WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.120 We're doing a series on worship, on why we do what we do. And what we've learnt is that, 00:00:09.120 --> 00:00:15.939 although each week we come, week by week, confess our sins, we sing, and we pray, and we hear 00:00:15.939 --> 00:00:21.059 God's word preached, what we've learnt is God is doing something to us as we gather, that 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:25.560 worship is not just one way traffic. And for the next few weeks I want us to look at the 00:00:25.559 --> 00:00:31.099 sacraments. And so, you've got to be careful, because baptism is such a secondary issue. 00:00:32.519 --> 00:00:37.479 It's such a divisive issue. It's so secondary. I spoke at Christy Newell a couple of years 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:41.539 ago, and the President's CEO, we were walking there, and he said, I'm thinking of getting 00:00:41.539 --> 00:00:46.739 baptised. I'm wondering about whether I should get baptised. And I said, are you thinking 00:00:46.739 --> 00:00:51.120 about committing adultery? He's knocked me away. I said, well, they're both commands, aren't 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:57.399 they? You're commanded to be baptised. You're commanded not to commit adultery. And at that 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:01.459 point he laughed and said, well, it's a secondary issue, we don't want to divide over it. The 00:01:01.459 --> 00:01:07.659 problem is this, who says it's a secondary issue? Who says it's a secondary issue? Does 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:16.959 Jesus? Who? Does the Apostle Paul? No. I was brought up in a Baptist home. I believed in 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:21.199 adult baptism only. And I'm very, very thankful for that home. And I'm thankful that my mum 00:01:21.199 --> 00:01:25.799 and dad have never just said to me, it doesn't matter that you've changed your mind. We disagree. 00:01:26.399 --> 00:01:34.280 We disagree fervently, heatedly at times. And yet they are convinced in their own mind 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:41.859 and I'm convinced in mine. And I think as churches, we want to be clear on baptism. And 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:45.919 I think that is the road. I pray the best preacher in London, I think as a Baptist preacher, 00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:49.519 I love to go and hear him, Gerard Hemings, he is a solid convinced Baptist. And I pray 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:54.560 for his church to prosper. I disagree with him. I think he's wrong. I couldn't be in 00:01:54.560 --> 00:02:01.640 that church. And I want IPC as a Presbyterian church. We believe in the baptism of covenant 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:07.379 children. And I want us to hold to that. I want us to preach that. I want us to do that 00:02:07.379 --> 00:02:14.740 as generously as we possibly can. With a broad smile on our face that welcomes all. 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:20.500 So two things. First of all, baptism is a sign and seal of our adopting Christ. There 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:24.159 should be a summary at the back. This sermon will create some questions. So there should 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:30.379 be a summary at the back and also an article by Dennis Johnson. And I suggest you read both 00:02:30.379 --> 00:02:36.560 those things before you kind of throttle me. So first of all, baptism is a sign and seal 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:43.599 of our adoption in Christ. I want us to look to get to Matthew 28, 16 to 20, the Great Commission. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:50.120 But I also think we need to look at Jesus' own baptism. Because Matthew has put these bookends 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:57.080 into his Gospel. The start of Jesus' ministry in Matthew chapter 3 begins with the baptism 00:02:57.080 --> 00:03:05.460 of Jesus by John the Baptist. And it ends, Matthew's Gospel ends with baptism again. The Great Commission. 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:12.260 Jesus thinks baptism is important. Go and baptise the nations. And so before we look at Matthew 28, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:17.580 where we see Jesus gives the commission to baptise, we've got to spend a little time in Matthew 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:22.680 chapter 3. So let me read you those verses again. Matthew 3 verses 13 to 15. 00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:29.760 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptised by him. John would have prevented 00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:36.439 him saying, no, no, no. I need to be baptised by you. And do you come to me? But Jesus answered 00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:43.700 him, let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness. Right before 00:03:43.700 --> 00:03:48.980 that, Matthew has told us that many people have been going to the Jordan River to confess 00:03:48.979 --> 00:03:54.959 their sins, to repent, to return away from them, and to be baptised by John. So it is 00:03:54.959 --> 00:04:00.839 understandable, isn't it, when Jesus, who is queuing up to be baptised, and John suddenly 00:04:00.839 --> 00:04:07.879 sees him, John says, no, Jesus, you've got it back to front. Jesus, you should be baptising 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:14.519 me, John, not the other way round. And that makes sense, doesn't it? Jesus is the sinless 00:04:14.520 --> 00:04:21.560 one. He is the one who never did anything wrong. Jesus is coming with no sins to confess. 