January 27, 2013, Live Baptized!

- Baptism marks a significant moment in the life of a believer and in the life of the church.

- It is a moment we publicly proclaim our commitment to Jesus Christ.

- It is a sacred moment when, as the church, we set apart new believers to the life of faith recognizing them as people whom God has called and set apart to walk with him in faith together with us.

- Christian Baptism is a moment filled with meaning and purpose, but is that all it is? Is it only a moment, a single, solitary event in a person's life and in the life of the church? Or is baptism something more?

¹⁸ And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV, [a] Or into)

- I believe it is clear that baptism is something more than a single moment or solitary event.

- We already recognized last week that baptism reflects obedience in the life of a disciple.

- Now, the thing about obedience is that it's not momentary. Real obedience is an ongoing thing. Real obedience keeps on being obedient.

- So the first thing we can say about a baptized life is that it is an obedient life. A baptized life is an obedient life.

- The second thing I think we need to notice about baptism from the great commission comes as we're reading along and we come to the little word "in."

- Now that little word in the Greek can be better translated as "into" which carries a different force of meaning and implies that these words of Jesus are no mere formula for how to do baptism.

- No, these words of Jesus reveal that the disciple must learn to view baptism as an expression of our new relationship.

- We are baptized into fellowship with the triune God.

- We have recognized before the fact that God is eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, means that God has always been in relationship.

- That he has created us for relationship is easily seen from the very beginning.

- Over and over in the very first chapter of Genesis, like the steady beat of a drum, we read, "and God saw that it was good," and then like a marvelous revelation of his grace God announces, "it is not good for the man to be alone."

- We were created for relationship with God and with one another, because God is a relational God.

- To be baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is to be baptized into fellowship with him and with his people.

- Therefore, a very significant part of our discipleship to Jesus Christ must be the renewal of our relationships with God and with one another in obedient faith.

- Renewed relationships is the reason why the main emphasis of the New Testament is on love.

- What is the key focus of the Sermon on the Mount? Matthew 7:12, "Do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets."

- What is the greatest commandment? Matthew 22:37- 40, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and love your neighbor as you love yourself. The law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

- What was the new commandment of Jesus? "A new command-ment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35, ESV

- What does Paul say is the only thing that counts? The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6b

- What is the first thing Paul mentions as he lists the fruit of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is love. Galatians 5:22

- What is it that Paul tells Christian to put on above all things?

¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." Put on love.

- What is it that the letters of John stress most? A few times, John tells his readers that he's not giving them a new commandment, but the commandment that "we have had from the beginning" of Jesus ministry, "that we love one another."  2 John 1:5

- Renewed relationships are loving relationships.

- That brings me to the second thing I want to say about baptism A baptized life is a life of loving relationships with God and others.

- A baptized life is an obedient life, and a baptized life is a life of loving relationships, also, a baptized life is a God-ordered life.

- Jesus instructed his disciples to baptize others into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

- We are not only baptized into a renewed relationship with God, we are also baptized into his country, and we are under his authority, his orders.

- How can we understand this? We all live in a particular province of a particular country and that country is Canada.

- As I think about that, I like to think that there's a little patriotism in all of us.

- As Canadians, we are multicultural so we all define what it is to be Canadian a bit differently, while we all hold some values in common.

- I served my country for five years as a member of the West Nova Scotia Regiment, and I like to think of myself as a Canadian first and a Maritimer last.

- As a patriotic Canadian, I have certain loyalties that I subscribe to, or believe in, and behave in Canadian ways.

- I tend to think in a Canadian way as opposed to an American way or British way.

- As a Canadian citizen, my loyalty is to Canada.

- I could say a lot more, but I think we get a little bit of the picture.

- As a disciple of Jesus, I need to be living a God-ordered life.

- I need to be learning to think in the ways that God thinks, looking at my life the way God looks at my life and at the lives of others the way God looks at their lives.

- I need to have godly values and I need to behave in godly ways.

- As a citizen of God's country, my loyalty must be to God.

- A baptized life is a God-ordered life.

- So, a baptized life is an obedient life.  A baptized life is a life of loving relationships.  A baptized life is a God-ordered life.

- So I say: Live in obedience, live in love, live God-ordered, live baptized!