Heavenly Father, we confess, we confess this faith that your word is true.
That your word is able to make us wise on salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
So that's what we see this morning.
We want to be made wise on salvation.
We want to behold Jesus in all of his glory.
To speak to us.
Move among us by the power of Holy Spirit.
That we might see the face of Jesus.
We might hear his voice.
Your word is true.
In Jesus' name we say.
Amen.
Acts chapter 21.
When the seven days were all created, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him.
Paul.
Crying out.
Men of Israel.
Help.
This is the man who was teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place.
Moreover, he even brought Greeks into his temple.
And as he filed this holy place, they had previously seen children.
He issued with him the city.
And he supposed that Paul had brought Greeks into his temple.
Then all the city was stirred up and the people ran together.
They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple.
And at once the gates were shut.
And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cult that all Jerusalem was in the tribune.
He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down from them.
And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains.
He inquired who he was and what he had done.
Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another.
And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.
And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd.
For the mob of the people followed cried out, away with him.
As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune,
May I say something to you?
And he said, Do you know Greek?
Are you not Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the assassins out into the wilderness?
Paul replied, I am a Jew from Tarsus in Solis, a citizen of no obscure city.
I beg you, permit me to speak to you.
And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hands to the people.
And when there was a Greek hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying,
Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.
And when they heard that he was addressed to them in the Hebrew language, they became even more part.
And he said,
I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel,
according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers.
Being zealous for God, as all of you are this day,
I persecuted this way to the dead, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness.
From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who are there
and bring them in Jerusalem to be punished.
As I was on my way and too near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me,
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
And I answered,
Who are you?
And he said to me,
I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuted.
Now those who were with me saw the light,
but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
And I said,
What shall I do?
And the Lord said to me,
Rise and go into Damascus,
and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.
And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light,
I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus.
And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law,
well spoken of by all the truth who lived there,
came to me,
and standing by me said to me,
Brother Saul, receive your sight.
And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
And he said,
The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will,
to see the righteous one,
and to hear a voice from his mouth.
For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
And now,
why do you wait?
Rise and be baptized,
and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.
When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple,
I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me,
Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly,
because they will not accept your testimony about me.
And I said,
Lord,
they themselves know that in one synagogue,
after another,
I imprisoned them Jesus to believe in you.
And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed,
I myself was standing by and approving,
and watching over the garments of those who killed him.
And he said to me,
Go,
for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
This is God's holy word.
People who oppose Christ in the gospel
have a tendency to frame Christians
with the phrase,
Against this.
Christians are against that.
Against this.
And they try to define believers in those terms.
And that's exactly what the Jews here do to Paul.
Here is a man who is against the people,
against the law,
against the temple.
But this is here is a good example for us
of how we identify,
how we witness to people
in that kind of hostile context environment.
Paul definitely kind of
shifts away from their accusations,
and then he keeps the focus on Jesus.
He tells about who Jesus is,
that he is your risen Lord.
And he keeps saying to them,
But Jesus met me.
Jesus said this to me.
Jesus sent me to proclaim him to the Gentiles.
And that's why I'm doing the thing that I'm doing.
And so this is a good passage for us to learn
about how Jesus changes really everything
and how we can bear witness to him faithfully.
The main point of this passage is that God appoints his people
to see the light and hear the voice of the Lord Jesus
so that they might be washed of their sins
and sent out as witnesses.
And we're going to first see how Jesus changed the Jewish religion,
and then we're going to see how Jesus changed Paul
and how he changed us.
If you were with us last week,
you saw that Paul arrived in Jerusalem,
and he was warned that the Jewish believers,
the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem
had been hearing a rumor about Paul,
a slander about him,
that he is against the Jewish law,
that he counsels the Jews to not follow the Jewish law.
And that was a false rumor
because even though Paul did teach
that you no longer need to become a Jew
and observe all the Jewish law
and how to be saved,
but that he had no problem with Jews themselves
following their incestful customs
as long as he had it clear in their mind
that salvation is through Jesus alone,
by faith in Jesus alone.
And so in order to dispel the rumors,
Paul went into the temple
with four Jewish men under his wings
to go through kind of the Nazarite vow
and the men who were under the Nazarite vow
and to go through the ritual purification process
with them for such a reason.
