look at Mark 16 16
but then how do they believe this verse?
you know what they'll say?
they'll say, well you have to take the whole of scripture brother
and it's like I am
but my doctrine believes all verses
your doctrine rejects 99% of verses about salvation
that's why it's a dangerous heresy
and it says very clearly in verse 13
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved
it didn't say whosoever gets baptized
whosoever comes up out of the water
because that would be unfortunate for a lot of people
the thief on the cross
I mean how is he going to get baptized?
and it's funny because you bring that up and they're like, oh well that's an exception
you bring that up to the church of Christ
and they're like, well he would have gotten baptized
you know, it's like
how do you know that?
I mean, well then is it really necessary if he didn't have to and he still got to heaven then?
and again, it's like, well we believe it's really important
okay, so do we
I think everybody should get baptized
hey, and if there was a way to get that guy baptized on the cross
you know, while he was hanging there, do it
but if not, you know, you don't have to
and again, it's weird because
when you bring up the fact that you don't have to
people are like, oh you're really de-emphasizing baptism
look, the name of our church is called Steadfast Baptist Church
I'm not really de-emphasizing it
but I am putting it in its proper role, in its proper place
the fact that it has nothing to do with being saved
go to Acts chapter 2
and we'll see another verse that people bring up
now, Acts chapter number 2
you could look at it a few different ways
but I think the easiest way to look at it
is just like Mark 16 16
whereas Mark 16 16 is saying
hey, if you believe and your baptizer is saved
but did you have to get baptized?
no, he's just bringing up another thing
so in Acts chapter number 2, when Peter is talking to Jews
and he's trying to get them to actually believe in the Christ that they just crucified
they ask him this question like, what shall we do?
and you have to think about it again
was that question in reference to just going to heaven?
or just like, what should we do?
and Peter is going to bring up all the things that they should do
ok, it says in verse 38
then Peter said to them, repent
and be baptized to everyone even in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
now, I'll say this
you don't have to be baptized
in order to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
but you do have to repent
now what was that repentance?
that repentance was the fact that they crucified Jesus
now they actually have to believe in him
now they actually have to put their trust in him
because their repentance here is in reference to changing their mind about who Christ was
and deciding to put all their faith in that death, burial and resurrection
as their means of salvation
but again, if someone came up to me and they're like
hey Pastor Shelley, what should I do?
I'm like, well let's get saved and then we'll baptize you
that makes logical sense
I mean if someone came to church and said
hey, brother Dylan, what should I do?
and he's like, you should get saved
and you should get baptized
and he could say, you should repent
and you should get baptized
and then, you know what, let's go soul-wanting
and then someone will accuse me
you believe that people have to go soul-wanting to be saved
you say, that's silly
I literally had someone tell me that
because they're just not, you know
taking the whole of what I say, right?
because again, I don't believe you have to be baptized
or soul-wanting to be saved
all you have to do is trust Christ
and again, Peter believes the same thing
look at verse 21 in the same chapter
and it shall come to pass
that whosoever shall call in the name of the Lord shall be saved
does that sound like a different gospel than what we read in Romans chapter number 10?
or the exact same?
again, it's the exact same
but when they bring up this question
they didn't say, sirs, what must I do to be saved?
they didn't say, what's necessary to have eternal life?
they didn't say, what's the only requirement to go to heaven?
they said, hey, what shall we do?
you know, now that we've killed Jesus, what do we do now?
you know, and it's like, well repent
and then get baptized and receive the holy gift
I mean, if you go to Acts chapter number 10
you see a group of Gentiles
believe on Christ, start speaking in tongues
and then they're like, well now we should baptize these guys
illustrating the fact that you don't even have to be baptized
to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
once you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit
you're going to heaven
I don't care if you get baptized or not
you've been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise
you're on your way to heaven
the Bible makes it clear you have everlasting life
there's no way to lose that
go to Acts chapter 13, I'll show you a verse here
Acts chapter number 13
the Bible is clear that salvation is by faith alone
now, should you get baptized?
yes you should
do you want every person saved to get baptized?
