1 Peter: Baptism Now Saves You (1 Peter 3:18-4:6, Jeff Kliewer)

And for me to say what's on my mind, it's another thing entirely for us to hear from your word. Lord, we need your word today. We ask that your word would come forth with clarity, with power, with passion, Lord, that your word would speak to our hearts and that we would be transformed by it.

In Jesus' name, amen. You will find the title of my sermon today to be a bit intriguing. If you'll notice, baptism now saves you. Notice two things. Number one, on the face of it, that is some bad theology.

But if you'll look with me at 1 Peter 3 .21, you'll see it's the very language of the text. Baptism now saves you. So our question then is, what does this verse mean? How can we understand this verse, but it's not saying that we are saved by the act of baptism or even in the very act of baptism.

We will get into that today. There have been many occasions in my life where I've sat down and talked about baptism. In fact, some of the groups that I've talked to are not cults but have a different view.

Other groups are in fact cults. I've spoken to a Jehovah's Witness at length and he attempted to prove from scripture that baptism is what saves you, that in the moment of baptism, that's when a person gets saved.

Mormons have a similar theology. There's a church in Philadelphia pastored by a guy named Geno Jennings called the First Church of Jesus Christ that believes that baptism is the moment in which a person is saved.

They would look to a text like 1 Peter 3 .21 for that theology. Oneness Pentecostals believe that. Roman Catholics believe that, that in baptism, original sin is actually taken away from the person being baptized.

And it's up to them then to maintain their justification through works, especially through sacraments and obedience to the sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. Lutherans have this view of baptismal regeneration.

And the longest conversation I had was with a guy from the ICOC, the International Church of Christ. They believe that baptism is what saves you. And not only that, it's not enough that you be baptized, but nobody here is probably saved according to their theology.

Because you also have to be believing that the baptism is the moment of your salvation while you're being baptized. You need to be calling on Christ to save you in the act of baptism in order for you to be saved.

So for their theology, it would not be enough that you be a believer and a baptized believer. You would have to be calling on Christ for salvation in the act of baptism in order to be saved. So these are some of the views of baptism that are prevalent, and it's upon us as believers in the word of God to dig deeply into the text of scripture to understand baptism.

Now today we have a special opportunity, and that is that we are going to be baptizing two young people today. So the question for us is particularly important because we're asking, what does this mean?

Is this the moment when their sins are washed away? Or has that already happened in a spiritual way prior to this moment? We're looking at the text to say, well, what does it say to us baptized believers about our walk with Christ?

Because I will argue that baptism is not about the washing away of sins in that act of baptism, but it symbolizes our being washed from sin. It symbolizes our making a break from the world and walking in holiness.

So when we see baptism, we are to remember our own baptism, and we are to say, I am crucified with Christ. I am raised to walk in newness of life. And for those of us who haven't been baptized, you haven't gone into the water, been buried, and brought back out, the question is, do you understand the meaning of Jesus and his death, his burial and resurrection, and are you willing to put your faith in him, which will result in the obedience of baptism in the water.

So baptism speaks to us today, and especially to us who are believers,.

That we would be holy.

That's what it will say. So we'll go to the text now. It's 1 Peter 3, 18. Just so happens that it's a text about baptism. No, this time I actually planned it. Last time we were preaching through Colossians, and it just so happened that chapter two fell on the same time that we were having a baptism service.

This time I looked ahead, and I cheated a little bit, and we scheduled baptism for a day that the text was dealing with it. It says in verse 18, and we'll start here. Well, first of all, the big idea here, the main idea of what we're trying to say is that baptism saves in a metaphorical sense.

It's not the moment of salvation, and it's not an instrument by which God saves us, but it pictures our salvation, and it's connected with our salvation. God himself does the saving when we repent and believe, but baptism is the step of obedience and a lifelong reminder of our need to obey Christ in holiness, following him as our example.

So the text leading into verse 18 was talking about righteous suffering, how Jesus is an example to us. He suffered righteously, and that's what we'll see in verse 18, that we should be willing to suffer well because Christ also suffered.

