I did choose thee. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. question, how important is baptism? We read in Hebrews chapter six,
verse two of the doctrine of baptisms. Baptism has a specific
doctrine or teaching. How important is baptism? Well, let me ask another question.
Do you have to be baptized to be saved? Can you stand accepted
in Christ and be in heaven if you never experienced water baptism? Was the thief baptized in water? The answer is no. He couldn't
be. He was nailed to a cross and
he died on that cross. He never gave a dime to the cause
of Christ. He never attended a church service.
He never was baptized or took the Lord's table. He wasn't baptized
and we know that he was saved because the Lord said concerning
him, barely I say unto you today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. There's no doubt that the thief
was saved and the thief never went through water baptism. Well, if that's so, how important
is baptism? If you don't have to be saved,
or you don't have to be baptized to be saved, how important is
baptism? I entitled this message, How
Important is Baptism? to let us know that's a bad question.
We shouldn't be taking anything God says and say, well, how important
is that? That's a wrong question. If God said it, it is important. And whatever he says, whatever
Christ says, we don't quantify, well, this is important
and that's less important. Maybe this is more important.
We can't do that. God speaks. It's of absolute
importance. If my father told me to do something,
and I said, well, is it important for me to do it? I find out very
quickly that it was. If I was interviewing you for
a job, and I was giving you the responsibilities of that job,
and you said, well, I see, but is it important for me to do
those things? You're not gonna get the job. I'm not gonna hire
you with that kind of attitude. Of course it is important. Now, How important is baptism? Bad
question. Dumb question. A question that
should not be asked. Now, I've already quoted this
in Hebrews 6, verse 2, we read of the doctrine of baptisms,
and you'll notice baptisms is in the plural. There are several
baptisms taught in the scripture. We read in Acts 2 of the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. We read in Romans 6, verse 3,
where we're baptized into Christ. In Luke 12, the Lord said, I
have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straight until
it be accomplished? And he'd already gone through
water baptism. And he's talking about being baptized, immersed
under the wrath of God. Most of the time when baptism
is referred to in the New Testament, it's talking about water baptism. You'll remember when the Ethiopian
eunuch said, see, here is water. What does hinder me from being
baptized? Now, the word baptism, is a transliteration
from the Greek word baptizo. It's not a translation, it's
a transliteration. If the word was translated, it
would be translated, immersed. Whoso is immersed, whoso believeth
and is immersed, the same shall be saved. The word means literally
to immerse, to submerge under, and to emerge from. When you're
baptized, you are immersed into the water, go all the way under
the water signifying a grave, and you come back up out of the
water signifying a resurrection. Now, baptism is not sprinkling. You don't sprinkle dirt on a
dead person. You bury them all the way under.
It's not sprinkling. It's not pouring water. It is
complete immersion. That is the proper mode of baptism. Anything else is not baptism. When someone is baptizing an
infant or sprinkling an infant, There's no justification to that
from the scripture. You won't find any example of
that in the scripture. And it's not baptism in the first place.
So the mode of baptism is immersion under the water, all the way
under, and coming back up. You can be right on the mode
and not understand the meaning. What is the doctrine of baptism? What is it that baptism teaches
us? Did you know that the whole gospel
is illustrated by this simple act of baptism? Now, baptism is only in the New
Testament. I've heard people say, well, it's an Old Testament
rite. There's not one example in the Old Testament where anyone
was ever baptized. When people make that statement,
they're trying to take away from the importance of baptism. It
was not an Old Testament rite. It wasn't in the Old Testament.