yes I do
but if every person I got saved or preached the gospel to never got baptized
I will still see all of them in heaven
even if they were sprinkled
sprinkling can't take away your salvation
it's just getting wet
if someone throws a water balloon and hits you in the face
it wasn't baptism
hopefully it was wet and not frozen
Acts chapter 13, look at verse 38
be it known unto you therefore men and brethren
that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins
so he's going to bring up the forgiveness of sins
which is necessary for salvation
verse 39, and by him
all that believe are justified from all things
from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses
so notice he's saying if you believe you're justified from everything
what else could be necessary then?
you don't need anything else
it was just you believed, now you're justified from everything
and he says specifically how you could not be justified by the law of Moses
meaning what?
no matter how much works you try to add
it's not going to help
it's not going to benefit and if you believe though in works
you're not going to be saved
now I alluded to this, I'm going to bring up a specific example
because you can go to a lot of different Church of Christ websites
and you'll find what they believe about salvation
and unfortunately people say oh they just add baptism
but here's the thing, every time I look it up
they add a lot more than just baptism
because as soon as you add one work
you usually just unload the truck and add them all
I mean it's just like in Acts chapter 15 when they bring up circumcision
but then they come back and they're like oh yeah and you have to keep the rest of the law too
because you never just have somebody say it's just like faith in one work
it's always faith in all the works
or all the commandments
or being perfect or faithful to the end
or some nonsense like that
and the Church of Christ are no different
now what you have to understand about Church of Christ is they're kind of like independent fundamental Baptists
in the sense that they have a little bit of autonomy
and they all vary a little bit in what they believe and how they operate
but a common denominator is baptism is necessary for salvation
and then beyond that a lot more
now if you go to their steps of salvation
I went to this particular Church of Christ steps of salvation
they had six
a lot of them have seven just depends on which one you're looking at
but this is what they say
number one you have to hear the gospel
you have to hear the word of God
now I agree with that
you do have to hear the word
because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God
they say number two to be saved you have to have belief or faith in the gospel
I agree again
third you have to repent or have repentance
now depending on you to define repentance I agree
the repentance that was brought in Acts chapter number two
amen
if what you mean by repent is stop trusting your works or in a false religion and believe in the gospel
that's exactly what repentance means for salvation
but that's not what they mean
let me give you a quote from their article
unfortunately
and this is talking about someone that gets baptized without repenting of their sins
says unfortunately such a person goes down into the water as a dry sinner and comes up a wet one
there is no deep lasting heart rendering
rendering life-changing response from the heart
brings up a lot of the heart
heart rendering response from the heart you know
this sounds like Bo Ballard's type of salvation here
but he's saying look here's the thing
if you believe in Christ
you are dead and you basically died to sin at that moment anyways
so you didn't go down a sinner and come back up a sinner
you know what and your new man you were already born again
so you were a new man and he went down and you came back up a new man
okay
and it's silly to say
well I was a sinner all my life
and then I got baptized and now I don't sin anymore
because isn't that what that would be implying
hey you went down to draw a sinner but you came up a wet one
that's a problem
look no one comes up not a sinner anymore
at least in their flash in their old man
I mean what person could get up and say
you know what I don't lie anymore
that's a lie
to say I've never had a foolish thought
I've never looked upon someone with lust
I've never been covetous
I've never you know and again we're talking about minor things
how about major things
people still steal and cheat and lie and commit fornication
and do drugs and drink alcohol
I mean the list goes on and on and on and on
I believe everybody sins every day
unless you're unconscious or something
but even then you probably had a bad dream
you know I don't know
I mean it's so foolish to get up and say
well I repented of my sins brother
no you didn't
you just added arrogance and pride to the list of your sins
is all you did and foolishness
you know there's no person that gave up all their sins
now look we should try
you know if you're drinking alcohol give it up
hey if you're committing fornication stop
hey if you're doing wicked things or evil things
stop doing it
but at the end of the day you're never going to repent of all your sins
you're never going to be perfect
you're never going to have that
work in your heart where no longer you want to sin
or something ridiculous like that
that's why we have to believe in Christ
that's the whole point
that you can't get there for all of sin
and come short of the glory of God
we have to put our trust in Jesus Christ
that's what really saves us
now go through a dilute chapter 3
I want to show you a few verses here
on repentance because they're bringing up repentance
as a necessary requirement to salvation
they're saying you got to hear you got to believe you got to repent