00:04:22.620 --> 00:04:28.480 He does not need a baptism of repentance. But Jesus says, no, John, indeed you have to baptise 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:34.360 me. You need to baptise me to fulfil all righteousness. There's a lot of ink that has 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:38.699 been spilt over the years trying to explain what Jesus means by that statement. But everyone 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:46.199 is agreed that it means at least this, that Jesus sees his baptism as a kind of inauguration, 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:54.659 as a kind of beginning, as the initiation, as representative of what his mission is to 00:04:54.659 --> 00:05:03.579 be. That as the waters of repentance from sinners are poured over him, as he buries himself 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:08.779 in the waters of repentance with sinners. He is identifying with you and me. That he's 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:16.379 come to bear our place, bear our sin. He's come to take our guilt. He stands in the line 00:05:16.379 --> 00:05:23.959 of sinners. And Jesus identifies with us as our substitute in our sin. He is the one who 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:30.039 will stand in our place so that you and I can be rescued from the punishment that we deserve. 00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:36.740 And even in his baptism, Jesus is pointing forward to what he's going to do, what his ministry 00:05:36.740 --> 00:05:44.060 will be. And we know that that is how Jesus actually saw his baptism. Because later on in 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:52.000 his life, Luke tells us that Jesus uses the language of baptism to describe his death, his 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:57.220 own death on the cross. So if you look at Luke 12 verse 15, Jesus said, I have a baptism 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:03.920 to undergo. What does that mean? I have a baptism to undergo and what constraint I am under until 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:11.800 it is completed. He's talking about his death. But look what happens in response to Jesus' 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:18.920 submission through baptism to the mission of rescue. As he stands in the place of sinners, 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:26.560 as he identifies with us. Can you see it? Verses 16 and 17 of chapter 3? When Jesus was baptised, 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:33.400 immediately he went up from the water and behold the heavens were opened to him. And he saw 00:06:33.400 --> 00:06:39.680 the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest upon him. And behold a voice from 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:49.860 heaven, he said, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Three things happen. Can you see it? 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:55.540 What's the first thing that happens? The first thing that happens, verse 16, what happens? He comes out 00:06:55.540 --> 00:07:02.540 from the water and the heavens open. The heavens are ripped open. Does that ring a bell? It should ring a bell. 00:07:02.540 --> 00:07:09.720 Because God had split the heavens before when he gave Moses the law at Mount Sinai. And from heaven, 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:16.180 the sky was split with thunder and with lightning. And the prophet Isaiah, do you remember? He prayed 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:22.120 that God would rend the heavens, would rip open the heavens and make himself known to the nations. And 00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:27.560 that is exactly what God does here. But it is not thunder and lightning that comes out of heaven. It is. 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:35.019 What is it? What is he? It is all the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God descending like a dove. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:44.579 And coming upon Jesus. That God has rent the heavens again to reveal himself to the nations. 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:53.639 But now it comes through the anointed Jesus. The anointed Jesus for ministry. Do you know there is 00:07:53.639 --> 00:08:01.339 no record in the Gospels of Jesus doing a miracle before his baptism? There is no record in the Gospels 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:07.939 of Jesus doing a miracle without the anointing of the Holy Spirit of his baptism? And he is commissioned 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:13.659 from ministry. And then thirdly from heaven, the third thing is, he said verse 17, and behold a voice 00:08:13.659 --> 00:08:21.360 from heaven. And the voice says, this is my son with whom I love, with him I am well pleased. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:30.220 It is not street at all. You know, I am well pleased with him. I am well pleased. He is delighted 00:08:30.220 --> 00:08:35.659 in his son the Father. And so Matthew begins his account with this powerful scene of his baptism 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:39.240 at the Jordan River. And then you go all the way through Matthew's Gospel right to the end, 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:44.860 after his miracles, after his teaching, after his death, after his resurrection, and here is 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:50.680 his commission to the disciples. Look at Matthew chapter 28. Matthew 28 verses 18 to 20. 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:55.899 You just turned there. Matthew 28 verses 18 to 20. You know it. Jesus came and said to them, 00:08:55.959 --> 00:09:03.819 all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples 00:09:03.819 --> 00:09:07.219 of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit, 00:09:08.019 --> 00:09:11.519 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:18.259 end of the age. And I think even in the words that Jesus uses here, it is very surprising. 