Baptism part 2
This week on Trailer Park Theology we will continue our talk on baptism by looking at Acts 2:36-41.
Transcript
All right and we are live.
Welcome everyone to my second podcast trailer park theology
and tonight we will continue and discuss in baptism.
Now I'm looking at this from a reformed Baptist position.
I hope to what's called 1689 Federalist
1689 Federalist.
And so what that means is is that
so the Presbyterians.
Well let me read Genesis
315 real quick and then we'll kind of dive into that.
So the covenant of grace is found in Genesis 315.
And this is God speaking to the serpent after Adam and Eve were
deceived in eight of the tree of knowledge and good and evil
315 is the curse given to the serpent.
It says this.
I will put enmity between you speaking to the serpent and the woman
between your offspring and her offspring he shall bruise
your head and you shall bruise his heel.
And so last week I kind of dove into the differences that we would have with our
Presbyterian brothers.
So Presbyterianism when it comes to the covenant theology they
believe that it was inaugurated right here.
And because it was inaugurated that there's one covenant
since this.
So so the covenant of grace is inaugurated in Genesis 315.
God gave the covenant of works to Adam the eidemic covenant.
They fall they break it they break the covenant.
God gives them the covenant of grace.
And so every other covenant the Abrahamic Covenant the Mosaic Covenant
the Davidic Covenant and I would also add the Noahic Covenant are all
administrations of the one covenant the covenant of grace.
My problem with that is this is that Genesis 315 does not teach
that the covenant of grace was inaugurated.
But what does it teach.
It teaches a promise and a fulfillment.
It promises the covenant of grace but it gives the fulfillment.
It lets you know when this covenant would be inaugurated.
Let's read it again.
God speaking to the serpent I will put enmity between you and
the woman and between your offspring in her offspring he this offspring
coming from the woman will bruise your head and you shall
bruise his heel.
So we believe that this is speaking of the crucifixion of Christ when
Jesus Christ was crucified when they nailed him hands and feet to a Roman
cross.
That this was Jesus bruising the head of the serpent while
only having his brute his his heel bruised.
So the crucifixion is the heel of our Savior
being bruised all right.
That that was the inauguration of the new covenant.
That the new covenant is the covenant of grace.
The covenants that was seen in the Old Testament is not the
covenant of grace.
So that's the Reformed Baptist 1689.
Federalist view the Old Testament.
The old covenant is not listen is not the covenant of grace.
The new covenant is the covenant of grace.
It was inaugurated when Jesus Christ was crucified.
And so I left off last week reading from
our confession the London Baptist confession of faith 1689.
Chapter 29 this is where it speaks about baptism.
I'm going to read that again from the start 29.
Chapter 29 paragraph 1 says this baptism is an
ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ
to those baptized it is a sign of their fellowship with him
in his death and resurrection of their being grafted into
him of remission of sins and of submitting themselves
to God through Jesus Christ to live and walk in newness of
life.
Paragraph 2.
Those who personally profess repentance toward God and faith in
obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ are the only proper
subjects of this ordinance.
Paragraph 3.
The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water in which the
individual is to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Paragraph 4.
Immersion or dipping of the person in water is
necessary for this ordinance to be administered
properly.
All right.
So when it comes to salvation so we don't believe in
salvation by baptism and we will get into that when it comes to the text I don't know if we'll get
there this week because acts 242 kind of there's some language there that we have to work
through.
So as a reformed Baptist this is what I believe about salvation.
I believe that salvation has to be owed.
I believe if salvation like the way in which someone is saved
rescued ransom reconciled to God has to be owed it can't be new.
All right.
The same way Abraham was saved is the same way that you and
I today are saved.
So if if being emerged if being baptized into water is
how a person becomes a Christian then Abraham needed to be
baptized and emerged in water to become righteous before God.
If Abraham wasn't emerged in water baptized
to become righteous then you and I do not have to enter the waters of baptism to
become righteous before God.
So as a reformed Baptist we believe in one way of salvation that that that
salvate that there's continuity when it comes to salvation.
And that is trusting God belief in God.
And so when the Bible says that Abraham believed God well what did he believe.
Well he believed that that that that through his
offspring he would inherit a and that the whole earth will be blessed
through him.
The offspring would be the offspring of the woman.
Right.
So this offspring that was coming from the woman is passed through Abraham.
And so by believing in this offspring who is Jesus ultimately will be Jesus.
