Do you be seated?
We're taking a break from our series in Romans.
I hope there'll be a number of baptisms this year,
!
Let me read it to you.
Proverbs 22 and verse 6.
Train up a child in the way he or she should go,
and even when he or she is old,
he or she will not depart from it.
Train up a child in the way that he should go,
and even when he's old,
he will not depart from it.
Aaron and Bexy, like any parents, like all parents,
want the best for their child.
Every one of us wants that.
We want to give our children a good start in life.
We want children to have a good start in life.
And that is a natural concern, isn't it, that parents have.
That children should be put on the right road.
But what is the right road?
There's another proverb, and it says this.
It says this.
There is a way that seems right to man and woman, men and women,
but it ends in death.
And I don't know about you,
but I don't want that for my child.
And you don't want that for your children or the children in your family.
So how can we avoid that?
How can we know what is the right way to bring up our children?
And for those of us who don't have children,
you're part of this congregation,
is there a right way to bring up children?
Is it even possible,
some people would ask that, wouldn't they?
We can't talk about there being a right way
and a wrong way.
One way is as good as another.
You've got to kind of work it out for yourself.
Is it even possible to speak about
a correct way of bringing up children?
There's lots of different ways out there.
Many different philosophies.
Lots of ideas around.
It's a bit like Spaghetti Junction.
You know that?
I don't think I've ever been on it,
but you know Spaghetti Junction, don't you?
You've seen photos of it.
If you haven't seen it,
it's like a bowl of spaghetti.
And you go in one way,
and you think you've taken the right way,
only to come out completely in the wrong direction.
And life can be like that, can't it?
And so Aaron and Bexy,
this morning,
you are at Spaghetti Junction
with the birth of your first child.
Because you have to steer
this little one,
this little precious boy,
onto the right path.
And you are concerned,
you want him to go in the right direction,
you want him to arrive at the right destination.
And so what a relief it is, isn't it,
to read this morning
that the Bible tells you
with a message from God
that there is a way that he should go.
That's what the Bible says, isn't it?
It says, can you see it?
Train up a child in the way that he should go.
And even when he's old,
he will not depart from it.
Two things in the verse
that I want you to see,
really simple,
both begin with P.
First of all,
a pathway and a promise.
Let's look at the pathway.
Train up a child
in the way that he should go.
So let me ask you this question.
Do you know what Christians were called
before they were first called Christians?
Anybody?
What were Christians called
before they were called Christians?
Followers of the way.
That's very good, isn't it?
Who said that?
Followers of the way.
That's right.
Followers of the way.
I think that's a really brilliant description,
isn't it,
of those first Christians.
And what I want to do,
just for a little bit,
is I want to kind of walk you through that
and show you how they were called that.
Hopefully,
it will come up on the screen behind me.
Is that going to work?
I hope.
There you go.
So there's six references
in the Acts of the Apostles.
And it's probably one of the most neglected themes
in all of the Bible.
So if those churches,
early churches,
had notice boards,
they didn't have church buildings,
but if they did notice boards,
it would have not said
International Presbyterian
or First Baptist
or Church of England
or any of those things.
It would have said
Followers of the Way.
It's not just a denominational label, is it?
It's a message.
I think it communicates something
to the outside world.
It's very good marketing.
This is how the world thought of them.
So first of all,
in Acts chapter 9,
in verses 1 and 2,
I'm hoping that's behind me,
Saul,
before he was converted,
he said this,
but Saul,
still breathing threats
and murder
against the disciples of the Lord,
he went to the high priest,
and he asked him for letters
to the synagogue at Damascus
so that if he found
any belonging to the
way,
men or women,
he might bring them
bound to Jerusalem.
Next up is
Acts 19,
8 and 9,
where we're told
Paul went to the synagogue
at Ephesus
and he spoke boldly.
And he entered the synagogue
and for three months
he spoke boldly,
reasoning and persuading people
about the kingdom of God.
But when some people
became stubborn
and continued in unbelief,
speaking evil of
the way,
before the congregation
he withdrew,
took his disciples
with him.
And he reasoned daily
in the hall of Tyrannus.