00:09:18.259 --> 00:09:23.159 Because it is interesting, isn't it? I don't know how many of us, and I don't know how many 00:09:23.159 --> 00:09:27.419 people who would call themselves conservative evangelicals or reformed people, naturally think 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:36.019 of baptism as an integral key part of our discipleship in the local church. Some people talk about 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:40.700 discipleship programmes, don't they? And we talk about Sunday morning and Sunday night worship 00:09:40.700 --> 00:09:47.040 and the sacraments. But isn't discipleship, you might think, well discipleship is all about 00:09:47.040 --> 00:09:51.320 teaching about Jesus, it's all about being transformed by the gospel into the likeness of 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:56.820 the Lord Jesus. And of course it is all of those things, but Jesus says the first step is what? 00:09:57.660 --> 00:10:02.740 Being baptised. Baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:09.279 And I think Jesus is picking up on his own baptism. He is saying that the first step is to receive 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:16.159 God's pledge, God's promise and the gift of the Holy Spirit's presence and power in our 00:10:16.159 --> 00:10:21.600 lives. And hear the Father saying the same words to us as he said to Jesus. As he looks at 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:30.860 you and me and he says, this is my son, this is my daughter, whom I love. With him, with her, 00:10:30.860 --> 00:10:39.220 I'm well pleased. That is the promise at baptism. It is the promise that through the Holy Spirit 00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:47.700 of adoption by the Father and it is all received by faith, we become marked people by our baptism. 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:55.740 Jesus chooses the name of or into the name of. And he's using a term that actually came from 00:10:55.740 --> 00:11:02.379 the world of banking back then. To the account of, or into the possession of, that in baptism 00:11:02.379 --> 00:11:09.539 we come under new management. We become members of God's family. We become part of his covenant 00:11:09.539 --> 00:11:16.879 community. In essence of baptism, God claims us as his own. He looks at us. He says, you belong 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:23.720 to me. Now, it might be so perhaps, you might be thinking justifiably, and lots of my friends 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:30.779 think this, why can't we just read it? Don't we just get the same message? Isn't that essentially 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:37.740 what we've done over the last few minutes? Why do we have to involve water? Either by sprinkling 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:43.820 or pouring or pouring or immersion. Doesn't that just complicate matters and get messy potentially? 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:53.060 What's the point? We just read this, we know this from the print. Why do we need baptism? 00:11:55.500 --> 00:12:04.519 And here's where we see wonderfully and lovingly and freshly the loving condescension of our Heavenly 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:11.620 Father. How kind is this to you and me? This question makes sense to us because baptism 00:12:11.620 --> 00:12:17.100 isn't communicating a different gospel. You don't get a different gospel in baptism. It's 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:23.000 giving us the same message. Baptism is giving you and I the same gospel as the spoken word, 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:29.019 but it does much more than just repeat it. Let me give you this definition of a sacrament 00:12:29.019 --> 00:12:36.059 from John Calvin, okay? Concentrate for a minute. A sacrament is an outward sign by which the Lord 00:12:36.059 --> 00:12:48.079 seals to our consciences the promises of his good will towards us in order to sustain the weakness 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:56.180 of our faith. And we in turn attest our piety towards him. We're talking about faith in the presence of 00:12:56.180 --> 00:12:59.379 his Lord and of his angels. Just think about that middle a little bit for a minute, okay? 00:13:00.560 --> 00:13:12.020 In the sacraments, God stoops to our weaknesses. You and I are not disembodied beings. We are not 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:19.579 spirits floating about in the air. We are physical embodied beings. And without appreciating it, 00:13:19.679 --> 00:13:25.059 physical acts, physical rituals are important. The sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:33.179 are tools in the hands of our Heavenly Father for strengthening our faith. Every time you come 00:13:33.179 --> 00:13:38.919 to the Lord's table, every time you witness a baptism, it is a tool in the hands of our Heavenly 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:44.299 Father for strengthening your faith and mine. We'll think of this next week in how it applies 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:50.599 to the Lord's Supper. But now think about baptism. In baptism, the gospel of our adoption 00:13:50.599 --> 00:13:58.199 through Christ, the gospel that we are new creations in Christ, it's not only proclaimed to your ears 00:13:58.199 --> 00:14:05.259 so that you can see, you can hear it and you can understand it, but it is poured over you. 00:14:05.259 --> 00:14:15.039 You're immersed in it. In baptism, the very same gospel that comes to you in words splashes over you 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:25.600 in water to meet us in our weak faith and to strengthen it. One writer, Leonard Fanderson, 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:31.319 illustrates the relationship between the preached word and the sacrament in thinking about how do we 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:38.360 communicate with each other. This is what he says, since we are embodied persons, communication is 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:46.760 seldom, if ever, merely a matter of thoughts passing from one mind to another. That when you and I 00:14:46.760 --> 00:14:51.740 interact, when you interact with each other, we interact with friends and with family and there is 00:14:51.740 --> 00:15:00.000 body language, isn't there? There are those tell-tale gestures and minute movements, raised eyebrows, 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:07.620 smiles on the faces that convey the true meaning of the words we are saying. And so experts say, 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:13.659 don't they, 50% of our communication comes from body language. And so all of you have had that 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:20.440 experience, some of you, sometimes it's embarrassing, sometimes it is just plain terrible, where a 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:26.259 communication has happened in a text or an email or a telephone conversation and our words have 00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:34.559 been divorced from our physical gestures. That is the importance of physical body language, isn't it? 