Jesus will fulfill the prophecy of the offspring by believing in this offspring that would
come and by whom would would keep the covenant would keep the law and would
earn the land and would and through him all the nations of the world will be blessed.
That that is how a person was saved that is how they were justified.
That is how they are declared righteous before God.
And so I believe that as Baptists we hold this belief and it's
unique to other denominations.
So the same way that Abraham was saved the same way that he was declared righteous before
God it's the same way that you and I are saved and declared righteous.
Abraham believed in the promise of something that would happen.
You and I today believe that the promise has happened that it did happen.
Right.
So they were looking forward to something that was going to happen.
We're looking back at what did happen.
And what did happen was the offspring did come and it was
Jesus Christ who lived the life that we could not live and who died
the death that we deserve to die.
In dying his death he reconciled us to God and in living the
perfect sinless life he saved us from the wrath of God.
That being said when he done this that was the inauguration of
the covenant of grace.
Let me get some coffee all
right.
I'm out of coffee.
Let me open my water.
All right.
So now let's get to the text.
Acts chapter 2 again.
I expressed this last week that in study and baptism are not like
like this portion of Scripture is it's really something I never wanted to deal with and I didn't
want to deal with it because it's so ambiguous and we'll look at that.
So Acts chapter 2 what do I have.
Verse 36 through 41.
So if you have your Bibles you can turn there with me.
Acts chapter 2 36 through 41 I will be reading from the ESV.
Let's get this closer all right.
So here
the context would be Pentecost.
Jesus has ascended.
He's with the father promises throughout the book of John
about them sending the Holy Spirit.
They're in the upper room.
They receive the Holy Spirit.
They start proclaiming that magnificent works of God.
And and in doing so they were speaking in other
languages.
It talks about Jews from all over the earth were gathering together because of
the feast and they were able to hear the Apostles and those that
were there preach and speak in their own language.
They were not speaking gibberish.
They were not speaking in unknown languages.
They were speaking in languages of the people who were gathered
together that day.
Jewish people from all over the earth that were gathered together who spoke
in a different tongue.
They were able to hear the Apostles speak in the magnificent work of God in
their own tongue.
So this is what's taken place.
This is the context and we'll get more into it.
But verse 36 says this.
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that
God has made him both Lord and Christ this
Jesus whom you crucified.
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart.
And they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles brothers what shall we do.
Verse 36.
And Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far
off everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them saying
save yourself from this crooked generation.
And those who received his word were baptized and they were
added that day about 3 ,000 souls.
All right.
So what I have here that we're going to go through.
I have outlined the promise the
people and the purpose.
So as we go through here we will see that what the promise is who are the people and what
was the purpose of this.
Now I'm I'm not sure if we'll get through all three
points.
As a matter of fact it's not really my goal to get through all three points.
I want to make sure that what I'm saying is clear.
And then and then next week we'll go back.
If I don't get through all three points next week we'll go back and we'll look at it.
So point number one the purpose I mean excuse me the promise.
Remember.
Point number one the promise.
Point number two the people.
And point number three the purpose.
So right now we'll look at the promise.
Verse 38 and Peter said to them
repent and be baptized every one of you in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins
and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For the promise is for you and for your children
and for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord God has
called to themselves.
So I'm not going to skip repentance and being
baptized but I'm going to come back to it in just a second.
Right now I just want to look at what is the promise.
So the nearest antecedent to the promise is not
repentance and it is not baptism.
The nearest antecedent to the promise is the Holy Spirit.
All right.
So he says repent and be baptized every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the Holy
Spirit.
For the promise the Holy Spirit is for you and for
your children and for all those who are far off.
So here it's not saying that repentance
and baptism is the promise but it's saying that the Holy Spirit is the promise.
Now I'm not throwing away repentance faith and baptism.
I'm just showing the nearest antecedent what is the promise.
And so Acts was actually written by Luke.
And if you look at Luke chapter 24 beginning in verse
45 so this would be the road to Emmaus.
Jesus has been crucified.
He has he has three days have passed.
He has resurrected.
He is walking with his disciples.
But they have but they they did not recognize him.
But he says this.
And I won't get into everything.
I don't have the time to flesh all that out.
But verse 45 says this.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scripture.
Speaking about the disciples Jesus opened their mind to understand the scriptures
and he said to them.
Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third
day raised from the dead.
And that repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Notice it didn't say baptism.
That repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in
his name to all the nations beginning in beginning from Jerusalem.