Sometimes we'll be treated unjustly, and we'll have to suffer because the world doesn't appreciate our faith. But we get into verse 18, and you'll find this verse is one of the most important verses in the Bible because it's one of the clearest gospel verses you'll find.

I would encourage all of you to memorize chapter three, verse 18. Mark it, underline it, star it, use a highlighter. Remember verse 18. I'll tell you why in a minute. Verse 18, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.

This verse is teaching us that believers are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. And this verse gives us the core meaning of the gospel. The core meaning of the gospel is substitution, substitution.

One person standing in for another, substituting himself. Christ also suffered for our sins. Jesus died for our sins. It's a message of Christianity. But what does that word for mean? What does it mean that he died for our sins?

We're told here it's the righteous for the unrighteous. A righteous lamb, a spotless lamb, a sinless son, substitutes for an unrighteous man like me. That is the meaning of the cross, that I deserve to die.

The wages of sin is death, but God has laid the punishment of a sinner like me and like you upon the righteous one, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So from verse 18, we see the heart of the gospel is a penalty substitute, that Jesus dies to take the wrath that's owed to a sinner like me.

Christ also suffers once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. The result of his having died for my sins is that now I am united with him and he is able to bring me to God.

My future, my eternity is secure in him. I will be in heaven forever. You who believe in Jesus, who are united with Christ, you have been brought to God through that one sacrifice, the substitutionary atonement.

It's a big theological word. You guys, make a note, substitutionary atonement. What is the meaning of atonement? There's so many people that preach the meaning of Jesus' death is only as an example. He died as an example of selflessness.

But consider this example. If you had a fireman who knew that a child was in a building that was burning and he ran into that building to rescue that child and came out but died in the process of rescuing the child, the child is saved but the fireman dies.

We would all say he substituted his life. He laid down his life for another. Greater love has no one than the one who lays down his life for a friend. This is love, this is a substitution. But if that fireman saw a burning building and said, I will run into this building to demonstrate my selflessness, how I will die and lay down my life, but he knew that there was no one in that building and everybody knew that there was no one in that building, what would you call that act?

Foolishness, foolhardiness. This fireman set no example to be followed because he laid down his life for nothing. There was nothing there. And so here's my point. Substitutionary atonement is the heart of the gospel.

When you lose substitutionary atonement, you lose the gospel. Because all other theories of the atonement, the exemplary view of the atonement, are based upon substitution. If Jesus didn't die as a penalty substitute for us, he has no example for us.

We are still in our sins. And there's many theories of the atonement. Christus victor, that Jesus died to defeat Satan, that is true. But if I'm still a sinner in my sins, I'm lost. Jesus defeated Satan and he has rescued me from the evil one in a lot of ways.

He is the victor over evil, that is true. But it rests on substitutionary atonement. This is a bit of a theology lesson, but if you want to hold onto the gospel in the midst of a world where there's many false gospels floating around, every false gospel denies this essential element.

This is a point at which the false gospels depart from Christianity. And so you'll see big debates right now. There was one at IHOP, International House of Prayer, not the House of Pancakes. Very famous church in Kansas City.

But they actually brought in a teacher to say that substitutionary atonement is not the meaning of the gospel. And fortunately, a devoted Christian believer, Michael Brown, stood up and refuted that from Isaiah 53.

And yet it seems when you go and read the commentary underneath that debate on YouTube, half of the people think that Brian Zahn, the heretic, won the debate. And they agree with him. Because this idea of substitutionary atonement is offensive.

What does it really mean? It means this, that God has wrath against sin and against sinners. He has wrath against sinners. And he has poured out his wrath on his own son. Who killed Jesus? Was it the Romans?

Yeah, was it the Jews? Yeah, was it you and I?

Yes.

Isaiah 53, verses five and 10 tell us, verse 10 especially, it was the will of the father to crush him. The father sacrificed his only son, John 3 .16. That's the love of God. The core meaning of the gospel is the father has sacrificed his one and only son as a penalty substitute for those of us who believe in him, the believing ones.