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:41.019 There are certain things which you've got to say face to face. A smiley emoticon at the end of your text 00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:45.700 doesn't do it, alright? You've got to see the look on someone's face, haven't you? 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:50.659 How often have you had an email or a text which you've misunderstood because you haven't been able to see the body 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:57.719 language? But van der Seer says this, the sacraments are like God's body language to us. 00:15:59.459 --> 00:16:07.199 As his creatures who live in this physical world, they explain the word to us. The sacraments, they paint a picture 00:16:07.199 --> 00:16:14.179 of what the gospel is all about and that strengthens our faith. And God doesn't have to do it, but he does it 00:16:14.179 --> 00:16:22.219 because he loves us. And the sacraments strengthen us in our weakness, not only by explaining the word, but more 00:16:22.219 --> 00:16:29.899 importantly by confirming the word. That is by being signs and seals of the gospel, because that is what they are. 00:16:30.059 --> 00:16:36.179 They are covenantal, they are that pledge that God has made, they are signs of that pledge and they are seals 00:16:36.179 --> 00:16:43.859 of that pledge. And they confirm the word as well as explain it. It was the reformers who emphasised that. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:50.039 They talked about this language of signs and seals to help us understand the sacrament of baptism 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:57.979 and the Lord's Supper, what they are all about. And basically what they teach us is that in baptism 00:16:57.980 --> 00:17:06.180 they recognise that God is actually doing something. In baptism God is actually doing something. 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:13.079 In other words, baptism's primary function is not to symbolise our response to the promise 00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:19.680 of the gospel, but it is to signify and seal the gospel to which we are called to respond 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:26.579 in lifelong faith and obedience. And if that is true, then I would say to you it is very applicable 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:33.199 that we bring infants to baptism. And we don't compromise the significance of it. Let me say 00:17:33.199 --> 00:17:40.439 it again, baptism's primary function is not to symbolise our response. It is not about 00:17:40.439 --> 00:17:49.679 what we are doing, but it is to signify and to seal the gospel of what God is doing. To which 00:17:49.679 --> 00:17:55.899 we are called, aren't we, to respond in lifelong faith and obedience. What do I mean when I call 00:17:55.900 --> 00:17:59.440 baptism of a sign and a seal? Let's think about the sign for a moment. Imagine two young women 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:05.680 here this morning. Two young ladies who have got special men in their lives. Both men are 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:10.740 talking about a marriage and they are making big promises. There is a lifelong commitment 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:16.519 of sharing their life and their resources and so on. The two women are treated equally in 00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:24.859 every respect. But one of the women has received an engagement ring and the other has not. So 00:18:24.859 --> 00:18:30.539 you could say, couldn't you, what does the engaged young lady have that the other does not? And the 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:38.299 answer is quite obvious. A ring. We say to her, does that make a difference? Is that a big deal? 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:43.639 Well, my guess is this. If you ask the lady without the ring, it would make a pretty big difference, 00:18:43.720 --> 00:18:52.599 wouldn't it? Wouldn't it? The visible token of the ring, it doesn't alter the promises made, 00:18:52.680 --> 00:19:00.559 does it? It doesn't alter it. But what does the ring do? The ring makes those promises more firm 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:12.059 in the mind of the recipient. And that is true. It's a sign of baptism. Baptism gives a tangible 00:19:12.059 --> 00:19:19.579 expression to the certainty of God's promise to us. And that is something more than the promise 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:26.079 that is given verbally. And baptism is not only a sign of God's commitment and promises. Also the 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:33.819 reformers taught, I think rightly, they recognise it as a seal of his promise. That is, baptism 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:40.299 actually does something. The baptism doesn't just reveal the grace of the gospel to us, it confers 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:46.039 the grace of the gospel on us. It is a means of saving grace. And like the gospel it portrays, 00:19:46.099 --> 00:19:50.879 it's not an automatic thing, don't think I'm saying that. It's not that you can be baptised and then 00:19:50.879 --> 00:19:55.679 just automatically, by the action of doing it, that everything is changed. No, it has to be received 00:19:55.680 --> 00:20:02.060 by faith. It's how the reformers set themselves apart from the Roman Catholic Church at the 00:20:02.060 --> 00:20:09.200 time of the Reformation. Baptism does not benefit us at all if it is not received by faith. 