The ABCs of Baptism

The ABCs of Baptism A Sermon on Matthew 3:13-17 by Dwight A. Moody 2Providence Baptist Church, Hendersonville, NC   Are you ready for something new? Today, we are going to do something we have never done? Gather around the water trough on the front lawn of the church and dip these four people all the way under and up dripping wet. I have baptized people in an indoor baptistry many times; I have immersed people in ponds, and rivers, and other pools of water. Once, I was standing in a pond that had a very steep drop; my feet kept sliding, sliding, sliding. Once, I baptized a grown man in the pool of Salome in Jerusalem. There was hardly enough water; we had to lay him down flat to get him all the way under. But I have never used a water trough, on the front lawn, on Sunday morning. But today is the day! Today, we are going to baptize you just like John baptized Jesus.  And I am going to speak about the ABCs of baptism. I. First, Baptism is an announcement. Announcements are a regular part of life. Holly just graduated from college; she posted an announcement for everybody to know. When people get married, they send out announcements. Yesterday, Texas and Tennessee played the first of a three-game set for the championship of college baseball. Later this week, there will be an announcement of the winner. Your baptism is an announcement. You are announcing your faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is announcing to the world, to this congregation, and to your family that you love Jesus, that you seek to imitate Jesus in word and deed, and that you pray in the name of Jesus as he taught us to pray. That is what you are announcing today. Remember the announcement God made when Jesus was baptized?  “This is my son, whom I love. With Jesus, I am very pleased.” The story that I read from the gospel of Matthew says this: “Heaven was opened. The Spirit of God descended like a dove on Jesus. A voice from heaven said, “This is my son.” God made the announcement that day. You are making an announcement today. You are saying: I know about Jesus. I trust Jesus. I follow Jesus. I love Jesus. I celebrate Jesus. I am a Jesus person. This is a wonderful announcement to make. It is more important than any other announcement. There are other important events in life, and often we make announcements: I am getting married. I am graduating from school. I have having a baby. I won a championship. I am retiring! But none of these is an important as this one: Jesus was baptized, and so am I. Jesus went all the way under and came up dripping wet, and so am I. Jesus listened to the voice of God, and so am I. Jesus obeyed God, and so am I. Jesus worshipped the one and only living God, and so do I. Your baptism today is your announcement. Listen everybody! Look Everybody! I follow Jesus. I trust Jesus. I am a Christian. Pray for me. Help me. Support me. Love me. Come go with me. Let’s follow Jesus together. A is for Announcement. II. B is for Beginning. Your baptism today is a beginning. Jesus was 30 years old when he began his mission on earth. We know a little about his birth; we know one story from his youth. But that is all. We know many stories after he begins his public ministry. He was a teacher, a healer, a listener, a traveler, a preacher. All of that began when he was baptized. His cousin John was a preacher, an odd preacher, we might say. He was not the ordinary prophet or rabbi. He dressed different; he talked different; and he demanded different things from his listeners. First, he called them to begin a new life by baptism. Baptize is the transliteration of a Greek work, baptizo. Baptize means, in the Greek, to dip or plunge or immerse. The followers of John the prophet were baptized in the Jordan River. “Be baptized,” John said, “for the forgiveness of your sins. Get ready. God is sending a great leader. The kingdom of God is coming. Be baptized.” Jesus listened to this message and responded to this 2invitation. John baptized Jesus. God announced this: “This is my much loved son.” That was the announcement. For Jesus, this was the beginning of his mission on earth. From that time, he began to teach and heal and preach the love of God. Baptism was the beginning of what God called him to do. He was about 30 years old. Today, one of you is 8, another is 22, another is 27, and the old man is 55, or thereabouts. It is not the age that counts, but the intent: your intent is to begin something new. Are you ready to begin something new? Paul the great apostle used that idea of a new beginning when he wrote about baptism. He was writing to the Christians in Rome, in the first century. He wrote, “We are buried with Jesus in baptism so that, just as Jesus was raised from the dead, we also may live anew life.” In a few minutes, I am going to baptize you. The word baptize means, to immerse.  I am going to immerse you in water. Going down into the water reminds us of a burial; but coming up out of the water is like a resurrection. It is a new life. It is a new beginning. It is a fresh start. Who today needs a fresh start, a new beginning?  Who needs to put behind you some things, because they are hurting you; some people, because they are dragging you down; some habits, because they are sabotaging you; some attitudes, because they are keeping you from being the person God wants you to be. Who is read You want to begin praying? You want to begin learning? You want to begin serving? You want to begin singing with joy and living with hope? Today can be your beginning. Baptism is the beginning of something good, something new, something healthy, something holy. For Jesus, he went on retreat to discern his future. Then, the gospel record says this: “From that time on, Jesus began to declare ‘Change your ways, for the kingdom of God is coming near.’ (Matthew 4:17).” B is for Beginning. III. If A is for Announcement you are making, and B is for Beginning a new life in Christ, C must be for the Cleansing. God is cleansing you on the inside. God is washing you clean by the Spirit. In a few moments, I am going to take you one by one, beginning with Lasha and ending with Francisco, into the water. You are going to sit on a stool. The water will be up to your chest. I am going to stand beside you. You will take hold of my hands. I will ask you three questions. Do you confess Jesus as Lord and Savior? Do you renounce the way of evil and sin and turn toward God? Do you commit yourself to walk in the fellowship of Jesus and this church? I will then lay you down in the water and bring you up dripping wet. This is a cleansing of what is on the inside: your heart, your soul, your spirit. The Bible speaks of the “washing of regeneration” and it does not mean a bath. This is not a bath. I have in my hand a bar of soap. It is designed to clean you on the outside. I trust you all have done that already. This is not a bath for the body; this is a cleansing of the spirit. It is the forgiveness of God washing over you. It is the grace of God filling up your soul. It is the love of God pouring into every part of your being. It is the spirit of God seeping into your mind, your soul, your attitude, your memory, your desires. It is cleansing, and cleaning, and renewing, and filling, and sealing. When you feel that water washing over your body, know that what you feel is the spirit of the living God saving you, cleaning you, forgiving you, washing you on the inside. “By the grace of God, you are being saved. It is not your doing. It is God’s gift to you.” The water is going to roll off, and your baptism angel will hand you a towel to dry off. The wetness of the water will last just for a moment. But, on the inside the spirit is here to stay. The spirit of the living God continues to wash, and refresh, and feed your soul. That spirit of the Jesus stays with you, teaching you, leading you, forgiving you, making you the person you need to be. This is what it means to be saved, to be cleansed, to be a Christian. Are you ready? Is anybody else ready today? Are you ready to announce to the world, Jesus is my savior and Lord. Are you ready for the beginning of something new, something fresh, something spiritual? Do you need to be clean on the inside as well as the outside. Maybe today is also your day?