Title: Christ’s Water-Baptism
Text: Matthew 3: 13-17
Date: August 10, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Matthew 3: 13: Then
cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14: But
John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to
me? 15: And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16: And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him: 17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
We have
a brother and sister who have expressed a desire to be baptized. We will
baptize one next Sunday and the other during the Danville Conference.
Subject:
Christ’s Water-Baptism.
Proposition:
By Christ’s
water-baptism he sets before us an example of obedience to God which he
commands every believer to follow.
I.
Matthew 3: 13: Then cometh Jesus…--FIRST, BY CHRIST’S BEING BAPTIZED WE CAN
CORRECT SOME OF THE ERRORS ASSOCIATED WITH BAPTISM.
Not
For Remitting Sins
This one who came to be baptized is the holy,
sinless, GodMan. Christ had no sins to be forgiven. That tells
us baptism is not for the purpose of remitting sins. On the day of
Pentecost when Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins—Peter was not saying by baptism
God forgives our sins. (Acts 2: 38) “For” means “because of” the forgiveness of
sins. It is by Christ putting away the sins of his people that God forgives our
sins. Christ said, “this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.”(Mt 26: 28) After regeneration, God the Holy Spirit bears witness in our hearts
that God forgives our sins because of Christ’s finished work.
Hebrews 10: 14: For by one offering he hath perfected for
ever them that are sanctified. 15: Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to
us: [A witness of Christ. Therefore, God says]…17: And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. 18: Now where remission of these is, there
is no more offering for sin.
So it
is through God’s gift of faith in Christ, for the sake of Christ, that God
forgives our sins.
Acts 10:43: To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins
So Peter
was saying that if you believe Christ, believe God that your sins are forgiven
through faith, then follow him in believer’s baptism confessing that you are
doing it, “because” your sins have been forgiven.
Not For Washing Away Sin
Also, by
our Savior being baptized we see that baptism is not for the “washing away of
sin”—Christ knew no sin. When Ananias told Paul, “be baptized and wash away thy
sins”, he was speaking of what baptism pictures. It is by Christ’s blood that the sins of God’s
elect were washed away. That is what we picture in believers’ water-baptism.
Not
For Regeneration
Also, by Christ being baptized, we see that water-baptism
is not for regeneration. Christ had no need of regeneration. In one person,
Christ is the GodMan—the holy nature of God and the holy nature of Man. Sinners
are not regenerated by water-baptism but by the Holy Spirit, through the
hearing of the faithfulness of Christ, when Christ speaks the word into our
hearts:
John 6:63: It is the spirit
that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you,
they are spirit, and they are life.
Ephesians 2:1: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
For
Believers Only
Lastly, by Christ the Faithful, being baptized we
see that water-baptism is only for believers. It is not for any who do not
believe. Water-baptism is obedience to God. Peter said, baptism is “(not the
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience
toward God.)” (1 Pet 3: 21) When scripture speaks of a believer being baptized
and “all his house”, it is because God gave faith to him and all those in his
house. For example:
Acts 18: 8: And Crispus, the
chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many
of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.
II.
YET, CHRIST DOES
SHOW US HOW VERY IMPORTANT WATER-BAPTISM IS—Matthew 3: 13: Then cometh Jesus from
Galilee to Jordan, to be baptized of him. 14:
But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest
thou to me? 15: And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus
it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
It was
a three days journey from Galilee to Jordan.
For our Savior to walk that far to be baptized tells us water-baptism is
of utmost importance.
Humility of Heart
First, we
see water-baptism is important because it shows that our hearts are humbled
before God. This is God the Son. But he
humbled himself “to be baptized of John.” God over all heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, did not come
into this world in pomp and flash—he came as an infant born to poor
parents. Throughout his earthly life he
made himself of no reputation. He ended his ministry bloody and stripped naked
on a cross. Likewise, he began his ministry by being baptized by a man in a
muddy river. (II Cor. 8:9).
2 Corinthians 6: 9: For ye know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
The first thing required of God’s people is to come
down: we must be stripped of our vain riches, our so-called righteousness. We
must be brought to trust Christ alone for all acceptance with God. That requires a broken and contrite heart.
True believer’s baptism is a confession of humility of heart, of submission to
Christ our Master, of consecration to him and his people.
