The Voice of Baptism

[0:00] This week, which was scheduled to be a baptism, that we're going to come across a passage that was very relatable. And I got pretty fired up about it to myself and just a little bit of a walking around the office spell, thinking that the Lord had timed this out to be for today.

[0:19] And I was a little bit mistaken in that, although it made good sense at the moment. But what I feel now, even stronger, is that the Lord's delaying us for a week so that I could preach this today.

[0:30] And then we can do the baptism next week. And you'll see exactly why I say all of this here very shortly. Exodus chapter 14 is where we are.

[0:40] Last week we looked at how a good start can fall apart. And while they got off to a good start, then they had some adversity. The enemy showed up and they got their eyes off the Lord and they got their eyes on their adversary.

[0:54] And fear immediately replaced their faith. And then they began attacking their leader. And then they began vocalizing some just completely irrational way of thinking, which will happen when you allow fear to replace your faith and you get your eyes off the Lord.

[1:08] You'll start thinking you should do this, thinking you should do that. And you're wrong every time. What you should do is get on your knees and get your eyes back on the Lord and allow Him to direct your way.

[1:19] So they did that. They took their eyes off the Lord. Then we saw, secondly, that they forgot their calling. They forgot they were a people of promise and that everything about them as a nation was a result of a miracle of God, the powerful working of Almighty God.

[1:34] And then they stopped moving forward. They even had Moses telling them to stand still. Yet the command of God was to move forward. And in all of this, we close by realizing that God is faithful.

[1:47] And I want to read again the last three verses of last week from verses 19 to 21. And so let's begin by just rereading this portion where it displayed the faithfulness of God.

[1:58] Verse 19 of Exodus 14 says, And the angel of God which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind them. And the pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood behind them.

[2:09] And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a cloud and darkness to them. But it gave light by night to these, so that the one came not near the other all the night.

[2:20] And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night and made the sea dry land and the waters were divided. And so God is faithful and He worked in such a way that He stood between them and their enemy so they could no longer see them.

[2:38] They could no longer fear their presence. It wasn't as imminent as they had felt earlier. And now also they were protected from their enemy because of the work of God.

[2:49] And one more thing, God revealed their way of escape. He had not yet revealed that to them. He just told them to walk forward. Trust me. And now He reveals to them by the light of the fire, the pillar of fire by night, that He's blowing and causing the sea to open up in front of them.

[3:06] And it did that all that night. And as you study this out, you'll see that they didn't stand there and watch this channel open up and just all night long blow.

[3:17] But rather it opened up and as it did, they were told to go forward. And it continued to open up as they went forward and continued through as that wind continued to blow and the fire lit the way ahead of them.

[3:27] And it's not until the morning until they're on the other side and it all closes back up. So it was a nighttime trip through this sea according to this passage.

[3:38] Now, God revealed despite their unfaithfulness, His faithfulness to them. Now their eyes are back on Him where they should have been the whole time. And a good start started to fall apart.

[3:50] But the Lord was faithful and He got His people back to where they're following Him. Now I want to continue with this passage from verse 22 to the end of the chapter. And we'll follow this miracle as it happens.

[4:03] Verse 22, it says, And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. And the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.

[4:13] And the Egyptians pursued and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots and his horsemen. And it came to pass that in the morning watch, the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud and troubled the host of the Egyptians.

[4:29] And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily, so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

[4:40] And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared.

[4:55] And the Egyptians fled against it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.

[5:06] There remained not so much as one of them. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.

[5:17] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw Egyptians dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians.

[5:31] And the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Now there were two mentions here in verse 22 and 29, how the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their left.

[5:49] And we know that the presence of God was with them and above them. And in verse 24 it describes that the pillar of fire and cloud was there as well. And so we know that God was there above.

[6:03] And so the Israelites were completely closed in and they were covered. Now keep your place here, but I want to take a look at one little passage all the way back in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

[6:18] Turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. And let's read just a little quick thing that the Apostle Paul says as he refers to this very miracle that we just read.

[6:28] Last Sunday we came to this passage in verse 13 and saw how God promises to make a way of escape, which he did.

