“Into the Name of” (essential significance)

The point: Recognize Jesus Christ as King and Sovereign over His people, which will bring concern for baptism and its proper subjects.

Martin challenges those who consider themselves 'too spiritual' to be concerned with baptism, arguing that flaunting Christ's authority in this matter is not true spirituality.

verb the others are participles ranged under it i'm very much aware of that however since the baptizing activity of the people of god is inseparably joined to their discipling activity there is no better passage from which to gain our regulative perspectives on this ordinance than the passage which is before us and i've suggested that there are four lines of thought in the passage two of them we've studied i shall mention them briefly review them and then we'll move today to a beginning consideration of the third first of all the supreme authority which undergirds the baptizing activity in the...

4:01 - 5:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Avoid religious superstition by ensuring baptism is administered only where the gospel is preached and confessed discipleship is present.

Baptism is likened to a bride who is never found 'stripped of her bridesmaids and her attendants,' meaning it must always be flanked by the making and teaching of disciples, emphasizing its inseparable connection to the preached Word.

pronoun refers not to the nations. Because of the gender, we know that it cannot. It refers to the disciples thus made. And then there is a matching of the genders. There is this making of disciples. There is this teaching of disciples. And whenever baptism is properly administered according to the authoritative declaration of Christ, she will never be found stripped of her bridesmaids and her attendants. Baptism must be flanked by the making of disciples and by the teaching of disciples, both of which are never done apart from the word preached and the word consciously and deliberately embrac...

7:36 - 8:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Baptism is not an addition to discipleship, but that by which discipleship is consummated.

Martin quotes Professor Murray, who states that baptism is not an addition to discipleship but that by which discipleship is consummated, highlighting its essential role in formally declaring one's commitment to Christ.

And I'd like to state that in this sense, baptism becomes the formal espousal of ourselves to Jesus Christ. I quote now, not from Baptist literature, but from the treatment of the subject of baptism by Professor Murray, who says, commenting on this very passage, According to our Lord's institution in the Great Commission, baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost is an integral part of the process of discipling the nations and is therefore an essential mark of discipleship. Baptism is not an addition to discipleship, but that by which discipleship is consummated. Y...

16:40 - 17:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is a formal or the establishment formally of the relationship of a fellow girl, man or woman with that God who is revealed in the Gospel as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which tells us that the Gospel of God, the beli…

The Hebrew concept of 'name' is contrasted with a mere 'calling card' to explain that God's name embodies His character and is synonymous with His person, emphasizing the depth of relationship implied in being baptized into His name.

So if I want you, I can say John or Henry or Paul, or Peter. No, no. In the Hebrew concept, the name embodies the character of the person whom it reflects. And in the mentality of the Scriptures, the name is often synonymous with the person.

19:22 - 19:39 Read in full sermon

Driving home: It is a formal or the establishment formally of the relationship of a fellow girl, man or woman with that God who is revealed in the Gospel as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which tells us that the Gospel of God, the beli…

Baptism is described as enrolling in the 'kindergarten of the school of grace,' illustrating that while it's a foundational step, it requires an embrace of the Triune God, not a full theological mastery.

The Gospel by which we are made disciples, for only disciples are to be baptized, and we saw they are made disciples by the preaching and reception of the word of the Gospel, it is so decidedly Trinitarian so unequivocally Trinitarian that I cannot even enroll in the number of those who have been made disciples of the true God without a confession of my belief in and subjection to the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But remember, baptism is not the sheepskin of your Ph.D. or graduate school.

21:13 - 21:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Baptism is a sovereignly instituted symbolic action by which the person baptized solemnly, consciously and publicly declares his wholehearted reception of and submission to the living God who is Father, Son and Holy Spir…

Martin quotes Matthew Henry, who quaintly states that 'baptism is the context of the contract of our espousal to Christ and his salvation,' reinforcing the idea of baptism as a formal declaration of relationship.

It is a symbolic action, as we'll see in subsequent studies, by which the person baptized solemnly, consciously and publicly declares his wholehearted reception of and submission to the one God revealed in the Gospel who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May I give you that again? Because I've thrown out all extraneous material and I don't know a word that can be cut out without butchering some facet of the teaching of this passage. Baptism is a sovereignly instituted symbolic action by which the person baptized solemnly, consciously and publicly declares his wholehearted reception of and submis...

25:46 - 27:05 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin addresses the apparent discrepancy between the Trinitarian formula in Matthew 28 and the 'in the name of the Lord Jesus' phrases in Acts. He proposes that Christ's…

The phrase 'I come to you in the name of the law' is used to illustrate how 'in the name of Christ' could be interpreted as 'in the authority of Christ,' though Martin argues against this as the sole meaning for baptism.

It is simply a statement they were baptized upon the authority of Christ. I come to you in the name of the law. That is I come to you in the authority of the law. Therefore when they baptized in the name of Christ that simply means they were baptizing in the authority of Christ.

28:05 - 28:19 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He expounds Romans 6, showing that baptism symbolizes the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. This union refutes antinomianism by demonstrating…

Martin cites the Westminster Confession and an article by William and Marian Radius to show that Romans 6 is widely recognized across different theological traditions as central to the doctrine of baptism, lending weight to his interpretation.

And I want you to look at them briefly this morning. And may I say that this is not as some would say a perverted and inveterate attempt of someone of Baptist persuasion to claim these passages. They are quoted in the Westminster Confession as giving the heart of the teaching of the doctrine of baptism. I have an article in the banner the official publication of the Christian Reformed Church by William and Marian Radius a matter of death and life in which they expound baptismal views using Romans 6 as their key passage.

38:54 - 39:27 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have what New Testament baptism signifies, be baptized to declare it publicly, giving praise to God and displaying the Gospel's power.

Baptism is presented as an act of praise to God, where the baptized person declares God's mercy and the mighty virtue of His Son, visibly displaying the power of the Gospel.

You see, every time a person is baptized, they give praise to God saying, Lord, in Your mercy, You have wrought again in a poor, helpless sinner the mighty virtue of Your beloved Son and His salvation. Beyond the testimony given by the one baptized, even beyond the confirmation to his own heart of God's work to him, baptism is an act, a holy act, in which God is praised, in which there is visibly displayed the power of the Gospel. Does it mean that everyone who is baptized is saved? No.

52:37 - 53:12 Read in full sermon

The point: For those who were baptized as infants, prayerfully consider if that act aligns with Jesus' command to baptize confessed disciples in Matthew 28, and if not, obey Christ's command.

Martin acknowledges the sincerity and serious intent of many godly parents who practice infant baptism, viewing it as a solemn consecration and commitment to raise their child for God's glory, even while questioning its biblical alignment with Matthew 28.

That's the sacred significance of infant baptism to many godly people. And don't ever make light of it. It's a serious matter. When publicly in the presence of God as an act of worship, they say, I do here solemnly own my responsibilities to rear this child to God's glory and praise.

54:58 - 55:17 Read in full sermon