A WATERY
GRAVE!
Romans 6: 1-11, 9/2/2018
Introduction: In 1982, I was reading a book “The Now and the Near Future
Prophesied.” Which was all about the impending wars, dangers that were to come
in the very near future and the imminent and unexpected return of Jesus Christ
to the earth for a second time. The book also talked about the need to accept
Jesus as my savior, in order to escape hell and enter into heaven. It also
talked about being ready for the Lord’s return and included a dreadful warning to
people not to be left behind when believers will be taken up to heaven.
For a seventeen-year-old it was like
watching a horror movie, I was shaken up, and terrified, by the end of that
reading, I knelt down and prayed a sinner’s prayer, repenting of my sins and
accepted Jesus as my savior. That was
the beginning of my Faith Journey. Looking back, though my acceptance of Christ
was based on fear of not wanting to be left behind, I believe it was the work
of God’s grace which enabled me to believe in Jesus. The same grace also gave
me strength and courage to take the next step in following Christ.
How did that happen? As I began to read
the gospel of Matthew, I came to chapter 3 verse 16, it was about the baptism
of Jesus Christ, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.
At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like
a dove and lighting on. Vs 17, And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son,
whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” It was an eye opener for me to see
Jesus getting baptized.
I thought to myself, Jesus, the son
of God who had never committed any sin, why did he have to go through baptism?
The Holy Spirit revealed it to me, Jesus did it to leave an example for us to
follow also to let the world and the devil know that now he was being set apart
for the purposes of the Kingdom and to do the perfect will of His father. I needed no more reasons, to be baptized and follow
in the footsteps of my lord and savior Jesus Christ.
On a bright sunny day during an
evangelistic crusade, I went to a river near by and was baptized in water by my
grand father along with many others who were baptized on the same day. It was a
glorious turning in my life. It was a dead to sin, and an alive in Christ
moment. Baptism has given me a purpose, and a privilege to live for and serve
my Lord and King.
Several of you here today may have
made that decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and savior. It was not your
great idea but the grace of God that enabled you to believe in Him, that was the
first step, but you also have taken the next step and was Baptized in waters. But
there are others who might be hesitating to take that step, I wonder why? If
you are in that boat of hesitation, I hope by the end of this message you too will
be ready to jump into the waters.
Let me share what was the sequence
of Baptism in the first century church. All throughout the gospels, and the
book of Acts the message of the Lord and the apostles was, “Repent, Believe,
and be baptized. Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:16.
When the Apostle Peter preached a
powerful message on the Day of Pentecost, many people who were listening
including several Jews were cut to their heart and said to Peter and to the
other apostles, “Brothers what shall we do? Peter replied, “Repent and Be
Baptized” Acts 2:37-38. Notice the
sequence here: “Repent, Believe and Be Baptized.” Or sometimes Repent and be baptized. It is always repentance, belief immediately
followed by baptism in waters.
This sequence could raise concerns
of the practice of the infant baptism through sprinkling. The argument here is
how can a child repent of his or her sins and confess their belief in Christ?
Therefore, in our Church we dedicate children to the Lord and encourage adults
(children who come to the age of acknowledgment of sin) to repent of their
sins, put their belief in Christ and then be baptized by immersion in waters.
Just to let you know, by virtue of
being born into a bible believing Lutheran family I was baptized by sprinkling,
and probably several others here too were baptized by sprinkling of water as
children. In the passage we read we will understand the significance of Baptism.
As Frank Voila noted, you will be buried in, “A Watery Grave, “and brought back
to a new life in Christ.
I. A WATERY GRAVE (1-3)
Vs 1-3, “What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those
who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that
all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?”
The apostle Paul was writing to
those perhaps who were converted and baptized on the day of Pentecost who now
founded the church in Rome. Some of them may have been talking God’s grace as a
license to sin. What is sin? The bible describes sin as, “Missing the mark” or
falling short of God’s standard. According to St. Augustine of Hippo’s classical
explanation sin is "a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal
law of God."
Anything that is contrary to the
standards of God is not only harmful to us but to everyone else in the society.
The bible lists out such harmful behaviors such as: lying, cheating; adultery,
drinking, greed, pride, lust, hatred, anger etc. How do we understand this
statement, “Shall we go on sinning so that the grace may increase? By no
means! (May it never Be NASB) The
apostle Paul was advocating for a change of life style. Before accepting
Christ, we were used to live as we pleased, being led by the desires of our
flesh. But after accepting Christ as our savior we need to stop all such
behaviors and develop a God honoring life style of love, grace, purity,
generosity, faithfulness, servitude etc. The reason is found in the next
verses. “We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or
don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized
into his death? What does this mean?
When
we go down under the water, we testify to the fact that the old person we used
to be and the old world that we used to serve is being buried. We are plunged
beneath the water and the old Adam‖ is drowned. But we come up out of the water
in Christ and begin a new life. In baptism, we affirm that we have become a new
person with a new nature, born into a new family which belongs to a new
creation where Jesus of Nazareth is Lord and King
II. A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST (4-5)
Vs
4-5, “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in
order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of
the Father, we too may live a new life. For if
we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be
united with him in a resurrection like his.”
In water baptism by faith, when we go under water we are
identifying with Christ’s death and burial. Ass Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the father, we too when we come up out of the water are
being resurrected to a new life. There ought to be a difference of life before
and after baptism. While writing to the Galatian believers, Paul describes how his life was changed after he repented,
believed in Christ and Baptized by Ananais.
Galatians 2:20-21, “I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” This
verse has challenged me to order my life’s priorities as a young believer. I am
still trying to grasp the in-depth meaning of what it is to live a crucified
life.
Let me tell you it is not easy; my flesh doesn’t agree to
that kind of a life. I struggle at
times, but what helps me to keep pursuing that life is the fact that, it is not
me but Christ is living in me and through me. My confidence in this life is
that, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ
Jesus.” God is faithful to complete what he started in me.
In the beginning I shared with you a part of my journey
of accepting Christ and leading up to water Baptism. Now let me share with you
how my life has been changed since that moment. After Baptism I became an
ardent reader of the Bible, why? Because I meant serious business with God.
I’ve determined to please God. I made a commitment to live and ser Him the rest
of my life. My prayer is that I will remain faithful to God and honor that
commitment.
III. A LIFE OF FREEDOM FROM SIN (6-11)
Vs 6-11, “For
we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body
ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves
to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin…The death he
died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. Vs
11, in the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus.” When someone dies they cease to exert power or control over us.
Similarly,
sin has lost its control and grip on us because it was nailed to the cross in
Jesus and died. Since in baptism we identify with the death of Christ,
therefore we are dead to sin. Watchman Nee commenting on verse 11 notes, “That
is not an exhortation to struggle. That is history, our history written in
Christ before we were born. Our crucifixion with Christ is a glorious historic
fact. Our deliverance from sin is based not on what we can do, nor even what God
is going to do for us, but on what he has already done for us in Christ. When
that fact dawns upon us, and we rest back upon (Romans 6:11), then we have
found the secret of a holy life.”
Baptism in
waters in one way gives us a fresh start. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read, “therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.” NASB. Let me summarize: In Baptism we are
identifying in the death and the resurrection of Christ. We are being raised to
a new life in Christ, and we are given another chance to count ourselves dead
to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our King. Amen!