[6:43] And now in 1 Corinthians 10, would you read with me the first two verses? Paul says, If you could see this from a distance, the armies of Israel had marched through the wilderness all the way up to the shores of the Red Sea.

[7:46] And then they disappeared. And they're gone. They completely disappeared that night. And then came up on the other side.

[8:01] And re-emerged on the other shore of the Red Sea. And Paul calls this a baptism. And so what this miracle or this scene that we're viewing and kind of picturing in our mind, it's depicting a baptism.

[8:15] Although it's not identical to the water baptism that we perform and submit to today, this baptism displays some things, several things.

[8:26] And I want to relate it to the believer's baptism of today. Now just imagine this. If you can picture a boxer holding his fists up and somebody says, What are you going to do?

[8:38] He says, I'm going to let my fists do the talking. And you maybe heard of a baseball player when he gets questioned about a situation. Or he says, I'm going to let my bat do the talking for me.

[8:48] What he's saying is, my action is going to speak for me. I'm not going to run my mouth and tell you things. And I want to take that kind of concept and connect that to baptism.

[8:59] And say that baptism as well does some talking. It speaks. It says some things. It declares some things. It's good for your mouth to confess Jesus Christ.

[9:11] If you've taken Christ as your Savior and been born again. Then it's good for you to openly tell others, I'm a believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my Savior. I'm a child.

[9:22] Like to tell people that's confessing Christ to others. To your family and to your co-workers. That's a good thing to do. That's a great thing to do. That's one way of being vocal about being a believer.

[9:35] But I also want you to know that baptism, or what we call today believer's baptism, it also speaks. And it says some things. It has a voice.

[9:47] And so back here in Exodus 14, there's a baptism. And it speaks. And this morning I want to consider the voice of baptism.

[9:58] And what it is that this baptism speaks in the Exodus. And as well as by the obedience of born again believers today. So let's pray again.

[10:09] Let's ask the Lord to help us here. Understand this and relate it to us today. Lord, as we open up this Holy Bible, again we are in awe of thy word.

[10:20] And Lord, this is a high and holy book. And these truths are righteous from beginning to end. Lord, we believe every word.

[10:31] And as we open them up, please help us to expound them. Help me to declare the truth as it is, according to your word. Help your people to hear and to receive and to believe, and then to act upon the truth in this book.

[10:46] We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So this morning, the voice of baptism. Baptism says some things. And I want you to see them from this passage and from the neighboring chapters.

[10:59] Before we get to the first one, would you flip back to chapter 6 of Exodus? Flip back to chapter 6. A few chapters ago, a few months ago, as it were here in this pulpit, we looked at Moses taking his first trip to Pharaoh and saying, let my people go that they may serve me.

[11:18] And Pharaoh reacted pretty rough. He added to the work. He beat the people. And before things got better, they got worse. And then Moses goes to the Lord and says, what's up?

[11:31] You said deliverance. And there's no deliverance. And the Lord reassures Moses in chapter 6 of his intentions and what he's going to do. And so let's read in chapter 6 again, verses 5 through 7.

[11:46] Verse 5, the Bible says, And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant. Wherefore, say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

[12:26] Now the word redeem in verse 6, I will redeem you with a stretched out arm. To redeem is to buy back. Something that was once your possession has been lent or has been sold to another, and the Egyptians were sold from Joseph into, the Israelites sold as Joseph into slavery, and they remained there bondsmen in Egypt, and the Lord said, I'm coming back to redeem you, and I'm going to take you out, and you're going to be redeemed by the blood of that Passover lamb.

[12:59] Something had to die and give up, pay a cost for me to take you out, and that lamb was that redemption price, and I redeemed you, and I'm going to take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.

[13:15] Now come back to the passage, and just look a little bit past where we stopped reading into the next chapter, Exodus 15. When they get on the other shore, they begin to recall what just happened, and they begin to praise the Lord, and sing, and break out into joy, and I want to read from verses 10 to 13.

[13:36] It says, Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

[13:51] Thou stretchest out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed.