And this was to show them
that he is in fact not against the law.
But before Paul can even complete
the seven days of purification,
he says that some Jews from Asia
spotted Paul inside the temple
and then began to disturb the crowd
and to seize them.
And they say in verse 28,
the man of Israel,
no, this is the man
who is teaching everyone everywhere
against the people
and against the law
and against the surplates.
Moreover, he brought Greeks into the temple
and had defiled his holy place.
So they claim that Paul is against three things,
the Jewish people,
the Mosaic law,
and this place,
which is the breakfast of the temple.
And there is a sliver of truth,
a moniker of truth
in these false accusations
that make them believe them.
So I'm going to address
all three of them in turn.
First,
Paul was never against
the Jewish people.
Paul answers this charge
in chapter 22, verse 3,
when he says,
I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus and Cilicia,
but brought up in this city.
Paul was himself a Jew.
How can he be against his own people?
In fact, in Romans 9, 3,
he says that he could wish
that he himself were cursed
and cut off from Christ
if that meant that his people,
the Jewish people,
could be saved.
Paul loved the Jewish people.
And not only that,
he says he was brought up
in this city,
Jerusalem,
the Jewish capital.
And later,
addresses God
as God of our fathers.
When Ananias addresses God,
he acknowledged that
God,
the fathers of,
the God of the Jews
is also the God of all.
In chapter 22, verse 14.
And even during
his missionary journey,
Paul made it a habit
in each city he visited
to first visit
the Jewish synagogue
and preach to the Jews there.
And then only after
the Jews rejected
his message,
he turned to go
to the Gentiles
in that city
to preach the gospel
to them.
However,
even though Paul
was not against
the Jewish people,
he did teach
that Jews,
like Gentiles,
are sinners
who need to be saved
by Jesus.
He also taught
that Jesus
broke down
the divide and all
the hostility
between Jews
and Gentiles
and made them
one in him.
That's why Paul
writes in Galatians
chapter 3,
verse 28,
there is neither
Jew nor Greek.
There is neither
slain nor free.
There is no male
and female
for you are all
one in Christ Jesus.
Salvation is
from the Jews
since Jesus,
our Savior,
was Jewish,
he is the Jewish
Messiah.
But salvation
is not only
for the Jews,
it is for all
people who repent
of their sins
and put their
faith in him.
Gentiles can be
saved as Gentiles
without becoming
Jewish.
It's no longer
those who are
descended from
Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob
who are God's
people,
but those who
are united
with Jesus
like faith.
Only a few of us
have any Jewish
background,
so this is great
news for us
that we too
who are formerly
not God's
people,
who are not
part of the
covenant of God,
we now can be
his people.
And this teaching,
if misrepresented,
can be portrayed
to be against
the Jewish people
and that's what
these Jews
are accusing
of.
You're against
the Jewish people.
Secondly,
Paul is not
also not against
the Mosaic law.
As long as
the Jews understood
that it's not
keeping the Mosaic
law that saved
them,
but Jesus
who by his
life, death,
and resurrection
that saved them,
Paul is fine
with Jews
observing the
Mosaic law
and continuing
the Jewish
customs handed
down to them
by their
poor fathers.
In fact,
Paul's Jewish
upbringing and
training in
Jewish law
were impeccable.
Paul says
later in
chapter 22,
verse 3,
in his defense
that he was
educated at
the feet of
Gamaliel
according to
the strict
manner of the
law of our
fathers,
being zealous
for God
as all of you
are this day.
earlier in
chapter 21,
verse 20,
the elders of
the Jerusalem
church described
the Jewish
believers there
as being
zealous for
the law,
and Paul here
used the same
word to describe
his own
upbringing.
I too was
raised that
way.
I was zealous
for the law.
Gamaliel was
a notable
Jewish rabbi
who served
as the
president of
the Sanhedrin,
the Jewish
ruling council,
and he
was a
grandson,
Gamaliel was
a grandson
of an even
more famous
rabbi named
Hillel,
and Paul
was trained
in the
Jewish law
by Gamaliel.