So you go back
right to the start
of the Christian church
and they're not called
Anglicans,
they're not called Baptists,
they're not called Brethren,
they're not called
Presbyterians,
they were called
followers of the way.
And that is how
they were known
to the outside world.
That's how they thought
of themselves.
Let me take you
to the end of chapter 19.
Chapter 19 verse 21.
Now after these events
Paul resolved
in the spirit
to pass through Macedonia
and Achaia
and to go to Jerusalem
saying after I've been there
I must also see Rome.
And having sent into Macedonia
goes on to verse 23
saying about that time
there arose no little disturbance
concerning the way.
Chapter 22 verse 1
Paul is defending himself
against the mob in Jerusalem.
He's been arrested.
He says brothers and fathers
hear the defense
that I now make before you.
I'm a Jew
born in Tarsus in Cilicia
but I've been brought up
to this city.
I was educated
at the feet of Gamaliel
this famous Jewish teacher.
According to the strict manner
of the law of our fathers
I was zealous for God
as you all are today.
I persecuted this way
to the death.
I hated Christians.
Binding them
and delivering them
to prison both men and women.
chapter 24
and verse 14
I confess to you
that according to the way
which they call a sect
I worship the God
of our fathers.
Believing everything
laid down in the law
and the prophets.
It's not some Christian sect
he's saying.
This isn't some kind of
John E.
come lately group
that have arrived
that's appeared on the scene.
It's rooted in the Old Testament.
And then later on
in that same chapter
Felix says this
having a rather accurate
knowledge of the way
put them off.
So can you see
just in that little brief
thing that I've shown you
this is how the early Christians
described themselves.
That's how they were known
to the world
as followers
of the way.
Everyone can relate to that.
It's not just a denominational label.
It's a message
isn't it?
It's a message
that communicates
to a world
that has lost its way.
So one Russian writer
has described
our world
as a country
in which there are
no signposts
because there's nowhere to go.
It's like the council road man
who was asked
why are you digging that ditch?
And he says
I'm digging the ditch
to get the money
to buy the food
to get the strength
to dig the ditch.
And that's what life
might be like for you.
It may be that you
get up in the morning
and you go to work
and then you come home
and you eat your supper
and you watch the telly
and you go to bed
and you get up in the morning
you go to work
you come home
you eat your tea
you watch your telly
and then you go to bed
and you get up
in the morning
and you go to work
like a hamster on a wheel.
Really busy
but going nowhere.
Doesn't life feel
like that sometimes?
Like a desert.
It's a really dangerous place
to live.
A desert, isn't it?
Because the wind blows
in the desert
and the landscape changes
and you lose
your bearings
and you don't know
where you are.
Is that what it feels like
for you this morning?
Maybe you look back
and you thought
there was a time
where I thought
I knew where I was going.
I had my bearings
in life
and I thought
I really knew
what life was all about
where life was taking me
but then the winds of time
blew across
the landscape
of my life
and now I'm afraid
to admit that I'm lost.
And you don't know
what it's all about.
And so here are
a group of people
that claim to know
where they're going.
A group of people
who claim to know
what it's about.
And Ruben has been born
into this company
of people.
Followers of the way.
Here are people
that know
where they are going.
Here are people
who realize
that life
is not an end
in and of itself.
but it's a preparation
for life to come.
They're followers
of the way.
But what is this way
that we're talking about?
It's not some kind
of secret.
It's not some kind
of mystical knowledge
that we've discovered.
What is this way
that the Bible
is talking about?
It's a person,
isn't it?
Did you pick it up
when Kephas read it?
What did Jesus say?
Jesus said,
what did he say?
He said,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
And no one comes
to the Father
except through me.
And sometimes
Christians want to say,
well, that's a triple claim.
That he's the way,
he's the truth,
and he's the life.
I don't really think
it is that.
It's a single claim.
In other words,
Jesus is saying,
I am the way,
and I am the true way,
and I'm the living way.
And I'm the only way.
I'm not a cul-de-sac,
I'm not a detour,
I'm not a diversion.
There's loads of people
that think,
don't they,
that Christianity,
that's what it is.
It's a bit like a cul-de-sac.
It's a little bit
like a diversion.
If it helps you,
that's great.
Great for you.
If it helps you
get through life
and the bumps of life,
well, that's all right with us.