[14:03] Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. Now the voice of baptism this morning, the first thing that baptism says and declares is that I am redeemed.

[14:18] I've been redeemed. I'm not a slave of Pharaoh anymore. I belong to God. Now going forward into the Red Sea, this nation made this step, this move that declared that they are following God.

[14:36] Just moments ago, they were afraid. Moments ago, they're crying because here comes the adversary and he's overtaking them. Moments ago, they're talking like, this would have been better for us to be in Egypt.

[14:49] Those were their very words. But now they've turned, now they've gone into the sea, and now they're declaring they have a God that has redeemed them and they're following him.

[15:03] These were redeemed by the blood of that Passover lamb. They were delivered from their bondage. They were, they've already embarked upon a new life and a journey. They've already been taking and undergone.

[15:14] And the picture that we're looking at is of a sinner that is loosed from the cords of his sin, that is redeemed and delivered by the blood of Jesus Christ and is set on a new path to follow the Lord away from Egypt, away from his former life.

[15:31] And so baptism declares, I belong to God. He redeemed me. He delivered me. I am his and he is mine.

[15:43] I want you to understand some things about this baptism that we're looking at and even baptism of today that water baptism is not an essential element of the saving grace of God.

[15:57] These people had already been delivered from the land of Egypt. They've already taken off as a nation and followed God's leading all the way down to the shores of the Red Sea. He led them into a baptism.

[16:10] But the baptism itself was not essential for their deliverance or for their salvation if we want to call it that. It doesn't make the deliverance official.

[16:21] It doesn't make it effective. In other words, in today's concept of baptism, you can be saved and never be baptized.

[16:32] And you can have the blood of Christ applied to your account and forgiven and your sins washed away. You can have an eternal redemption and inheritance in Christ and never get baptized in water.

[16:45] It's true. You can become a child of God upon a birth, a new birth, and never get baptized. And on the same token, you can get baptized and never be saved.

[16:57] You can get dunked in water or sprinkled with water in your face or list the ways men claim to do it today. That can take place in your life and yet you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior and been born again and had your sins forgiven.

[17:12] The two are connected in a sense but they're independent. They're distinct. The baptism does not wash away your sin. The baptism does not give you eternal life.

[17:24] The baptism being immersed in water does not sanctify you. It definitely does not justify you and it absolutely does not glorify you. It gets you wet. But it says some things.

[17:38] It does speak and it says I've been redeemed. And those folks of this church that are planning to be baptized are not doing it hoping that their sins get forgiven.

[17:49] Hoping that they become better saved. That's not the case at all. That work has been accomplished in its entirety. The statement they're making is I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I want the world to know it.

[18:05] There are no degrees to salvation. There are no steps. There is either a birth or there's no birth. There's either life or there's death. If you've been believed on Jesus Christ the Bible says you've passed from life unto death and it has nothing to do with getting dunked in a tank of water.

[18:25] If you believe on Jesus Christ you are placed into the body of Christ. You're accepted in the beloved and Jesus Christ lives in you and baptism cannot accomplish any of that.

[18:38] It never has for one it won't for you. Baptism gets you wet. Baptism doesn't wash away your sins. You want to hear something? Maybe you don't want to hear it but you're going to hear it.

[18:50] It's disturbing. More than disturbing it's damning to the people that are taught this and believe this. I want to read you something from a book this is called The Teaching of Christ.

[19:02] By the title you'd assume what the contents of this book is what Jesus Christ taught. The Teaching of Christ. And this thing is not just some random book by some random guy and his opinions that he put on the internet.

[19:18] This thing has been vetted and has been approved and it's been declared as a pastoral and scholarly work. It's the most popular and universally praised catechisms to appear since the Second Vatican Council.

[19:33] It's been translated into numerous languages. This has the support of archbishops, of cardinals and it's called a monumental, impressive, positive, serene account of the hope that is in us who acknowledge Jesus.

[19:49] And I want to read to you something that supposedly Jesus taught which is being expressed and believed by millions, hundreds of millions.

[20:01] Oh, where to begin exactly? All right, in performing a baptism which is called in some, well, it's a service, a vigil they call it here.

