Baptism and Life's Greatest Question — Peter Brandon

The Book Versus Personal Opinions

A few years ago I was going to Bletchley to Glasgow by train and I didn't want to go actually into London. I wanted to miss going into London because it's 40 miles or 50 miles both ways. So I got in touch with the local station master at Woburn Sands and he got down the book.

He says you can do it. You can catch a train at Bletchley that arrives at Preston and that will pick up the Royal Scot that will take you to Glasgow and you'll be there at 4 o 'clock. So I was quite comfortable and then I spoke to another man that travels backwards and forwards from Glasgow to London and I told him that I was picking up the Royal Scot at Preston.

He said you never will. He said I have been travelling for years but I can assure you that the Royal Scot never stops at Preston, it stops at Crewe, Kyle Isle and then Glasgow. Well I got back to the local station master and I told him that he had misinformed me.

He said alright Mr Brandon I'll get the book. So he looked at the book. He says well according to the book at this time of the year it stops at Preston. Well I was a little uncertain whether to go by my friend or go by the book.

So I saw another friend and I knew that he was constantly nearly every other week travelling from London to Glasgow. So I said in passing I'm catching the Royal Scot at Preston. He said you never will.

He said you've been misinformed. It never stops at Preston I can assure you. So I got back to the station master and I said to him excuse me sir but you have misinformed me and I have a very important appointment at Glasgow.

Well he said I'll get the book. So I could hear the rustling of the leaves over the telephone and he said look Mr Brandon according to the book it stops at Preston. Now he says if you like you can go by your friends but I'm giving you what the book says.

Well very gingerly and nervously I went by the book but I was so unhappy that when I got on the train at Preston that was going to take me to Preston. I saw the station master all in his gold braid at Rugby and I called him over.

I said this train stops at Preston correct? Then I can pick up the Royal Scot. Never he said. Never. He said I'll go and get the book. Can you imagine how I felt? And his hat nearly fell off with shock.

He says according to this time of the year it stops at Preston. The train came in and it was the Royal Scot and I went by the book and I was right. Now I'm not going by my Christian friends although we love them.

I'm going by the book and I want to give you baptism as it's taught in the scripture. Now first of all would you please turn to Matthew 28 and we're going to see why do we baptise. Matthew 28 and we'll just read a few verses so that we can see the reason why we baptise in this way.

Matthew 28 and we'll read from verse 19. Go ye therefore and teach your nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.

These are the words of the Lord Jesus and you will notice the subjects of baptism those who are teachable. Secondly you will notice that we baptise in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Now why?

Because it was the Father that gave the Son. It was the Son who gave his life on account of our sins. And it's the Holy Spirit that comes into a Christian's life that gives him the new birth. Therefore the whole of the Trinity had a part in the conversion of a soul.

And therefore when we baptise we baptise in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Now you can see this is the clear teaching of the Lord Jesus. And therefore the next question will be did the apostles obey it?

Would you turn to Acts chapter 2 and we just read a short portion there to see how obedient these early apostles were to the command of the Lord Jesus. Verse 37 of Acts 2. Now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do?

Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then notice verse 41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptised and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Now isn't that beautifully and clear. The Lord commanded it, the apostles obeyed it and when they repented and believed they were baptised. And that's what we're doing here this afternoon. We accept the command of the Lord Jesus and we obey it by baptising our young sister in the Lord.

Repentance and Believers' Baptism

Now who are the people to be baptised? Now already you have seen in Acts chapter 2 it's those that repent. And secondly you have seen in verse 41 then they that gladly received his word. Now the question will be asked should all Christians be baptised?

Yes, because it's the command of the Lord Jesus. Are all Christians suitable candidates to be baptised? No, baptism is not a matter of argument. If a person is rebellious then he shouldn't be baptised.

It's those that gladly received his word. And therefore when we read the word of God and we do it gladly then it's not a legal action. You see if it's a matter of a sergeant major saying you must be baptised then it's legal.

But if you love me he says keep my commandment. And when we love the Lord Jesus we hear his word and we are gladly baptised. They that gladly received his word were baptised. Now if you come with me to Acts 12 or Acts 8 you will see another interesting scripture.

Acts 8 verse 12. And when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptised both men and women. Now can you see in Acts 2 it's those that repent it's those that gladly receive his word but here in Acts chapter 8 it's those that believe the preaching of Philip were baptised.

Therefore it's believers baptism. And tonight I want to explain as clearly as I can what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It means to put your faith and trust in him alone for your salvation.