Baptism is something in the New Testament with the gospel. What the word means, or what
the doctrine of baptism is, is union with Jesus Christ. And that's what I'm saying when
I am baptized. I'm setting forth the doctrine
of union with Jesus Christ. Now, somebody may ask, well,
what does union with Christ mean? Well, Hebrews 2.11 states it
like this. Both he that sanctifieth, Jesus
Christ, And they who are sanctified, every believer, are all of one. For the witch cause, he's not
ashamed to call them brethren. Now, if I'm united to Christ,
that means I'm one with Christ. That means what he did, I did. That means when he kept the law,
I kept the law because I'm one with him. That means when he
died, I died because I was one with him. That means when he
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead, accepted
because I am one with him. Now that is what is signified
by baptism. I was in him when he lived. When I go under the water, representing
going into the grave, I was in him. When he died, I died. When I come back out of the water,
I'm saying when he was raised, I was raised. All of my hope
of salvation is totally outside of myself. It's in my union with
him. Salvation is not what I do. It's
what he does and me being in him. I love that passage of scripture
where the Lord says this after the baptism of the Lord, a voice
came down from heaven and said, this is my beloved son in whom
I am well-pleased." He didn't say, with whom I'm well-pleased,
although he was well-pleased with him, but in whom I am well-pleased. If I'm in Christ, which is what
baptism signifies, God is well-pleased with me. In Romans 6, verse 3, Know ye not that so many of us
as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Everyone that was baptized into Christ. Now that's really not
talking about water baptism because there are many people who are
baptized with water that are not saved. I would say a large
portion of the people that I have baptized in water, they're not
around now. Just going under the water doesn't save anybody.
This is talking about being baptized, immersed into Christ. Oh, this
is a spiritual immersion, being immersed into Christ, being placed
in Christ by the Father. Know ye not that so many of us,
as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His
death? When He died, we died. Therefore we are buried with
him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should
also walk in newness of life. For if we've been planted together
with the likeness of his death, we shall also be in the likeness
of his resurrection. This is talking about the union
the believer has that everything Christ does, he did. Paul said it this way in Galatians
2.20, I'm crucified with Christ. Literally? Literally. I was in Christ when he was crucified,
and I was crucified with Christ. That is what we're confessing
in baptism. Crucified with Christ. Now, here's what I'm saying.
I think of that passage of Scripture in Mark 1.5. when it says they
were baptized of Him, confessing their sins. Mark chapter 1 verse
5, when John the Baptist was baptizing, they were baptized
of Him, confessing their sins. Now, does that mean before someone
is baptized in water, they need to make a public confession of
their sins? No. Never. As a matter of fact,
that's perverted. For somebody to get up in front
of everybody and give all this dirty laundry and all the people
will hear it and be affected by it. Don't ever do anything
like that. What's he mean then? When I am being baptized, I am
confessing I am so sinful in and of myself that the only way
I can be saved is by Jesus Christ keeping the law for me. I can't
keep the law. I can't keep one commandment.
My only righteousness before God is God in Christ keeping
the law for me. I'm saying I'm so sinful that
I can't do anything about my sins to make them go away. The
only way I can be saved is by Jesus Christ dying for my sins. Me being in him so that when
he died, I died. When those sins were paid for,
it were my sins being paid for. I say I'm so sinful that the
only way I can be saved is by the resurrection of Christ when
He made full satisfaction to God for His people. That's my
confession. All my salvation is simply being
found in Him. When I am baptized, I'm saying
His law keeping is my only hope. His death is my only hope. His
resurrection is my only hope. There's no salvation apart from
simply being found in Him. And baptism is my public confession. that I'm so sinful, that all
my hope is found in what He did, all of it, 100% is found in what
baptism depicts, the life, the death, and the resurrection of
Christ, and me being in Him. Now listen to this, what most
people preach and believe. I need to bring this out. Somebody
says you're being negative. Well, no, I need to bring this
out. I want you to hear this. What most people preach and believe
is a denial of what baptism depicts. Most people, most people in Lexington,
Kentucky, preach that Jesus Christ lived for everybody, all men
without exception, and that he died for everybody. all men without
exception, and that he was raised for everybody, all men without
exception. But he can do all those things
for you, and you may wind up in hell anyway if you do not
do your part. That is not only a denial of
baptism, that is a denial of the gospel. If Christ can live
for somebody, and die for somebody, and be raised for somebody, and
they wind up in hell in any way because they didn't do their
part, that makes Christ a failure. It makes salvation to be dependent
upon human works and not on what Christ did. That is a denial
of the gospel. You can't preach the gospel and
believe that kind of stuff. It's wrong. It's contrary to
the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's contrary to what baptism
depicts. Now, union with Christ does not
make salvation possible if I do my part. union with Christ is
salvation. I want to read a passage of scripture
from Matthew 20 that I think will help with this. Matthew 20, verse 20, Then came
to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping
him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her,
What wilt thou? She said unto him, grant that these my two
sons may sit on the one on thy right hand and the one on thy
left in thy kingdom. I want my two boys to be the
top dogs in the kingdom of heaven. I want one on your right hand,
one on your left hand. Now I didn't have any brothers.
