1/4/26 “Baptism - A Declaration of Restoration”
“Baptism - A Declaration of Restoration”
Matthew 28:16-20
How many of you enjoy going to classic car shows?
Back in my band playing days, our summer schedule would include numerous festivals and fairs around the state – and some of them would feature classic car exhibits...
Sometimes, after soundcheck, I would find myself strolling through row after row of vintage American automotive steel...
My favorite memories of those shows would be when vehicle owners would have pictures of their vehicle – before it was restored.
I loved looking at the stark contrast in appearance between what the vehicle once looked like ....worn out, rusted, maybe even weeds growing up through the engine compartment...
...compared to what it looked like after the restoration was finished.... clean, shiny...fully functional...engine purring like a kitten...
I know that some of you sitting here this morning have done your own vehicle restorations...
...you know firsthand how difficult it is to bring an old, discarded vehicle back to life....you know the countless hours that are involved in the process...
the focus, the know-how, the attention to detail needed in order to bring an old, forgotten vehicle back to its former glory...
Here’s a few examples of some before and after restoration pictures that I was able to find online...
(Show Restoration Pics)
Well...our passage for today also deals with restoration...
...It deals with spiritual restoration.
It’s one of the most famous and well-known passages in all of scripture....
These are Jesus’ final recorded words of instruction and encouragement to His followers before He is reunited with His Father in Heaven...
These 5 verses are typically referred to as ‘The Great Commission’...
....Jesus’ final words of instruction to the church.
They remind us of our primary ecclesiastical mission here on earth – that of spreading the gospel...and winning people to Jesus...
As you all know, the church has many functions....we find fellowship here...we find the teaching of God’s Word of truth here...we find praise and the glorification of God here...
...and these are all essential to who we are as a body of believers...
....but if we were to distill it all down to one corporate goal...one unified mission...
It would be to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Jesus says in verse 19 (Matthew 28:19) “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
The two key words in this verse are ‘Disciple’ ...and ‘Baptize’
‘Disciple’ literally means ‘Student’ .... or ‘Follower’
....Biblically, the word ‘Disciple’ refers to one who places their trust in Jesus Christ, and follows Him through lives of continual learning & obedience.
Then, we have the word ‘Baptism’.
Literally...’Baptism’ means ‘To Immerse in water’
...But baptism also has a symbolic meaning.
In the early church, the act of baptism always followed an individual’s confession of faith in Christ.
If you recall, the 3,000 people converted at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 were immediately baptized (Acts 2:41)
As soon as the Ethiopian Eunuch believed in Christ, he stopped his chariot by a lake so that he could be baptized (Acts 8:38)
When Cornelius and his household were saved, Peter ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 10:48)
Whenever we see someone accept Jesus as Lord & Savior of their life...we also see them partake in the act of baptism.
So...what is the spiritual significance of baptism?
In a few minutes, you’ll see 13 people participate in this ancient ordinance of the church....
What does it mean?....what does it involve?...
Is there really – As Carrie Underwood sings - “Something in the Water” of baptism?...
Is it “Holy Water” in the pool behind me?
...Today, will the baptismal participants be changed in some way after getting baptized?
Let’s spend a few moments answering some of these questions regarding what baptism is....and what it is not.
In its most basic spiritual sense, baptism can be defined as “An outward proclamation of an inward transformation”
In other words, the act of baptism is a public proclamation of one’s already established faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
...It is an outward demonstration of an inward change.
...It is a tangible receipt of a spiritual transaction.
When I used to run a retail music store, customers would bring items up to the counter...I would enter the price of the item into the register....and after the payment was processed....a receipt would automatically appear from the register...
...The receipt could only be generated if a transaction had already taken place
...The receipt was to serve as tangible proof – a physical document - of a purchase that was otherwise known only to two people....the customer – and myself.
When it comes to the eternal transaction of the cross...
....when Jesus ‘purchased’ you with His shed blood....when he took on the ultimate penalty of death for your sins...
He also granted His own righteousness to you...so that when God the Father looks upon you...He sees the righteousness of His own Son.