You are my witnesses to these things.
And behold I am sending the promise of my
father upon you but stay in the city until you are clothed
with power from on high.
Now what does Luke say that the promises.
And behold I am sending the promise of my father
but stay in the city until you're clothed with power on high.
Now remember in our excuse me
remember in our text that they were in the upper room.
They were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Power came upon them.
Trace back to Luke.
I mean to Acts chapter 1 beginning in verse 1
Luke writes in the first book first book being Luke.
Oh theophilus I dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach
until the day when he was taken up after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to
the Apostles whom he had chosen.
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many
proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about
the kingdom of God.
And while he was staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem but
to wait for the promise of the father which he said you have
heard from me for John baptized with water.
But you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.
Also let's look at Acts 2 33.
This is in the sermon that Peter's preaching
says this being therefore exalted at the right hand of God.
Having received from the father the promise of the Holy
Spirit he has poured out this.
You are seeing you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
So the promise is clear like it's clear the promise is the
Holy Spirit.
The promise is not baptism and the promise is not repentance.
The promise is the Holy Spirit.
So let's go back because I don't want to skip over for some reason I am just really caught in now.
I do not want to skip over repentance and baptism.
So I mentioned last week how how this is this text is very
ambiguous that there's so many different
interpretations taken right here in verses 38 and 39.
So we have our our friends the churches of Christ and I have some really good friends
and the churches of Christ you know preachers there
whom I who I've you know connected with on Facebook who I love dearly
but I disagree 100 with when it
comes to when it comes to this and they know it right.
You know I don't I don't hide my disagreement
where it talks about and Peter said to them repent and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive
I mean in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So the argument here is that in order to receive the Holy Spirit
and in order to be in Christ meaning salvificly you
have to be baptized emerged
that that that you're not like if you haven't been baptized like you're
not a Christian you're not a brother in Christ until you
are baptized and come about the water that somehow
in the waters of baptism is how you is how the blood of Jesus
is applied to your life.
So if you haven't went under water baptism then the blood of Jesus is not applied to
your life and you have not received the forgiveness of sins.
Now my problem with that there is again Abraham was not
baptized in order for Christian salvation to be true.
Then Christian salvation has to be owed the same way Abraham was saved is the same
way that we are saved.
And I would add I kind of hinted at it earlier
Luke chapter 24 verse 37.
Well let's go to verse 46.
Verse 46 says this.
And he said to them Jesus speaking thus it is written right here he's going to give you the gospel
that the Christ should suffer and on the third day raised from the dead
in that repentance for the forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.
So Luke writing same author and acts he says repentance
38.
Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Luke chapter 24 says that repentance for the forgiveness of your
sins.
So before we dive in that any deeper let's look at repentance.
What is repentance.
Well I'm going to say that repentance is turning from self
-righteousness when it comes to salvation.
Right.
Salvificly at the moment of salvation repentance is turning from self
-righteousness.
And I believe that's what the context teaches.
Repentance is not stop sinning.
Like like that's impossible.
First John tells us hey hey you don't sin.
But when you do sin confess your sins and never say that you have not sin.
And know that when you sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.
Now I'm not telling you it's okay to sin.
Don't walk away thinking that I'm telling you it's okay to sin.
It's not okay stop it.
But when you do sin because you will confess it and know that you have an advocate with the Father
and never say you don't sin.
So repentance is turning from something to something.
And in our text we see that it's turning from self -righteousness to the righteousness of
Christ.
Notice with me verse 36.
And let all the house of Israel know there.
Therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and
Christ this Jesus whom you crucify.
Notice verse 37.
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart.
And they said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles brothers what must we do.
Now let me ask you something.
If they were not given faith to believe right here would they say
what must we do.
Absolutely not.
I've been preaching the gospel on the streets I don't know 12 years now
and I've never had anyone who wasn't interested in Christianity who God
hasn't sovereignly removed from the fire asked me those things
them asking what must they do tells me that as Peter
was preaching God gave to them faith to believe.
And Peter's response to them was to repent
to turn from self -righteousness.
You say you say how do you know that because their self -righteousness was in the
Mosaic system it was in the sacrificial system that at this
time in order to receive forgiveness of sins you would bring to the priest you would go to the
temple.
You would bring the priest a lamb a turtle dove a pigeon whatever the sin was
whatever it required you would bring to him these things.