It's a diversion
from the real business of living.
That's what people think.
It's nothing of the sort.
Jesus doesn't offer himself
as a diversion.
He says,
I'm the way.
I'm not a detour.
I'm not a diversion.
I'm the true,
and I'm the living way.
So that if a man
or a woman
or a boy
or a girl
believes in the Lord Jesus,
he's going places.
Because he who believes in me,
Jesus says,
has eternal life.
He has it.
And so the moment
that you put your trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ,
you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
you are there.
You have eternal life
as a gift.
So what is eternal life?
It's not endless existence.
No one wants that,
do they?
No one wants to go on
forever and ever
living like chewing gum.
You know how chewing gum
we just,
it loses all flavor,
doesn't it?
And you keep on chewing it,
but you don't know
why you're chewing it.
It's lost its flavor.
Who wants life like that?
Who wants endless existence?
That's not heaven.
That's hell.
Eternal life
is not endless existence.
This is eternal life,
the Bible says.
It is to know God
and Jesus Christ
in whom he has sent.
And so eternal life
is a relationship
with the living God.
So time is a really funny thing
when you're trying
to think about it.
When you're first in love
with someone,
if you are in love
with someone
and if you have a relationship
with someone,
then time seems to pass,
doesn't it?
And you're not aware
of it passing.
That first date
where you went out
and you met
at 10.30 for brunch
and you said goodbye
to each other
at half eleven at night
and you don't know
where the time went
because you were so
caught up in each other.
And that's what eternity
is like for the Christian.
It's not endless existence.
It's not boredom.
It is to know God,
the most exciting person
in the universe.
And Jesus says,
I am the way to that.
I am the true way
and I am the living way
and I am the only way.
And no one else
can do this for you.
The Haman writer says,
there was no other good enough
to pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock
the gate of heaven
and another sin.
There's no one else
in the history of the universe
who's claimed
to be able to do it,
to even pay the price of sin,
to put himself
between a God
who is holy
and other,
who cannot even
look at sin,
to put himself
between that God
and a sinful people.
To take the punishment
that is due to us.
No one else even claims that
but Jesus.
I am the true
and the living
and the only way
into the Father's presence.
Without me,
he's saying,
you're lost.
It's very offensive,
isn't it?
I'm the way.
I'm not just the Western way.
I'm not just the British way.
I'm not even the Christian way.
As if there was some other
kind of way you could choose.
I am the way,
the only way.
Do you notice he says,
he's not saying,
I know the way.
He's not saying,
I can point you
in the right direction.
He's not even saying,
I have the way.
Follow my teaching
and you'll be alright.
He's not even saying that.
He is saying
something far more personal,
isn't he?
He is saying,
I am the way.
And he draws attention
to himself,
to his own person.
And that is what
Christianity is all about.
It's to do with
a relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's not about religion.
It is about having
a relationship
with the living God.
That's what the Bible
talks about
when it says
that we're lost.
So we're not lost
in terms of our surroundings,
are we?
That is not the nature
of human lostness.
We live at a time
when our world
has never been more aware
of its surroundings.
Scientists can tell us,
can't they,
the most amazing things
about the universe
in which we live.
We're not lost.
We're not lost so much
in terms of our surroundings.
We're like,
aren't we,
the little boy
or the little girl
who's lost in London.
They've lost sight
of their parents.
They've become cut off
from their parents.
And the police
find this little boy
on Oxford Street
and they say,
what is your name?
And the little boy
can tell them his name.
They say,
do you know your address?
And the little boy
can tell the police
his address.
And he can even
tell the police
what bus he should
catch home.
He's not lost
in terms of his surroundings,
is he?
But he's lost
in terms of his relationship.
he's lost sight
of his parents.
And he's cold
and he's miserable
and he's disorientated
because he's lost
sight of his mother.
And that's what the Bible
means when it talks
about lostness.
You're not lost
in terms of your surroundings.
You're lost in terms
of your relationship
with the God
who made you.
And what the Bible
teaches is that sin,
our rebellion,
has broken
that relationship.
And sin has alienated
us from the God
who has made us.
But Jesus Christ says,
I'm the way back.
I'm the true
and I'm the living way.