[20:17] And just listen to this language, listen to this concept of the baptismal service being performed. It says, the vigil itself begins with a light service.

[20:29] from a new fire, the pascal candle is lighted. It stands for the risen Christ. His wounds now glorified as the Bible says, the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

[20:46] So they carry a candle, they light a candle and they carry it through the sanctuary. While the candle is carried in procession to the sanctuary, the light is gradually diffused as first the celebrant, then the ministers, and finally all others in the congregation light their candles from that candle.

[21:08] They talk, they sing some songs or some readings, and the altar candles are then lit, and some bells are rung, and now it says all is ready for baptism.

[21:22] Listen, first, the water is blessed with a prayer that sums up the salvation history just heard in the readings. The pascal candle is lowered into the water through the risen Christ, whom the candle signifies, the font, like fountain, the font, the water, will now become life-giving.

[21:50] The font, the womb of the church, will bring forth children of God, as once more the Spirit of God is moving over the face of the waters.

[22:03] Do you understand what they believe, what they teach? That the candle that is lit from a new fire is transformed into the life of Jesus Christ, Christ, and you stick that flame, it's quenched by the water, goes out, and now they declare, now this water is alive with the life of Christ.

[22:27] And now whoever gets baptized by this water receives the life of Christ. I don't know if this makes your blood boil a little bit, or if this just annoys you to hear this stuff, but it ought to bring out some form of a reaction to know that souls of men and women and generations are being lied to by not the Bible, but by this hocus pocus garbage.

[22:55] The Spirit of God is moving upon the face of the waters. Jesus is in the waters. And that, they called it the womb of the church, about to give birth, saying that you're born spiritually by baptism.

[23:10] That's what the declaration is. There's more, and I'm not going to read all of this. There's too much to get reading here. Here's a few statements. Baptism makes us members of the church.

[23:26] Baptism, the cleansing with water by the power of the living word, makes us sharers in God's own life, and his adopted children.

[23:38] Baptism is both a rising with Christ and a new birth. It talks about, okay, here's one.

[23:49] The church has solemnly defined the validity of infant baptism. Whether you take a child and pour water on its head or sprinkle water on it, a baby.

[24:03] The church has solemnly defined the validity that it's a valid thing to baptize infants. In fact, the church law commands Catholics to have their children baptized within the first weeks after birth.

[24:20] Now, you didn't hear them say, the Bible has solemnly defined the validity of infant baptism them because it doesn't. But the church, not the Bible, the church declares that it's valid.

[24:39] What power does the church have if they don't have the authority of the Holy Scriptures and the Word of God? My answer is none. They have no power. If it's not in the book, toss it out.

[24:53] But the church has solemnly defined it. The church law commands it. The church law? What authority do you have over me? You don't have any authority over me, church.

[25:06] None. I submit to the Word of God, to God as my Lord and Creator, and what He said, I'll obey and do. But the church commands, get your babies baptized, and it says here that a child born of Christian parents, the term Christian's loose here, of course, is introduced by baptism into the covenanted people of God.

[25:30] He is given a place, not only in his family, but in the community of the church, and also in the universe. So if that child is not baptized, he does not have a place in his family, or in the church, or in the universe, he's just dead to the world and to God, if he's not baptized.

[25:50] He is provided with a purpose, a key to the meaning of life, and a place in the economy of salvation, in which these can be realized.

[26:01] You've got to be baptized in order to have a place in the economy of salvation. You know, that's not a term that any Bible writer uses, ever, ever, ever.

[26:12] They don't talk in such nebulous, vague terms. The economy. You know why that one's adopted? Because they have an entire foolish, filthy system from hell that says if you do this and you do this and you do this this this this this maybe maybe just maybe you can be accepted of God and be saved.

[26:30] If not, we made up another thing. You can go to purgatory and suffer for your sins for a little while, then be purged, then come and be accepted by God. None of that's in the Bible, but this is what they teach.

[26:41] And I'm going to stop with that. It goes further and further. That's a voice as well. That baptism says some things. That baptism says, I'm trusting that getting water splashed on me is washing away my sins.

