Your Baptism as a Guide 1/12/20 sermon by J Ben Sloan at
LMPC Matthew 3:13- 4:4; Ephesians 4:4-6
There are things that happen in your life that act as a
guide for the rest of your life.
It could be the love of parents that buoy and strengthen you to go forward into life with confidence.
Maybe you won a trophy for something and that event helped build your confidence.
Maybe you joined a group- a civic club or garden club or something at school that helped identify you as you fit into that group.
There are also things that seem to scar you for life and alter your decitions. Maybe a fall, maybe a broken relationship, maybe someone was mean to you or even abusive or controlling. Maybe someone said you will never measure up. Baptism is a positive event in life. I think it is an anti-scar balm. You know they make ointments that you can put on your scar tissue- that ease your skin scar tissue from growing or itching. But I have tried them and they are not very effective. Baptism is an anti-scar medicine for the scars on your soul or your spirit. For in baptism we remember our sins are washed away. The power of sin to ruin our relationship with God and even other people is gone.
It could be the love of parents that buoy and strengthen you to go forward into life with confidence.
Maybe you won a trophy for something and that event helped build your confidence.
Maybe you joined a group- a civic club or garden club or something at school that helped identify you as you fit into that group.
There are also things that seem to scar you for life and alter your decitions. Maybe a fall, maybe a broken relationship, maybe someone was mean to you or even abusive or controlling. Maybe someone said you will never measure up. Baptism is a positive event in life. I think it is an anti-scar balm. You know they make ointments that you can put on your scar tissue- that ease your skin scar tissue from growing or itching. But I have tried them and they are not very effective. Baptism is an anti-scar medicine for the scars on your soul or your spirit. For in baptism we remember our sins are washed away. The power of sin to ruin our relationship with God and even other people is gone.
Today I want us to think about baptism as a guide for our
lives. It is something everyone has
happen, and we may take it for granted.
But once you have had the water on you, you cannot get it off of you. It means that somewhere along your life- Jesus Christ has been at work in you. Christ has not left you alone.
But once you have had the water on you, you cannot get it off of you. It means that somewhere along your life- Jesus Christ has been at work in you. Christ has not left you alone.
It means you are part of a group. This guides you as well. Being a part of a family lends you identity,
support, love.
Baptism means you know who you are. It means you belong.
IT MEANS YOU HAVE BEEN CLAIMED- You are His, He is yours. There is a covenant-promises-a bond made in baptism.
When you check a bag in at the airport and then fly hundreds or thousands of miles away- that little stub you have matches the one on the bag- they go together. It is a baggage claim. Baptism is like the stub on you- that you are God’s- He is yours.
It means your sins have been forgiven. Baptism is a once for all thing. You don’t have to be baptized every time you sin or mess up. Just like you don’t need to be saved over and over again.
It is a bit like if you are overboard in the ocean. If you have a line to the boat- you don’t need another line every time a wave comes on you or over you- just hold onto that line.
Once you know you do not have to be tied down by the sins of your past, the failures of your parents or ancestors, or even your own DNA- it means you are truly set free. This freedom from our sins, and also knowing that you are set free from sin to be able to be holy- is a great guide into holiness. Baptism is therefore a moral guide.
Baptism means you know who you are. It means you belong.
IT MEANS YOU HAVE BEEN CLAIMED- You are His, He is yours. There is a covenant-promises-a bond made in baptism.
When you check a bag in at the airport and then fly hundreds or thousands of miles away- that little stub you have matches the one on the bag- they go together. It is a baggage claim. Baptism is like the stub on you- that you are God’s- He is yours.
It means your sins have been forgiven. Baptism is a once for all thing. You don’t have to be baptized every time you sin or mess up. Just like you don’t need to be saved over and over again.
It is a bit like if you are overboard in the ocean. If you have a line to the boat- you don’t need another line every time a wave comes on you or over you- just hold onto that line.
Once you know you do not have to be tied down by the sins of your past, the failures of your parents or ancestors, or even your own DNA- it means you are truly set free. This freedom from our sins, and also knowing that you are set free from sin to be able to be holy- is a great guide into holiness. Baptism is therefore a moral guide.
Baptism is a spiritual guide. It is like a key that unlocks the first door
into the kingdom. Baptism means you have
a relationship. Not only has Christ
influenced your life at some point, but you can draw on this moment as a claim
to access to Him.
Baptism is a guide against evil and those who would harm
you. It is often described a seal, but
it could also be described as a shield from the devil, but also all evil. I think of Harry Potters scar on his head-
that was given to him by his mother as a means of protection. Revelation somewhat describes this as the
invisible seal on the believers foreheads that defended them from the
antichrist. Martin Luther when he began
the reformation felt the weight of the world on his shoulder. He was persecuted, hunted, despised, and was
tempted to retreat into a shell or castle.
One day he was especially feeling oppressed by evil, and he said out
loud- “I have been baptized. I have been
baptized.”
Baptism is not just something that
happened in your past. It is not just an
initiation though it is indeed that. It
is a guide into life.
Lauren Daigle is a Christian singer- a graduate of LSU who will sing at the National Championship game tomorrow night. She has a great song called, “You Say” I think our baptism reminds us of some of the things she talks about:
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
Ooh ohYou say I am loved when I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short; And when I don’t belong, you say I am yours.
Lauren Daigle is a Christian singer- a graduate of LSU who will sing at the National Championship game tomorrow night. She has a great song called, “You Say” I think our baptism reminds us of some of the things she talks about:
I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I'm not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up
Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low
Remind me once again just who I am because I need to know
Ooh ohYou say I am loved when I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And you say I am held when I am falling short; And when I don’t belong, you say I am yours.
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