And that the priest would sacrifice would kill this lamb would kill this turtle
dove on behalf of your sins all right.
So to them that was their righteousness their righteousness.
They were dependent upon themselves to bring an offering to the priest at the temple to
be sacrificed.
They were trusting in something that they could do.
And Peter makes it clear.
He says let the house of it.
He says let the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made
him both Lord and Christ whom you the Jews
not me.
I didn't crucify.
Not you.
You didn't crucify.
But the Jews of that generation crucified our Lord.
Not the Jews today who are in Jerusalem they didn't crucify.
But the Jews then at that time crucify him crucify him give us
Barabbas.
They crucify the Lord.
And he is telling them to repent to turn from their self -righteousness to
stop trusting in the sacrificial system and to trust in the one who died
for their sins.
To trust in Jesus Christ.
Self -right repentance is turning from yourself and putting your
trust in the sacrifice Jesus Christ.
And I believe that when you do that you will receive the forgiveness of your sins.
Now I say that in two ways.
Because I you know I don't want to get into Calvinism right now.
So we're we won't touch it we won't touch it.
That's another video.
So you and I we have to repent.
We have to believe in Jesus Christ.
Now I'm not forgetting baptism here but I want to touch on some other things
dealing with baptism.
Why the text is so ambiguous.
So back to our churches of Christ brothers.
So they would say it's clear right here that you have to be baptized in order to receive
forgiveness of sins.
But notice what it says.
It says in the name of Jesus Christ.
Now there's another group of people one is Pentecostals who would say that you
have to be that your baptism has to be in the name of Jesus Christ only.
So if you're baptized in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit then you really haven't been
baptized.
They would say see right here it's clear in order to receive forgiveness of sins you have to be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ only.
Well wrong.
Like I would say wrong.
But they would say look it's in the text it's it's clear Jesus Christ.
You have to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
And my Church of Christ friends would say yeah we don't believe that.
You know how.
It doesn't have to be in the name of Jesus Christ only.
It's the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit.
Matthew chapter 28 tells us the formula of how you baptize.
You baptize them in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit.
But yet when we get here in this ambiguous text dealing with baptism it says
you baptize them in the name of Jesus Christ.
So baptism at this time
again.
So so there's two main baptisms that's taking place in the book of Acts.
The baptism of John and the baptism of Jesus.
John speaks about a different baptism.
Yeah I mean so John's preaching he's he's calling the Pharisees to repentance.
He says repent for the kingdom of heaven is a hand for I am he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah a voice crying out in the
wilderness.
Prepare the way of the Lord.
Make straightest path.
I see you Pharisees and Sadducees coming down to the waters of Jordan.
You brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come.
Therefore do not think to say to yourselves to not say oh we have Abraham as our father for I tell you that God is able to raise up
children from Abraham from stones.
And even now the axe is at the root of the tree and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown
into the fire.
Listen he says I baptize with water into repentance.
But he who comes after me whose sandals I'm unworthy to carry he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and fire.
The will of the fork is in his hand and he will thoroughly cleanse the threshing floor and he will gather his wheat into the barn but the chaff
he will burn with unquenchable fire.
So so speaking about he baptizes with water and Jesus is
going to baptize with Holy Spirit and fire.
Two different baptisms for Jesus.
One is the Holy Spirit.
Some people are going to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and some people are going to be baptized in fire.
So if you look at verses so it's 10 11 and 12.
Verse 10 says the axe is at the root of the tree and any tree does not bear good
fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
So what does that fire mean.
Does it mean passion for God.
No.
It means judgment.
Verse 12 the will and fork is in his hand and he will thoroughly clean clean the threshing floor
and gather his wheat into the barn but the chaff he will burn with an unquenchable
fire.
Is verse 12 talking about passion or judgment.
It's judgment.
It's it's it's hail.
So when you get to verse 11 the the verse that's sandwiched in between two passages speaking about
judgment and hail and it says that Jesus baptizes with Holy Spirit and fire.
That fire is not passion it's judgment.
Some people are going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and some people are going to be
baptized in judgment.
They're gonna be judged.
They're gonna be accountable for the life that they lived.
And so right off the bat there's baptism of John Jesus carrying into baptism
Holy Spirit and judgment.
But yet we see Jesus in the disciples back mostly the disciples baptizing
a Christian baptism the name of Jesus and it's with
water and they're being emerged.
And so right here where it talks about in the name of Jesus when you read the book of Acts it
speaks about two baptisms.
