I first met Lara during my freshmen year of Bible college. I was on my way to an intramural basketball game when I noticed this rather attractive young lady in the lobby of my dorm. She was looking for someone. Seeing an opportune moment, I asked her if I could help find the person she was looking for. The person she was looking for had already left for the ball game and so together, Lara and I, walked across campus toward the gym. As we neared the gym Lara mentioned that a group of her friends were planning on going out that evening. She asked if I wanted to hang out with them later.
After my particular ball game was over I noticed Lara standing in the back of the gym. I walked up to her hoping that she would mention that thing with her friends again. But she told me that their plans had fallen through and that she and her friends wouldn't be going out. As you can imagine, I was devastated. I wanted to get to know Lara better. But in that same moment I blurted out the words that would change my life for the better. I looked at Lara and said, "So Lara, what are we going to do tonight?"
That very night marked the beginning of our relationship together. Every day after that we would meet each other at the cafeteria, at the library, at the gym, after class, during chapel, and virtually every other time we had the opportunity.
We'd take long walks together. We would talk on the phone late into the night. We would write each other friendly notes and drop them into the on-campus mail. Neither of us knew where the relationship was headed. We just knew we liked each other.
Well the pressure on campus was enormous. People would ask us, "Are you guys an item? Are you dating each other?" At Lincoln Christian College you can't even walk across campus with a member of the opposite sex without someone asking such probing questions. Anyhow, I can remember how difficult it was for us to define our relationship. You know, were we just friends? Were we good friends? Were we close friends? Were we serious friends? Were we boyfriend and girlfriend? Were we in some way committed to one another to the exclusion of others?
One night while driving back from Bloomington I tried to clear everything up. I looked at Lara and said, "Lara, I think I would like to see you on a regular basis." That obscure indecipherable pronouncement did little to clear things up! The next day Lara cornered me and asked me what I meant. So I told her that as far as I was concerned, we were officially dating each other. Throughout the next few days the news swept across campus like a wildfire.
The irony is that our friends were still not satisfied. They still had questions. "When are you guys going to get engaged? Jon, have you bought a ring yet? Have you had the big conversation with her dad?" In fact, it wasn't until our wedding day that the questions about our relationship were finally and satisfactorily laid to rest.
When Lara walked down that aisle and her father gave her away, when we spoke our wedding vows before all those witnesses, friends, and family, we started our relationship together. Our relationship started when we openly affirmed that we were together until death do us part. When we exchanged those rings that signified our pure and unending love, and when the minister pronounced us husband and wife, our shared life began.
For Lara and me, our wedding day is the day from which we count forward. It was the day we transitioned from the single life to the shared life. It was the day that we pledged our love and our faithfulness to one another. It was a day of promise, a day of commitment, a day of testimony, and a day of celebration. It was a day in which we forever removed the ambiguity surrounding our relationship. We were an item. We were a couple. We loved each other. It was official!
Today when people ask us how long we have been together we tell our wedding date, June 15, 1996 even though we dated each other since October 1992.
The basics of the Christian faith.
For the last few weeks we have been talking about the basics of the Christian life. We have been studying the six phrases that are found in Hebrews 6. The writer of Hebrews talks about repentance. He talks about trusting Christ. He talks about baptism, serving God, our resurrection hope, and of God's judgment. You know, a lot of people do not believe that baptism should be included in a list detailing the basics of Christianity. Repentance, sure. Faith, absolutely. Serving God, OK. Fearing God's judgment, yes. Hoping in the resurrection, always. Everyone agrees that these things are foundational to our relationship with God. They are the nuts and bolts, the essentials, and the prerequisites.
But when it comes to baptism we find widespread disagreement. There are some who think baptism is optional and an unnecessary formality. There are some who feel that baptism is nothing more than an afterthought and that it in no way changes our standing before God. There are some who argue that baptism is just another empty legalistic hoop that some churches make their people jump through in order to find acceptance. It is the opinion of many today that baptism has no place in our life and church. Today, many popular radio and television programs don't even mention baptism. They have excluded it altogether and have opted for things like the sinner's prayer.
This morning I want to affirm the importance of baptism. Baptism has a place on a list of Christian basics. But there is more. This morning I want to suggest that our baptism is a lot like a wedding ceremony.
A personal commitment.
Baptism is a personal commitment. In 1 Peter 3:21 (NIV) Peter says, "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus."