In other
words,
Paul had
a Jewish
Ivy League
education.
He belonged
to the
strictest
sect of
the Jewish
teaching.
So Paul
was not
against the
Mosaic law,
and he
takes care
to emphasize
that even
Ananias,
the man
who restored
his sight
and told
him about
Jesus,
was a
devout
man
according
to the
law.
However,
even though
Paul wasn't
against the
law,
he did
teach that
Jesus
fulfilled
and
completed
the law.
So he
says in
Romans 10
verse 4,
Christ is
the end.
He's the
end of the
law for
righteousness
for those
who believe.
Paul taught
in Romans
3,
21-24,
but now
the righteousness
of God
has been
manifested
apart from
the law,
although the
law and the
prophets bear
witness to
it,
the righteousness
of God
through faith
in Jesus
Christ for
all who
believe.
For there
is no
distinction,
for all
have sinned
and fall
short of
the glory
of God
and are
justified
by his
grace as
a gift
through the
redemption
that is in
Christ Jesus.
That means
that we
can't be
declared
righteous
before God
by observing
the law.
We have
all sinned
and fallen
short of
God's
standards.
By our
own moral
living or
good deeds,
no one
can make
the cut.
No one
can save
themselves.
Our only hope
of having
right standing
with God
is to put
our faith
in Jesus
who died
to make
atonement
for our
sins so
that we
might be
forgiven.
Jesus is
the one
who fulfills
all
righteousness.
So even
though
Mosaic law
more
written to
Jesus,
it pointed
to Jesus
and so
Paul didn't
oppose or
he wasn't
against the
Mosaic law
because Paul
taught that
the law
was fulfilled
by Jesus.
In
observance of the
law,
it's not
what saved
them.
He's being
portrayed by
the Jews
as being
against the
law.
Third,
Paul was also
not against
the temple.
the Jews
had seen
Paul with
Trothimus,
a Gentile
believer
from Ephesus
and he
was with
him in
the city
of Jerusalem
and so
they assumed
wrongly that
Paul had
taken him
into the
temple,
thereby
defiled
the temple
which Paul
in fact
had never
done.
Archaeologists
have discovered
the temple
warning inscription
that used
to hang
right outside
the sanctuary
of the Jewish
temple in
Jerusalem
and it
says this
in Greek
quote,
no stranger
is to
enter
within
the
Belgrade
out
round
the
temple
and
in
closure
whoever
is caught
will be
himself
responsible
for his
ensuing
death.
So that's
how important
to enter
the temple
as a
Gentile
to areas
we are not
supposed to
enter.
But Paul
didn't do
that.
He didn't
take
Trothimus
inside the
temple.
In
fact,
Paul was
just
reading
four Jewish
men
through
their
purification
rites
inside the
temple
to show
that he
actually
observes
these
Jewish
customs.
And later
he mentions
in chapter
22
verse 17
that even
after his
conversion
he went
to the
temple
to pray
to God
and there
he saw
the vision
of Jesus
telling him
to go
and preach
the gospel
to the
Gentiles.
So Paul
was decidedly
not against
the temple.
However,
Paul knew
that Jesus
taught in
John 2
that his
body is
the ultimate
temple of
God,
the new
temple of
God.
He knew
that Jesus
taught in
John 4
that true
worshippers
would no
longer
worship in
the temple
in Jerusalem
but that
they would
worship God
everywhere
where the
people of
God are
gathered
in spirit
and in
truth.
So following
Jesus'
teaching,
Paul did
teach that
sacrifices in
the temple
are no longer
necessary
because Jesus
has offered
up his
body once
and for
all as
the ultimate
sacrifice
for sin.
This is why
we as
Christians don't
need to
make
pilgrimages
to the
western
wall in
Jerusalem
or make
animal
sacrifices
because Jesus
is the new
temple of
God.
Because Jesus
is the ultimate
sacrifice of
God.
So wherever
the people of
God are
gathered in
his name,
like here,
we can
worship him
truly.
And because
of this
teaching,
even though
Paul was not
against the
temple,
he was
represented as
being against
the temple.
So these
three charges
that the
Jews brought
against Paul
reveal how
the Jews
were grappling
with the
profound changes
that Jesus
brought about
in their
faith.
