For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Rom. 8:18
Intro: In Feb, 70 Christians were found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo. One estimate is that 62,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2000. Estimates are that about 20-25 thousand people starve to death every day in the world. 2,000 babies are killed in the womb through abortion every day in America alone. War in Israel/Gaza; war in Ukraine; war in Sudan; hatred; violence; rape; child abuse; disease; cancer; loss of wives; loss of children; relational pain: divorce & broken relationships; loneliness; suicide; depression; pain; & death. Mom & daughters killed in a crosswalk; Earthquake in Thailand. Why all this suffering? How should we as Christians think about suffering according to God’s Word?
God ordained all suffering for His glory & your good & caused His Son to suffer most, so that you will never suffer again & be brought to God!
1. Suffering Is In The World Because Of Sin
All this suffering is in the world because our first parents did what God commanded them not to do: they ate a piece of fruit. All this pain in the world shows us the horrific evil of sin & the great holiness & glory of God!
John Piper writes:
What makes sin sin is not first that it hurts people, but that it blasphemes God. This is the ultimate evil & the ultimate outrage in the universe. The glory of God is not honored. The holiness of God is not reverenced. The greatness of God is not admired. The power of God is not praised. The truth of God is not sought. The wisdom of God is not esteemed. The beauty of God is not treasured. The goodness of God is not savored. The faithfulness of God is not trusted. The promises of God are not relied upon. The commandments of God are not obeyed. The justice of God is not respected. The wrath of God is not feared. The grace of God is not cherished. The presence of God is not prized. The person of God is not loved. The infinite, all-glorious Creator of the universe, by whom and for whom all things exist – who holds every person's life in being at every moment – is disregarded, disbelieved, disobeyed, & dishonored by everybody in the world. That is the ultimate outrage of the universe. Why is it that people can become emotionally & morally indignant over poverty & exploitation & prejudice & the injustice of man against man & yet feel little or no remorse or indignation that God is so belittled? It's because of sin. That is what sin is. Sin is esteeming & valuing & honoring & enjoying man & his creations above God. So even our man-centered anger at the hurt of sin is part of sin. God is marginal in human life. That is our sin, our condition. (The Greatest Thing In The World)
- Rom. 5:12: Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned
- Rom. 8:20: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
- Gen. 3:11-19: He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, & I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, & I ate." The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock & above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, & dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you & the woman, & between your offspring & her offspring; he shall bruise your head, & you shall bruise his heel." To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, & he shall rule over you." & to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife & have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns & thistles it shall bring forth for you; & you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, & to dust you shall return."
Every time you see or feel any kind of suffering, it should remind you of the great horror of sin, & it should remind you of the great holiness of God! Sin is horrible! Sin is horrible! Sin is horrible! God is holy! God is holy! God is holy!
2. Sometimes You Suffer Because Of Your Own Personal Sin
a. Sometimes you don’t suffer because of your own personal sins: Job; Jn. 9:1-3: As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. & his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
- 2 Cor. 12:7-10: So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, & calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
b. Sometimes you do suffer because of your own personal sins: 1) We can bring a lot of our own suffering on ourselves because of our own sin: pride, sexual sin, selfishness, selfishness in relationships, anger, sinful decisions
- Ps. 107:17-21: Some were fools through their sinful ways, & because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, & they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, & he delivered them from their distress. He sent out his word & healed them, & delivered them from their destruction. Let them thank the LORD for his mercy
2) God also disciplines us for our sin: Jn. 5:13-14: Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you."
- 1 Cor. 11:28-30: Let a person examine himself, then, & so eat of the bread & drink of the cup. For anyone who eats & drinks without discerning the body eats & drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak & ill, & some have died. GOSPEL!
c. If you are are child of God, all your suffering because of your own personal sin is because God loves you:
- 1 Cor. 11:31-32: But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
- Heb. 12:5-6: have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, & chastises every son whom he receives."
- Job 23:10: when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
God ordained all suffering for His glory & your good & caused His Son to suffer most, so that you will never suffer again & be brought to God!
3. Sometimes You Suffer Directly Because You Follow Jesus
All of Jesus’ eleven disciples suffered greatly because they followed Jesus. They were all killed, except John (he was exiled), because they followed Jesus & preached Jesus Christ & Him crucified & risen from the dead.
