Sermons
The Saving Waters Of Baptism
Series: The Way Of SalvationTHE SAVING WATERS OF BAPTISM
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / August 18, 2019
I want to express my thanks to Brian Alfred and Vic Rossi for teaching & preaching last Sunday in my absence.
Next Sunday at from 6-7pm we're going to have a watermelon fellowship and Bible study in the pavilion.
This will be our first usage of brand new pavilion.
We will need to bring our lawn chairs, melons, cold drinks and friends and family.
We moved the starting time to six o'clock to encourage those with young ones to join us.
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Thus far in this series titled, The Way Of Salvation, we have been preaching about steps to salvation.
These are not meritorious deeds on our part, but rather acts of obedience or actions of compliance to the will of God.
We are saved by grace, or as Paul writes - - justified as a gift by His grace (Rom.3:24).
However, the accessing of God's marvelous grace requires faith on our part.
Paul also states in Eph.2:8 - - by GRACE you have been saved through FAITH.
There should be no disputing about the fact that it is the grace of God that saves us - - on this we should all agree.
Over the years, however, disputes & debates have crept into the religious world as to the importance of baptism.
In light of the plain teaching of Scripture, I find these wranglings to be both frustrating and disturbing.
Most of our friends in the world of Christendom reading acknowledge the need for:
hearing … believing … repenting and confessing Christ.
These are rightly viewed as essentials for being right with God.
Unfortunately, the act of being baptized has been kicked off this “list of essentials” by quite a few.
Inexplicably, baptism has been misinterpreted and mislabeled as a meritorious deed needed to earn our salvation.
Yet this faulty reasoning defies the voice of Scripture.
One large and popular area church that emphasizes the word “grace” in its church's name
has a two-minute promotional video on their website that attempts to describe the act of baptism.
Midway through the video, the narrator states rather emphatically:
“Is baptism a part of what causes your salvation? No! No! Absolutely not!”
Baptism is not something we do to earn our salvation,
but baptism is something that is required if we are to be truly obedient to God's plan of salvation.
Many Scriptures could be referenced to bear this out.
For our sermon this morning I want to try my best to keep things simple.
In order to do this I want to focus on one conversion account in the book of Acts.
That which is taught in this singular account is also taught in other passages, but we will focus on this one.
Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 9 as we study together the account of the conversion of the apostle Paul.
Before Paul became known as the apostle Paul he was first known as Saul of Tarsus.
The change in his name is noted in passing by Luke in Acts 13:9 - - Saul who was also known as Paul.
Before Saul became a Christian he was known as Saul of Tarsus.
Before Paul became an apostle of Jesus Christ, he was first an enemy of the early church.
Before Paul became a follower of Jesus he was an adversary, completely antagonistic to message of the gospel.
Our sermon this morning will be anchored in Acts 9, but before we go there let's look at Acts 7-8.
Stephen is often called “the first Christian martyr” (one who was put to death because of his faith in Christ).
In Acts 7:58-60 we find that Saul was the ringleader of those who stoned Stephen.
In Acts 8:1-3, Luke, the author of the book of Acts, provides a pre-conversion snapshot of Saul.
Saul was in hearty agreement with putting (Stephen) to death. And on the day a great persecution arose against
the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
And some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the
church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
In Acts 8:4-40, Luke documents the somewhat surprising positive ramifications of this assault on the church.
Regarding those who were perscuted, Acts 8:4 states: those who have been scattered went about preaching the word.
They did not have a pity party for themselves. They did not go into hiding. They did not ring their hands in despair.
And there was certainly no resolution to keep their mouths shut about Jesus, but in fact, just the opposite.
Acts 8:5ff chronicles the ministry of a certain disciple named Philip.
He went to Samaria proclaiming Christ to them (Acts 8:5b).
Philip was sowing the seeds of the gospel and a great harvest was quickly ripening.
The Samaritans were believing and being baptized, men and women alike (Acts 8:12).