Jesus changed
the Jewish
religion forever,
not by abolishing
it or opposing
it, but by
fulfilling it.
It's what he
called the
righteous one
in chapter 22
verse 4.
Jesus is the
one who lives
righteously,
who fulfills
all the
righteous
requirements
of the
law.
But many
of the
Jews
misunderstood
Jesus,
and because
of that,
they misunderstood
Paul.
And after
the Jews
from Asia
stirred up
the crowd,
the total
chaos and
confusion
ensued.
There's a lot
of running
around and
a lot of
shouting,
and it says
in chapter
21,
verses 30
to 31,
the people
seized
Paul and
dragged him
out of the
temple.
And as they
were seeking
to kill him,
word came to
the tribune of
the cohort that
all the
Christian ones
had confused.
They dragged
Paul out of
the inner
part of the
temple because
they were not
allowed to stone
anybody in the
inner part of
the temple because
that would be
fire.
So they had to
take him out
to the outer
part, and
the mob tries
to kill him
there.
This is an
attempt of
winching.
It's not an
official execution
because the
Jewish people did
not have the
right under the
Roman Empire to
meet out
capital
punishment.
So this is
they're just
going against
the law and
they're trying
to kill
Paul out of
their zeal
for the
law.
And when the
Roman Tribune
intervenes, he
asks the
crowd what
Paul had
done, who
he is, what
he had done.
But he says
that in verse
34, some in
the crowd were
shouting one
thing, some
another, and
as he could
not learn the
facts because
of the
uproar, he
ordered him to
be brought
into the
palace.
And as
they're escorting
Paul to the
barracks, he
says that he
had to be
carried by the
soldiers because
of the violence
of the
process.
It's quite a
volatile situation.
Paul could
bear or be
killed.
And given
such a violent
reaction from
the crowd, the
Roman Tribune
assumes that
Paul is some
kind of violent,
dangerous revolutionary
and he asks
Paul in verse
38, are you
not the Egyptian
men who recently
stirred up a
revolt and led
the 4,000 men
of the assassin
down into the
wilderness?
So this, the
existence of
this Egyptian
pretender, the
false Egyptian
Messiah is
recorded also
independently by a
Jewish Roman
historian named
Persephone from
the first century.
And he records
that this man from
Egypt who was a
Jew claimed to
be the Messiah.
He deceived
thousands of
Jews and led
the knowledge of
wilderness and
then to the
Mount of Olives.
Jerusalem to
take over,
reclaim Jerusalem
from the Romans.
But then the
Romans promptly
crushed him,
captured 200
of his followers,
killed 400 of
his followers,
and that was
the end of
that.
But this man,
the pretender
himself, did
escape the
Roman grip.
And so this
tribune thinks
that he's found,
he's caught this
man that had
escaped.
He thinks he
has a great
fine in his
hand and he's
going to get
some kind of
reward for
taking him
in.
But Paul speaks
to him in
Greek which
shows that he's
not an Egyptian
and shows that
Tobin was very
confused.
Paul was not
a political
revolutionary
but he was
turning the world
upside down
simply by
teaching the
good news of
Jesus Christ.
And in this
volatile situation,
even while
narrowly escaping
his own
death from
the mentioned
mob, Paul
asked the
tribune for
the permission
to address
the Jewish
people so
that he might
bear witness to
Jesus and
tell them about
how he changed
his life.
That brings me to
my second point
beginning in
chapter 22,
how Jesus
changed Paul
and how he
changed us.
The Roman
tribune,
hoping that Paul
will clarify what
is going on,
gives him
permission to
speak and
Paul addresses
his own
people in
the Hebrew
language,
the Hebrew
dialect,
likely,
the most
likely
Aramae,
which was
the Jews
at the time
spoke.
And as
people hear
him speaking
in their own
language,
they quiet down
and they start
to listen.
And this is
what he tells
them in
verse 45,
he tells
them that he
was formally
persecuted,
he formally
persecuted this
way to the
dead,
binding and
delivering to
prison both
men and
women.