but when they say repent
the church of Christ doesn't mean
change your mind and believe the gospel
what they're saying is you know give up your sin
or feel really bad about your sin
and some people they try to like play both sides
they'll say well you don't have to give up all your sins to be saved
but you do have to feel really grieved in your heart brother
I mean there's got to be this just deep
just burning in your heart where you just feel so bad
I just I committed so many sins brother
and I just don't deserve that heaven
and that's how I know I got saved
you see I feel so bad about it
look I don't care if you're deadpan when you get saved
you don't have to sit there and have this emotional experience
it's not a country music song when you get saved
you know it's putting your faith in Christ
no matter how bad you feel about it
I mean Esau felt really bad about it
but then God didn't you know give him his repentance
you know Judas felt so bad about it he killed himself
yet he still went to hell
I mean plenty of people feel really bad about their sin
Pharaoh felt really bad about it when his son died
you know it's not about how bad you feel
and some people have this weird idea
they think that wicked people can't feel bad
look wicked people feel bad about their sin all the time
that's another punishment
it's just feeling like a piece of crap for doing all the sins that you do
I mean Pharaoh felt horrible
he's like you know the Lord's righteous I and my servants are wicked
is what he said
he realizes that he was evil
he realizes that he was a bad guy
you know when I run out to people soul winning
I ran into other people and they're really sinful
they'll say it
they'll say like I don't deserve that because I'm really sinful
you know I've been to jail and I've done all these wicked things or whatever
you know it's not like the wicked don't know that they're wicked or something
or they can't feel bad about their sin sometimes
they do
a lot of times they feel bad
I mean even Jeffrey Dahmer
the guy that was just like one of the worst psychopaths ever
I mean when he's in jail and he's on death row and all that kind of stuff
he's saying all kinds of stuff about how bad he feels about what he did
and you know what he did
he became Church of Christ
and people say oh look there's a picture of a reprobate getting saved
and it's like sorry he didn't
and you know what he felt really bad about his sin
he was really apologetic
he believed that Jesus you know was the Lord
but you know what
he never got saved because he didn't trust Christ as his savior alone
he believed in his baptism and turning over a new leaf
and in fact he wanted to die
when he got interviewed he said please kill me
because if you let me out I will continue to do this
and you know what he was a raging sodomite
who went around killing other sodomites
and eating them and all kinds of weird nonsense or whatever
and he says even though I feel really bad about it
and now I've turned to Christ or whatever
he says you let me out I'll still do it
you say why?
because he's a reprobate
because he's implacable
okay
being a sodomite
and it's not that he didn't feel bad about it
he did
but you know what
he's burning in hell
because he didn't believe the right gospel
he didn't have the true baptism of repentance
look what it says in Luke chapter 3 verse 3
and he came into all the country about Jordan preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins
and this is talking about John the Baptist
he was preaching the baptism of repentance
now go to Acts chapter 19
let me prove to you what this means actually
but if you go back to the beginning of my sermon
if you think about what I said
baptism doesn't have to be just water
it could be dirt
it could be fire
or it could be repentance as the Bible describes
now what would be fully immersed in repentance?
well in the context of salvation
for the remission of sins
because that's what John the Baptist was preaching about
that repentance has to be a what?
stop trusting in anything other than Christ
turn from that and believing only in Christ
this is also why it's important
when you're talking to a Catholic
or to any person that's Christian so-called
and they say
well I believe in Christ and works
so I'm safe
because I believe in both
wrong
you must have a baptism of repentance
you must reject all of the dead works
you must reject everything else that you're trusting in
and have a full immersion
and believing it's only in Christ
a full turning away from everything else
and only unto Jesus Christ
and believing in Him alone for salvation
you can't just
you can't be believing in yourself
or your catechism
or your pope
or your other religion
no, you have to have a full repentance
a full baptism as it were
not a sprinkling of it
but a full turn
and believing only in Christ
and you say
well how is that what that means?
well let's let the Bible define it for us
Acts chapter 19 verse 4
then said Paul
John verily baptized with a baptism of repentance
saying unto the people
that they should believe on him
which should come after him
that is unto Christ Jesus
so notice what he said you have to do
believe on Jesus Christ
that's what baptism of repentance even means
so properly defined
I agree with repentance
the problem with the church of Christ
is they say repentance is turning from your sin
giving up your sin which is impossible
no one could ever do that
go if you go to Luke
go if you would to Romans 5
you know there's another baptism that the Bible refers to
Luke chapter 12 verse 49 I'll read for you
Jesus speaking
I am come to send fire on the earth
and what will I
if it be already kindled
but I have a baptism to be baptized with
and how am I straightened till it be accomplished
so Jesus said he had a baptism to be baptized with
but what was that baptism?