It speaks about the baptism of John.
Were you baptized in the name of Jesus or in the name of John.
Ladies and gentlemen trust me whenever they were back to whenever John was baptizing and John's disciples were
baptizing they were not saying I baptize you in the name of John the Baptist.
No it's just that their baptism was in reference
to the ministry of John.
So same thing here whenever people in the New Testament are being baptized in Jesus
name it was not that they were I baptize your name of Jesus.
It's it's pointing to the ministry of Jesus.
Matthew 28 gives us the formula the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit.
And so this baptism is basically just speaking of Christian baptism
or it versus the baptism of John the baptism in the minute the ministry baptism of John
versus Christian baptism.
And so if my churches of Christ brothers want to be consistent and hold that for
repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins then they have to be consistent with
Jesus Christ as well.
Because if they take my interpretation then they have to take my interpretation when I when I speak about
what baptism is momentarily if I get that far tonight
I just wanted to to lay that out.
So the the the promise is the Holy Spirit.
Those who have been given faith they because
as a reformed guy I believe that that that that that faith is preceded
that faith is preceded by regeneration and followed by repentance.
You're saved by grace through faith not of works.
So I believe that upon hearing the gospel God gives you faith to believe.
And when he gives you faith to believe we turn
from our selfishness we turn from our self -righteousness and we turn to God in Jesus
Christ.
That is salvific repentance.
It can't be anything else or else it's works based and I'll get to
baptism later on.
I don't think it'll be tonight but we'll eventually get there.
But when it comes to the churches of Christ and the one is Pentecostals all right.
So our second point is the promise.
I mean excuse me not the promise the people.
So the promise is the Holy Spirit who are the people.
So let's just read verse 39.
For the promise which is the Holy Spirit is for you
and for your children.
And for all who are far off everyone whom the Lord God calls to himself
all right.
So the people are the Jews who were there.
Remember all the Jews from around the world were gathering
together in Jerusalem because of the feast.
So whenever he says the promise is for you he is speaking
about the Jews that were there.
He wasn't talking to look at me.
He wasn't talking to you.
He was talking to the Jews that were there.
The promise is for you the ones who crucified their Lord.
And then he says.
And to your children the children of the Jews who were
there that crucified their Lord he wasn't talking to your children.
Right.
I mean am I an idiot.
Am I missing something.
The promise is for you the Jews whom he's speaking to.
And to your children the Jews who crucified their Lord the
Jews that were there now right here.
And to all those who are far off now this is you this is me
this is the Gentiles.
And then he sums all three of these up in this sentence.
Everyone whom the Lord God calls to himself.
So it's for the Jews those that were there those that took part in this crucifixion those who were
hearing the Apostles proclaim the magnificent works of God
in their own tongue.
And for their children who were probably I would say were there with them.
Like.
But their children would have not been absent.
Their infants would have been there with them.
And all who are far off those that were not there the Gentiles
everyone all y 'all all humans the Jews you
who are hearing me your children your infants and the Gentiles all whoever that
the Lord calls to himself.
I want you to ask yourself being that there were Jews there
being that there were infants there there were children there.
And yet verse 41 says this.
So those who received the word were baptized.
You have to receive the word to be baptized.
Now if this was the sign of the Covenant and the sign pointing back to circumcision
why didn't they at this moment baptize their infants.
Don't tell me that there weren't infants in this group of 3
,000 Jews.
Listen if you try to tell me that there weren't infants we got
major problems major problems.
They were infants at this time with them and they
did not get baptized.
Why.
Because they could not receive.
If you can show me here where infants were baptized I would be a Presbyterian.
I would hands down absolutely.
But it says all those who received were baptized.
Ladies and gentlemen 3 ,000 Jews families come into Jerusalem families
households.
No infants were baptized.
Only those who received were baptized.
And I would also add since I'm harping on this real quick
that this could have been really settled so and I'm fixing to get into Colossians real quick.
But before I do I want to kind of throw a punch at my Presbyterian brothers
if if circumcision is or if baptism is circumcision
you know if it is the New Covenant sign that points to
circumcision how come in Galatians Paul
dealing with the Judaizers who are preaching circumcision.
How come Paul didn't say hey brothers why are you tripping.
We baptize them.
Baptism is the New Covenant sign for circumcision.
Baptism is circumcision.
Circumcision is baptism.
Why are you tripping.
We don't have to circumcise.
We have to baptize them.