And I'm the only way
that you can come
into a relationship
with the living God.
And that's what we want
for little Reuben.
Not religion.
It is a religious ceremony
that we performed
this morning.
But we're not wanting
religion for him.
I once heard somebody
describe religion
as a grumbling appendix.
I think that's
a really good likeness.
And maybe that's
what your Christianity is.
You're not really
quite sure
why it's there.
And you're not
quite sure
what religion
is all about.
But it grumbles.
And it's there.
And so every so often
you give attention
to it
and you get it
checked out.
And sometimes
it flares up
and it gets infected
and it causes you
a bit of discomfort.
You see,
if you are religious
this morning
and nothing else,
the best thing
you can do
is have your religion
removed.
To get rid of it
altogether.
It's not a bit
of good to you.
In fact,
what it will do
in the end
is it will poison you.
It can destroy you
in the end.
We don't want to make
Reuben religious.
God forbid
that he should
become religious.
We want to see
him have a relationship
with the living God.
And faith
in Jesus Christ
is what this
baptism is
all about.
It's what Christianity
is all about.
It's a people
who know God
through faith
in Jesus Christ.
Let me read
to you this
little passage
I read this week
talking about
the Lord Jesus
as the only way
to God.
It says this,
In the early days
of the railway
in Britain,
some towns
refused to have
the railways
go through them
because they feared
that the sparks
from the engine
would set their
properties alight.
Instead,
the stations
were set
on the outskirts
of the town
to the immense
inconvenience
of later generations
of townsmen.
Explains an awful lot
doesn't it?
Why in Cambridge
the station
is miles
from the centre.
It loads them.
So it says
they are to construct
a branch line
to the main line
but not so this way
with Christ.
He runs right
through the slums
of Sin Town
wherever the child
of God
can sometimes get.
He is available
to us as we are.
Where we are
prayerless,
cold and defeated
we only have to
acknowledge our
true condition
and repent of the sin
that has caused it.
And the grace of God
reaches us
in the very place
where we are.
We are cleansed
and restored.
And there and then
we have stepped
onto the way.
What is the way
to God?
What is the way
that you are
to set Reuben on?
Jesus says
I am the way
to God
and there is
no one else.
And that is
very, very embarrassing
today, isn't it?
And we are supposed
to respect all religion.
We do respect
all religions
but we are supposed
to treat all religions
the same
around and about
but Jesus will have
none of it.
He says
I am the way
and there is
no other way.
I am the true
and the living
and the only way
and for anyone
anywhere in the world
to come to know God
what's the way
to God?
Jesus is the way
to God.
What's the way
to Jesus?
There is no way
to Jesus.
He is the way
and so
this morning
as the word
of God
is explained
and proclaimed
and tried to be
applied to your
conscience
Jesus is here
this morning.
Don't think
that you've got
to find some way
to him.
He's come to you.
So maybe you're thinking
maybe I need to read
the Bible a bit more.
Maybe if I start
to pray
maybe I should attend
church a bit more.
Then I may come
to Jesus.
No, Jesus is the way
to those things.
You've got it
the wrong way around.
You'll never understand
the Bible
until you come
to Jesus.
You'll never want
to come to church
until you come
to Jesus.
You'll find it
an enormous bore
unless you know Jesus.
No, Jesus is the way
to those things.
Those things
are not the way
to Jesus.
And so Jesus
is here this morning
and he offers himself
to you
wherever you are
in your life.
Whatever problems
you've got
whatever condition
you're in
whatever the things
you've gone through
Jesus offers himself
to you and he says
I am the way.
And all you've got
to do is acknowledge
your need.
All you've got to do
is cry out to me
in your heart of hearts
and you're on the way.
You're on the way
to your father's house.
You're on the way
to the place
that he is preparing
for you.
That's all you need.
And Jesus says
I'll bring you home.
Just acknowledge
your need.
Just admit
that you're lost
and step
my way
by faith
and you are home.
You do not need
religion
to get you home.
Jesus says
come to me.
And so that's
what we want
for our children.
We want them
to grow up
trusting in the Lord
Jesus
knowing him
as their Lord
and Savior.
That is the significance
of what's gone on
this morning.