- Acts 16:16-26: As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination & brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul & us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." & this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned & said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." & it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul & Silas & dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. & when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, & they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." The crowd joined in attacking them, & the magistrates tore the garments off them & gave orders to beat them with rods. & when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison & fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul & Silas were praying & singing hymns to God, & the prisoners were listening to them, & suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. & immediately all the doors were opened, & everyone's bonds were unfastened.
- Rev. 6:9-11: When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God & for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy & true, how long before you will judge & avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" Then they were each given a white robe & told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants & their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
4. Jesus Promised You That You Will Suffer
- Jn. 16:33: In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
- 1 Pet. 4:12-14: Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.
5. All Suffering In The Life Of A Christian Is Suffering For Jesus
1 Cor. 10:31: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
John Piper writes:
In choosing to follow Christ in the way He directs, we choose all that this path includes under His sovereign providence. Thus, all suffering that comes in the path of obedience is suffering with Christ & for Christ – whether it is cancer or conflict. And it is “chosen” – that is, we willingly take the path of obedience where the suffering befalls us, & we do not murmur against God. We may pray – as Paul did – that the suffering be removed (2 Cor. 12:8); but if God wills, we embrace it in the end as part of the cost of discipleship in the path of obedience on the way to heaven. All experiences of suffering in the path of Christian obedience, whether from persecution or sickness or accident, have this in common: They all threaten our faith in the goodness of God & tempt us to leave the path of obedience. Therefore, every triumph of faith & all perseverance in obedience are testimonies to the goodness of God & the preciousness of Christ – whether the enemy is sickness, Satan, sin, or sabotage. Therefore, all suffering, of every kind, that we endure in the path of our Christian calling is a suffering “with Christ” & “for Christ.” With Him in the sense that the suffering comes to us as we are walking with Him by faith & in the sense that it is endured in the strength He supplies through His sympathizing high-priestly ministry (Heb. 4:15). For Him in the sense that the suffering tests and proves our allegiance to His goodness and power and in the sense that it reveals His worth as an all-sufficient compensation and prize. (Desiring God, Pages 256-260)
a. God is in complete control of all life, death, & disease: Deut. 32:39: There is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death & give life. I have wounded & it is I who heal, & there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- 2 Sam. 12:15: Then the LORD struck the child that Uriah's widow bore to David, so that he was sick . . . Then it happened on the seventh day that the child died.
- Ex. 4:11: Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?
b. God is in complete control of all natural disasters: Ps. 105:16: He called for a famine upon the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.
- Mk. 4:39, 41: Even the wind & the sea obey Him.
- Ps. 104:4: He makes the winds His messengers, Flaming fire His ministers.
- Ps. 135:7: He makes lightnings for the rain, [He] brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
- Ps. 147:18; 148:8: He causes His wind to blow & the waters to flow . . . Fire & hail, snow & clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word.
c. God is in complete control of all other kinds of calamities: Isa. 45:7: The One forming light & creating darkness, Causing well-being & creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.
- Amos 3:6: If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?
- Job 42:2: I know that You can do all things, & that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
- Dan. 4:35: He [God] does according to his will in the host of heaven & among the inhabitants of the earth; & none can stay his hand or say to him, 'What are you doing?'
- Eph. 1:11: that God is the one "who works all things after the counsel of His will."
- Prov. 16:33: The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.
d. God is in complete control of all moral evil: Gen. 50:20: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.
- Ps. 105:17: [God] sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
- The Cross: Acts 4:27-28: Truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod & Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles & the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand & Your purpose predestined to occur.
John Piper: God planned a history of redemption before the world existed.
- 2 Tim. 1:8-9: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began
e. God ordained all suffering for His own glory: The primary reason God does everything is for His own glory. Suffering is in the world because God gets more glory in a world where there is suffering than in a world where there is no suffering. One example of God’s passion for His glory: God redeemed us for His glory: Eph. 1:5-6, 11-14: He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace . . . In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory . . . the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
God ordained all suffering for His glory & your good & caused His Son to suffer most, so that you will never suffer again & be brought to God!