Now why wasn't that argument made.
It wasn't made.
Because circumcision and baptism don't point to each other.
Circumcision was not pointing to.
I mean baptism was not pointing back to circumcision.
That's how.
Yeah that's how I should say.
Baptism is not point because circumcision is pointing to something greater.
But baptism is not pointing back to circumcision.
Baptism is not does not come from circumcision.
Now if you believe that there's only one covenant you have no choice but to believe that.
That is true.
If you believe that the covenant of grace was inaugurated in Genesis chapter 315 which I've shown that
it's not it has not been.
It cannot be.
There's no way you can view it as that that if you
believe that you are blinded by your traditions
Paul does not make the argument in Galatians when he's speaking to the
Gent the the Apostles when he goes to the the Apostles and the
the church in Jerusalem.
Or when he's speaking against the the Judaizers he doesn't say why
are you tripping.
We don't have to circumcise them because we baptize them.
That argument is not made.
And it's not made because baptism does not derive from circumcision.
Now I do believe that baptism is the sign of the covenant.
But I don't believe that it points back that it has any any relation with
circumcision the the the cutting of the foreskin.
And this is where we'll go to.
We'll go to Colossians.
Colossians chapter 1.
No excuse me Colossians chapter 2.
So I will read this and I will give you the interpretation that my Presbyterian brothers take
y 'all can probably hear my son crying waking up for a bottle.
So verse 11 Colossians 2 verse 11 says in him also you were
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of
flesh by the circumcision of Christ having been buried with him
in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of
God who raised him from the dead.
So they see right here they see verse 11 circumcision.
Verse 12 baptism baptism and circumcision.
Circumcision.
Oh covenant sign.
New new covenant sign baptism.
We circumcised our infants.
Now we baptize our infants again.
This is bad interpretation and so I want to look
at it.
I'm gonna go up a verse first.
Nine notice.
Right here it says.
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.
So who is the nearest antecedent to the in him.
Verse 8 the very end.
It says not according to Christ.
For in him which is Christ the whole fullness of deity
dwells bodily.
Verse 10.
And you have been filled in him.
In who in Christ whom is the head and rule
of all authority.
Now verse 11 in him Christ also you were
circumcised with a circumcision made without hands.
So what is the circumcision that's made without hands.
What's not circumcised.
It's not the cutting of the foreskin.
Go back to it.
Look at it in him also you were
circumcised with a circumcision made without
hands.
Right here it answers you by putting off the body of the flesh
by the circumcision of Christ.
So are being circumcised.
Our circumcision without hands is us being is our body of
flesh being put off and it's called the circumcision
of Christ.
So what is the circumcision of Christ.
Verse 12 having been buried with him in
baptism in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from
the dead.
Right here.
And you were dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision.
So when we were uncircumcised we were dead and our trespasses and uncircumcision of our flesh.
But God made a lie made us alive together with him having forgiven us of our
sins.
How did he do that.
By counseling the record of debt that stood against us and its legal demands.
This he set it aside and he nailed it to the cross.
The circumcision of Christ.
Our circumcision of Christ are being.
Are it the circumcision of Christ is listen to me the circumcision of I don't know
which camera look at.
The circumcision of Christ is the crucifixion of Christ.
It's what Paul says in Galatians.
I have been crucified with Christ.
This is speaking of baptism.
I have been crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live.
But it's Christ that lives in me in the life that will live in the flesh.
I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
The circumcision of Christ is him.
It's him being crucified on the cross.
It's it's his heel being bruised while it's bruising the head of the serpent.
The circumcision of Christ is the crucifixion of Christ.
It says in him you were circumcised.
I have been crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live in him.
You were circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of flesh.
Right here it says the verse 13.
And you were dead and your trespasses in the uncircumcision of your flesh.
God made us alive together with Christ forgiven us of our trespasses.
Go back to verse 11.
Having put it off the body of flesh by the circumcision of Christ
was the circumcision of Christ.
It tells you having been buried with him in baptism.
Buried Christ died for our sins.
He was buried and he rose again buried with him in baptism in which you were raised with
him through faith.
Now let's go to Romans chapter 5
verse
3.
No I'm sorry.
Romans chapter 6 verse 3.
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized in to Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death.
Let me read that again.
Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death.
We were buried therefore with him by baptism into his death
in order that Jesus in order just in order that just as Jesus was
raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too might walk in newness of life.
I have been crucified with Christ.