You won't find it in very many verses more clearly than 1 Peter 3 .18. That's why I spent so much time on that verse. I want you to think about it, mark it. Because it says, the righteous for the unrighteous.

A substitute, a lamb standing in, an innocent righteous one in the place of a guilty sinner, receiving the wrath that the unrighteous one deserves. Another great one is 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

Do you see substitution there? He becomes sin on our behalf and bears the wrath of God against our sin, dying on a cross. And in this, we become the righteousness of God. Our sin is imputed to him. It's given to him and he's treated in our place.

So imputation of our sin to him and his perfect righteousness, his obedience throughout the life, his life on earth is now imputed to us. So there's the imputation of our sin to Christ and the imputation of his righteousness to us.

This is the gospel and it's being denied all over our country, even amongst professing Christians. 1 Peter 5, 18. Now we move into the baptism section, 19 and following. In which, this is the spirit, so he was crucified passively by the Romans, his body was laid in a tomb, he was killed by them, but his spirit is alive and he'll be made alive in the resurrection.

Verse 19, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. In which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Here's the title of the sermon, Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. Not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

There's some deep teaching there. Some complicated teaching. But let those words hit you, baptism now saves you. What is Peter saying in these verses? And what does it have to do with Noah? Chapter three, verse 19, he's in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.

There's two views here. Really, there's multiple views, but in two main ideas. One is that when Christ died, his spirit, his body being in the tomb, his spirit went down to hell, or to this prison, this holding place, and proclaimed his victory over those who died in Noah's flood.

That's one view. Some even teach that he didn't just proclaim his victory, he actually preached the gospel and gave them a second chance to believe. I don't think that's what the text is saying. The first part of that is possible, that he went in the spirit and he proclaimed victory.

That's possible from this text. But I think that the clue comes in verse 20. It says, because they formerly did not obey. I think what the text is teaching is that the second view, that in the preaching of Noah, the gospel was proclaimed to those who were being judged.

Noah preached for 120 years. It was the spirit of Christ within Noah that was animating him, that was giving him the words to say the spirit of the living Christ, in that former time, was preaching through Noah.

And all that time, the patience of God waited while they failed to respond, because they formerly did not obey. When God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared. So that 120 year period where Noah was building an ark, he was a preacher, not just a builder.

And it was the spirit of Christ inside of him calling people to repent, but nobody would, save the eight. In which a few, that is eight persons. That's Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives.

Eight people responded to this call. What does that say to us today? We're preachers of the gospel. You know, whenever I come up here, I pray that the Lord would give me the words to say, when you're in your workplace, don't you pray that the Lord will give you the opportunity to share the gospel with your coworkers.

And when you do, you become a preacher. It's the spirit of Christ that's preaching through you. But very few will respond to what you have to say. You should preach the gospel 1 ,000 times for every time someone gets saved.

We should be preaching, I don't know if that's the case, but you should preach a lot, you should be preaching the gospel, preaching the gospel, and sometimes one will believe. That's what's to be expected.

I think we, on the other hand, tend to think, you know, maybe once in a while I'll get a chance to share. And if that person doesn't come, then I don't have a gift of evangelism. It's not the case. Do the work of evangelism.

Leave that regenerating work to the Holy Spirit. Preach the gospel, in season and out of season. Preach Christ, and expect that many people will turn a deaf ear. Or maybe they'll turn a deaf ear for you and the next guy and 10 more guys, and the 11th or 12th or 13th time they hear it, they'll respond to the gospel.

We don't know. But here in this passage, in Noah's day he was preaching and preaching his heart out, and very few were listening. But eight were, and eight were saved. They were brought safely through water.

Now verse 21, here we go. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you. I think the key to understanding this is the phrase that follows. It says, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience.

It's almost like Peter, in writing this, can look down the corridor of history and see every cult that will pop up and misunderstand these words. And he says it's not this outward physical washing that takes away sin.