That we are setting
Reuben apart
to be a Christian.
We've not made him
a Christian this morning
by sprinkling water
on him.
We're not into magic.
Water doesn't make
anyone a Christian.
Not even baptismal water.
Not even baptismal water
that needs to be
cooled down.
It's a sign
and a seal.
It doesn't make
people Christians.
We've not made
Reuben a Christian
this morning.
But what we've done
is we have set him
apart
that he might be Christ.
We've put him
on the way.
That isn't going
to happen automatically.
Being born
into a Christian home
doesn't make him
a Christian.
So what guarantee
do we have
that this child
will grow to know
the Lord Jesus
for himself?
And secondly
it's the promise.
Can you see
the promise
in the verse?
Train up a child
in the way
that he should go
and even when he's old
he will not depart
from it.
And baptism
is the sign
and the seal
of that promise.
God is saying
to Aaron and Bexie
this morning
train him up
in the way
that he should go.
And I promise you
that when he is old
he won't depart
from it.
And we need
that promise.
We need the strength
of that promise.
We need
the means
of grace.
We need baptism
to remind us
of that promise.
As we go
through life
for a number
of reasons.
For one thing
the way
that he should
go
is not the way
he would go.
Left to himself.
If you go to
chapter 15
in Proverbs
verse 15
of chapter 2
sorry
just a little bit down
we're told
that folly
is bound up
in the heart
of a child.
But the rod
of discipline
drives it far
from him.
Foolishness
is bound up
in the heart
of a child.
We sometimes
underestimate
children
don't we?
Children
know a great deal.
Solomon
who wrote Proverbs
he doesn't mean
when he says
foolishness
is bound up
in the heart
of a child
that children
are unintelligent.
No it's talking
about the way
that we would
go left
to ourselves.
And so even
in a small
child
there is
something twisted
something not
right.
And we don't
like to think
like that
but that is
what the Bible
says.
We're born
with perversity
in our hearts.
This is something
we pick up
on the way.
We didn't pick it up
when we went
to junior school
or when we went
to secondary school.
Some of you
know David
in the Old Testament
he wrote most
of the Psalms
he was the great king
and when he was
in his middle age
his late middle age
disaster came
he had a moral
collapse.
He stole
another man's
wife.
He got found
out to try
and cover up
his tracks.
He had
the husband
killed.
And when David
actually sat
back and he
reflected on
his life
and he confessed
his sin to God
he traced it
back and he
said my sin
it began
when did it
begin?
Right at the
very beginning.
Psalm 51
says I was
brought forth
in iniquity
and in sin
did my mother
conceive me.
Why did David
go at the age
of 50
and car crash
his life?
Why did he
wreck another
family for his
own convenience?
Why did he
do such a
terrible thing?
And David
says do you
know what I
can trace it
back to my
mother's womb?
The moment I
began
is the moment
I was a
sinner.
Before I ever
did a sinful
thing before I
ever behaved in
a selfish way
I was already
a sinner by
nature.
And that's
true of me.
That's true of
Reuben as
adorable as he
is.
he should
go.
The way he
should go is
not the way
that he would
go left to
himself.
And I
remember you
will need to
remind him
as you bring
him up, as
you train him
and discipline
him and you
correct foolishness,
that perversity.
The last thing
that Christian
parents should do
to their
children is let
them just
express themselves.
because what
we are by
nature is not
what we
should be.
Left to
ourselves is a
disaster.
Foolishness is
bound in the
heart of all
children so
parents are to
correct that in
the ways of
Christ.
And so we
need this
reminder of
baptism.
This promise
brought home to
us that God
can cleanse our
hearts from sin
like the water
can wash away
the dirt.
when he
believes on the
Lord Jesus
Christ.
And so you
are to teach
him that and
to tell him
that and to
model that and
to pray for him
for that.
But the way he
should go is not
the way he
would go.
You cannot
leave him to
himself.
We all like
sheep have gone
astray.
We've all turned
everyone to his
own way but the
Lord has laid on
him the iniquity
of us all.
Left to
ourselves we do
our own thing but
the truth of the
Bible is that God
has provided a
saviour.
And God
himself has come
in the person
of his own
son to
Calvary to
take our
sin upon
himself.