Then another interesting thing you will see there they did not baptise babies. They did not baptise little children that had not reached the age of responsibility. They baptised, note what it says, both men and women.

You will never find in the scripture a baby being baptised. But you will find in the scripture men and women who are the fit candidates for baptism. Then if you go over to Acts chapter 10 you will see another interesting statement concerning the candidates for baptism.

Acts 10 verse 47. Can any man forbid water that these should not be baptised which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the Lord then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Now these were the first Gentile Christians to be baptised. And obviously they had received the Holy Spirit. And therefore Peter says can anybody forbid water that these should not be baptised. Is there anyone here that would prevent these people from being baptised seeing they have received the Holy Spirit.

Now can I do this with my glasses case because I think sometimes when we see an object it makes it much clearer than anything that is invisible. Imagine my glasses case to be your body. Now the Bible teaches that sin has made us inwardly unclean.

The Bible teaches that the ordinary man and that means all of us have broken the 10 commandments and we are guilty before God and we all desperately need forgiveness. Now when God saves a person and he becomes a real Christian first of all God cleanses that person from all sin because Christ died on the cross for his sins.

And then into that life he puts the Holy Spirit and that person is born again. Now it is those that have been born again of the Holy Spirit who have received him that should be baptised. And they are the only people in Scripture that should be baptised by the Lord.

Baptism by Immersion

Now how should we be baptised? Now I know this is a problem but let's face it and I'm sure you will see the logic of this. Now if it were a matter of applying water to a candidate we should need just a little water.

And I say this with reverence. If it were a matter of sprinkling water over the candidate then actually we could baptise our dear sister in a glass of water if it were a matter of sprinkling. When it comes to a matter of immersion you couldn't baptise a person in a glass of water.

You would need much water. So then if you turn to John chapter 3 then you will see the right mode of baptism. You will see it right on the surface and the moment I read the Scripture you will see the logic of baptism by immersion.

John 3 verse 23. And John also was baptising in Enon near to Salem because there was much water there and they came and were baptised. Much water. Then secondly if it was a matter of sprinkling water over a candidate or even pouring water over a candidate we would go to the water.

If it's a matter of immersing them in the water then we would have to go into the water. So if it's a matter of sprinkling we go to the water if it's a matter of immersion we would have to go into the water.

Now if you turn to Acts 8 you will see the answer on the surface of Scripture. Acts 8 verse 38. And he commanded the chariot to stand still and they went down both notice the preposition into the water both Philip and the eunuch and he baptised him.

And when they were come up out of the water the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip and the eunuch saw him no more and he went on his way rejoicing and we trust that our dear sister will go on her way rejoicing.

So isn't that clear? Number one much water number two into the water and this shows quite clearly that baptism by immersion was the New Testament move. Now what does it mean? Would you turn to Romans 6 and this gives us the true meaning of baptism.

We just read the first five verses. Romans 6 verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Know ye not that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death?

Therefore we are buried with him 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

Death to Sin and Newness of Life

Now again I think I'm going to use my spectacles in order to illustrate this point. When we take a candidate and it's a very sacred act not really an act where we just want to see something that's new.

This is a very sacred act. We plunge that candidate right under water to show that that person has been identified with the Lord Jesus in death. And that means their old life the life that they lived before they were converted has died as far as they're concerned.

The old life goes right down into death. Paul says even in this chapter know ye not that the old man your old self was crucified with him. So when the candidate goes under the water it speaks of their old life dying and being crucified with Christ.

Now what do we do with a corpse? We bury it. So when you see the candidate reverently going under the water it speaks that that old life once and for all has been buried out of sight. It's come under the judgment of God through Christ and that old life has gone.

And then if we were to leave the candidate there for five minutes and this is the reality of it that person would actually come up as a dead person but we won't do that. We shall bring the candidate up immediately and it speaks that they're connected now with a new head.

The Lord Jesus. They're connected with him in all his risen power. And therefore now the old life has gone and the new life is going to be lived and they're going to show the world that they're under a new master they've got new ideas they've got a new hope.

In fact they are completely new in the sight of God. So can I repeat that? The moment the candidate goes down it speaks of their death to their old life for they have died in Christ. It speaks of their burial.

It speaks of their resurrection with Christ and now they're going to show the world that they're going to walk in newness of life. Now it takes us five minutes roughly to get baptised. It will take us a lifetime to live it out.

