Proper Subjects / Attendants (“why when who how”)

Introduction: Baptism as a Visible Gospel Ordinance

0:00 Those who were here last Lord's Day will remember, I trust, that we studied together the regulative passage in the New Testament concerning the ordinance, the sacrament, whatever term you want to use, of the Lord's Supper, it being the first Sunday of the month and our church life being such that we gather for the special supper of remembrance prior to the evening service. I felt it would be in our interest and ultimately to God's glory if we brought our minds in a new way into the thinking of the word of God with reference to that sacred supper of remembrance. And I'm gratified that several of you at least have testified that

0:43 the study in the morning made your coming to the Lord's table much more intelligent and meaningful and you were blessed as a result of it. Well, in a couple of weeks from now we shall be baptized. A number of people. And so I purpose this morning and in the next morning service in which I shall be expounding the word to bring to you some of the leading lines of biblical truth concerning this second of the two external visible words of the gospel given to the church of Jesus Christ. And I would remind you of that undergirding principle that I enunciated

1:21 last week, that baptism and the Lord's Supper. Are not something totally different from the gospel preached as recorded in first Corinthians 15. There is but one gospel given by the Lord, the head of the church, which the church is to preach and to live and visibly to demonstrate in these sacred and holy ordinances. The essential difference between the gospel preached and the gospel displayed in baptism in the Lord's Supper.

1:53 Is not a difference of message. The difference between the gospel preached and the gospel displayed in baptism in the Lord's Supper is not a difference of message. But simply a difference in method in conveying the message. In the one the gospel of free grace is preached verbally. In the other the gospel of free

2:05 grace is preached symbolically in the object lessons of the ordinances. And whenever we divorce those two things from that pivotal principle, then we cannot help but move into delusion, into sacramentalism and into all kinds of grievous errors. Therefore, it is essential to come back again and again to understand what these visible symbols proclaim to the people of God and what God proclaims to his people in those visible symbols. Having considered then first Corinthians 11, 17-34 and five of the leading principles relative

2:47 to the subject of the Lord's Supper, I would direct your attention this morning to Matthew chapter 28. Chapter 28. as we begin our discussion of the ordinance of baptism. Now, if some of you right now are tempted to say, Oh, nuts, I thought I was going to come and be fed and edified by hearing some great precious truth of the Word of God, may I remind you that these are gospel ordinances, and you're going to get the gospel this morning.

3:16 You're going to get some of those choice viands, as our friend Pastor Blaise would say, those choice delicacies, because you cannot treat the ordinances and not treat the gospel. And if you hear anyone preaching on baptism of the Lord's Supper in such a way that they are not preaching the gospel in their preaching on them, they're not preaching them biblically. And always make that a standard by which to evaluate the biblicalness, the accuracy of any preachment on these ordinances. I direct your attention now to Matthew chapter 28, verses 16 through 22.

The Great Commission: Mandate to Make Disciples

3:53 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, or more literally translated, going, or even more literally yet, if you bring in the tense of the verb in the original, having gone, therefore, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

4:34 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you, and lo, I am with you all way, even unto the end of the world or unto the consummation of the age. Now it is obvious that the main thrust of this passage is found in the one imperative, the imperative verb. The verb translated in our American standard, make disciples, in the King James or authorized versions, teach all nations. This is the great thrust of the passage, the mandate of the risen Lord, given to the apostles and probably to the five hundred,

5:14 and therefore merging into the abiding responsibility of the church, to make disciples of all the nations. This was so. Something totally new to the thinking of these people. Up until now, the channel, the stream of grace, was by and large confined to the boundaries of national Israel.

5:37 But now our Lord is saying that His people are to be found amongst all the nations, the ethne, the word often translated the heathen, make disciples of all the heathen, those non-Jewish nations. Shut off from the audience, the oracles of God. Shut off from the mainstream of the salvation of God. Make disciples of all the nations.

6:01 And if it were my purpose to expound the passage as it stands, I would have to then give proportionate weight to this main verb, which is the backbone of the entire passage. However, it is not my passage to expound the passage according to its own inherent weight and emphasis, but rather, since backbone, baptizing, is inseparably joined to the fulfillment of this mandate, make disciples of all the nations, we are going to approach the passage asking the question, what does it tell us about the subject of baptism? And I don't want anyone to go out saying, how in the world could a man see a passage

6:43 that is predominant with missionary emphasis and end up preaching baptism on the passage? Well, I hope I've answered that question for you. All right? As we go through the passage, we shall cover, God willing, two points this morning, and then two points in the next message.