Philip was then led by God to meet with an Ethiopian Treasurer who subsequently was baptized into Christ (Acts 8:38).
In Acts 9:1-2, Luke returns to the story of Saul of Tarsus.
Now Saul, still breathing threat of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high
priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any
belonging to The Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 9:3ff zeroes in on the conversion of Saul.
Read from Acts 9:1-19.
Did you notice the verbiage of Acts 9:6 - -
Rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do.
How can we describe Saul's response?
Saul saw a light from heaven (vs.3).
Saul heard the voice of Jesus (vs.4 / why are you persecuting ME? ).
Other actions on the part of Saul lead us to safely assume that he was coming to believe.
Vs.9 notes, he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
The idea communicated here is that Saul was fasting.
Here we find Saul trying to sort out what had just happened to him.
Vs.11 details that Saul was praying.
Vs.18 concludes the story of Saul's conversion by briefly noting: (Saul) arose and was baptized.
In a subsequent chapter in Acts (Acts 22) Saul rehearses his conversion experience before the Jewish leaders.
In this chapter (Acts 22:14-15), we are told than when Ananias came to Saul and made a bold declaration to him:
The God of our fathers has appointed YOU to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an
utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for HIM to all men of what you have seen and heard.
Last but not least let's notice again this additional exhortation that was given to Saul by Ananias (Acts 22:16) - -
Now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins.
Let's pause here and think a little more deeply about what we're read.
Saul of Tarsus saw a light from heaven; he heard the very voice of the Jesus; He fasted and He prayed.
In the minds of many these responses would be more than enough to put him in good standing with God.
Many are prone to assess that Saul's response (hearing, seeing, fasting and praying) had brought about His salvation.
But, this is not what Acts 22:16 reveals!!!
The words of Acts 22:16 are undeniable in tying together the act of baptism with the forgiveness of sins.
What are you waiting for, arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins.
Engaging in fasting and prayer is a good thing.
Some would even go so far as to say that all Saul really needed to do was say the sinner's prayer.
First of all, there is no record here or anywhere in the book of Acts about this so-called sinner's prayer.
Secondly, Ananias was a messenger sent by God to tell Saul what he needed to do.
Thirdly, Ananias specifically directed Saul to arise, and be baptized, and wash away his sins.
One could rightly ask, “If Saul had prayed, why weren't his sins already forever?”
I could stop right here and this would qualify as a sermon that all need to contemplate seriously.
But I want to punctuate our conclusion with two more citations from the word of God.
The reason Saul needed to be baptized in order for his sins to be forgiven, is precisely because
the act of baptism is where we die with Christ. Paul writes about this in Rom.6:3-4 - -
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death.
The key to grasping this truth comes when we underscore that we are baptized INTO CHRIST JESUS.
Until we take our stand IN CHRIST, we remain in our sins.
Secondly, stated a bit differently but leading to the same conclusion is this:
The reason Saul needed to be baptized in order for his sins to be forgiven,
is precisely because the act of baptism is where we become clothed with Christ.
Paul writes about this in Gal.3:26-27 - -
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
If we have not been baptized we have not had our sins washed away.
If we have not been baptized we stand dressed in our own worthless deeds before the throne of God.
Isa.64:6 states, all of OUR righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.
We have witnessed baptisms by various ages in differing settings.
Some who are older - - Helen Rossi, Bob Walker, Ed Phillips quickly come to mind.
Some of us were baptized in church baptistries; some in rivers; some in lakes; some in pools or hot-tubs.
Baptism by immersion (the Bible way) is a symbol but it is nonetheless a commanded act of obedience.
Our burial symbolizes a death to self as we die with Christ and arise to walk in newness of life.
If you have never been baptized into Christ, I would urge you to study hard about this important decision.
If you believe that Jesus is The Christ and you are will to repent and confess, you are a prime candidate for baptism.
Let me ask in closing (without meaning to strong arm anyone),
“What's holding you back?”