[26:57] I'm trusting that getting water splashed on me is giving me a place in the church and therefore now I have access to the grace of God and his salvation. That says if I get baptized, the life of Jesus Christ is in that water and it's now imparted to me and now I've begun my journey toward salvation.

[27:16] That's what that baptism speaks. And it's a heresy from hell. It's dead wrong. And it's not found in the word of God. And it's not taught by the apostles or the church, the believers of Christ.

[27:33] Now Bible baptism, if I could call it that term, Bible baptism, what that says is I've been redeemed. I am the property of God. I'm his child and I'm following him.

[27:45] I already belong to him. Before I submitted to believers baptism, I'm God's by a birth, not a physical birth, by a spiritual birth when I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and he made me alive in him.

[28:00] He gave me eternal life. So baptism, when someone submits to it, they're saying I've been redeemed. Just like these people of Israel, Pharaoh came after him, said no, you're mine, that was his purpose, I didn't read it, but back in 14 he said, why did we let them go?

[28:18] We need to go get them, why did we let them go from serving us? They went to get him and they saw him coming and the Lord led him this way, made a way of escape, said nope, we're serving God. We belong to him, not you.

[28:29] We're not going back with you. And so baptism says I'm redeemed and I belong to God. It says something else, would you come back to Exodus 14 again. The voice that baptism speaks in verses 15 and 16, let's recall this, where they're crying to the Lord and the Lord said unto Moses, wherefore criest thou unto me, speaking of the children of Israel that they go, that they go forward, but lift thou up thy rod and stretch out thine hand over the sea and divide it and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground.

[29:11] Now skip down to verse number 22. And the children of Israel went. The children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground. Second thing baptism says is I am moving forward.

[29:27] That was the problem at this juncture of this trip right here. They stopped, stand still, see the salvation of the Lord. There's our enemy. Oh God, what are you going to do? And he said, I told you to move forward. And they turned and went forward.

[29:40] And they've gotten this far. The Lord has led them to this place. They've experienced their first struggle. They've showed how weak they really are, how quickly they turned from God, from faith to fear, talking about going back to Egypt.

[29:56] It sounds so much like a new inexperienced Christian. salvation. But as we pointed out multiple times, God is faithful to help them. God points them forward.

[30:07] He makes a way to escape. And so they, eventually they obeyed in faith and went forward. They took a step forward. These Jews made a decision that day that this is going to be the way we're going to go.

[30:22] It is wild. It is weird. Lord, we've never experienced anything like this in our lives. But this is the way we're going.

[30:34] We're going forward. I'm going to walk with God. I'm going to obey God and follow His leading. I'm not going back to Egypt. I'm going forward with the Lord and the Lord leads right through a baptism.

[30:52] Baptism today for believers signifies I'm moving forward. I have believed on Jesus Christ. I'm redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and I'm going forward.

[31:04] That's what baptism speaks today. It says I have decided to follow Jesus. It's a decision to live your life in obedience to Christ no longer to yourself.

[31:17] It's a decision to walk by faith and not by your own understanding. It's a decision to live your life away from Egypt and to allow God to lead the way. Baptism says I belong to God and I'm going forward.

[31:32] I want you to notice in this passage down in verses 24 and 25 we read this that while they're going through and the Egyptians follow after them that the Lord looks and by verse 25 He took off their chariot wheels and they drove them heavily.

[31:48] I don't know if you've seen, I've seen a hundred of these already. I love watching these high speed chases and police pursuits and sometimes they throw out that spike strip and they hit it with their tires and sometimes they just keep on pushing that car and they drive it heavily.

[32:05] They push that thing and the tires burn off and fall off and it's on the rims and then that's sparking and it's just, and then eventually the motor just is overheating. It can't keep being forced and forced and forced and it burns up and that's what I see these chariots.

[32:20] The wheels are coming off and they're just trying to, the horse drag them in further and it's just, it's going bad and they finally say the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

[32:33] And I want you to consider this that when they took a step forward and they decided on moving forward that the Lord fought for His children. If they would have stayed on the shore that's not where the deliverance was coming from.