It's no longer I who live but it's Christ who lives in me in the life.
That I live in the flesh.
I live by faith in the Son of God.
That that are being crucified with Christ is in our baptism.
That our baptism does not point to circumcision.
Our baptism points to the crucifixion of Christ.
Last week I said that that baptism isn't a symbol that it isn't a
cross that you wear around your neck.
But baptism is a sign.
It's the sign of the covenant.
This is my body which is broken for you.
This is my this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
The Lord's Supper represents the death burial and resurrection of Christ.
And you go back to our confession the 1689
chapter 29 paragraph 1.
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ
to those baptized it is a sign of their fellowship with
him.
Listen in his death and resurrection
of their being grafted into him of remission of
sins and of submitting themselves to God through Jesus Christ
who lived and walked in the newness of life.
So when we say that baptism is a sign of the new covenant we're not saying that it
correlates with circumcision the the mutilating of the
the foreskin of the cutting off of the foreskin.
But we're saying that baptism is a sign that it's pointing back to what Christ Jesus
has done in our behalf him standing in our stead
what he has done to justify us to reconcile us to God.
Our baptism is in him.
It has nothing to do with old covenant circumcision.
It has everything to do with the covenant of grace Jesus Christ dying the death
that we should die.
Where am I at.
Okay 58 minutes.
So at this moment I would be going to the purpose and we will conclude
and get the purpose next week.
So next week I'll do a recap of what I said tonight and then we'll dive into the purpose.
So the three points that we were looking at were the promise the people and the purpose.
So we looked at the promise.
We looked at the people.
The promise is the Holy Spirit.
The people are in the text are the Jews who were gathered together.
It was their children not my children.
Not like it specifically in that text.
It was their children the Jews that were gathered together.
And then we are brought in all those who are far off.
And then he he concludes with all that together by saying everyone whom the Lord God
calls to himself.
And I pointed out that this group of people who who who believed who
received his word were 3 ,000 Jews.
It was these families that were gathering into Jerusalem all over the earth
that they had infant children with them.
And the only people who were baptized or those who received look at that look
again acts 241.
So those who received his word were baptized.
Infants cannot receive the word.
So infants weren't baptized.
So next week we'll get we'll dig back into this.
We'll look we'll go to the purpose and we'll hash out more with the
you know of course the the Presbyterian Covenant theology will deal more with the Church of
Christ idea of baptism and also with one that's Pentecostal ism.
But as always I love y 'all.
I'm not saying any of this to to disrespect anyone to or anything like that.
I'm just asserting what we believe as Baptists.
You know a lot of times I'll get asked the question as a Baptist they'll say something like
do you allow people who hasn't who hasn't taken the to take
the Lord's Supper who hasn't been baptized as a believer.
Or would you allow someone to be a member of your church if they haven't been baptized as a
believer.
And I would.
And so my answer is always this.
Do you want me to be true to my
confession.
Because that's what we confess.
That the Lord's Supper is for those who have been baptized as a believer.
That membership into the church is for those who have been baptized as a believer.
Are you want me to go against my convictions.
Because if you do and something then
the one in the wrong is you not me.
I'm trying to hold true to what I believe.
So I believe that if you have not been baptized as a believer that the Lord's table is not for you.
That's what I believe.
That's what our confession teaches.
I believe if you have not been baptized as a believer that you know I can't
welcome you into membership now am I saying that you're not a Christian.
No absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
Because I don't believe that baptism saves you.
But I believe that the the Lord's Supper is for those who are baptized.
That membership into the congregation is for those who are baptized
now.
If you disagree with that that's fine.
But don't expect me to to back down from
what I believe.
So I don't hurt anybody's feelings because I'm not going to do that.
I'm not going to go against my convictions.
It's not going to happen.
And people should respect that if anything
you know.
So our Presbyterian brothers believe that if you don't baptize your child that you're sinning.
Well I don't hate them for believing that it's consistent with their view.
Because they believe that baptism points to circumcision.
I would say that if you baptize your children you're sinning.
You're breaking the moral law.
Thou shall not steal.
You're stealing your child's baptism.
Now if they want to hate me for believing that that's on them.
But I'm being consistent just like they're being consistent.
So I don't hate them.
I love them.
I know there's a lot of work that still needs to be done when it comes to the subject.
But Baptists listen to me.
Do not back down from your convictions.
I love everyone.
Thank you for listening.
Hallelujah holla back.