And so we've
got to say to
little Reuben and
to our children
you and I we
are sinners by
nature and if
you carry on in
your sin you
will perish.
You will end
up in eternity
without God but
God has provided
a way of
salvation.
And God
himself has
come to take
that sin upon
himself at the
cross and so
believe in the
Lord Jesus
Christ and you
will be saved.
You've got
every encouragement
to believe.
So did God
put you into
this family by
accident?
And God has
promised that if
you repent and
if you believe in
Jesus Christ he
will wash away
your sin.
That's what
baptism means.
And so we
bring up our
children on that
promise God
made at our
baptism.
We pray that
promise every
day that God
will do this for
you.
And that's one
reason why we
need this
promise.
Another
reason.
The way that
he should go
and the way
that we
would go is
radically
different from
any other
way.
Christianity
is not
respectable.
If you at
the time you
could go
through those
passages that I
quoted to you
from Acts and
you'd see in
every context
there was
persecution.
And we
don't like
what's
different.
And so
Paul says
the apostle
he says
all who
would live
godly in
Christ Jesus
will suffer
persecution.
The world
won't persecute
you if you're
good.
It'll pat
you on the
back.
The world
won't persecute
you if you're
noble.
It'll give
you an MBE.
It can
appreciate that
but godliness
is something
different.
And we're
not talking
about Reuben
growing up
with good
morals or
about kind
living,
about being
decent.
But godliness
is so
radically
different that
the world
will not
tolerate it.
And when
they saw
it in the
Lord Jesus
they smashed
it on the
cross.
And Jesus
says if they
crucify me
they will
crucify you.
And so at
baptism there
is something
isn't it?
It's funny when
the baby gets
covered in
water.
It's a
beautiful thing
but it's also
a really
really serious
thing.
baptism is
a putting
off of
one way
of life
and bringing
him into
a new
way of
life.
And so
Aaron and
Bexley you
will need
to train
up Reuben.
You can
teach without
training
but training
must involve
teaching.
You will
show him
and model
it and
live it
out a
radically
different
Christian
way.
And so
don't be
afraid to
be different
little
man.
Don't
allow your
family life
to be
dictated
by the
world
so that
you become
like everyone
else.
Live it
out as a
Christian.
Train the
child in
the way
that he
should go.
Model it
and pattern
it and
live it
out.
And God
says I
promise you
that when
he's old
despite all
the opposition
despite
everything that
is against
him and
telling him
otherwise
and all
the
pressures
God
says my
grace is
stronger than
all that.
I promise
you.
I promise
you.
Martin
Luther the
German
reformer
as I
finish.
He's a
man who
kind of
suffered
incredibly.
He's in
his room
working once
and he
said it
was as if
the devil
was in
the room
with me.
And he
was accusing
me and
tempting me
of all
sorts of
things.
He felt
he was
going out
of his
mind.
And Luther
picked up
the inkwell
and he
threw it
across the
room.
And he
shouted at
the devil.
He says
this.
He says
I'm a
baptized
man.
I am
baptized.
I'm
baptized.
God has
made promises
to me
in my
baptism.
I say I
go to the
pub tomorrow
night.
I've got a
meeting tomorrow
night.
So I won't.
But I'm
there and
these very
attractive girls
come and
talk to me.
You probably
think oh
it's very
unusual.
I'm
standing at
the bar.
What do
you do at
that point?
I don't
know what
you do at
that point.
But what
do you
do?
I go
like this.
I'm a
married man.
You hold up
your wedding
ring.
If you're
ever in a
pub and
you see
somebody
taking off
their
wedding ring,
don't go
near that
person.
Because this
ring is a
sign of
God's
promises.
I'm a
baptized
man.
God's
love.
God's
love.
So I
hope some
of you are
thinking about
becoming
Christians but
I need to
tell you that
sometimes it's
pretty hostile to
be a Christian
like it was
for Martin
Luther.
And you
remind yourself
Reuben in years
to come I'm
baptized.
I'm engaged
to be Christ.
I've been put
in Christ's
way.
I'm not going
to go any
other way.
I renounce
the world,
the flesh,
and the
devil.
I'm Christ.
I'm a
baptized man.
Let's pray.