7. Jesus Endured The Greatest Suffering Of All
Jesus was stricken & smitten by God His Father on that cross! (Isa. 53:4, Zech. 13:7, Mark 14:27)
Jesus was crushed by God His Father on that cross! – & it pleased Him to do it! (Isa. 53:10)
Jesus was made a curse by God His Father on that cross! (Gal. 3:13)
Jesus was cursed by God His Father on that cross! (Gal. 3:13)
Jesus was condemned by God His Father on that cross! (Rom. 8:3)
Jesus was a propitiation for sinners on that cross! (Rom. 3:25; 1 John 4:10)
Jesus drank the cup of God’s infinite wrath on that cross! (Matt. 26:39-44)
Jesus was forsaken by God His Father on that cross! (Matt. 27:46)
God ordained all suffering for His glory & your good & caused His Son to suffer most, so that you will never suffer again & be brought to God!
8. God Means All Your Suffering For Your Good
- Rom. 8:28-29: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Rom. 5:3-5: Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 & endurance produces character, & character produces hope, & hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
- Jas. 1:2-4: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. & let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Beverly Moore lists these helpful purposes God has for suffering in our lives:
1) We’re being conformed to the likeness of Christ (Rom. 8:28-29)
2) We can bring glory to God (1 Cor. 10:31)
3) We learn obedience (Ps. 119:71)
4) Our faith is being purified and proven genuine (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
5) We grow in spiritual maturity (James 1:2-4)
6) We grow in holiness, righteousness, and peace (Heb. 12:10-11)
7) We learn to treasure the Lord rather than this world (Matt. 6:21)
8) We learn to find true comfort in God (2 Cor. 1:3-11)
11) John Piper: We show the world that Jesus is better than anything we lose or never get (Ps. 63:3).
9. Someday, For All Christians, All Suffering Will End
- Rom. 8:18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
- Rev. 21:3-5, 22-27; 22:1-5: I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, & they will be his people, & God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, & death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." & he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." . . . & I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. & the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, & its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, & the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, & its gates will never be shut by day – & there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory & the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life . . . Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God & of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God & of the Lamb will be in it, & his servants will worship him. They will see his face, & his name will be on their foreheads. & night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, & they will reign forever & ever.
Remember when you suffer: Beverly Moore writes:
1) The Lord never changes (Mal. 3:6)
2) The Lord is all wise (Jer. 10:12)
3) The Lord is good (Ps. 119:69)
4) The Lord is gracious (Ps. 116:5-6)
5) The Lord is all powerful (2 Pet. 1:3)
6) The Lord is compassionate & merciful (Ps. 145:8-9)
9) One I added: The Lord Jesus suffered for you to bring you to God: 1 Pet. 3:18: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God . . . .
God ordained all suffering for His glory & your good & caused His Son to suffer most, so that you will never suffer again & be brought to God!
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20
Introduction:Christianity Today Article (2017):
After a Syrian Muslim man converted to Christianity, he asked to be baptized by . . . a . . . Church in Tulsa. The pastor agreed, and . . . the man was baptized in front of the . . . congregation. The man, whose identity remains anonymous for security purposes, said the church promised to keep his baptism quiet, since shari‘ah law demands that converts from Islam be executed. He flew to Syria almost immediately after his baptism in order to marry his fiancée. A few weeks later, while still in Syria, he was kidnapped by Islamist extremists—including his uncle and his cousin—who said they learned about his conversion from the church’s website, he said. [The church] had included the man’s baptism in its weekly bulletin announcements, then posted those announcements online. It was the first thing that popped up under his name in an internet search . . . . For three days, the extremists tortured him, telling him they were going to kill him for his conversion. They tied his arms behind him and beat him, keeping him for hours under a 55-gallon electrified drum that shocked him whenever he touched it, he said. [He did eventually get free and got back to the United States].
Morning Star News (2022):
A young woman preparing to be baptized in Erbil, Iraq, last week was instead killed in a possible “honor” killing for converting to Christianity, with Muslim family members reportedly suspected, according to local media. The body of Eman Sami Maghdid, 20, was found on March 7 bound with tape and discarded among the vacant, sandy fields surrounding Erbil International Airport, in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, according to local media reports. She had been stabbed multiple times, Asia News reported. Police suspected her family was connected to the killing, according to local media. Arabic-language media reported that Maghdid’s father is a prominent local mosque leader (imam). Her uncle was taken into custody in connection with the slaying, but it was unclear if he was charged or merely questioned. Reports were conflicting about the possible arrest of another relative. A few weeks before she was killed, she had announced her conversion to Christianity on one of her social media accounts, according to Middle East Concern, a religious freedom advocacy group.