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:17.900 Let's just ponder for a moment, think for a moment, God's goodness here, in terms of what 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:26.580 sealing means. Such is God's love for us. That in baptism he seals us with his grace through 00:20:26.580 --> 00:20:33.240 faith. God did something to you at your baptism, whether your parents were believers or not. 00:20:34.600 --> 00:20:41.660 Whether you were baptised as an infant. Or whether you were baptised as an adult. God did something 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:51.180 to you at your baptism. And that is why Paul speaks of baptism in a way that is shocking to us. 00:20:51.980 --> 00:20:59.220 Isn't it? The language of baptism for the Apostle Paul seems to function as a virtual substitute 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:08.240 for salvation. So come with me to Romans 6. Come on, come with me. Romans chapter 6. And Paul is 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:16.420 here in the argument, in Romans chapter 6, we can live whatever way we want. We can live 00:21:16.420 --> 00:21:24.180 in whatever way we want, because it is by grace we have been saved. Here's how Paul responds 00:21:24.180 --> 00:21:32.380 to them. Romans chapter 6, verses 3 to 4. He says this. Do you not know? Do you not know 00:21:32.380 --> 00:21:40.420 that all of us have been baptised into Christ Jesus? And were baptised into his death? We 00:21:40.420 --> 00:21:44.460 were buried therefore with him by baptism into death. In order that just as Christ was raised 00:21:44.460 --> 00:21:48.360 from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. We don't 00:21:48.360 --> 00:21:56.040 tend to speak like that, do we? We would say, if you're a Christian, if you've been born again, 00:21:56.039 --> 00:22:02.119 you don't live like that. But Paul wants to bring it back to what happened at their baptism. 00:22:02.619 --> 00:22:12.720 It's shocking. We don't tend to give, do we, baptism such an identity-defining role in our 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:18.480 lives. Well look at what Paul writes in Galatians chapter 3, verse 27. It's on page 9, 7, 4. 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:29.079 Turn there. Galatians chapter 3, and verse 27. Look what it says. For as many of you as 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:38.599 were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. That as far as the Apostle Paul is concerned, 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:44.940 our identity as Christians, who we are as Christians, has everything to do with our baptism. 00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:53.340 Randy Zuckerberg is the sister of Mark Zuckerberg, you know the founder and CEO of Facebook that so 00:22:53.340 --> 00:23:01.259 many of you love. And Randy worked for Facebook for many years, but she has written a book called, 00:23:01.660 --> 00:23:07.840 what's it called? Dot Complicated. Dot Complicated. Untangling Our Wired Lives. There's an interview 00:23:07.840 --> 00:23:13.320 with her on the BBC website. And the interviewer asks, does she have one secret for untangling 00:23:13.319 --> 00:23:20.740 our wired lives? Randy Zuckerberg replies, the secret is be your authentic self. It used 00:23:20.740 --> 00:23:24.720 to be, she said, that we felt the need to be different people in different contexts. So 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:29.599 in our professional life we would be someone, in our home life with our friends. But she 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:33.500 says, in today's wired world, where it only takes a little bit of research for people to 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:41.379 find out an awful lot about you, you only get to have one identity online. You only get 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:46.480 to have one identity online, so be your authentic self. Well that's good advice as far as it 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:53.300 goes, isn't it? What it's meant for most people is that we have to construct my authentic self. 00:23:53.300 --> 00:24:00.280 And I need to build it very, very carefully. Life becomes this huge exercise in how to define 00:24:00.280 --> 00:24:06.860 who I am. And that usually means, as I try to prove my worth to other people, earning my identity. 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:14.199 But listen to this, the identity that you construct for yourself is very different from an identity 00:24:14.199 --> 00:24:25.959 that you receive by grace from God. Baptism is a sacrament of identity. It tells you who 00:24:25.959 --> 00:24:35.359 you belong to. It confers a new identity upon us. So when we ask, who am I? Who am I? The answer 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:41.899 is, by faith I am a new creature in Christ. By faith I am not what I appear to be. But my 00:24:41.899 --> 00:24:49.779 life is hidden with Christ in God. And at Jesus' baptism the heavens opened. And the voice 00:24:49.779 --> 00:24:55.579 of God spoke, and the Spirit descended. And at our baptism into Christ, heaven opens upon 00:24:55.579 --> 00:25:02.519 us. God smiles upon us. The Spirit descends upon us. And through his Son the Father says to 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:09.059 you and to me, you are my beloved sons and daughters with whom I am well pleased. Through 00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:19.059 baptism, God redefines our identity. Telling us who we are in Christ. So baptism has everything 00:25:19.059 --> 00:25:27.660 to do with our Christian identity. Baptism serves first as a sign and seal of our adoption in Christ. 00:25:27.660 --> 00:25:32.120 But secondly, and much more briefly, baptism serves as a sign and seal of our membership 00:25:32.120 --> 00:25:43.640 in Christ's family. Baptism is something revolutionary. Because through it, we identify ourselves with 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:49.840 a whole new family. But with the promises we make at baptism, whether it's the one being 00:25:49.840 --> 00:25:54.300 baptised, or the parents of an infant being baptised, or the congregation as we respond, 00:25:54.299 --> 00:26:03.099 in the baptism, we signal that what counts most as family, what counts most as family is not the 00:26:03.099 --> 00:26:10.680 nuclear unit that is so often idolised in our culture, but rather the church constitutes our first family. 