I was an only son with three sisters, but I guarantee you
my mother would want the same thing for me. Have no doubt about
it. I know the way she felt about me. She would like the same thing.
And look what the Lord says. He says, and he's saying to James
and John now, the two brothers that their mother was saying
this to, but Jesus answered and said, you know not what you ask.
Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of and
to be baptized with the baptism I'm baptized with? Now, when
he was saying that, remember when he said, if it'd be possible,
let this cup pass for me. He was talking about drinking
in the sins of his people and the wrath of God. When he talked
about baptism, he was talking about being immersed under the
wrath of God. He said, do you think you're
up to being baptized with the baptism I'm able, that I'm baptized
with? And look at their answer. We're able. How can you say that? We're able. Of course they weren't able in
and of themselves. They didn't. We're up to the
task. We'll do it. And instead of rebuking them,
the Lord said unto them, you shall drink indeed of my cup
and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with. You will. You know why? because you're
going to be in me when I drink that cup. You're going to be
in me when that fire of God's wrath is immersed upon me. And all that I do, you do because
you're in me. That is what baptism signifies. Now, when the Lord gave the great
commission before he ascended back into heaven to his father,
he said, go ye into all the world. and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Now somebody says, I thought
you said you didn't have to be baptized to be saved because
the Lord says he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
I want you to notice the Lord did not say he that is not baptized
shall not be saved. He said he that believeth not.
shall be damned." He didn't say, he that is not baptized shall
be damned. He said, he that believeth not
shall be damned. You see, when he says, he that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, by that he tells us
who should be baptized. Who should be baptized? He that believeth. Only that
person that believes. It's believer's baptism. That's why it's so wrong to baptize
an infant. An infant can't believe. Only
a believer can believe. Whoso believeth and is baptized. That's who is baptized, the person
who believes. They believe the gospel. You
believe the gospel. Now you might have gone through
the act of water immersion and called it baptism, but it wasn't
baptism if you didn't believe the gospel. It's the person who
believes the gospel of Jesus Christ, who looks to Christ only,
who's relying on Christ's life, death, and resurrection. It's
everything in their salvation. That's the person who is to be
baptized. He that believeth and is baptized,
the same shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Now, if you go through the book
of Acts, when the gospel was preached, there would be baptisms
afterwards when people were saved. You remember Peter's great message
on the day of Pentecost, and he ends with these words in Be
it known unto you, men of Israel, that God hath made this same
Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now, he was
speaking to the actual people who called on for the death of
Christ. They were saying, crucify Him, crucify Him. And Peter's
telling them, that one you want to crucify? God made Him Lord. God made Him Christ. And the
Scripture says they were pricked in their hearts and said, men
and brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said, repent and be
baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins. Repent. Change your mind. Everything you think is wrong,
Peter's saying. Everything you think regarding
how God saves sinners is wrong. Everything you think about the
forgiveness of sins is wrong. Repent and be baptized. in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins or concerning the remission of sins. When you
repent, you know that the only way your sins are remitted is
because of what Christ accomplished. You repent of anything contrary
to that. And in that same chapter, we
read, then they who gladly received the word were baptized. both
men and women. Now when you gladly receive the
word of the gospel, how there's complete remission of sins in
Christ Jesus, you're going to be baptized confessing the only
way your sins are remitted is by being in Christ. What baptism
depicts When he lived, I lived. When he died, I died. When he
was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. And then
in Acts chapter 8, we have the story of Philip going into Samaria
and preaching the gospel. And when people heard him preach,
they were baptized. Let me read this passage in verse
12 of Acts chapter 8. But when they believed, Philip,
preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name
of Jesus Christ. They heard of the kingdom of
God where God is the absolute sovereign of the universe. His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and he controls everything. They
heard that the name of Jesus Christ is the only name that
would bring them into heaven. They couldn't come in their own
name, in their own works. The only way they could come
is in the name of Jesus Christ. And when they believed, They
didn't just hear, they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
the kingdom of heaven. They were baptized, both men
and women. And in that same chapter, we
have the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. He was in his chariot
reading the scriptures, didn't know what it meant. God the Holy
Spirit told Philip to go to his chariot. And he heard this man
reading Isaiah 53. And he said, do you understand
what you're reading? And the man said, how can I except some
man should guide me? Oh, I love his attitude. Most
people, if you said, do you understand what you're reading, they'd say,
well, here's what I think it means. This man saw he was so ignorant,
he was totally dependent upon God to teach him. How can I accept
some man should guide me? And Philip began at that same
scripture and preached unto him Jesus. He preached the gospel
so clearly to him from Isaiah chapter 53, that great chapter
on the substitutionary death of Christ. And so, during the
course of this time, the Ethiopian eunuch sees a pool of water.