Of Baptism: We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect, in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord’s Supper . . . . (New Hampshire Confession Of Faith)
1) Baptism Reminds Us That Jesus Was Baptized For Us
2) Baptism Is Done To Be Obedient To Jesus Christ
3) Baptism Displays Our Union With Christ
4) Baptism Displays Our Death To Sin
5) Baptism Displays Our Glorious, New, Everlasting Life In Christ
6) Baptism Displays Our Confession Of Faith In Christ
7) Baptism Displays Our Cleansing From Sin
8) Baptism Displays The Holy Spirit Being Poured Out On Us
9) Baptism Reminds Us Of Our Adoption Into God’s Loving Family As His Beloved Children Forever
10) Baptism Reminds Us That We Belong To God
11) Baptism Represents Our Formal Entrance Into The Church – The Body Of Christ
1. Baptism Reminds Us That Jesus Was Baptized For Us
a. Jesus was baptized for us in His life:
Matthew 3:13-17: Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
This baptism may seem unnecessary because John's baptism was a baptism of repentance for sin. Jesus had no sin! Hebrews 4:15: in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
1) Jesus baptism was also necessary “to fulfill all righteousness” Jesus came to do the will of His Father and to do it perfectly. It was God’s will that John baptize Jesus. They both had to fulfill all righteousness.
2) In His baptism, Jesus identified Himself with sinners whom He came to save: Al Martin: It was as if Jesus died and was buried for 18 years! Then when He comes back on the scene, He is with sinners, He is in the water with sinners, and He is baptized by a sinner! GOSPEL!
3) Jesus’ baptism inaugurated His public ministry as the Messiah
4) Jesus’ baptism was His formal and public anointing with the Holy Spirit for His public ministry
5) When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were ripped open: Isaiah 64:1: Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down
- There is a history of the parting of the waters at the Jordan River: At the Jordan River, the waters parted and Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land on dry ground; the waters parted and Elijah and Elisha crossed on dry ground before Elijah was taken up into heaven; but when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist here, (as Dr. Wayne Stiles pointed out), the waters didn't part when Jesus was baptized, but the heavens parted! That's my King!
6) The Spirit anointed Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King at His baptism
7) The Father delights in His Son at His baptism! (We see the Trinity in action here!)
b. Jesus was baptized for us in His death: Luke 12:50: I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!
We see water judgments in the Bible: Noah & the flood; Israel & the Red Sea; Jonah in the sea; the cross!
- Hosea 5:10: I will pour out my wrath like water. (God’s enemies immersed/Flood/Red Sea)
Baptism reminds us of our salvation from the lake of fire because Jesus was baptized by God’s wrath for us!
c. Baptism is a blessing for those who truly believe in Jesus, but it's a curse for those who are baptized without saving faith: Mark Jones writes:
rejecting Christ, who is offered in baptism, brings those who reject such grace under a divine curse. That is why in the Lord's Supper you can eat & drink judgment upon yourself if done in unbelief (1 Cor. 11:29).
2. Baptism Is Done To Be Obedient To Jesus Christ
Matthew 28:19: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit . . . .
3. Baptism Displays Our Union With Christ
Romans 6:1-4: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death . . . .
- Galatians 3:25-27: But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- Colossians 2:11-12: In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the 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.
John Piper writes:
- Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. In Christ, in connection with Christ, God sees us before we existed in such a way that our election hangs on our being connected somehow with Jesus before we even exist.
- Ephesians 1:6 states that we have received grace in the Beloved, in Christ. The only way that grace flows to a sinner is somehow in our connection with, union with, relationship with, Christ.
- Ephesians 1:7 says that we have redemption in Christ. God’s purchase of us from bondage to sin and Satan and death becomes real and effective for us in connection with Christ. Without this relationship, this connection — you could say union — with Christ, we’re dead. There’s no redemption.
- Ephesians 1:13 declares that in Christ we were sealed by the Holy Spirit. Well that one’s interesting because now you have the Holy Spirit, who is the active agent, and he does this in Christ. The connection with Christ is what makes it possible for the Spirit to secure us forever.
- Philippians 3:9 says that the righteousness we need to stand before God, we have in connection with Christ: “. . . & be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ.”
- Same thing in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
- Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We only stand righteous and un-condemned before God because of our connection with Christ — because we’re in Christ.
- Paul helps explain why that is in 1 Corinthians 1:30: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” In other words, in connection with Christ we have righteousness that is not ours but his. He became our righteousness. He became our wisdom. He became our redemption and sanctification, and it all happened in him.