00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:20.000 Let me just say that again. In baptism we signal that what matters most as family is not the 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:25.720 closed nuclear unit that is so often idolised in our culture, rather the church constitutes our first family. 00:26:29.960 --> 00:26:32.460 And some of you probably don't agree with that, but let me quote you someone. 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:35.019 Let me quote you the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:40.599 Mark chapter 3, verses 31 to 34. 00:26:41.420 --> 00:26:44.559 And his mother and his brothers came and standing outside they sent him and called him. 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:48.460 And a crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. 00:26:49.859 --> 00:26:52.339 And he answered them, who are my mother and my brothers? 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:56.579 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. 00:26:58.679 --> 00:27:02.599 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. 00:27:06.539 --> 00:27:08.359 I think one of the cultural idolatries 00:27:08.359 --> 00:27:10.119 that we constantly face today, 00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:12.740 probably particularly in kind of middle class 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:13.699 for it, 00:27:14.219 --> 00:27:15.939 which I know many of you are not, 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:18.679 is the idolisation of family. 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:21.879 And perhaps in the church we are 00:27:21.879 --> 00:27:23.599 as bad as the rest of the world. 00:27:25.399 --> 00:27:27.099 And it's seen in the prioritising 00:27:27.099 --> 00:27:29.219 of family functions, of everything else. 00:27:30.979 --> 00:27:32.839 It's seen as in the overscheduling 00:27:32.839 --> 00:27:34.459 of children's lives by their parents. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:36.479 It's seen in the almost impossible 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:38.660 pressure for our family 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:40.460 to become, to function as this kind of 00:27:40.460 --> 00:27:42.839 closed, self-sufficient, autonomous unit. 00:27:44.599 --> 00:27:45.360 Those of you who are parents, 00:27:45.420 --> 00:27:46.579 I've gone to the school of Gates, Morris, 00:27:46.680 --> 00:27:48.420 and, you know, they'll be the usual times 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:49.900 where we were in, we were in, 00:27:49.960 --> 00:27:51.279 Tenerife, or 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:54.319 Harriet's did horse riding all week. 00:27:54.360 --> 00:27:54.799 What did you do? 00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:55.839 You feel terrible shame at saying, 00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:57.339 oh, we just went to the park each day. 00:28:00.339 --> 00:28:01.039 Jesus says, 00:28:02.579 --> 00:28:03.740 the nuclear family is, 00:28:03.860 --> 00:28:05.920 it's so important yet, 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.799 the promises you make at baptism, 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:09.500 you join another family. 00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:12.700 So at baptism, 00:28:12.839 --> 00:28:14.200 we commit to a counterculture. 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:16.000 We make promises that initiate us 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:17.380 into a household that is bigger than the 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:18.620 real fast physical house. 00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:21.400 We commit ourselves to a world 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:23.079 where loving obligations 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:25.019 go beyond the boundaries 00:28:25.019 --> 00:28:26.960 of our private residence. 00:28:27.259 --> 00:28:28.799 The church becomes our first family. 00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:33.680 And I don't mean by that 00:28:33.680 --> 00:28:35.119 the kind of church universal, 00:28:36.039 --> 00:28:37.039 the church kind of out there. 00:28:37.180 --> 00:28:37.839 I mean here. 00:28:42.159 --> 00:28:43.019 Weddings are great. 00:28:43.980 --> 00:28:44.819 Weddings are great. 00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:46.079 Baptisms are better. 00:28:48.139 --> 00:28:48.919 Baptisms are better. 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:51.259 I look around this room, 00:28:51.879 --> 00:28:53.159 I think back to this past year. 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:56.259 We think of Sandra. 00:28:57.380 --> 00:28:58.460 Think of Malouj. 00:29:00.980 --> 00:29:02.060 And you're family. 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:05.040 We are family. 00:29:05.840 --> 00:29:07.019 We are family. 00:29:09.600 --> 00:29:11.220 I've got all my sisters with me. 00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:16.140 You've been baptised into Christ's death. 00:29:17.100 --> 00:29:18.000 And resurrection. 00:29:18.180 --> 00:29:19.420 You've been clothed with Christ. 00:29:19.420 --> 00:29:22.380 And now in a very real sense, 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:24.000 their first family is Jesus' family. 00:29:25.580 --> 00:29:26.420 It is the church. 00:29:28.580 --> 00:29:30.580 And their baptism serves as a sign and scene 00:29:30.580 --> 00:29:31.720 of their membership of their church. 00:29:31.779 --> 00:29:32.920 And in that family of Christ, 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:34.420 you may have been baptised as an infant. 