Psalm 51:17: The sacrifices of
God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not
despise.
Matthew 11:29: Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls.
Obedience to God
Also, water-baptism
is important because it is the will of God, given for every child of God to
obey—“it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” The Preeminent Son of God
submitted to the will of God his Father in all his service to God, just as he
did here, being baptized according to the will of his Father.
Notice,
John protested at first. John knew himself to be a sinner in need of the grace
of God. He needed Christ to do all
things for him. But when Christ told
him this was the will of God, John submitted to God by submitting to Christ
1 Samuel 15:22: And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Worship of God
Water-baptism
is important because anything God’s will for his child is also the worship of
God. Christ Jesus did not let the long
walk or the humility involved, or the protests of John prevent him from worshipping
God the Father in water-baptism.
Unregenerate
men let very little come between them and their job. If their employment dries
up, they will move clear across the country to another job. They will move for
a job then look for a church. True believers are faithful in their work place,
but believers let nothing come between them and the worship of God. Believers
will move clear across the country for the gospel or drive long distances each
week to hear the gospel. If the believer’s job dries up, he will first look for
a city where the truth is preached then try to find a job there. It is the difference grace makes: the
difference between having Christ for your life and having the world for your
life. Likewise, those who claim to
believe Christ yet refuse water-baptism show an unchanged heart, a refusal to
obey God, and refusal to worship God.
III. THIRDLY, CHRIST SHOWS WHAT WATER-BAPTISM
PICTURES AND WHAT WE ARE CONFESSING IN WATER BAPTISM—Matthew 3: 15:
Jesus said…thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.
John
did what was right on this occasion. But John did not fulfill ALL righteousness.
Christ is the ONLY ONE who fulfilled ALL righteousness. So why did the Lord Jesus include John?
Representation
Christ
declares here that John, like all God’s elect, were in Christ when Christ served
God in the earth. When Christ fulfilled all righteousness, all God’s elect
fulfilled all righteousness in him.
As the Representative
of his people, even when Christ was baptized in water, all who were in him were
baptized in water in perfect righteousness.
Next week, Kevin and I will not fulfill this ordinance in righteousness.
There will be sin in him and me. But in Christ, both of us fulfilled this
ordinance of water-baptism in perfect righteousness. The same is true when we
observe the Lord’s Table, in every aspect of our worship of God on this earth. Christ
is our Righteousness in all things because everything Christ did when he walked
this earth as the Representative of his people, his people did in him.
When
Christ obeyed every precept of the law in perfect righteousness, his people obeyed
every precept of the law in perfect righteousness. Christ is the end of all the law for the believer
because Christ is the righteousness of the law for the believer. Believers should never intentionally break
the law of God, but we do not look to the law for righteousness or
sanctification, we look only to Christ, who is made unto us Righteousness and
Sanctification.
When
Christ served God and his brethren in perfect faith and fidelity, his people
did so in him. Not only is Christ’s righteousness given to us through faith, Christ
is the Righteousness of our faith.
But
what about our sins—there is a penalty for breaking the law—we all broke the
law. Christ also took the sins of his people. All our sins before we were
converted, all our sins when we were baptized in water, sins as we preach and
hear the gospel preached, sins as we observe the Lord’s Table, sins as we pray
to God, all our sins of breaking every law of God, sins from conception to the
day we die, known and unknown. Christ
took all the sins of all his elect people on him.
Picture of Death in Baptism
Here is
the work of Christ on the cross, which Christ pictured by his water-baptism—Matthew 3: 16: And Jesus, when he was
baptized,…
First, the
Holy Spirit tells us Christ was immersed. The word baptism means—immersion—under
water. The Greek word “baptize” described a process of dying clothe. They
immersed clothe in dye to change its color.
Imagine if a person ordered a piece of baptized clothe but they
sprinkled it instead. The person expecting clothe all one color would be
unhappy.
But the
reason we immerse is much greater than a matter of semantics, we immerse
because of what Christ bore on the cross.
Having been made sin for us, God baptized—immersed—Christ in the just
judgment and wrath of God, baptized him in that spiritual second death then in
physical death and then immersed him in the grave. All this is that immersion
Christ spoke of when, long after water-baptism, he said,
Luke 12:50: But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and
how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
When we
are immersed in water-baptism we are confessing that when Christ was immersed
into that death our old man of sin was baptized into that death in him.
