I'm very grateful for the fact
that we now have this baptistry. Very grateful. A precious group
of believers bought us a baptistry and it was so loving, so kind. And the reason we were given
this baptistry was so that sinners in Kingsport, Tennessee could
confess the Lord Jesus Christ. And what we refer to as believer's
baptism. That's what is taking place here
tonight. A confession. A confession. That's all this is. We are not
about to witness a salvation. Well, we're going to have a salvation
tonight. No. We're going to have a confession
of salvation. That's what we're going to have.
Salvation is finished. It's finished. And we're about
to witness just a confession of that. And it's a glorious
and it's a wonderful and it's a precious thing when the Lord
reveals the truth of what this is. This is so confusing. But
when the Lord makes it plain, wait a minute. This is not salvation. Christ finished that. That's
what I'm confessing. Well, I want to show you a precious
verse of scripture. Look at Matthew 10. Turn with
me to Matthew chapter 10. And look at verse 32. Matthew 10, 32 says, Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also
before my Father which is in heaven. Is that not special? That verse of scripture makes
this very vital to me. Is baptism a vital thing? Yes,
it is. Is it salvation? No. Is it a
vital thing in obedience to our Father? Yes, it is. And he said,
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men. That's what we're doing here.
Here we sit. And you are letting us in on
what God has done for you. God moves on the heart. And when
we confess him openly, we let all of our brothers and sisters
in on the rejoicing of what God has done for me. And we are confessing
this before God, but our God already knows what he did for
me. He's the one who did it. We're confessing this before
God, but we're also confessing this before men. He said, Whosoever
therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also
before my Father, which is in heaven. Now turn with me over
to Matthew 28, where Brother Dickey just read. Matthew 28 verse 19 says, Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world. Amen. So be it. That's what amen
means. He said, baptize them, teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now, I love this confession.
I really do. I love everything about this.
I get excited about this. I'm not going to apologize for
that. I adore everything about this and the reason is because
I truly believe in my heart that God has put a love in me for
the one we're confessing. And I believe he's put a love
in me for what we are confessing. We just sang about it, and we
just sang about it, and we just sang about it. That cleansing
wave, when I see the blood, you think about what Christ did
for His people. Man, I love that. I just truly,
truly love that. And every time a brother or a
sister confesses the Lord in baptism, I can't help it. I want to be baptized again.
I really do. When the two of you were baptized,
I was so glad I got to go into the river. I had my waders on,
but I was still glad I got to go into the river. And then whenever
the two of you were baptized, and the two of you were baptized,
I can't help it. I just cannot. It's like going
to a wedding. You just want to get married
all over again. It's loving, it's special, it's something
from the heart. And when I see a dear brother
or sister want to confess, my precious Lord, I cannot help
it. I want to confess again. And I'm feeling that right now. And I've titled this message, I Have
a Confession to Make. That's the title of this message.
I have a confession to make. The truth of the matter is, this
is what every believer confesses. Every single believer. The confession
that I have is the very same confession that you have, and
it's the very same confession that every single believer has
every single day. Every day. We confess the Lord
once in true baptism. But I confess this every single
day. Every day. This word right here
speaks to God's people. It blesses the heart. It feeds
the soul. And this word speaks for God's
people. What does the scripture say?
What's your answer? Well, what does the scripture
say? Right? You know, what do you believe about this? What
about that? What sayeth the Scripture? That's what it says. What sayeth
the Scripture? Well, I found, I went through this Word and
I found five things that I must confess tonight. I have a confession
to make. And I found five things that
I must confess tonight. And I talked to David. He and
I have had quite a few conversations about this and baptism. I know
what he wants to confess tonight. And I'll speak on behalf of both
of us. And I'll speak on behalf of all of us. Every believer here tonight,
we all have a confession to make. Here's the first one. Go with
me to 1 John 1. 1st John chapter 1. Verse 9 says, if we confess our sins, if we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. I have a confession to make tonight. I bet you do too. I have a confession before God.