it was his burial
that's what he was referring to
so Jesus Christ was buried in
well dirt quote unquote
but it's really in the tomb
in the cave
okay as it were
in the rock tomb
but that's where he was fully immersed
where he was fully surrounded
where he was baptized
he was baptized in death
his soul descended into hell
but after three days and three nights
it rose again
and so again
baptism is a full immersion
it's a full submerging
and it's not a turning from your sin
that gets you saved
it's a full trust in Christ
but the people that add baptism
they say
you have to hear the gospel
you have to believe
you have to repent
then number four
they say you have to confess
now I believe confession is part of believing
okay
and in fact that's how I describe it
I'll tell people
this is how you believe
call upon the name of the Lord
and that's what Roman chapter 9
or Roman chapter 10 verse 9 even said
that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
why would it bring that up
if you don't need to confess
and really how do you separate the person
that's gone from
understanding the gospel to believing
because some people can understand
the gospel and reject it
some people can understand the gospel
and decide not to believe in it
so how do I separate two guys
both have understood it fully
from the guy that believed it
and the guy that didn't
the one that confessed it
and the one that didn't
by thy word shalt thou be justified
and by thy word shalt thou be condemned
okay
and even if that
you know
confession is only from the heart
okay
but you might as well use your mouth
you know
out of the abundance of the heart
the mouth speaketh
that's what the Bible teaches
okay
open your mouth
but why not
just like whenever I say
hey when we've got so many
whosoever believes
and calls upon the name of the Lord
publicly is going to be saved
but it's like
well you have to call upon the name of the Lord publicly
you do have to call upon the name of the Lord
you know
it doesn't have to be in front of me per se
it doesn't
you know
you could be privately in your room
you know
there's plenty of people that pray in the Bible
and they don't even open their lips
they don't even make their mouth move
and God hears their prayer
okay
so I'm not saying that
God can't hear a prayer from the heart
but what I am saying is this
that confession is a part of believing
okay
but it's not a different
it's not an extra step
it's just how you believe
five according to the Church of Christ is baptism
and you say
oh okay
well they're just adding one thing
they're just adding baptism
how's that harmless
nope
because here's what they say at the end of the article
they have a sixth point
here's their sixth point on how to be saved
be faithful unto death
oh man
that's intense
I guess Demas didn't get saved then didn't he
because he forsook him and went on
so again
it's like
they don't just add a little bit
that's the most hardcore extreme
version of work salvation I've ever even heard
because imagine you were like a faithful Christian
your whole life
but then you just chickened out at the last moment
like you didn't want to be faithful unto death or something
and then you go to hell
it's like what in the world
but obviously we should be faithful unto death
hey we should confess Christ
and we should follow his commandments
and we should do all these things
on a regular basis
on a daily basis
but the Bible makes it clear that the salvation is so free
even if you denied him
he would still go to heaven
even if I looked at the Antichrist
and I said
no I don't know him
but I had already believed in the past
I would still go to heaven
because you know it's just a free gift
that you can't lose
now I'm not saying you should do that
you should tell the Antichrist to go back to hell
but you know
the whole point of baptism
you know makes it clear that salvation has to be
a simple one time event anyways
because baptism is a one time event
would it make sense all these people that were baptized
went to hell
it's like now you don't even believe Mark 16 16
because if you're saying you have to now be faithful unto death
or you say that salvation is not a moment in time
if you think about it
right
then you're saying people that believed and got baptized
then went to hell
you don't even believe Mark 16 16 now
but we actually do believe that salvation is a moment in time
it's the new birth
it's once you believe
now is the day of salvation
it didn't say now is the lifetime of salvation
because it's not a lifestyle
it's not a lifetime
it's a moment in time
that you believe and you're saved
now you say well what's the point then
if it's not to be saved
why would I ever get baptized
well it's very clearly articulated in Romans 5 and 6
Romans chapter 5 look at verse 19
for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners
so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous
notice it's the obedience of Christ that saves us
not ours
verse 20 moreover the law entered that the offense might abound
but where sin abounded grace did much more abound
that as sin hath reigned unto death
even so might grace reign through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord
so it's saying no matter what sin you commit
grace will cover it
God's grace is bigger than your sin
that's why you say God's grace is greater than our sin
why would we sing that song