[32:47] They'd have been captured, they'd have been taken back as slaves to a miserable life of affliction. They'd have never known victory in this life. They'd have never known what it's like to follow the Lord's leading but instead these children moved forward and in doing so they allowed God to show Himself not only capable but dependable and to prove to them I am all you need.

[33:11] You just follow me and trust me. I'm all you need. And baptism said I'm moving forward and I'm going to trust God.

[33:23] And Christian you can trust God. He will guide you and He will protect you too and He will provide for your way. Just obey Him and move forward.

[33:34] And that's what baptism says. I'm making a choice to live a new life following Jesus Christ. That speaks to everybody that's present that witnesses you getting dunked in a tank.

[33:46] That's what you're saying. That's what it's speaking. I'm moving forward. And there's more. There's more. And look at the end of this passage or later in this passage in verse 26.

[33:59] In verses 26 through 28 is where we read how the Lord tells Moses stretch out thine hand over the sea that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians. Upon their chariots their horsemen.

[34:11] So Moses does it. The sea returned. Verse 27 to his strength when the morning appeared. Verse 28 the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them.

[34:23] So the waters are back to normal. It had to be a phenomenal sight. An incredible thing. Not just for a bystander or for the Egyptian but for the nation of Israel to see God do this.

[34:37] But there's something else that the baptism says. When they went down in and they came back up the other side and the Lord put those waters, those walls fell back down, the water returned to its strength.

[34:48] Baptism says one more thing. It says no going back. No going back. When they exited the Red Sea, they watched the waters returned.

[34:59] The way that they had gotten to this point, the way they traveled is now closed. It's gone. Gone. That way is not even a possibility. The path of retreat removed.

[35:13] It's not even, it's out of their eyesight. God is never again going to open that sea to allow them to return back to Egypt. His leading is never back.

[35:23] It's always forward. And the baptism of this nation says no going back. We've crossed through and this thing here is a divider for us.

[35:34] The way behind us is no more. The way back to Egypt is gone. And baptism declares that. It speaks that. There's no going back.

[35:45] That song said I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. And that's what baptism speaks today. It speaks today.

[35:57] A believer says I'm not going back. The life I used to live, I'm not going back. Consider the action. Could you picture this in your mind? The action of somebody being immersed into water.

[36:09] Whether it be out here in this tank or in a river or in the ocean or anywhere for that matter. When a believer is baptized they are plunged and placed under, immersed into the water.

[36:23] They're gone. They disappear like the nation of Israel that night. I like to hold them down about 15 to 20 seconds just to make sure everybody sees you. They're down, right?

[36:35] Everybody has to verbally acknowledge and then I'll bring them back up. It pictures, the immersion pictures a death. They're gone. They're buried.

[36:47] That's what it pictures. You're done. And then they're raised out of the water. What is that picture? That picture is a resurrection. And the resurrection has a new life to it, a new being, a new creature.

[37:02] This is the picture of what baptism is. It's not saying I think this is going to wash my sins away, praise Jesus, I'm now saved. No, it says I'm dead. But I'm alive in Christ.

[37:14] And it's an illustration. All of this, death, burial, resurrection, that identifies with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[37:27] 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is the passage you want to be familiar with. Maybe mark it or take a look at it. And Paul declares the gospel. And what he says is how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried.

[37:42] And that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And as he explains the gospel, those are the elements. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

[37:54] The baptism being immersed into water pictures and identifies the believer with the gospel of Jesus Christ. No beads, no candles, no money, hands free, nothing.

[38:10] Just pictures and identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now remember that the faith, it's the believer's faith in the finished work of Calvary that constitutes our salvation.

[38:27] We're justified by faith. We're saved by grace through faith. Nothing to do with baptism. Never, ever once. So remember that. But baptism that is an outward identification with that gospel.

[38:42] It's a way for you to display outwardly, to publicly portray what's already taken place on the inside. And it's already taken place. If you believed on Jesus Christ, you already have eternal life.

[38:55] You don't need to get dunked to get saved. The baptism speaks and it says the sinner is dead with Christ and this sinner has risen now to walk in newness of life.