Once again, baptism is a personal commitment. Peter says that it is the pledge of a good conscience. In New Testament days the pledge was frequently used to finalize the terms of an agreement in the marketplace. First the seller would make a proposal to the buyer. Then if the buyer liked the proposal, he would make a personal pledge to live by the terms of the agreement. He could sign on the dotted line.
Throughout the New Testament it is clear that baptism was understood in terms of a pledge. Those who accepted the gospel of Christ through faith got baptized. Those who refused the gospel would simply turn and walk away.
As an example consider Luke 7:29-31 (NIV) which tells us, "All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the Law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John."
Or consider Acts 2:40 (NIV). Peter is pleading with the Jews. "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Baptism is faith responding to God's offer. Baptism is a personal pledge, a commitment. It is signing on the dotted line. It is faith saying "yes" to everything God offers us in Christ Jesus.
You know a lot of people ask the questions, "Do I have to be baptized? Do I have to sign on the dotted line? Do I have to pledge myself to live by God's agreement? Surely God will just look the other way if I don't do this." I think our attitude should be just the opposite. We should be saying, "This is the deal of a lifetime! I can't wait to sign up! Just show me which line to sign! I can't wait! I repent! I trust you as Lord and Savior! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Over the years I have worked with a lot of couples who wanted to get married. Never once has a couple ever said, "Jon, do we have to be married? Do we have to speak our marriage vows to one another? Do we have to have a wedding ceremony and pledge our faithfulness to one another?" No one has ever said, "Come on Jon. We know we love each other. That's enough, isn't it?" In fact, just the opposite takes place. The couples come into my office all giddy and happy and excited. Their faces are full of promise and intensity. If circumstances permitted, they would fast-forward to their wedding day.
Should this not also be our attitude in baptism? Shouldn't our faith eagerly want to pledge itself in baptism and sign on the dotted line? Shouldn't our faith eagerly want to make a personal commitment? Shouldn't our faith response be similar to that of the Ethiopian eunuch's response in Acts 8:36 (NIV) where he said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
A pinnacle of conversion.
Baptism is the pinnacle of conversion. In Romans 6:1-4 (NIV) Paul asks, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
In an effort to keep the Romans from sin, Paul reminds them of the day that they had been baptized. Paul could have reminded them of a subjective experience like repentance. Paul could have reminded them of a subjective experience like faith. But instead Paul reminds them of an objective experience, an experience they couldn't deny. This was an experience that was real and had been witnessed by others. He reminds them of the day they went down into the waters of baptism and pledged their lives to Christ. In effect he asks them to count forward from the day they were baptized.
If Paul were our marriage counselor, he would heal marriages in much the same way. First he would point us back to the vows we spoke to one another. He would have us look at our wedding rings. He would have us digging that piece of wedding cake out of the freezer. He would have us flipping through our wedding album. He would have us pulling out that wedding dress.
Sure, Paul could remind us of our first date, or our first kiss, or our engagement. But I'm sure he would point to our wedding day because the wedding day is the one day a couple can point back to and say, "That was real. There was no doubt. We know we had it together at that point. On our wedding day all the ambiguity was erased as we pledged till death do us part."
In much the same way the struggling Christian can always revisit his baptism. Instead of interrogating the more subjective moments of our Christian walk we can look back on our baptism with confidence and say, "I know it was real when I got baptized. There was no doubt. I had it together at that point. That is when all the pieces came together. That's when my faith reached out to God and said, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' That's when I pledged my life to Christ."
Friends, nothing overcomes spiritual amnesia like baptism. Paul appealed to the climatic moment of the Romans' conversion. He appealed to the reality of their baptism as a basis for inspiring them to continued obedience.
A public ceremony.
Baptism is a public ceremony. In his pamphlet Why Baptism? Bruce Shelley has this to say about baptism. "If we say that our love is everything and we have no need for baptism, then we make our faith a purely internal experience-- and that has damaging consequences. There are reasons for a faith linked to a public event, just as there are reasons for a marriage ceremony before witnesses. Baptism takes our personal faith and makes it an objective experience. It announces to everyone that we have surrendered to a new authority in our lives. We have pledged a new allegiance. We have taken our stand. Such an act not only lifts our faith out of the unstable realm of our own subjectivity, it also enlists us for the cause of Christ."
Bruce Shelley goes on to point out that baptism was a major event to the Christian. It was no small thing to pledge your allegiance to Christ in an empire that demanded its citizens worship the emperor and make public sacrifices to the various Roman gods. Many Christians were put to death for their faith. It was no small thing for the Jewish citizens to be baptized in front of their family and friends in the public pools located throughout the city of Jerusalem. For many it was the last time they ever got to speak to their loved ones. Baptism was an initial public test of loyalty for the Christian of enormous importance.