....the act of baptism is the physically visible receipt of that spiritual transaction...
1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us that we were bought at a price....
Jesus sacrificed everything for you....he died, was buried, and rose again in victory over sin and death...
Baptism is a visual demonstration of aligning oneself with that reality....
When you go under the water....it symbolizes how we’ve put the old self to death....
....the part of us that desires to only live for ourselves....the part of us that is enslaved to sin...
That old creature dies when we accept the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ....
When you are raised up out of the water....you are declaring that you are a new creation in Christ....
Your desires have changed....your heart is no longer selfish – but selfless.
You now have a fervent desire to participate in the disciplines of the faith...being in God’s Word....going to Him in prayer.... fellowshipping with other believers.
The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come.”
These are some of the most encouraging words in all of scripture regarding the way a person is literally changed forever when he or she submits to the Lordship of Jesus...
....This is the moment your eternal future changes forever.
When you genuinely believe upon the name of Jesus...when you trust in His sacrificial, saving power....
This is when you become a born-again child of the most-high God...
This is when the Holy Spirit comes to fully reside within you....
This is when you are now righteous in the eyes of the Father....a term theologians call Justification.
This is when your soul is regenerated from a condition of eternal death...to one of eternal life
This is when God adopts you as His child...never to return you to the spiritual orphanage of depravity and despair...
This is when – like the before-and-after picture of a classic car – you become completely restored...
...never to have the weeds of spiritual death overtake the chassis of your life again.
This....is the moment of redemption.
So...then...what is the spiritual significance of baptism?
Why are we all gathered here today with such excitement and anticipation if eternal salvation for these 13 people has already become a reality?
Will we witness something magical happen?
Is there something special about the water in the tank behind me?
Will Noah levitate out of the pool after getting baptized today?
Well....No.....Noah most likely will not defy gravity today....
Simply put....Here’s why we are excited today:
baptism is the outward expression of the spiritual miracle that happened when each of these individuals accepted Jesus as Lord & Savior of their life.
...Some did this a long time ago....and some have just recently submitted to Christ....
...in either case, their eternal destiny has changed from being on a trajectory toward hell....to now being on a trajectory toward heaven – a place of untold peace, beauty, and love.
THIS is what we celebrate today....This is why we are so excited for these 13 precious souls....
By God’s grace, they have been miraculously – and eternally – saved from eternal damnation....
Does this excite you this morning?
Romans 10:9 plainly states, “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation is granted the moment a person believes and submits to Christ.
This is when the eternal transaction of our sins in exchange for Christ’s righteousness takes place...
This is when – as Jesus says in the 15th chapter of Luke - “....There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Heaven held a hootenanny when each of these 13 individuals originally gave their life to the Jesus...
But we get to hold a hootenanny today at their baptism....
...because today is the tangible expression of their new life in Christ...
Today is the receipt of their being purchased by the blood of the lamb
Today is the ‘after picture’ of restoration....
Today is the car show of their faith....a time when we are all able to celebrate God’s amazing grace....
....and the miraculous, transformational work of the Holy Spirit in their lives...
It is true that baptism is not necessarily a requirement for salvation....
....but if you have submitted your life to Jesus and wish to remain obedient to Him...then you will want to get baptized...
....if for no other reason...the savior commands us to do it.
....why wouldn't you want to?
A believer not wanting to be baptized would be like a fully restored classic car that wants to just sit in a garage and not be seen.....not be celebrated for what its owner did for it.
I know automobiles can’t think for themselves....but if they could, don’t you think a vehicle that had been fully restored from the junk heap would want to appear before people....
....in a car show...or a parade...to acknowledge its owner....
....its owner who sacrificed so much for it to be ‘alive’ and running again?
I’m so happy that today we have the chance to celebrate with so many people who decided to come out of the garage....
and be seen as followers of Jesus Christ...and give all glory, honor, and praise to the one who restored their soul.
Brothers & Sisters...Let’s celebrate with them!
Let’s Pray.