Paul is
trying to
convince the
Jews that
he's not
some Romanized
Jew who
is foreign
and who is
against and
doesn't care
anything about
Israel and
about the
law and the
temple,
but he was
once a
zealous
proponent of
the law,
was trained
in the law,
and he was
a fierce
opponent of
Christians.
And just
as the
Jews are
now trying
to kill
Paul,
Paul once
tried to
kill Christians
as well.
In fact,
Paul mentions
in verse 20
that when the
blood of
Stephen was
being shed,
he himself
was standing
by and approving
and watching
over the
garments of
those who
killed him.
Stephen was
the first
Christian
martyr,
and we saw
him get
stoned to
death by
Jewish mob
in Acts
chapter 7.
And when
Stephen was
being stoned,
it was Paul
who was
providing the
cold check
service to
people who
were throwing
the stone
at Stephen.
And interestingly
enough,
and ironically,
what the
Jews charged
Stephen of
in Acts
6.13
is exactly
what the
Jews charged
Paul of
here.
He is
against
this
holy place
and the
law.
This shows
just how
thoroughly
Paul has
been transformed
by the
grace of
God.
The man
who used
to persecute
the followers
of Jesus
is now
being persecuted
for following
Jesus.
I hope
this is a
comfort to
some of
you.
It's
possible
that some
of you
have strayed
far away
from God.
Maybe
you have
doubted
that you
can ever
become a
follower of
God.
With all
that I
have done,
I could
never be
a follower
of Jesus.
Perhaps
you have
even mocked
Christians
have
slandered
the
church
in the
past.
But if
Paul can
be saved,
you can
still be
saved.
By his
own admission
in 1 Timothy
1.13,
Paul was
formerly a
blasphemer,
persecutor,
and insolent
opponent of
the church.
And yet
now he
was the
apostle.
He was an
apostle of
the church.
No matter
where you
have been,
and what
you have
done,
you are
not too
far gone.
And this
passage teaches
us that
there is still
time to
repent and
believe in
Jesus.
In
verses 6-16,
Paul recounts
how Jesus
graciously
appeared in
him.
He says,
as I was
on my way
and drew
near to
Damascus,
about noon,
a great
light from
heaven suddenly
shone around
me.
And I
fell to the
ground and
heard a
voice say
to me,
Saul,
why are you
persecuting me?
And I
answered,
who are you?
And he
said to me,
I am Jesus
of Nazareth,
whom you are
persecuting.
Now those
who were with
me saw the
light, but
did not
understand the
voice of the
one who was
speaking.
This is the
second time
that Luke is
now telling us
the story of
Paul's conversion.
In the first
account that
Luke gave us
in chapter 9,
verse 7,
he noted that
the men who
were traveling
with Paul
stood speechless.
They were
hearing the
voice but
seeing no
one, which
seems to
contradict verse
9, which
says here that
the man saw
the light, but
did not
understand the
voice of the
one who was
speaking to.
But this is
not a
contradiction.
Chapter 9
tells Paul's
conversion story
from the
perspective of
Luke as
a missionary.
And chapter
22 tells the
story from
Paul's
perspective as
it unfolded.
And both
accounts are
actually highlighting
the fact that
the revelation
of Jesus Christ
to Paul was
personal and
private and was
reserved for
him alone.
Paul's
companions saw
the heavenly
light, but
they did not
see the
person of
Jesus.
Paul's
companions also
heard a
sound, but
they did not
hear the
voice of
Jesus.
They could
not understand
him.
They didn't
recognize him.
Only Paul
understood what
he saw and
what he heard.
heard.
So while this
encounter with
Jesus was very
public, and
the witnesses
can't corroborate
what happened,
the meeting with
Jesus was very
personal and
private.
I think that's
the wonderful
truth, that
God who created
the hospitals by
the word of his
mouth is not
too preoccupied,
not too
important to
attend individually
to us and
speak to us and
save us.
This was the
case where each
of us came to
know and
believe in Jesus
for the first
time.
You may have
heard a sermon
delivered to a
room full of
people.
You may have
been reading a
book that was
written for
thousands of
people.
But in that
moment, when you
encountered Jesus,
Jesus spoke
personally to
you, and you
came to see
him and behold
him in his
room.
This is because
only those whom
God has appointed
for salvation
can be saved.
