Sermons
The Urgency Of Baptism
Series: The Way Of SalvationTHE URGENCY OF BAPTISM
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / September 08, 2019
We hope all of you will join us today for our first-of-the-fall, covered-dish luncheon in our new pavilion.
Our Prime-Timers Luncheon previously scheduled for tomorrow has been rescheduled for Monday, September 16th.
We are doing this in the hopes that Don Davis, who is recovering from surgery) will be able to join us on that date.
In this series on The Way Of Salvation we have preached about the importance of:
hearing … believing … repenting … and confessing.
Over the past few weeks we dwelt on the subject of baptism.
As I said last week, we plan to tread water for several lessons.
The subject of baptism has troubled many.
They know enough Scripture to know that we are saved by GRACE (Rom.3:23).
Some mistakenly view baptism as a meritorious work and they reject its role in God's plan of salvation.
This distorted misunderstanding could be quickly eradicated if they were could readily
acknowledge that Paul also emphasized that we are saved by grace through FAITH (Eph.2:8).
In its simplest form, Faith is OBEDIENCE.
Obedience includes many things, among them, hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and being baptized.
I always contend that it helps greatly if our emphasis is that we are baptized INTO CHRIST JESUS.
In last Sunday's sermon we allowed Acts 8 to show us that preaching Jesus is tied directly to baptism. cf. Acts 8:35ff
Again, if I could allude to an online video from a big and popular local church.
After promoting the importance of baptism, the narrator pauses briefly to clarify his view.
He asks, “Is baptism a part of what causes your salvation?”, and then answers, “No! No! Absolutely Not!”
I'm not making this up - - go to the website: gracelives.org and hear it for yourself.
I wonder - - would he say the say thing about believing, repenting and confessing??? I think not.
In Scripture, baptism is intrinsically connected with the forgiveness of our sins.
Why honest truth-seekers cannot see this, continues to baffle me.
In Acts 22:16, Ananias asked Saul of Tarsus, Why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized and wash away your sins.
In Acts 2:38, Peter told the multitude, Repent and be baptized...for the forgiveness of your sins.
In Acts 8:35, Philip preached Jesus to the Ethiopian treasurer.
The very next verse records that the treasurer said, Look! Here's water! What prevents me from being baptized?
Last week I asked the fair question, “Who brought up baptism?”
The only logical answer to that question is to say that in preaching Jesus Philip must have emphasized baptism.
Let me invite you now to open your New Testaments to Acts chapter 16.
This is another conversion story. This time it's not Saul of Tarsus; it's not a multitude on Pentecost;
it's not the Ethiopian treasurer. This time it's the story of a Philippian jailer.
Philippi was a Roman colony, located in the district of Macedonia in a very strategic location.
To set the stage for this morning's sermon, let's begin by reading from Acts 16:11-13.
In Acts 16:14 we read of the conversion of Lydia, the first recorded convert of Europe. She responded to the preach-
ing of the gospel by the apostle Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) and was baptized, she and her household (vs.15).
After this, Paul rebuked a slave girl who was possessed with a spirit of divination (she was a fortune teller).
What she was declaring was good and truthful:
These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation (vs.17), but apparently her unsolicited interruptions proved to be a major distraction in Paul's attempt to preach and teach.
Paul cast out evil spirit and her masters got all bent out of shape.
In their minds, Paul had killed the golden goose and they became quite irate.
They accused Paul & Silas of being wandering Jews who were undermining the civil law set for under the Roman Empire.
The chief magistrates indiscriminately heeded the call for retribution, and beat them with rods (vss.22-23a).
This “beating with rods” was a serious and extremely painful means of punishment.
It was inflicted by Roman civil authorities and was not restricted to 39 lashes, as with the Jewish authorities.
After beating Paul and Silas, they threw them into the inner prison and fastened them in stocks,
with the explicit command given to a jailer to guard them securely (vs.23b-24).
Such treatment would normally bring on a sense of doom and gloom.
But this was not the case with Paul and Silas - - they chose to sing and be happy (vs.25).
They prayed and sang - - not imprecatory prayers and songs (crush our enemies), but songs and prayers of PRAISE.
Suddenly an earthquake shook the prison foundations and opened the doors and loosed everyone's chains (vs.26).
When the jailer saw what was unfolding he drew his sword and was about to kill himself (vs.27).
Paul immediately cried out to him, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here (vs.28).
(The jailer) fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he had brought them out, he said,
'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'
The jailer must have heard Paul & Silas directly or perhaps he had been apprised of what hadhappened in Philippi
earlier that day - - however he obtain his information, he must has discerned that they were speaking of salvation.
In answer to this great question, “What must I do to be saved?, here is what Paul & Slias told the jailer - -
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household (vs.31).
This is where some of our believer friends will say to us,
“You see, only belief is required.”
But context tells the fuller story.
Vss.32-34 tells the rest of the story of their salvation.
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.
And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds,
AND IMMEDIATELY HE WAS BAPTIZED, HE AND ALL HIS HOUSEHOLD.
Perhaps more than any other conversion story in the book of Acts, this account stresses the URGENCY of baptism.
Couldn't baptism have waited?
Really, with all that happened that day and night, need they add to the commotion by baptism people in the dark?
One can be sure that these actions came to be known by many neighbors and townspeople.
Paul & Silas did not tell the jailer, “Baptism is not connected with salvation, it can wait.”
Neither did they tell the jailer, “You can be baptized later on when you join the church.”
The urgency of this man's SALVATION demanded that he be baptized right then and there, post haste & without delay.
We could argue that such actions defy common sense, but this is what we read in the book of Acts.
The reason we think a baptism shortly after midnight sounds rather ridiculous is because we fail to see its urgency.
There is a brief postscript to this conversion account that is in itself quite amazing.
Read from Acts 16:35-40
Paul & Silas could have put the skids on being beaten with rods right from the start.
All that was needed was for them to show the magistrates their citizen cards.
In the Roman Empire of the 1st Century, Roman citizens were not permitted to be punished without first having a trial.
Paul was eager to see the newly-planted church in Philippi thrive.
His decision to suffer a beating without protesting set in place a “hands off” policy for the Christians in Philippi.
All the Roman magistrates wanted was for Paul & Silas to leave town and never again bring up this grave injustice.
Their rights as Roman citizens had been grossly violated and they had been charged without an investigation
I think Paul knew that Philippian civil authorities would think twice before harassing the church at Philippi.
As F. F. Bruce in his commentary of the book of Acts (pg., 340) notes, “If a complaint of their illegal treat-
ment of these Roman citizens reached the authorities in Rome, they would be in a very awkward position.”
He adds (pg., 341) - - “Paul's insistence on an official apology may have served to some degree as a protection
to the members of the church which had been planted in Philippi during the period of his stay there.”
The church in Philippi would suffer for Christ's sake, but not as a result of Roman civil mistreatment.
cf. Philip.1:29 with 1Thess.2:14-16
If we have anyone today who is ready and eager to profess your faith in Jesus Christ,
we are ready to assist you in being baptized promptly.
On short notice, all we'll need is a few minutes to grab some towels and a change of clothing.
Mosquito Lake is readily available at this time of year.
Or, if you prefer, we'll find another venue where a full immersion can take place.