It's the appeal to God for a good conscience. It's what's going on in the heart. The appealing to God to be saved. I wanna be saved, God. I'm calling on the name of Jesus. Whoever calls on the name of Jesus will be saved.

And God is looking at the heart and seeing that faith there that brought the person into the water through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The power that raised Jesus from the dead, because he's a living savior, he can save us.

Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. So this verse, chapter three, verse 21, becomes a point of contention for all of the cults and for many other people that aren't in cults, but they have a distorted view of this.

Is this the only verse? Well, in the Great Commission, Matthew 28, verse 19, we're to go out, make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In Mark 16, 16, we're told, repent and be baptized.

You'll be forgiven. If you don't believe, you'll be lost. Mark 16, 16 seems to say something similar. But then there's Acts chapter two, verse 38. When Peter's preaching, he says, repent and be baptized, and you will be saved.

Starting to get a little scary, isn't it? Galatians three, those who have been baptized have put on Christ. Does the scripture teach that in baptism, we are born again? That without baptism, a person cannot be saved?

Is that what it teaches? I'm gonna give four reasons to show that it doesn't. Be brief. But number one, the texts that speak about salvation, particularly the way to be saved, soteriological texts, very often leave baptism completely out of the picture.

The absence of the teaching of baptism as necessary for salvation in the key soteriological text is an argument, doesn't prove that it's not the case, but mitigates strongly against it. Romans chapter one through five presents the gospel in a theology, laying out the theology of salvation, and there's no mention of baptism.

It only comes in chapter six when it's talking about the question, shall we go on sinning then so that grace should increase? Paul then appeals to baptism as a reason not to. The book of John, chapter 20, verse 31, we're told that he writes these things so that we would believe in him, and by believing, have life in his name.

The book of John doesn't give an indication that baptism is necessary for salvation. Rather, accepting him is the key. Number two, and these are gonna build. From the lesser argument and the less concrete to the most slam dunk, LeBron James, you got it.

That's the fourth one. Number two is priority. Paul will speak of his preaching, proclaiming ministry as being greater than baptizing. In fact, he will say that he's thankful he didn't baptize anybody so they wouldn't get confused.

First Corinthians 117 is a key passage there. Likewise, in Luke, chapter three, verse 16, water baptism is contrasted with something that's greater than water baptism, namely, spirit baptism. So John can baptize with water for repentance, but there's coming a spirit baptism, which is described as with fire.

Something that's greater, it's a spiritual baptism. In Acts, chapter one, verse five, we also see that there's a contrast between water baptism and a spirit baptism. And so the point is, priority is given to the spiritual baptism over water baptism.

And here's what I think happens. When you believe, Ephesians 113, having believed you are marked in him with the seal, the promised Holy Spirit, at the moment of conversion, when you believe in Christ, you repent of your sins, in your heart, you sanctify him as Lord, 1 Peter 3 .15.

In that moment, you are baptized in the spirit. You are renewed spiritually. And then there's a symbol that follows right on its heel called water baptism. So that's why you see a priority to the spiritual.

It has to come from the heart first. You have to have the appeal of a good conscience before God before you go into the water. So number one, there's an absence of baptism being taught in the soteriological passages.

Number two, there's a priority given to spirit baptism over water baptism. But now we go to number three. And faith itself is described as an obedience. We see that in Acts 5 .32 and 6 .7. But Romans begins this way.

Romans 1 .5, if you wanna flip over with me. Paul is speaking of this gospel, which was promised through the prophets and the scriptures. Jesus declared to be the Son of God with power. Verse five, chapter one, verse five.

Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations. Faith itself is described as an obedience. Not an act of baptism, but believing the gospel as it's proclaimed is an obedience.

And this is shown to proceed by some time, whether it's great or small, the act of baptism. In John chapter two, verse 11, Jesus does his first miracle at Cana. He turns water into wine. And his disciples believe in him.

They have faith in him.

They believe.

And that's the point of John, that in believing, they are born again. Now we're not told that right now they got baptized. In that moment. We don't know exactly when the apostles got baptized, but there's clearly some period of time.