Jesus says to
Paul in verse
10, rise and
go into the
masochist, and
there you will
be told all
that is appointed
for you to
do.
Here the word
appointed refers
to Paul's divine
assignment.
Paul used to
take letters
from the
Jewish ruling
council, authorizing
him to persecute
Christians and
to imprison
them.
But now he
is following
orders from
another place.
He takes
orders on the
Lord Jesus.
He does what
he's appointed
to by him.
Instead of
prosecuting those
who believe in
Jesus, now
Paul proclaims
Jesus and
calls people to
believe in him.
And then when
Paul obeys
Jesus' voice
he goes to
Ananias.
And then
Ananias helps
him to see,
or lies again
to see, and
then talking
about Jesus.
He says in
verses 14 to
15, Ananias
says to Paul,
the God of our
fathers appointed
you to know
his will, to
see the
righteous one, and
to hear a voice
from his mouth,
for you will be
a witness for
him to everyone
of what you
have seen and
heard.
it's because
God had
appointed Paul
to know his
will, it's
because God
had appointed
Paul to see
Jesus, the
righteous one, and
to hear his
voice, that Paul
was able to
recognize Jesus
and hear him
and understand
what he was
saying.
Paul's blindness
immediately after
he became
kind of a
Jesus is a
metaphor for a
spiritual
blindness.
Paul could
not see the
truth.
Paul was blind
to spiritual
realities, and
it is on the
day of his
conversion that
he is able to
see again, we
see in fact
his sight.
Every single
one of us is
also spiritually
blind apart from
God's special
revelation to
Jesus.
Unless God
shows us Jesus,
we cannot see
him.
We cannot
understand the
spiritual reality.
But when God
appoints us to
know his will,
he enables us
to see his
face here in
voice.
Paul writes
about this in
2 Corinthians 4,
3, 6,
he says,
even if our
gospel is
veiled, it
is veiled to
those who are
perishing.
In their
case, the
God of this
world has
blinded the
minds of
the unbelievers
to keep
them from
seeing the
light of the
gospel of the
glory of
Christ, who
is the
image of
God.
For what
we proclaim
is not
ourselves, but
Jesus Christ
as Lord,
with ourselves
as his
servants for
Jesus' sake.
For God, who
said, let
light shine
out of
darkness, has
shown in
our hearts to
give the
light of the
knowledge of
the glory of
God in the
faith of
Jesus Christ.
Do you hear
the voice of
Jesus calling
on people?
Do you see
the light of
Jesus shining
into your own
heart?
God?
If yes, then
the only
appropriate
response is
found in
Ananias
invitation to
Paul in
verse 16.
And now,
why do you
wait?
Rise and
be baptized
and wash
away your
sins, calling
on you.
The Greek
word for
baptized literally
means to
reverse.
For Jews,
immersion in
water for
the purpose
of purification
from ritual
and purity
was a
habitual
thing.
They did
it often.
They had
public pools
dedicated
solely for
that purpose.
But for
Christians,
baptism is
a one-time
initial
sacrament.
Because we
only need to
be committed
to the
ones of
our sins
once and
for all
by the
blood of
Jesus.
For those
who have
repented and
come to
faith in
Jesus Christ,
baptism
signifies the
washing away
of guilt
and the
purifying of
our own
conscience.
If you're
baptized,
you can be
assured that
you have
indeed been
cleansed of
your sins
by the
blood of
Jesus.
You have
indeed been
pure
conscience
before that.
Christian
baptism also
represents the
believer's
union with
Jesus through
faith,
through his
witness,
death,
and resurrection.
being
submerged under
the water
signifies the
Christian's
death,
death to
self.
We are no
longer living
for ourselves,
I have
died to
myself,
I no
longer live
to promote
myself,
but I now
live to
proclaim
Christ.
That's what
that death
signifies,
we are
submerged under
the water.
And then
when the
believer
emerges out
of the
water,
that signifies
you like
in Christ.
Christian now
lives for
Jesus.
That's what
all of us
who follow
Jesus now
have done,
baptized
to follow
Jesus.
And this
morning we
have the
privilege of
baptizing
two new
followers of
Jesus.