Lots of people have been baptised but not all that have been baptised are living a baptised life. And therefore all of us want to ask ourselves the question as we see this holy act of baptism am I living a baptised life?

Dead to sin dead to the world alive unto God and our beloved friends who've come to see our sister being baptised can I put this to you? Wouldn't it be lovely if you trusted Christ today? Scores of people have been saved at a baptism and wouldn't it be lovely if someone today quietly trusted Christ and they were born anew of the Holy Spirit as you saw our friend being baptised.

Shall we ask the Lord to bless us? Lord this is a wonderful moment and we do pray for our dear young sister that as she goes through the waters of baptism the joy of the Lord may fill her. This act of obedience may be the means of bringing glory to God and we pray that she may become one of thy daughters that will be very special in the family of God.

Make her a living witness at school. We pray too that thou wilt fill her with the Spirit of God grant that thou wilt shield her from all temptation pray that through the reading of Scripture the Lord Jesus may reveal himself to her powerfully.

Pray too that through her witness others might come to know the Lord Jesus and especially make this afternoon and this act of baptism very precious to her even in days to come. Grant this in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Amen. Well dear friends it's a joy to be with you again with the Word of God thank you for coming and we trust that God will bless you tonight. The subject we shall discuss is life's greatest question.

But before I read the Scripture and give you a simple message I would like to thank the whole assembly for their loyal support in the mission and thank you very much for the invitation and I do trust that the meeting will be a blessing to the local church.

Would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Ray Wilson for their lovely hospitality they've given us a lovely home and I want to thank them for all their kindness and also to the family lovely family of boys and one girl one strange thing that's happened in the heat I've noticed that their feet get swollen and their shoes get tight and they've had some problems in that realm if you speak to them they'll tell you all about it and anyhow I do want to thank them for all their kindness and all those people that have offered us hospitality we appreciate it very much indeed.

The Philippian Jailer and Life's Greatest Question

Now let's turn to the Scriptures we're going to turn to Acts 16 and we're going to read from verse 16 and this is the first time the Gospel came to Europe. Acts 16 and we shall commence reading at verse 16 and it came to pass as we went to prayer a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met her which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying in other words fortune telling the same followed Paul and us and cried saying these men are the servants of the Most High God which show unto us the way of salvation.

And this did she many days but Paul being grieved turned and said to the spirit I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her and he came out the same hour and when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers and brought them to the magistrates saying these men being Jews do exceedingly trouble our city and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive neither to observe being Romans.

And the multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them they cast them into prison charging the jailer to keep them safely.

Who having received such a charge thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God and the prisoners heard. And suddenly there was a great earthquake so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands was loose.

And the keeper of the prison awakening out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open he drew out his sword and would have killed himself supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice saying do thyself no harm for we are all here.

Then he called for a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas and brought them out and said sirs what must I do to be saved. And they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house.

And they spake unto him the word of the Lord and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes and was baptized he and all his straight way. And when he had brought them into his house he set meat before them and rejoiced believing in God with all his heart and the Lord will bless to us the reading of his word.

I believe every European should be so glad that the gospel did not initially go into Asia but it came into Europe and the first local church in Europe was in a lady's house called Lydia. And because the gospel went right into Europe it civilized the whole of Europe eventually with the gospel you will find this dear friends wherever the gospel goes it brings real civilization in every single respect.

And that is why Christianity has made such a tremendous impact upon the world. But when Paul got to Philippi he ran into serious trouble. A young girl that was a brilliant satanic possessed fortune teller realized that these two men had a power that she hadn't got and she would run along saying these men are the servants of the most high God which show unto us the way of salvation.

And therefore through her Satan was using flattery upon these men of God. And Paul turned round with apostolic power and he commanded the unclean spirit or spirits to come out. And they came out the same hour.

And when her master saw that the hope of their gains was gone and therefore this girl couldn't tell satanic fortunes then there was an uproar. Now may I say this as clearly as I can if revival came to Sydney a real revival all Christians would be facing opposition.

It would close down the public houses that means your alcohol hotels. It would close down the gambling dens and all those kind of entertainment that was not for the glory of God would close and that would cause problems.

The moment you touch finance then you're in serious trouble. So Paul and Silas these two gentlemen from heaven who were really mighty men of God were cast into prison and they were cast into an inner prison.

And in that inner prison they manifested and revealed basic Christianity. It's so easy to be a Christian in a Christian family. It's so easy to be a Christian in a country that submits to the facts of Christianity.