I have a confession before you. I am a sinner. And I'm not just saying that.
I believe God has put a true belief in my soul. that I'm a
sinner. And I'm not worthy of anything.
I'm not worthy to stand here. I'm just not worthy of anything. I'm not worthy of God's grace,
His goodness, His mercy. I'm not worthy of Christ my Lord.
I know that. I'm not worthy of the blood.
I'm not worthy of one drop. One drop shouldn't have gone
to me. I'm a sinner. I'm telling you, I am a sinner.
David, a sinner is about to baptize you. A sinner is about to baptize
you. We don't put any stock in this baptism, and we don't put
any stock in the preacher. We're not looking to those things.
We're looking to Christ. Let's just go ahead and take
me out of this equation tonight. I'm a sinner. You're about to
make a confession. You're going to get in that water
and your clothes are going to be so wet you could just wring
them out. Get these things off of me. You know what you're confessing
when you get in that water? The fact that you get in that water,
you're confessing, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. before God Almighty and before
these witnesses. We're all sinners, aren't we?
We all have a confession to make. But do you know who Christ Jesus
came into the world to seek and to save? Sinners. Sinners. We all have hope because we're
sinners. That's the reason. That's the
only reason I believe I have true hope is because first of
all, I know I'm a sinner. Christ came to save centers.
Lord, save us by your grace. Verse 8 right here says, if we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us. But if we confess our sins, now,
wrong on the fall, wrong on it all. Do we confess, then He saves?
No. If we confess our sins, then
that means God did something in here. He's faithful. And He's just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So I must confess
tonight, I am a sinner. I'm a sinner. Here's the second
thing. Go with me to John, the Gospel of John, chapter 9. In John chapter 9, our Lord healed
that blind man. We looked at this not too long
ago. And the blind man was being questioned and he was being persecuted
by the Pharisees for it, the religious leaders for it. Verse 22 says, John 9 verse 22,
these words spake the blind man's parents because they feared the
Jews. For the Jews had agreed already
that if any man did confess that Jesus was Christ, he should be
put out of the synagogue." Well, I have a confession to make. I have a confession to make. that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of the Living God. In everything that I know I mean.
I don't mean God's Son, I mean the Son of God. You do too, don't you, buddy? We confess that He is the Messiah. the Savior, God come down, the God-man, the only perfect
man, the only mediator between God and man, only one. We confess
that He's the only one who is able to save sinners from their
sins. That's why we have a wooden box
full of water. He's the only one who's able
to save sinner from their sins. You know the average person in
religion who is baptized, I would almost guarantee you that many
people tonight in Kingsport are being baptized somewhere. They've
convinced somebody. And for most of them, what they're
confessing is, I am saving myself in this right here. Whether they
know it or not, that's what they're confessing. This is what will
save me. I want to be saved, so I need
to get inside that water. I am the one who is making this
decision. I am the one who is doing this
work. You know what that makes me?
The Christ. That makes me the Savior. If
I am the one doing the work, That makes me my own Savior. Now turn with me over to John
chapter 1. I've never seen this in a way like I saw it here and
I love this. John 1 verse 19 says, And this is the record of John
when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask
him, Who art thou? And he confessed and denied not,
but confessed, I am not the Christ. I'm not the Savior. That's what we're confessing
in here, you know that? I am not the Savior. I cannot save
me. He is the Christ. We are confessing
a person. We're confessing a person. I
had a little girl come up to me after the service this morning
and ask me, why do we have this box and why is somebody going
to get in it? I thought about Exodus. When your
children ask you, what mean ye by this service? And I said,
um, well, um, it's, um, you see, um, hard to describe it, but do you
know what we're saying? He is the Christ. He is the Savior. You're getting all of that out
of a box with water in it? Yes, I am. I have got to be plunged
under. Something's got to cover me,
head to toe, top to bottom. I've got to be covered in something.