That baptism was a public ceremony tells us something about our God. He wants our baptism to influence our friends and family for the cause of Christ. He wants our baptism to sting the consciences of those who have refused to accept God's purpose for their lives. He wants our baptism to be a testimony and a public declaration of our allegiance. He has no desire for us to live the Christian life beneath the radar screen.
A promise to celebrate.
Baptism is a promise to celebrate. In Acts 2:38-39 (NIV) Peter says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."
In 1 Peter 3:21 (NIV) Peter tells us, "and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It (baptism) saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
In Romans 6:4 (NIV) Paul says, "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
Mark 16:16 (NIV) says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."
Friends, baptism is a promise to celebrate. Through repentance, faith, and baptism, God promises to give us forgiveness. Through repentance, faith, and baptism, God promises to give us his Holy Spirit to work in our lives and transform us into Christ's likeness. He promises to save us not by our works, but by Christ's resurrection. He promises that we will one day be raised to new life, just as Jesus was raised to new life. He promises that we will be spared on the day of judgment. He promises that there will be no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
We have every reason to be baptized.
The question for us this morning is not, "Should I get baptized?" Rather the question is, "How soon can I be baptized? How soon can I pledge my life to Christ? How soon can I sign on the dotted line? How soon can I make my faith an objective experience? A public declaration? How soon can I begin celebrating all the promises God has made to me in Christ?"
Should I be baptized?
In closing I want to take make a few practical applications concerning baptism. Some of you are no doubt asking, "Should I be baptized?" or, "Did the baptism I have received already count for anything?"
To you I want to say these things.
1. If your baptism was a personal commitment, you can be sure that it counted. The scriptures are very clear about this point. No one can make the decision to follow Christ for you. Not your parents, not your spouse, and not me.
You need to personally step up to the plate and make a personal commitment. God is looking for your signature, not someone else's, on the dotted line. If you made a decision to pledge your life to Christ, then it counted. What God does in those situations where an individual refuses to pledge his life is his call alone.
2. If your baptism was a response of your repentance and faith, you can be sure that it counted. A wedding doesn't mean anything if the couple is just going through the motions. The Bible assumes that the candidate for baptism has repented from sin and has begun trusting Christ as hisor her Lord and Savior.
3. If your baptism didn't make you perfect on the spot, you can be sure that it counted. A lot of people believe that they have to get their lives together before they are baptized. They fail to realize that their personal failures provide one of the best reasons for them to be baptized. If we could live a perfect life we wouldn't need Christ. We wouldn't need to approach him through repentance, faith, and baptism. It is precisely because we sin that we need to be baptized. Baptism does not mark the end of our struggle with sin. It marks the beginning of our new life in Jesus Christ, a life powered by God's Spirit.
Friends, baptism is your opportunity to accept God's purpose for your life. It is your opportunity to clarify and define your relationship with Christ and to remove the ambiguity and subjectivity surrounding your faith. It is your opportunity to take a stand with the saints who have gone before you, to set out in a new direction, and to get a fresh start in Christ.
Paul Harvey's testimony.
This past week I got my hands on Paul Harvey's personal testimony. Paul Harvey is the popular news analyst, author, and broadcaster whose faith dates back to his childhood where he lived out the Ten Commandments. He has always been a good man who even at great personal cost has never failed to stand for what was true and right. But to use his byline, here's the rest of the story.
Several years ago on a trip through Arizona he came upon a white clapboard church. It was a simple Church of Christ where a dozen or so people gathered for worship and to hear the word of God. That day the preacher announced that his subject was Christian baptism. So Paul yawned and prepared to be bored to death.
But he was unable to escape the eloquence of the country preacher and for the first time in his life he saw baptism associated with forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and death, burial, and resurrection. That day he was led to a new understanding of what baptism meant and so he humbly and happily went down the aisle at invitation time and submitted himself to Christian baptism.
What did this experience mean to him? Here is Paul's testimony. "The preacher said there was nothing miraculous in the water, but when I descended into the depths and rose again, I knew something life-changing had happened to me. Afterward I cried like a baby. The evolving joy this simple act has made in my life is so immense as to be indescribable. Since totally yielding to Christ through baptism, my heart can't stop singing."
Paul Harvey long thought of himself as a Christian, but that day he came face to face with scriptural truths that transformed his life. Friends, perhaps today will be your day, the day you pledge your life to Christ. Perhaps this is the day you will accept God's purpose for your life through baptism.