But it's very difficult to be a Christian in an inner prison especially a Roman prison. But these men were brilliant for God in a brutal prison and right in the midst of their session of praise and prayer there was a mighty earthquake and this man the Philippian jailer was converted.

And we're going to examine that conversion tonight. Now first of all we will not experience an earthquake in this room or I trust not whilst I'm preaching you see it's not the purpose of God always to bring an earthquake.

If the Lord had used the earthquake method on little Lydia she would have died with a heart attack. The sephirah breezes of grace blew upon her and her heart was opened. But this man was a tough customer.

He was a difficult man. He was a Roman centurion and therefore God was going to use violent means in order to bring about his conversion. And right in the midst of this earthquake he took a sword and he was going to kill himself.

Now you might say that is ridiculous but do remember this. When a Roman centurion failed in his duty or failed on the battlefield he always committed suicide. Such was their devotion to Caesar. And therefore this man being a true Roman who saw all his prisoners liberated did what most Roman centurions would do.

He was in the process of committing suicide. When God spoke to him and he cried out what must I do to be saved. It was a hard cry it wasn't a whisper. It came right from the depths of his innermost being.

And if you look at that question the first thing you find is this. It was a question of intense extremity. God speaks to the human race in four ways. First of all he has spoken to us by his son God who at sundry times and in divers manners spaking times passed unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by son.

And that means if I want to know what God is like I look at Jesus Christ who was God manifest in the flesh. And I see the whole story of the glory of God told out in manhood in Jesus Christ. Therefore when you see the son you see the father and when you see the father you see the son.

Secondly God speaks to us through the word of God. If you want to communicate to your wife if you're married when you're away you can do it by two means. You can pick up a telephone and speak to her verbally.

Or you can take a piece of paper and write a letter. Now the most reliable form of communication is not that which is verbal but that which is written. If you go to the court and you have anything in writing that's fine.

Now God has not left us to hear say God has given to us this lovely book the Bible and it's God's letter to the human race. Therefore the word of God says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

And every preacher should preach clearly from the holy scriptures because it doesn't matter one iota what the preacher thinks it's what the word of God says. Thirdly God speaks to us by preaching. The word of God says how shall they hear without a preacher.

How shall they preach except they be sent. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel. In other words the preacher has to get alone with God in the sanctuary and he waits upon God for a message.

He doesn't carry with him a list of sermons for that would be awfully wrong. But he goes into the presence of God and he says now Lord what am I to say to that congregation tonight. And he waits and waits until God gives him the message.

And then he comes out from that sanctuary. He stands on the pulpit and he says if I may use old fashioned language thus sayeth the Lord. It's the word of the Lord for the moment. And God is going to speak to us tonight through the scriptures through the preacher.

And therefore I trust that we may respond to the overtures of God's love and mercy. And then lastly if we will not listen to Christ if we will not read the word of God we say it's obsolete. I don't need it today.

If we will not listen to the preacher then how can God speak to us. Well his last voice is the voice of adversity. Sometimes he can use adversity in a nation and cause a catastrophe. Sometimes in a person's life he can cause a sickness.

And through adversity he speaks to us. For instance my own father was saved what he thought was on his deathbed God brought him low. God spoke to my own beloved mother through the death of her first child.

And over and over again you will find that God speaks through adversity. Now why does he do this? The soul that is within your body is the real you and that is eternal. The physical part of you is called the body of humiliation.

And that's temporal. And the devil comes to us and deceives us. And he says something like this you know you're just an animal. That's all you are. You're just a bundle of bone a muscle fiber a nerve tissue and blood cells.

That's all you are. God says don't be ridiculous. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul. And God says you were made in my image and in my likeness I stamped myself upon you.

You're eternal. And when death comes that's not the end after death the judgment. And therefore sometimes God has to bring a person right to the verge of eternity to make him think now friends can I share something with you.

Let God speak to you through preaching not through adversity. He doesn't want to do that. He wants you tonight to hear the word of God and open your heart to the Savior. But if you block your ears and shut the doors of your soul the only way he can get in sometimes is through adversity.

The Extremity and Individuality of Salvation

Secondly it was a question of astonishment. This man being a Roman centurion and obviously had heard the apostle Paul preaching and was infuriated with what he heard you say. How do you know that if he hadn't have heard the apostle he would never have said what must I do to be saved.

Obviously he had some information to use that language. But from the narrative you can see that the man was infuriated. And when the magistrate handed the apostle and Silas over to the jailer you can almost see his eyes greedily looking at them saying just the two rascals that I wanted.