It's my only hope. And it's the blood of Christ. We're confessing a person. We're
confessing a person. We are not confessing a doctrine. Well, you know, I'm Sovereign
Grace now, so I... You see, I was Methodist before,
and I was baptized Methodist, but now I'm Sovereign Grace,
so I'm going to be baptized Sovereign Grace. No, we're not confessing
a doctrine. We're not confessing membership
into a congregation. We are confessing a person. A person. Alright, well what
are we confessing about this person? Here's the third thing. Go with me to Philippians 2. Philippians 2 verse 9 says, Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord. to the glory of God the Father.
I have a confession to make. Jesus Christ is Lord. This time I don't say I believe. It doesn't matter if I believe
it or not. Thank God I do. But it doesn't matter if I believe
it or not. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Lord. He is Lord. He's risen from the grave. He
is Lord. Every knee shall bow, every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is Lord of me because
He conquered me. And He conquered me when He conquered
sin. How did He do that? Look at verse
6. who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation." Why? Why would he do that? The reason
is because I am no reputation. I'm nothing. I'm nobody. Verse
7 says, "...and took upon him the form of a servant." Why? It's because that's what I am.
I am a servant of sin. I'm a servant of this flesh. He was made in the likeness of
sinful flesh. Verse 7 says, made in the likeness
of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. Why? Because I'm low. I'm so low, I was at the bottom
of the pit. Verse 8 says, and he became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. Why? Because that's
what I deserved. That's what you deserved. Death. Because of that, I must bow the
knee of this heart. My heart has a knee. And God has allowed me the privilege
of bowing it. And I must bow the knee of this
heart, and out of the abundance of this heart, this tongue must
confess that He is my Lord. He's my Lord. I'm a sinner. Jesus
is the Christ, and the Christ is my Lord. That's good news.
Here's the fourth thing. Turn with me to Acts 24. Acts 24 verse 14 says, But this I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the
God of my fathers. Believing all things which are
written in the law and the prophets. I have a confession to make. I believe every word that has
proceeded out of the mouth of my God. Every single word. I believe every promise he has
made to me. Every single one. I believe I
was crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. And the
life that I now live in this flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." I believe
that. You're about to get in some water,
and there's nothing in this water. I hope we've established that.
It's just cold. That's all it is. There's no salvation in that
water. But you're about to get in some water, And when you do,
David, you're going to confess to this world that you were crucified
with Christ, buried with Christ. Nevertheless,
you live. Because you were raised with
Christ, that's what we're confessing right here. And because of that,
because of everything this represents, there's one more thing I want
to confess. Go with me to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 verse 13 says, These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off. We see them afar off, don't we?
By God's grace, we see the promises. We see them. We don't know what
we shall be, But we know we're going to be just like Him. Verse
13 says, we've seen them afar off, and we're persuaded of them. We're persuaded, aren't we? I
mean, we are hook, line, and sinker. We are persuaded. Our God would have to let us
go to be unpersuaded. God's Holy Spirit, the blessing
and the gift of His Spirit is the persuader. We're persuaded. Verse 13, we
were persuaded of them and embraced them. You know, we don't just
believe this, we love it. We love it. We crave it. We need it. In John Bunyan's
story, Pilgrim's Progress, They were trying to get Pilgrim to
stay in that city of death. Everything was dying, the city
of destruction. And they were begging him and
they were pulling on him and he stuck his fingers in his ear
and he ran toward yon wicked gate crying, life, life, eternal
life. Eternal life. Verse 13 says,
"'These all died in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed, they all confessed, that they
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say
such things declare plainly that they seek a country, And truly,
if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they
desire a better country, that is in heavenly. Wherefore God
is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for
them a city." He's prepared a city. You know what we're confessing
here? We are confessing life, life, eternal life. Life in Christ. Life through the death of Christ. Our life because of His death. Our life in His blood. This life
is only in Jesus Christ. It's only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, we have a confession to
make.