And he says, see, here's water. Evidently, Philip had told him
what baptism was and how a believer was to confess Christ in baptism.
And he said, here's water. What does hinder me from being
baptized? And Philip said, if you believe
with all your heart, you may. And the Ethiopian eunuch answered.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He didn't say,
I believe I'm saved. He didn't say, I believe Christ
died for me. He didn't say, I believe I'm one of the elect. He didn't
say, I believe I've been born again. He didn't say, I believe
I have a changed life that proves that I'm ready now to be baptized.
All he said was what he believed concerning the person of Christ.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And they both
went down into the water and he was baptized. What is the
requirement for baptism? Faith. What is faith? It's believing
who he is as the scripture presents him. He didn't say, I believe
I'm saved. He said, I believe Jesus Christ
is the son of God. And then we read in Acts chapter
16 of the Lord taking a woman by the name of Lydia and she
heard Paul preach. She heard the gospel, and the
Lord opened her heart, and she attended to what was spoken,
and she was baptized. Now notice the order. She heard. She heard. There's no opening
the heart without hearing. They come at the same time, but
she heard, and then the Lord opened her heart. Her heart would
have remained closed had not the Lord opened it. Oh, Lord,
open our hearts to be receptive to thy truth. So that she attended,
she listened, she believed what Paul was saying, and she was
baptized. And then in that same chapter,
we have the Philippian jailer. This is after God has sent an
earthquake and opened the jail, and Paul and Silas are still
there. He thinks they've all escaped
and he's getting ready to kill himself. And Paul says, do thyself
no harm. And then he comes in and says,
sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they answer, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And after that, after
he heard the gospel, he was baptized. Now, the last example I would
use is Paul himself in Acts chapter 22. He's giving his conversion
experience. Ananias came to him and said,
Brother Saul, receive thy sight, the God of our fathers hath chosen
thee, that you should know his will. See that just one and hear
the voice of his mouth, for thou shalt be his witness unto all
men of what you've seen and what you've heard. And now, why tarriest
thou? What are you waiting on? Arise
and be baptized, calling on the name of the Lord, washing away
thy sins. Arise and be... What are you
waiting on? Now, two questions. What are you waiting on to believe?
If you don't believe right now, what are you waiting on? If you're
waiting, that's works. That's works. You're waiting
to get better. You're waiting for some kind of experience, some kind
of feeling. That's works. Second question, why are you
tearing with regard to this thing of baptism? Well, I'm waiting.
I'm waiting till I have more evidence. I'm waiting till I
see more of a change in my life. I'm waiting till I feel more.
You're waiting for works. No, believe the gospel right
now. That's God's command. and confess
him in believers' baptism." How important is baptism? Wrong question. Baptism is a declaration of the
gospel message of how a sinner is saved by the life, the death,
and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank God for this
beautiful picture that God gives us of his gospel. Now, we have
this message on CD and DVD. If you call the church or write,
we'll send you a copy. If you look on our website, you
can get a copy of this message there. This is Todd Nybert praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to todd.nybert at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.