well first of all it's straight from the Bible
second of all it means no matter what sin you commit
God's grace will cover it
now obviously what's the logical question after hearing that
I don't know verse 1 of chapter 6
what shall we say then
shall we continue in sin that grace may abound
saying well if God's grace will cover no matter what sin I do
Pastor Shelley
then why should I not just sin as much as possible
because I just want his grace to you know really be magnified
you know some of you really magnify the grace of God in your lives
but the question is should you do that
well what does it say
God forbid
obviously we're not supposed to sin
that's foolish
and it's silly you'll teach people hey
no matter what sin you commit God's grace will cover it
they're like oh you're teaching people to sin
no I'm not
I'm just teaching you how great God's grace is
but that doesn't mean do it
that doesn't mean sin
God forbid
how shall we that are dead to sin
live any longer therein
no you're not
that so many of us as were baptized in Jesus Christ were baptized into his death
therefore we are buried with them by baptism into death
that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father
even so we also should walk in newness of life
now I'll say this the moment you believe
I believe from a spiritual perspective
you have been baptized into his death
in that moment the moment you believe you're baptized into his death
okay
because you're already dead in trespasses and sins
it's already the spiritual operations already been performed
well then why do baptism
well baptism is an outward sign of what happened on the inside
it's outwardly picturing the fact that you trusted Christ
that you're believing his death bearing resurrection as the payment for salvation
it pictures the fact that you believe that one day you will be risen again
and thirdly and most importantly
that you want to walk in newness of life
that you no longer want to be the old Jonathan
the old version of yourself the old man but now you want to walk in a new way
you don't want to be the same simple person that you've been your entire life
you want to now make a change
that's why it's very clear people who are not changed
and their actions and behaviors and they're not serving God are typically just not baptized
obviously someone's baptized can be backslidden too
but I'm saying this the people that I look at and know that are serving God
are always baptized
it's always hand in hand the people that are truly serving the Lord and doing right
and they're walking in a new way
are the ones that get baptized because it's the first step of obedience
that's the whole point the essence of getting baptized
that's why we should encourage people to get baptized
and you say well I want to serve God
well then you need to get baptized
that's why we're Baptists
look at verse 6 knowing this that an old man is crucified with him
that the body of sin might be destroyed
and that henceforth we should not serve sin
instead of serving sin for the remaining portion of your days
why don't you serve Christ
and that's the point that's the essence of getting baptized
first of all it's a commandment of God
but what's the whole essence is that you're signifying how you do want to be obedient to Christ
and you want to be different now
go to Mark chapter number 1
Mark chapter number 1
the Bible also talks in 1 Peter 3
that it's the answer of a good conscience towards God
if you want to be right with God
if you want God to be pleased with you
you need to be baptized
you say well I've not been baptized
but I've been saved
well here's the thing
you still need to get baptized if you want God to be pleased with you
God is displeased with people that are not baptized
so I've explained a couple things
I've explained the practice of baptism
I've explained the purpose of baptism
but now I'm going to explain quickly the policy
because some people would have questions surrounding
how do we do baptism
or should I get baptized
who gets the baptized
all these kind of things that people kind of throw out there
and I believe that the only people that should baptize are ordained leadership
now that is not a verse I can point to in the Bible and say
here's a clear statement that says only ordained leadership can baptize
but I also can't find a clear statement that says morning services at 10.30 a.m.
I also can't find a clear statement that says meet at 700 West Bedford-Euless Road for church
I also can't find a clear statement that says have great cheers
I also can't find a clear statement
there's going to be certain aspects of the church that we have to decide
it also doesn't say have a baptistry on here
maybe we go down to Lake Lewisville
some of these things we have to decide ourselves
the church has to decide what it's going to do, how it's going to function
and as for me and my house
we're going to say that ordained leadership can baptize only
now while I don't have a clear verse
I do believe that's the clear picture given by the Bible
and everybody that baptizes is ordained
and if you say that it's not necessary that we have an ordained leadership baptized
now you're going to create a lot of confusion
right?
because does that mean, if it's not ordained leadership
does that mean that my seven-year-old Clayton can baptize people?
can your five-year-old little girl baptize people?
because she saved?