And he finds the worst prison the inner prison. Now the inner prison was the place where they kept murderers. And before actually they were executed they died with bronchopneumonia. In these places the floor would be covered with two inches of mud.

Rats would be there in their hundreds. And some of these poor men lost their feet by these hungry beasts. And here were these two men with their backs all bleeding for they had been scourged. And he says to his soldiers throw them in and you can hear the splash of mud as they are thrown in.

Now he says make their feet fast in the stocks. Then he says slam the door. And he says that's the end of their Christianity. And friends it was just the beginning. At midnight man's lowest point they reached their highest pitch spiritually.

And Paul must have nudged Silas and said grand to be here. Isn't it brother. Shall we sing. Yes what shall we sing. Here we suffer grief and pain. In the other prisons they are just the same not a bit of it.

They were singing praises to God. At midnight they were singing some of the lovely psalms. You see because they were suffering for Christ the spirit of glory was upon them. There they were worshipping and praising God with the rats all around them their feet bleeding their bodies wrecked with pain.

And there they were praising God. No wonder there was an earthquake. The Bible says if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything he shall ask it shall be done. And those men were praying for the prisoners.

And I'm sure they were praying for the jailer. Now let's look at the jailer. He feels the bedroom rocking. He thinks that he's in a very vivid dream. And he pinches himself. He comes out of a deep slumber and he says no this is not a dream.

Something's happening. He finds that the bed is rocking like a ship on an angry sea. He gets out of bed all awkwardly. He looks through the lattice and he can't believe it. All his prisoners are liberated.

You see the earthquake. So shook the prison bolts were pulled out of the wall chains that were on their feet were all released and all these prisoners were liberated. Now you see the difference with a man that's not a Christian.

He doesn't start praising Caesar. He takes out his sword and he's going to kill himself. And Saul sees him or Paul sees him. Now what would a natural man say. That's just what you deserve. You put us in prison and you had no right to do it.

And remember I'm a Roman citizen. Now stick it in deep not a bit of it. He turned to that man with a loud voice and said do thyself. No harm old fellow. We're all here. You see the wonder of it. Paul had such an influence on those prisoners that when they could escape they wouldn't.

It was his influence on them. They were all still there. And turning to that man he said look don't plunge yourself into eternity. Don't throw yourself into hell. Do yourself no harm. We're all here dear friends.

I've seen scores of people in Sydney doing that. They're preserving their body but they're stabbing their souls living for the body living for pleasure living for business living for knowledge living for the car, living for the boat living for everything.

But their eternal soul thrown away. What would you think of your beloved if you gave your beloved a beautiful engagement ring in a well padded box. And she threw away the ring and she kept the box. You would be disgusted.

And there are thousands of people that keep the old box, the body but the soul, the ring. They throw it away. And I want to say to you like the apostle tonight with all my heart do yourself no harm. You've got to face eternity.

If you die without Christ you will be lost. This is not medieval scare language. This is the teaching of the bible. He that believes on the sun has light. He that believes not the sun shall not see light.

But the wrath of God abides on him. And we want to say to you tonight do yourself no harm. Get your soul saved. And then the man started to calculate that sword. And he thought very carefully. And he said supposing.

I had plunged the tip into the vital place of my heart. Where would I be? And it dawned upon him like thunder coming into his mind. Ooh I would be in a lost eternity. And that word rang in his soul. Listen eternity infinite eternity.

And he didn't say what must I do to be religious? What must I do to be good? What must I do to turn over a new leaf? Notice what he said trembling all over. What must I do to be saved? What must? What vitality?

You know dear friends if we are going to live we must drink water. That's a must. If we are going to live we must eat food. That's a must. If we are going to live we must have a certain amount of exercise.

That's a must. If we are going to live we must learn to breathe properly. That's a must. But here's a greater must. If you're going to heaven you must be saved. Do you know there's only one thing in life that's vital.

And that is you get saved. And this is what the scripture says. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation. What must? Now think of the individuality. What must I do? He wasn't now thinking of his family.

He wasn't even thinking of those prisoners. God had put a ring right round him. And God was pointing right at him. He had seen his soul almost on the verge of the abyss of hell. And oh as he looked into that yawning infinite mess he said what must I do?

Friends put a ring around your soul tonight. Just draw it round yourself and say what must I do? You see every one of us is going to give an account of himself to God. And it is vital that we have this personal commitment with him before we die.