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.080 I hope you were. 00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:37.140 You may have no recollection of that day. 00:29:37.340 --> 00:29:38.860 You probably don't know who the minister was. 00:29:39.060 --> 00:29:40.539 You may not know where the church was. 00:29:40.779 --> 00:29:42.800 But even though you have no recollection 00:29:42.800 --> 00:29:44.019 of that day, 00:29:44.100 --> 00:29:45.100 God made a promise to you. 00:29:46.300 --> 00:29:47.200 On that day, 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:48.759 but through water, 00:29:48.759 --> 00:29:50.859 he gave me a sign and a seal 00:29:50.859 --> 00:29:52.680 of the gracious gospel promise 00:29:52.680 --> 00:29:54.059 that is to be received by faith. 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:56.299 That voice from heaven saying to me, 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:57.339 you are my beloved son 00:29:57.339 --> 00:29:58.519 with whom I am well pleased. 00:29:59.039 --> 00:30:00.740 Not because of anything I have done now 00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:01.980 or would do, 00:30:02.039 --> 00:30:03.359 but because the one who heard 00:30:03.359 --> 00:30:04.879 those words first, 00:30:04.980 --> 00:30:05.940 having been buried 00:30:05.940 --> 00:30:07.539 and the judgment for my sin 00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:08.799 being taken in my place. 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.500 The baptism of mine 00:30:10.500 --> 00:30:11.660 and every baptism 00:30:11.660 --> 00:30:14.299 is more about what God does 00:30:14.299 --> 00:30:15.940 than about me and what I do. 00:30:15.940 --> 00:30:19.360 He made a promise that day 00:30:19.360 --> 00:30:20.120 that he keeps 00:30:20.120 --> 00:30:22.480 because he is the promise keeper. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.940 That means I don't have to go 00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:26.200 to the waters of baptism again 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:28.220 because that falls into question 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:29.299 his integrity, doesn't it? 00:30:31.640 --> 00:30:32.960 But what it does say to you this, 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:34.200 is it says to you and I, 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:36.420 it says we are to go back 00:30:36.420 --> 00:30:37.340 to our baptism 00:30:37.340 --> 00:30:39.320 over and over 00:30:39.320 --> 00:30:41.259 and over and over again. 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:44.920 That I am to go to the truth 00:30:44.920 --> 00:30:46.339 that I am a marked man. 00:30:47.859 --> 00:30:48.940 I'm not my own. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:51.160 That God has claimed me 00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:51.680 as his own 00:30:51.680 --> 00:30:53.480 and I am to take fresh strength 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:54.700 and encouragement from that. 00:30:56.680 --> 00:30:57.599 A few points of application. 00:30:57.740 --> 00:30:58.200 Martin Luther, 00:30:58.279 --> 00:30:59.799 when he battled spiritual depression, 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:01.379 he would turn to his baptism 00:31:01.379 --> 00:31:02.799 as a physical sign 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:03.879 of God's grace to him 00:31:03.879 --> 00:31:05.900 and through the dark shroud 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:07.099 of doubt and despair, 00:31:07.619 --> 00:31:08.319 he would shout, 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:09.940 I have been baptized. 00:31:11.259 --> 00:31:12.640 I have been baptized. 00:31:13.400 --> 00:31:15.640 It's a perfectly appropriate way 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:16.740 to use your baptism. 00:31:18.240 --> 00:31:19.740 That when you face temptation, 00:31:21.140 --> 00:31:23.700 when you face the temptation 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:24.779 of the world and the flesh 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.200 and the devil, 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:25.779 you say to him, 00:31:25.819 --> 00:31:26.759 I have been baptized. 00:31:28.059 --> 00:31:29.240 I am a marked man. 00:31:30.879 --> 00:31:31.900 That God has given you 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:33.379 this physical sign and seal, 00:31:33.859 --> 00:31:35.500 this landmark on your journey, 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:37.059 precisely that your faith 00:31:37.059 --> 00:31:37.920 can cling to it. 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:40.799 You're not dependent on 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:42.359 on the baptism itself, 00:31:42.539 --> 00:31:44.180 on this empty rite or ritual. 00:31:44.180 --> 00:31:44.940 You are depending on 00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:45.799 the Lord Jesus Christ 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:46.779 and his promise. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:49.180 With whom you've been clothed 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:50.859 with in baptism 00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:52.419 and whom you must receive 00:31:52.419 --> 00:31:53.180 by faith. 00:31:53.740 --> 00:31:54.859 So use this baptism 00:31:54.859 --> 00:31:55.519 on yourself. 00:31:57.299 --> 00:31:58.859 But let me graciously say, 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:00.279 let's use this baptism 00:32:00.279 --> 00:32:01.079 on one another. 00:32:02.419 --> 00:32:02.899 And particularly 00:32:02.899 --> 00:32:03.839 speaking of parents. 00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:06.319 The father of Matthew Henry, 00:32:07.019 --> 00:32:07.779 the 17th century 00:32:07.779 --> 00:32:09.379 Presbyterian minister, 00:32:09.380 --> 00:32:10.020 Philip Henry, 00:32:10.340 --> 00:32:10.840 you know Matthew Henry 00:32:10.840 --> 00:32:11.520 wrote all those 00:32:11.520 --> 00:32:12.480 great Bible commentaries. 00:32:13.020 --> 00:32:13.940 Philip Henry said this, 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:15.600 when his children misbehaved, 00:32:16.140 --> 00:32:17.900 the first thing he would do 00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:18.780 would be grab them 00:32:18.780 --> 00:32:19.720 by their baptism. 