I mean, what requirements are you going to put on it?
can women baptize?
can young men?
is there an age requirement?
now all of a sudden, again, you're going way outside the Bible
you're not going to have any verses on that
you're not going to have any verses saying it's this age, this person
they have to be saved for so many years
now it just gets really confusing
and God's not the author of confusion
everything in the house of God should be decent and in order
and it only makes logical sense that you would have ordained leadership baptized
but this is what people will say
well, if only ordained leadership can baptize
then there's going to be a lot of people that can't get baptized
because there's not an ordained leader around them or something
or it's more difficult or it's taking so much more effort or something like that
well, God forbid you'd have to actually do a little bit of effort to serve God
I'm also not going to drag every single person to church
you all drove your own vehicles
it's going to cost a little bit of effort and energy to serve God today
and it's not like in the Old Testament or in the New Testament it was any different
look what it says in Mark chapter 1 verse 5
and there went out unto him all the land of Judea
and they of Jerusalem
and we're all baptized of him
and the river of Jordan confessing their sins
oh John, why are you making it where only you can baptize?
but they had to walk all the way out in the wilderness where John was to get baptized
you want to get baptized back then? go find John
and it wasn't like there was another option
there wasn't a Methodist down the street
it was John the Baptist
praise God
and it was Baptist or nothing
because the Methodist will sprinkle you
because the Catholic will sprinkle you
there's only one guy baptizing, it was the Baptist
but you know what, it did take effort
now in the Bible, this is who you have baptizing
John the Baptist
Jesus' disciples
who later become apostles
so you see Peter and John doing this
Paul
Philip
which Philip is an ordained evangelist
or deacon, however you want to look at that
either way he's ordained
he was one of the seven in Acts chapter number six that's ordained
and then you have Paul and Silas
now when it's Paul and Silas
it just says like they, they
so who knows if Silas did the baptizing
or Paul, it doesn't matter, they're still both ordained
then there's one other person
that people will bring up
Ananias
go to Acts chapter nine
this is the last place I'll be turning this morning
Acts chapter nine
but I believe the policy is that we should have
only ordained leadership baptizing
now again, it's for a lot of reasons
first of all, it's the only biblical precedent
number two, it's decently in order
number three, you know, to some degree
you kind of want the person baptizing
to ensure whom they're baptizing is saved
so it makes sense to have someone
that has a little bit of experience
or maybe has a little bit more understanding
maybe is going to be a little less biased
you know, because if it's like
baptize your own children
you know, sometimes parents get all excited
thinking they're kids saved
when maybe they're not quite there yet
or something like that
so it's better to have someone that's less biased
someone that's not, you know
they just care about the ministry
they just care about the work of the Lord
they're not just trying, they're not trying to like
see how many people can baptize either
because I know there would be people
that would make it a contest
they'd be like, oh, I've baptized ten people this week
or they'd be sad that they didn't win
the Baptist contest or something that month
or something like that
it's out there
so, but again
I don't, you know
some of the ministers that I know
have said, like, they don't like baptizing
they would rather someone else baptize
because it's not like to them that they care
like Paul didn't care
Paul was like, I thank God that I baptize
you know, none of you
he's like, except a few
he's like, he wasn't sitting here like
oh, I got all these rewards in heaven for baptism
you know, or whatever
but some people say, well, Ananias is not ordained
I believe that he clearly is, okay
and let me show you why
it says in Acts chapter number 9
look at verse number 10
and there was a certain disciple at Damascus
so he's at least the disciple
okay
named Ananias
and to him said the Lord in the vision
Ananias
and he said, behold, I am here, Lord
and the Lord said unto him, arise
and go into the street, which is called Straight
and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul of Tarsus
for behold, he prayeth
and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias
coming in and putting his hand on him
that he might receive his sight
then Ananias answered, Lord
I have heard by many of this man
how much evil he hath done to the saints
to thy saints at Jerusalem
and here he hath authority from the chief priest
to bind all that call on thy name
but the Lord said unto him, go thy way
for he is a chosen vessel unto me
to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings
and the children of Israel
for I will show him how great things he must suffer
for my name's sake
and Ananias went his way and entered into his house
and putting his hands on him
said brother Saul, Lord even Jesus
that appeared unto thee in the way
as thou camest, hath sent me
now let's just pause for a second
if God himself tells you to go do something
isn't that being ordained?
isn't that being sent?