- I would define union with Christ like this: It is the reality of all the ways that the Bible pictures our human connectedness to Christ, in which he is indispensable for every good that we enjoy. No saving good, no eternal good, no God-exalting good, no soul-satisfying good comes to us except as we are connected to Christ. (What Is Union With Christ?)
4. Baptism Displays Our Death To Sin
Romans 6:1-4: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death . . . .
5. Baptism Displays Our Glorious, New, Everlasting Life In Christ
Romans 6:4-8: We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.
6. Baptism Displays Our Confession Of Faith In Christ
1 Peter 3:21: Baptism, which corresponds to this [Noah/family saved by water], 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
- John MacArthur: The word for “appeal” has the idea of a pledge, agreeing to certain conditions of a covenant (the New Covenant) with God. What saves a person plagued by sin and a guilty conscience is not some external rite, but the agreement with God to get into the ark of safety, the Lord Jesus, by faith in His death and resurrection.
- Tom Schreiner: Baptism saves you because it represents inward faith, as evidenced by one’s appeal to God for forgiveness of one’s sins. Furthermore, baptism “saves” only insofar as it is grounded in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- John Piper: Baptism is a symbolic expression of the heart's "appeal to God." Baptism is a calling on God. It is a way of saying to God with our whole body, "I trust you to take me into Christ like Noah was taken into the ark, and to make Jesus the substitute for my sins and to bring me through these waters of death and judgment into new and everlasting life through the resurrection of Jesus my Lord." This is what God is calling you to do. You do not save yourself. God saves you through the work of Christ. But you receive that salvation through calling on the name of the Lord, by trusting him. And it is God's will all over the world and in every culture - no matter how simple or how sophisticated - that this appeal to God be expressed in baptism. "Lord, I am entering the ark of Christ! Save me as I pass through the waters of death!"
- Galatians 3:25-27: But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- Colossians 2:11-12: In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the 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.
7. Baptism Displays Our Cleansing From Sin
- Ananias to Paul: Acts 22:16: why do you wait? Rise & be baptized & wash away your sins, calling on his name.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
8. Baptism Displays The Holy Spirit Being Poured Out On Us
- Ezekiel 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
- Titus 3:5: he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
9. Baptism Reminds Us Of Our Adoption Into God’s Loving Family As His Beloved Children Forever
Galatians 3:25-27: But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
10. Baptism Reminds Us That We Belong To God
- Galatians 3:26: for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God
- Romans 6:22: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. (Baptism is like a mark or a sign that God owns us!)
11. Baptism Represents Our Formal Entrance Into The Church – The Body Of Christ
1 Corinthians 12:13: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Peter Leithart writes:
Baptism preaches because it’s God’s work. Baptism isn’t simply water, nor water poured, nor water over which a Trinitarian formula is intoned. Baptism is an act of the Church, using water in the name of the Trinity to bathe a person entering the Church. Because Jesus commands baptism, it is an act of God. The hand that dunks or pours is the hand of the minister, but the Spirit baptizes us into the one body. When the rite is done, the baptized person isn’t just wet. He or she is baptized, by God. At every baptism, God himself preaches the good news of his Son. Every baptized person is a fresh announcement of God’s promise, commissioned to proclaim the good news.
Believer in Jesus: Look to your baptism and remember all these glorious truths about God & about you in Christ!
Christ Jesus Commands His Church To Baptize All The Nations
Teaching Them To Obey All His Perfect Declarations
For He Wants Disciples From All The Generations
Baptism Pictures Union In Him We’re New Creations
Going Under Water’s Death To Sin We Fight Against Temptations
Above The Water’s Life! Raised By The Spirit’s Operations
By Faith Alone We’re Just As Taught In Paul’s Galatians
Water Points To Cleansing From All Sin And Condemnations
His Spirit Is Poured Out On God’s Holy Congregations
We’re Adopted Into God’s Loving Family Relations
Owned By Him There’s No Other Qualifications
Brought Into Christ’s Body With Her Grace Filled Obligations
For Jesus Was Baptized In God’s Wrathful Demonstrations
Then Raised Alive To Save From Hell And All Damnations
Baptism Points To This, The Christian Life’s Very Foundations
Hallelujah! Praise The LORD! This Calls For Greatest Celebrations!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come . . . . 2 Cor. 5:17
Intro: We have the blessing of baptizing four people today! Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. And that inward reality is the reality of conversion! You have been made new in Christ!