[39:08] And the symbolic death of immersion underwater, the baptism says, dead. No going back.

[39:18] That guy's dead now. He's not coming back up to live again. Not going back to Egypt to serve Pharaoh. But he comes back a new man. He comes back alive in Christ.

[39:30] To representing life in Christ and not ashamed to have everybody know it. I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 2. We're finished in Exodus. I want to point out just two passages back here that Paul says some things that can kind of relate to this.

[39:50] Somebody needs to be baptized because they believed on Jesus Christ. They need to declare I'm not going back. And I want everybody to know it. I'm a new man in Christ Jesus.

[40:02] Galatians chapter 2. And we're talking about a death by being immersed in the water. Buried. Galatians 2 and verse 19.

[40:12] Paul says for I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ.

[40:25] Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[40:36] Now this is not baptism but this is what baptism symbolizes or pictures for everybody to see. Is this is me. I'm dead to this religion.

[40:47] I'm dead to this old nature. To this old way of living. To this man and his wicked sins. And I'm alive. Jesus Christ now lives in me. Look at chapter 6.

[40:58] One more passage here. Chapter 6 of Galatians. And look at verse 14. It's a very powerful pointed verse. 614. But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[41:12] Notice this. By whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Dead to the world. The world is dead to me.

[41:24] And he went. He got in a picture. He went under. And he's dead. And he's coming back up new. In life. Alive. Now again it's just an illustration.

[41:36] It's already taken place inside. The spiritual birth can't be touched or seen. Or witnessed in that way. You call upon the name of the Lord. The Spirit of God. Circumcises.

[41:48] We've studied this. He circumcises your soul from your body of your sins or your flesh. Places you in the body of Christ. And in Christ you have redemption. Eternal redemption. The Bible says that he's obtained eternal redemption for us.

[42:01] In Christ Jesus you have sanctification. You have holiness. Because he's holy. He's the holy, harmless, separate from sinners. Son of God. That's who you are now in Christ. You're joint heirs with him now.

[42:13] And can't be separated from the body of Christ. Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. You're recognized now by God the Father as one of his.

[42:24] You belong to him. He paid for you with the blood of his Son. That's already taken place spiritually. Now baptism is an outward depiction of that for others to see.

[42:36] Now in conclusion this morning we've been looking at Exodus. We've been studying Israel and them coming out of the land of Egypt. God leading them forward. And for that nation there's more battles ahead.

[42:50] Like they're going to enter into some serious conflicts and some hostile territory. There's more enemies that they're going to face in the future. It's not really like okay happily ever after now.

[43:01] For the moment they're rejoicing but there's still going to be a hard life ahead. But it is an end to their lives in Egypt. That's what it is.

[43:13] That way has closed up behind them and they're not going back. It marks a great victory in the young life of this nation.

[43:25] And the same thing I believe holds true by being baptized today. It says I am redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ and I belong to God.

[43:35] I'm his now not Pharaoh's. No slave to Pharaoh no more. I belong to God. It says I'm moving forward. I'm going forward in this new life that God has given to me.

[43:50] This is the direction I want my life to be. I'm a Christian and I'm not ashamed to name the name of Jesus Christ. And baptism also says I'm not going back.

[44:02] Now the old man is still present. He's still going to sin. He's still going to try to draw you and tempt you and you're going to still deal with sin. Doesn't mean you'll never sin again. Some people get that doctrine twisted as well.

[44:14] It's an outward statement that I'm alive in Christ and not ashamed to have others know it. Now this is this is the close of the service and if I would invite you to anything by way of an invitation first of all and foremost if you've never believed on Christ for salvation if you've done some religious works like been baptized or if you think that if I just do enough good things earn my way to God's favor I should be good enough.

[44:44] I'm going to go to church every Sunday for the rest of my life because I hope God's happy with that. That's not going to undo your sins. That's not going to forgive or cleanse your sins. You need the blood of Christ to cleanse your sins.

[44:55] You need a savior. And so if you're a religious person it's not going to get you to heaven. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. If you've never believed on Christ alone for your salvation you don't need to be baptized.