I mean that's just point one
I have a few other reasons why I believe you say
he hath sent me
that thou mightest receive thy sight
and be filled with the Holy Ghost
and immediately there fell from his eyes
as it had been scaled
and he received sight for with
and rose and was saved
and was baptized
so Ananias comes unto him
he basically helps him call upon the name of the Lord
he gets saved
he receives his sight
he helps him get baptized
and he's filled with the Holy Spirit
sounds like in Acts chapter 2 verse 38
he repents
believes the gospel
receives the gift of the Holy Spirit
all those things, right?
so the whole package deal and the whole point
is so that he's going to get him saved
and help him to end up being the great apostle
that he's going to be
he got to see the Lord Jesus Christ
before he got saved
and so he has that ability to be that
but here's an important point
in verse 17
it says that he was filled with the Holy Ghost
now here's the thing
not everybody could give the Holy Ghost at this point in time
this special gift
and we know the Apostle Paul
he says in verse Corinthians
that he spake with tongues more than they all
so he had the gift of tongues
how did he get that gift?
through the laying on of hands
and you say, how did he know that?
well look at Acts chapter 8
before this chapter
it says in verse 14
now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God
they sent in them Peter and John
who when they were coming down
prayed for them
that they might receive the Holy Ghost
for as yet he was fallen upon none of them
only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus
then laid their hands on them
and they received the Holy Ghost
so notice in Acts chapter number 8
the Bible talks about the church being dispersed abroad
and how lots of people are going out and preaching the gospel
and Philip goes out and preaches the gospel to a lot of people
but the apostles tarried at Jerusalem
is what the Bible says
yet when they get all these people saved
they send back and say
hey we're getting people saved here in Samaria
now where's Damascus?
in Samaria, okay
and so what do they do?
they send out apostles into these areas
and who is the only person that can give them this gift of the Holy Ghost?
the laying on the hands of the apostles
so then why would I say in the next chapter
when someone's laying hands on the apostle Paul
and he's receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit or whatever
that Ananias is not an apostle
and you have in Luke chapter number 10
that Jesus Christ appointed 70 others also
and we don't know all their names
stands to reason Ananias could have been one of them
but I believe he's clearly an apostle
I mean he's getting visions from the Lord Jesus Christ
he's laying hands on the apostle Paul
and he's giving him the gift of the Holy Ghost
and what sense would it make that
Ananias is just a random dude
that Jesus is like
you know what? I want to give the apostle Paul the Holy Ghost
I'm just going to pick a random dude to do it today
or wouldn't he pick like an apostle that just happens to be in that area?
that's probably why he picked Ananias
because he was there
he was present
what did it say in verse 10?
and there was a certain disciple at Damascus
well isn't that convenient?
he's exactly where Paul is
so then that's why he's choosing this particular man
but notice he's picking this guy probably because he's an apostle
I believe he's an apostle even though I don't have a clear statement on that necessarily
but for sure he's sent by God
so again
I believe our policy for this church is what?
that only ordained leadership can baptize
so some people ask this question
should I be baptized?
well here's the thing
if you're saved and you've never been baptized
yes
okay
if you've been baptized
and it was not someone who was even ordained at all
like they're just like
I got baptized by my brother in the river
you know
or I got baptized by Duck Dynasty
the guy
what is that guy's name?
what's the dad's name?
what is it?