Baptism:
1) Baptism Reminds Us That Jesus Was Baptized For Us
2) Baptism Is Done To Be Obedient To Jesus Christ
3) Baptism Displays Our Union With Christ
4) Baptism Displays Our Death To Sin
5) Baptism Displays Our Glorious, New, Everlasting Life In Christ
6) Baptism Displays Our Confession Of Faith In Christ
7) Baptism Displays Our Cleansing From Sin
8) Baptism Displays The Holy Spirit Being Poured Out On Us
9) Baptism Reminds Us Of Our Adoption Into God’s Loving Family As His Beloved Children Forever
10) Baptism Reminds Us That We Belong To God
11) Baptism Represents Our Formal Entrance Into The Church – The Body Of Christ
Langston Hughes wrote:
the church sang a song about the lower lights are burning, some poor sinners to be saved. & the whole building rocked with prayer & song. Still I kept waiting to see Jesus. Finally all the young people had gone to the altar & were saved, but one boy & me . . . Westley & I were surrounded by sisters & deacons praying. It was very hot in the church, & getting late now. Finally Westley said to me in a whisper: “. . . I’m tired o’ sitting here. Let’s get up & be saved.” So he got up & was saved. Then I was left all alone on the mourners’ bench. My aunt came & knelt at my knees & cried, while prayers & song swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans & voices . . . “Langston, why don’t you come? Why don’t you come & be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don’t you come?” Now it was really getting late. I began to be ashamed of myself, holding everything up so long. I began to wonder what God thought about Westley, who certainly hadn’t seen Jesus either, but who was now sitting proudly on the platform, swinging his knickerbockered legs & grinning down at me, surrounded by deacons & old women on their knees praying. God had not struck Westley dead for taking his name in vain or for lying in the temple. So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I’d better lie, too, & say that Jesus had come, & get up & be saved. So I got up. Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting, as they saw me rise. Waves of rejoicing swept the place. Women leaped in the air. My aunt threw her arms around me. The minister took me by the hand & led me to the platform. When things quieted down, in a hushed silence, punctuated by a few ecstatic “Amens,” all the new young lambs were blessed in the name of God. Then joyous singing filled the room. That night, for the first time in my life but one for I was a big boy twelve years old – I cried. I cried, in bed alone, & couldn’t stop. I buried my head under the quilts, but my aunt heard me. She woke up & told my uncle I was crying because the Holy Ghost had come into my life, & because I had seen Jesus. But I was really crying because I couldn’t bear to tell her that I had lied, that I had deceived everybody in the church, that I hadn’t seen Jesus, & that now I didn’t believe there was a Jesus anymore . . . .
rejecting Christ, who is offered in baptism, brings those who reject such grace under a divine curse. That is why in the Lord's Supper you can eat & drink judgment upon yourself if done in unbelief (1 Cor. 11:29).
Conversion:
1) New Hearts
2) New Faith
3) New Direction
4) New Desires
5) New Obedience
6) New Family
7) New Love
8) New Position In Christ
2 Cor. 5:18: All this is from God . . . . You’re Given!
God has given you to be in Christ, so you are a new creation: the old has passed away; behold the new has come!
1. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Heart
a. You had an old heart: a dead heart; a cold-toward-God heart; a hot-toward-wickedness, sin, & evil heart; a selfish heart; a bored-with-God heart; a hard, stone-like heart; a sick heart; a deceitful heart.
- Jer. 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
- Matt. 15:8: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me
- Matt. 15:17-20: Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.
b. But now you’re given a new heart: God supernaturally, by His Word & by His Holy Spirit, gave you a new heart! A living heart; a heart on fire for God that hates sin; a heart for others; a soft heart; a humble & loving heart that tells the truth & loves the truth!
- Ezek. 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
- Jn. 3:3-8: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb & be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water & the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, & that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”
2. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Faith
a. You had an old faith: You trusted in yourself; you trusted in your own righteousness; you trusted in your own plans & your own ideas; you trusted in education or sports or a man or woman; you trusted in children, the nice home, the nice car, the American dream, you trusted in something – anything other than trusting in God to give your life purpose & meaning. You may have trusted in a false religion: Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism.
- Isa. 31:1: Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help & rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many & in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!
- Lk. 18:9: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous
b. But now you’re given a new faith: God supernaturally, by His Word & by His Holy Spirit, gave you true, saving, justifying faith alone in Christ alone! You trust in God & His salvation through Jesus Christ! GOSPEL!