In Acts chapter eight, verse 12, you have people who are believers before they get baptized. Again, in Acts 18, verse eight, you have believers who are then baptized. According to the theology of the New Testament, Acts 1 .5, the obedience of faith.

We are justified by faith. Romans three, 23 through 25. We are justified by faith, not by any act. Now y 'all ready for the slam dunk? Number four. In Acts 10, turn with me. Acts 10, verses 44 to 48. Peter goes to some Gentiles, Cornelius and his household.

Preaches the gospel, preaches the name of Jesus. Bearing witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Look at verse 44. Chapter 10, Acts chapter 10, verse 44.

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people who have received, past tense, the Holy Spirit just as we have?

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then he asked them to remain for some days. So to all of the IOCC, International Church of Christ, ICOC, who are watching this video, to Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons, Acts chapter 10 teaches that the gospel was preached, they were believing, they received the Holy Spirit, were thus born again before they ever went into the water.

That's what the text teaches. Because the gifts of the Holy Spirit were then poured out and the text says they have received the Holy Spirit, the Spirit is in them. Now according to Romans chapter eight, verses nine to 11 and verse 15, if you have the Holy Spirit, if you've received the Holy Spirit, you belong to Christ.

You're an adopted child. These are a case of believers who have been adopted into his family, they are born again before they get into the water. And it's a slam dunk case. Finally, how does this really matter to us?

We've been doing a lot of theology now. We've been studying how justification is by faith alone and even the work of baptism itself doesn't contribute. We've seen the priority of faith. We've seen the arguments from the priority given over baptism itself, the absence of baptism in soteriological texts and we've looked at Acts 10.

And so the question is, why does this really matter? Am I just learning theology so I can know how to argue with someone in a cult? Well, that's good to be able to do that. But we have six verses left and this is what drives it home to our lives.

Because baptism says something to us and it doesn't tell us the moment we were born again. It calls us to holiness. Turn back with me to 1 Peter. Now we're into the fourth chapter. We'll do three verses and three verses.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh. You ready to hear? Arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do. Living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties and lawless idolatry. When we see a baptism, what does it mean?

It means that someone is crucified with Christ and raised to walk in newness of life. It means the death of someone we love but the resurrection of a new man in Christ. If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has gone, the new has come. Baptism pictures sanctification, being set apart from the old way to holiness. Baptism challenges us to remember our own baptism and to count ourselves as dead. Romans chapter six, reckon yourself dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus.

We are exiles in this life. That's one of the themes of First Peter. While we're here, we're in the flesh. And during our time in the flesh, we are to be holy. When we see baptism happen, it's a call to our own holiness to remember that we need to break from sin and walk in righteousness.

It's a sad thing when you look at the statistics about evangelical holiness as compared to the world. Even those professing Christ look very different, should look very different from the world but don't look very different from the world.

There's a book that I'm gonna recommend to you that's called The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung. I encourage, it's a small book, it's not very expensive. You can just get it on Amazon. I encourage everyone here to get it and read it because there is a hole in our holiness.

We're not taking these words seriously. It's something about American evangelicalism that has lost sight of this teaching. That if we are in Christ, we have been crucified with him to walk in a new life.

Finally, verses four to six. With respect to this, they are surprised. Speaking of non-believers who are in the flesh doing all of these things that we've made a break from. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you.

But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

The world is surprised that we don't plunge with them. So there's this language of the flood again. We don't plunge in with the world into sin. It surprises the world and they malign you. There will be a persecution for doing righteous things and for shunning the things of the world.

We will be maligned. We will be regarded as strange. I mean, first of all, think how strange we are that we baptize. Isn't it strange that we would make a baptismal and we would go inside of that and dunk someone underwater in the presence of many witnesses?

Isn't that strange from the world's point of view? The world regards us as strange and here they will malign us because of what we don't participate in. We are to be strangers. But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Verse six, for this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. Even before Christ came, the gospel was preached in types and shadows, but according to the amount of revelation that was given, people that believed the teaching of the word were saved by their faith.

The gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are. That applies to those who have died before the time, that also applies to us. As our bodies die the way people do, we're judged in the flesh that way, but we live in the spirit, that they might live in the spirit the way God does, namely those who believed.

So here this isn't referring to the dead from the time of Noah. This is, in general, the dead. People who have died, they heard the gospel. Those who believed will live in the spirit even though their bodies die like anyone else.

And that's the teaching on baptism from 1 Peter 3, 18 to 4, 6. To summarize, it begins with the gospel. It begins with the call to faith, to recognize that Christ suffered the righteous for the unrighteous, a substitutionary atonement.

It teaches on the flood of Noah as a type for us. The world departs in wickedness. Wickedness gets worse and worse in the time of Noah, until people's thoughts were wicked all the time. And yet out of that, God called eight to belong to him.

And what were they saved from? Were they saved from water? Only in a symbolic sense. Yes, they were physically saved from water, but Noah and his children, catch this now, were ultimately saved from God's wrath.

It was God's wrath that was pouring judgment out on the earth in the time of the flood. That's what they were saved from. And you and I, in the same way, we are saved from God's wrath. And the water itself doesn't save us, but it pictures us coming through that wrath unscathed.

It pictures us delivered and set free. So 1 Peter 3, 18 through the end of the chapter is about being rescued like Noah and his children. By faith, we're rescued from God's wrath. And it then becomes a call to holiness, to recognize that this is how God regards sin.

Do we ever think that way? You guys all grew up, you know, whoever grew up going to Sunday school, remember being told the story of Noah? Very often it's told as a story of animals and fun and making a boat and getting on a boat.

That sounds like fun and bringing all these animals on two by two. But the story of Noah is a story about God's wrath being poured out to literally destroy all flesh. It's a story of wrath, but it's a story of rescue to those who heard the preaching of the gospel.

So where does that leave us? Just like the people of Noah's day, the gospel is Jesus, who he is, that he is the son of God, that he died and that he rose. Will you respond to that gospel by putting your faith, and if you will, being baptized?

If you believe you'll be spirit baptized, he'll make you new, he'll save you, and you'll be baptized in the water. But if you don't, if you refuse to believe and repent, you'll refuse the water, but the flood of judgment will come.

Don't take God's patience for slowness in delivering wrath. He's been patient for many, many years since the death of Jesus, but the time is coming where he will judge the world in righteousness. The time is now to repent.

So if you've never repented of your sin, if you've never put your faith in Christ, now is the time to do that, and then be baptized. If you've been baptized, remember what you've been spared from, and you need to make a break from the sins of the world.

If you've been dabbling in those things, judgment and wrath will be poured out on those things, and you are not of the world. Let the world hate you. They will malign you, but make a break. It's time.

I'm gonna close in prayer. Let's call on the worship team. After I pray, they're gonna play, and I'm gonna run and get changed, and we're gonna invite those to be baptized. So Michael, you might have to play the song a little extra long until we get out here.

So you guys might be singing the same thing two times through. We're gonna be fast changing now. Let me close in a word of prayer. Father, this passage is heavy, and I never wanna make light of your word.

I wanna treat it with the reverence that it's due. It is sobering, God, to picture a world coming under your wrath, and to know that that is what we deserve, but we have a penalty substitute, Jesus the righteous.

Thank you, Jesus, for taking the wrath of God upon your shoulders, dying a death that I deserve. Lord, I pray for those who are here who have never repented of sin and put their faith completely in Jesus Christ, that they would repent, believe, and be baptized.

Pray for those of us who have been baptized that we remember that we are dead to sin, but alive in Christ Jesus to walk in newness of life.

Make us holy.

I pray that we would get that book, a hole in our holiness, and read that. And I pray now for those getting baptized, Lord, that this would be just a marker for them, a symbol for them that they never forget.

For Nathan and Alex, in Jesus' name we pray that this would be an encouragement to their faith for all the days of their life. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.