Robinson
Phil Robinson
yeah
he says anybody that comes to his land
he just goes down the river and just dunks him in the water or whatever
and baptizes him or whatever
like if you just got baptized
or Joseph Smith
if you baptized yourself
that didn't work either
now
I'll say this though
some people would ask this question
well what if the person that
or you know baptized me
they were ordained but they were a bozo or something
and basically I don't know if this is true or not
but it's possible
since the disciples of Christ baptized them
maybe Judas baptized somebody
I don't know
you could believe that he didn't
you could believe that he did
hypothetically if someone got baptized by Judas
I don't think later
after he hung himself
they're like I need to get re-baptized again
okay
they were baptized in the authority of Jesus Christ
that person was doing their operation on their behalf
so even if the person was theoretically a bozo
I don't believe you have to
as long as you were saved before you got baptized
and you were scripturally baptized
meaning you were fully immersed
you fully came out
it was in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
you know that person was theoretically an ordained leadership or whatever
then I believe it's fine
but I will say this
if someone feels weird about their baptism
for whatever reason
I will re-baptize them just so they can feel good about it
because the whole point was again having a good conscience toward God
so this is my rule of thumb
if you feel good about your baptism
and it meets all the criteria I said
you should feel good about it
if you were not scripturally baptized though
you need to get baptized period
or if you feel weird about it
maybe, you know, Adam Fannin baptized you
I don't know
or maybe you got, like
I'll say this about myself
I was baptized in a charismatic church when I was a teenager
okay
and whenever I joined a Baptist church
they said we don't accept your baptism
even though I had been saved
they said you need to be baptized by a Baptist
and so I got re-baptized
and you know I didn't really feel that bad about it
but that was what my ordained leadership told me at the time
that was the church I was going to
I just submitted
and I had no problem with it
and I'm glad that I did
and you know at this point
I was baptized, you know, again by an ordained Baptist
you know, someone that was saved and everything like that
so I feel good about my baptism
but even if I hadn't
I don't feel like I had to necessarily
but if you just want to, you know, make sure that that
is something that you take care of
we always have this stuff ready
we have change of clothes, towels
and we'd love to baptize anybody at any point
and we should emphasize baptism to people
because it's such an important thing
you know, what's the practice of baptism?
being fully immersed to picture what Christ did for us
the purpose is that you can walk in newness of life
and our policy should be the policy that God lays out for us
not what we dream up
not some kind of sprinkling or whatever or tradition
but rather what the Bible clearly says
let's close in prayer
thank you Father so much for your clear instruction that you've given us
thank you for the picture of baptism
that we can realize that one day
even though we will shed this physical body
that will be raised up again
not only that, that we've been passed from our sins
that we're dead to our sins now
that we've been crucified with Christ
I pray since you've performed such an incredible spiritual operation in our soul
and in our heart
and you've given us the new man
that those of us that have not been baptized
would be compelled to be baptized
to be baptized as an outward sign in a public profession
of their faith in Christ
and not only that, but they'd want to serve you
that they want to walk in newness of life
and I pray that we would make sure that we're
following your commandments to your preference
not our own
and in Jesus' name we pray
Amen
Amen and make sure to stick around after the service
we do have a baptism after the last song
let's go to song number one
Jesus I my cross have taken
song number one
Jesus I my cross have taken
song number one
Jesus I my cross have taken
all to leave and follow thee
destined to despise forsaken
thou from hence my all shall be
perish every fond ambition
all I've sought and hoped and known
yet how rich is my condition
God and heaven are still my own
let the world despise and leave me
they have left my savior too
human hearts and looks deceive me
thou art not like men untrue
and while thou shalt smile upon me
God of wisdom love and mine
foes may hate and friends may shun me
show thy face and all is bright
man may trouble and distress me
twill but drive me to thy breast
life with trials hard may press me
heaven will bring me sweeter rest
oh tis not in grief to harm me
while thy love is left to me
oh twere not in joy to charm me
were that joy unmixed with thee
grace thee on from grace to glory
armed by faith and winged by prayer
heavens eternal days before me
God's own hand shall guide thee there
soon shall close thy earthly mission
faith shall pass thy pilgrim days
hope shall change to glad fruition
faith to sight and prayer to praise
go ahead and sing another song here
let's go to song let's see
let's go to song 27 the old rugged cross
the old rugged cross
song number 27 the old rugged cross
on a hill far away
stood an old rugged cross
the emblem of suffering and shame
and I love that old cross
where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain
so I'll cherish the old rugged cross
till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
and exchange it someday for a crown
on the second oh that old rugged cross
so despised by the world
has a wondrous attraction for me
for the dear Lamb of God
left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary
so I'll cherish the old rugged cross
till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
and exchange it someday for a crown
amen good singing
we have brother Jonathan coming for baptism this afternoon
brother Jonathan have you trusted Christ as your savior?
then I baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
buried in the likeness of his death
raised to walk in newness of life
congratulations
thank you all so much you all are dismissed
you