- Eph. 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. & this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
- Rom. 4:4-5: Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. & to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
- Rom. 10:9-10: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord & believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes & is justified, & with the mouth one confesses & is saved
3. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Direction
a. You had an old direction: You were running toward sin, death, & hell. You ran from God either in a way that looked good to the world or in a way that looked bad to the world. You ran from God in your own righteousness, like the rich young ruler in the Bible or like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal sons. Or you ran from God in a way that’s more obvious to the world that you are evil: drug addiction, violence, sexual perversion, crime.
- Eph. 2:1-3: you were dead in the trespasses & sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body & the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
- Rom. 3:10-12: as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one."
b. But now you’re given a new direction: God granted you to run to Him, life, & righteousness! You repent!
- Eph. 2:4-5: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved
- 1 Thess. 1:9-10: you turned to God from idols to serve the living & true God, to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
- Acts 20:21: testifying both to Jews & to Greeks of repentance toward God & of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it’s a permanent new direction! You persevere! Christopher Yuan's Testimony: Gay drug addict converts to Christ.
4. When You’re Converted, You’re Given New Desires
a. You had old desires: Your god was your belly, your appetites, your glands. You desired sex; you desired money; you desired the fame of this world (glory, girls, & gold!); you desired yourself; you only desired God’s gifts!
- Gal. 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, & things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
b. But now you have new desires: Now, God granted you to desire Him & His Word & righteousness!
- Ps. 119:72, 103: The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold & silver pieces . . . 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
- Gal. 5:22-24: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. & those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions & desires.
God has given you to be in Christ, so you are a new creation: the old has passed away; behold the new has come!
5. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Obedience
a. You had an old obedience: You obeyed yourself; you obeyed your own sinful passions; you were a slave to sin; you were a slave to the world, the flesh, & the Devil.
- Rom. 6:20: For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
- Rom. 8:7-8: For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
b. But now you’re given a new obedience: Now, by God’s grace, God granted you to obey Him, live for Him, & submit to Him! Now you want to obey all that Jesus has commanded! You won’t be presumptuous (suicide).
- Rom. 6:6-18: We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin & alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, & your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, &, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
6. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Family
a. You had an old family: You may have only had a biological family, but you may not have even had that; you may have had a family that only & always helped you sin & run from God more; you may have had a family who taught you a false religion; But you may have had a family who modeled God’s ways & taught you God’s truth. But even then, you really weren’t a full participant in that godly family, because you didn’t know God!
- Eph. 2:12: remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel & strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope & without God in the world.
b. But now you’re given a new family: By God’s grace, you have been adopted into God’s family: the church!
- Jn. 1:12-13: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
- Mk. 10:28-30: Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything & followed you. "Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake & for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses & brothers & sisters & mothers & children & lands, with persecutions, & in the age to come eternal life.
a. You had old loves: Think about what or who you loved most before you were converted. You loved yourself most; you loved all the gifts around you that God gave you; you loved your sin: sex, stuff, & sensations.
-1 Jn. 2:15-16: Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the desires of the flesh & the desires of the eyes & pride of life – is not from the Father but is from the world.
b. But now you’re given a new love: Now God has transformed what you love most! You love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, & strength. You love your neighbor as yourself. You love other Christians, especially!
- Ps. 42:1-2: As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? [Nearer my God to Thee! Nearer to Thee!]
- Ps. 63:1-3: O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry & weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power & glory. Because your mercy is better than life, my lips will praise you.
- Ps. 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
- Phil. 3:7-8: But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things & count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
8. When You’re Converted, You’re Given A New Position In Christ
a. You had an old position in Adam: Every human being in the world is either in Adam or in Christ. And we all started out in Adam: a helpless, spiritually dead, God-hating, rebellious, selfish sinner.
- 1 Cor. 15:22: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
b. But now you’re given a new position in Christ: When, by the mercy of God, you trust in Jesus Christ by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to the Bible alone, all for the glory of God alone, then you are mysteriously & spiritually united to the Lord Jesus Christ forever!
- John Piper: It is the reality of all the ways that the Bible pictures our human connectedness to Christ, in which he is indispensable for every good that we enjoy. No saving good, no eternal good, no God-exalting good, no soul-satisfying good comes to us except as we are connected to Christ.
- Rom. 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
God has given you to be in Christ, so you are a new creation: the old has passed away; behold the new has come!