00:32:20.560 --> 00:32:21.340 Isn't that brilliant? 00:32:22.840 --> 00:32:24.440 Grab them by their baptism. 00:32:26.660 --> 00:32:27.900 I think that makes a lot of sense. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:28.740 I think it's fantastic 00:32:28.740 --> 00:32:29.440 for parents. 00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:30.900 We say to our children, 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:34.240 you are a baptized child. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:38.400 You are a marked man or woman. 00:32:40.120 --> 00:32:41.019 In other words, 00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:42.620 we seek to encourage 00:32:42.620 --> 00:32:44.200 and counsel one another 00:32:44.200 --> 00:32:45.920 by reminding each other 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:47.120 that we are not our own. 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:49.200 We are marked 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.420 by the water of baptism. 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:51.440 We were marked 00:32:51.440 --> 00:32:53.120 as belonging to God 00:32:53.120 --> 00:32:54.720 so that by faith 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:55.559 we think back 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:56.279 on our baptism 00:32:56.279 --> 00:32:57.539 and we hear the voice 00:32:57.539 --> 00:32:58.359 of the father saying, 00:32:58.480 --> 00:32:59.380 you are my son 00:32:59.380 --> 00:33:00.400 or my daughter 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:01.620 with whom I am well pleased. 00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:04.199 And who then invites us 00:33:04.199 --> 00:33:04.919 as his children 00:33:04.919 --> 00:33:06.239 to live in such a way 00:33:06.239 --> 00:33:08.539 that makes our heavenly father proud. 00:33:09.479 --> 00:33:10.259 Two last points. 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:11.119 Let me speak to the children 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:11.659 who are here. 00:33:11.799 --> 00:33:12.699 Children, wake up for a minute. 00:33:12.879 --> 00:33:13.500 Let's stop drawing. 00:33:17.559 --> 00:33:18.699 You have been baptized. 00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:21.679 You have had 00:33:21.679 --> 00:33:24.759 the sign and seal of God 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:25.719 applied to you. 00:33:26.759 --> 00:33:27.039 And do you know 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:28.179 what that sign says to you? 00:33:29.139 --> 00:33:30.239 That sign says to you, 00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:30.639 believe. 00:33:32.099 --> 00:33:32.939 It says to you, 00:33:32.979 --> 00:33:34.739 this promise is for you. 00:33:35.899 --> 00:33:36.739 It says to you, 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:37.659 take hold of it. 00:33:39.099 --> 00:33:39.919 It says to you, 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:41.479 do not harden your heart. 00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:43.659 It says to you, 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:44.899 don't pull off 00:33:44.899 --> 00:33:45.819 what you need to do. 00:33:45.859 --> 00:33:46.559 You might be tired 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:46.719 of you, 00:33:46.759 --> 00:33:47.579 you might be two, 00:33:47.739 --> 00:33:47.939 three, 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:48.319 four, 00:33:48.439 --> 00:33:48.779 five, 00:33:49.139 --> 00:33:50.179 call on the Lord 00:33:50.179 --> 00:33:50.919 Jesus Christ. 00:33:52.139 --> 00:33:53.299 And you will be saved. 00:33:55.019 --> 00:33:56.659 This promise is for you 00:33:56.659 --> 00:33:58.719 and your children 00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:01.579 for those who are far off. 00:34:03.059 --> 00:34:04.059 I wish I could say more 00:34:04.059 --> 00:34:05.480 on what baptism works 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:06.120 both ways. 00:34:07.400 --> 00:34:08.159 Baptism works 00:34:08.159 --> 00:34:09.860 both as a covenant blessing 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:12.019 but it also works 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:12.900 as a covenant curse 00:34:12.900 --> 00:34:13.740 for those who reject 00:34:13.740 --> 00:34:14.159 the covenant. 00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:17.059 And then lastly, 00:34:17.119 --> 00:34:17.899 I want to speak to those 00:34:17.899 --> 00:34:18.579 who are parents 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:20.759 and those who brought 00:34:20.759 --> 00:34:21.440 their children to be 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:22.359 baptized in this church 00:34:22.359 --> 00:34:22.759 probably 00:34:22.759 --> 00:34:24.739 and your children 00:34:24.739 --> 00:34:25.839 are far away from the Lord 00:34:25.839 --> 00:34:26.500 and you know that 00:34:26.500 --> 00:34:27.379 and it grieves you 00:34:27.379 --> 00:34:28.319 and it hurts you. 00:34:29.879 --> 00:34:31.159 And I want to say to you, 00:34:32.279 --> 00:34:33.619 the story is not over. 00:34:35.219 --> 00:34:36.619 The story is not over. 00:34:36.619 --> 00:34:39.559 And you go 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:41.699 with the covenant promises 00:34:41.699 --> 00:34:42.239 of God 00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:45.119 that he has said to you, 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:45.880 I will be your God 00:34:45.880 --> 00:34:46.739 and the God of your children. 00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:49.279 And we confess our sins. 00:34:50.739 --> 00:34:51.920 We know we fail as parents 00:34:51.920 --> 00:34:52.880 every single one of us. 00:34:54.380 --> 00:34:55.359 And yet God is 00:34:55.359 --> 00:34:57.279 more full of grace 00:34:57.279 --> 00:34:57.980 than I am of sin. 00:34:59.719 --> 00:35:01.079 And we plead the promise 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:02.719 and the signs 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:03.619 and the seals of the covenant. 00:35:03.739 --> 00:35:04.179 Let's pray. 00:35:04.179 --> 00:35:04.239 Amen.