Romans 6: 3: Know ye not, that so many of us as were
baptized [unto] Jesus Christ were baptized [unto] his death? 4: Therefore [the
picture we show is] we are buried with him by baptism into death
What
are we confessing that Christ accomplished by
his death and burial?
Romans 6: 6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7: For he that
is dead is freed from sin.
This is
that eternal death the law demands of the law-breaker, which his people would
have suffered eternally. But by Christ
being immersed into that death for us our old man of sin was crucified and died
with Christ. The body of our sin is destroyed by Christ’s death. Now, before
God, before the law, it is impossible for God’s child to serve sin, “He that is
dead is freed from sin.” “Brethren, ye
are become dead to the law by the body of Christ.” (Rom 7: 4)
Picture of Resurrection in Coming Up From
Under the Water
Then our
text says Christ, Matthew 3: 16:…went up
straightway out of the water:…
When we
come up out of the water this is what we are confessing and picturing.
Romans 6: 4:…that like as Christ was raised up from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life. 5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:…9: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth
no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10: For in that he died, he died
unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11: Likewise reckon
ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
When we
come out of the water we confess that when Christ arose our new man arose in
him.
Ephesians 2: 6: And hath raised us up together, and made
us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
And we
are confessing that in time, we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit so that
Christ now dwells in us. Peter compares baptism to the waters of Noah. When the
ark came up out of the water, Noah came up out of the water. Noah was delivered to a brand-new life. That is what we are confessing in believer’s
baptism: we now walk in newness of life. We died unto sin, now we live unto
God. We were the servants of sin, now
the servants of Christ our Righteousness
V. LASTLY, BY WATER BAPTISM WE ARE CONFESSING
THAT OUR SALVATION IS THE WORK OF THE TRIUNE GOD IN CHRIST.
Christ’s Ascension by the Triune God
Remember,
at Christ’s ascension: the heavens opened, the GodMan arose glorified by the
Holy Spirit, God declaring that he is satisfied with his people in Christ
Jesus.
Colossians 2: 12 calls it, “the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
That faithful
operation of God was a meeting of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity showing
that salvation is of the LORD: purposed
by God the Father, performed and purchased by God the Son, ministered by God
the Holy Spirit.
So at
his water-baptism, after Christ pictured his death, burial and resurrection, God
gave a foreshadow of that faithful operation of the triune God which raised
Christ—Matthew 3: 16: And Jesus, when he
was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were
opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him: 17: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased.
There
is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit declaring God is satisfied,
justice is upheld, he is the Justifier in Christ the fullness of the Godhead
bodily.
So when
a believer comes up out of the waters of baptism, we are picturing and
confessing, that we believe our salvation and acceptance in heaven with God is
in the Beloved by the faithful operation of the triune God. We are confessing
salvation is of the Lord.
Colossians 2: 12: Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath
raised him from the dead.
True
water-baptism is a confession that our salvation is not by us, in any degree—it
is a confession that all we are is sin. It is a confession that our salvation
is by the triune God—of the Lord: by God the Father who elected us, foreordained
us and predestinated us, by God the Son who redeemed us, who sent the gospel to
us, by God the Holy Spirit who regenerated us and keeps us and will one day
raise us up forever to be with God. We confess that by the same faithful
operation of the triune God which raised Christ, we are now raised to newness
of life, consecrated to God and his people, in obedience to our new Master.
Three Important Words
In
closing let me say three things.
First,
if you God has called you so that you believe Christ—that salvation is of the
triune God, apart from your works—it is God’s command to confess him in
believer’s baptism. If you believe him truly then you will want to.
Secondly,
baptism is only to be done once. It can only be done once in truth. But if you were baptized but did not believe
on Christ, in spirit and in truth, then you only went through the motions. If since
then God has given you a heart to believe on Christ then you should follow
Christ in believer’s baptism.
Thirdly,
if you do not believe, wait on the Lord.
You cannot confess who you do not believe and trust. Never make a false
profession. Avoid it all costs.
Lord
willing, when we baptize these brethren, I hope this helps you understand how
important this ordinance is and what these brethren are confessing by it.
Amen!