[45:10] You need to be saved. You need to call out to Jesus Christ and receive him as your personal savior. It needs to be between you and him.

[45:22] And if that's never happened today be the day to get started. To get born. Spiritually born by the spirit of God and saved.

[45:33] If you've never been saved get saved. Don't get baptized. Now if you have been saved and you've never been baptized then the invitation for you is to get baptized next Sunday.

[45:50] It's to put your name on that sheet out there. Or it's to see me after the service and say I'd like to be baptized and I'll tell you what you need to be prepared for. If you've never been baptized the right way if maybe as you were a baby you got water poured on you that did nothing for you I hope you see that now.

[46:08] As an infant you didn't believe on Jesus Christ. Your parents or grandparents said yeah sprinkle them or here's 500 bucks to the priest here yeah do that thing and let them become part of the family.

[46:20] Oh your faith is in that. You need to get your faith off of that. You need to repent of that and take Jesus. If you believed on Jesus Christ for your salvation and you've never been baptized would you consider that this is for you?

[46:34] That this is God's it's called oh what's the term I just lost it. It's called an ordinance. An ordinance given to the local church. There's believers baptism and there's the Lord's Supper and the baptism for believers is an outward expression saying these three things that we've studied today.

[46:56] If you've never been baptized the invitation for you is to commit to come next week to be baptized but see me first. if you're saved and if you're baptized and you've got these two steps covered so to speak then the way for you to respond is to encourage others around you to follow the Lord and to be obedient and to take that step.

[47:21] And so let's bow our heads together in a moment we're going to take off and be gone. But with your head bowed and your eyes closed I gave you two options this morning. The one is do you know for sure that you're saved?

[47:34] Has there been a time in your life you can remember a day? The Bible says today is the day of salvation. It happens on a day. It doesn't happen gradually over time.

[47:45] But there's a moment in time where you as a sinner open your heart to God to Jesus Christ and receive his free gift of salvation believing that he died for your sins that he was your substitute and you receive him as your savior.

[48:01] Is there a time in your life when you've as a sinner believed on Christ for salvation? If there's somebody in here that has never done that you're not sure about that would you slip your hand up just really quickly by yourself and put it down?

[48:14] If you've never believed on Christ called out to him for salvation I want you to know how to be saved. It's easy. From your heart you believe on him.

[48:27] With your mouth you call out to him in prayer. It's that easy. But then the invitation is second for those who haven't been baptized and realize that yeah this is something I need to do.

[48:41] I promise I'm not trying to twist your arm it might feel like it but I'm not. I want you to have that conviction inside of you. I want the Lord to deal with your heart and you obey him not me.

[48:51] God forbid you obey me but obey the Lord. If he's dealing with your heart saying yeah this is you you should submit to that because all of those things that he said apply to you.

[49:02] You need to stand up and say I am redeemed by Jesus Christ and I belong to God and you need to stand up and say that I'm going forward in this Christian life and I'm not going back.

[49:15] This is the life I'm living now. If that's you would you slip your hand up and just say I've not been baptized but I'd like to talk about it I'd like to do that next week. There's nothing to be ashamed of in doing that and I'm not going to press any harder but I'll let the Lord deal with your heart about it and if you feel in conviction that you need to do that then get a hold of me and let's make it happen next week.

[49:48] Father before we go we just want to thank you again for the Lord Jesus Christ and how he paid it all for our sins. Thank you for this church of believers and folks that love you and come out each week to hear the word of God.

[50:01] Lord I pray that if this time doesn't come around often to baptize folks I pray that if it's needed and it's right for some that you'd reveal that to them give them courage to take that step to not be ashamed of Jesus Christ or of his calling.

[50:17] And Lord may no one be confused about this either. if there's any questions give them boldness and courage just to ask and get it discussed and settled. And Lord we want to just praise you again for your goodness.

[50:28] I want to praise you for being merciful to us as sinners and for calling us out of Egypt for pointing us to a better life and being a great God that we can follow and trust.

[50:43] Again we love you we thank you for Calvary in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Alright you're dismissed this morning. If anybody wants to catch me I'll be around.