Outline of the Sermon: Why, Who, What, How Long

6:59 We shall consider, first of all, the supreme authority which undergirds the act of baptizing, or, more simply stated, why should we baptize? The second thing we shall consider is the indispensable attendance of baptism, or, more simply stated, who should be baptized? Then, in the subsequent message, the third point, the essential significance of baptism, or, more simply stated in the question, what is its meaning? And then, fourthly, the immutable permanence of baptism, or, how long should people baptize within the framework of this commission?

Why Baptize? The Supreme Authority of Christ

7:37 And in giving you those four things, we are simply extracting from this passage the principles contained therein. First of all, then, the supreme authority which undergirds the act of baptism, or, the question, why baptize? Now, as we come to this particular issue, I hope we are all agreed upon two undeniable facts. Fact number one is this, that in the conferral of grace and salvation, the Bible clearly teaches that the sinner and the Savior come into direct contact by faith alone.

8:17 I hope you're established in that truth. In the conferral of saving grace, the sinner and the Savior come into direct contact by faith alone. That is, we do not believe in priestcraft. We do not believe that the sinner must come through a sacred man in order to get to the Savior.

8:40 The Savior said, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He did not say, Come to my church. He did not say, Come to my ministers. Come to my priests.

8:52 Come to my holy men. He said, Come unto me. And in that sense, we are not sacerdotalists. We do not believe in priestcraft.

9:01 In the second place, we do not believe in the heresy of sacramentalism that says we must get to the Savior by means of the sacraments. He did not say, Come to the waters of baptism, all ye that labor and are heavy laden. He said, Come to me. He did not say, Come unto the bread, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.

9:20 He said, Come to me. So we are not sacerdotalists. We are not sacramentalists. We are evangelical Christians who believe the truth of the word of God that the sinner comes into direct contact with the Savior by faith and faith alone.

9:38 To him that believeth and worketh not, by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Acts 10.43 By him that believeth, they are justified.

9:56 I am sorry, that is Acts chapter 13 and verse 38. Acts 10.43 speaks of those who by faith find the remission of their sins. Now if you are here this morning and you are not established in that truth, please do not think that because our subject is baptism that we are attaching to baptism some saving merit.

10:17 My friend, listen to me. If you are ever to be saved, you will be saved because you come into direct spiritual contact with Jesus Christ and Christ alone. And the only way you will come into that contact is by laying hold of Him by faith alone, saying from the heart, Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. I hope we are established in that principle.

10:47 The second fact that I hope we are established in is a historical fact. It is the fact that this matter of baptism has been the occasion of much confusion, much delusion, and much grievous controversy in the history of the Church. If we could take all the people who have been deluded by a false doctrine of baptism, all the people who have been persecuted for holding a true doctrine of baptism, if we could take all the hours that were spent in writing books defending views of baptism, we would have a tremendous collection of people of hours and of pages. I think it is accurate to say if all the energies poured into

11:30 polemical books, that is, disputing books on mode and form and subjects of baptism, if all those hours could be invested in prayer and in the advance of the Kingdom of Christ, a new day would have dawned upon the Church long ago. Now, why am I stating these two facts? Fact number one, that in the Gospel, the sinner and the Savior come into direct contact, and in the history of the Church, baptism has been an occasion of such tremendous confusion, delusion, and controversy. Isn't it stupid even to waste 45 to 50 minutes this morning discussing an issue that has nothing to do with my being saved

12:14 and prepared for heaven? And that in the course of history has been such an occasion of the undoing of groups and movements and individuals? Why in the world should we be concerned with baptism? Since all the cleansing a sinner needs is in the blood of Christ and not in the waters of baptism, since all the grace he needs to get to heaven is in Christ and not in the water, since all the newness of life he'll ever have comes by the Spirit, why bother?

Christ's Authority Undergirds Baptism

12:45 Good question. And you know what my answer is? Because of the supreme authority of Jesus Christ, the head of the Church. Look at the passage, if you will.

12:58 Having gathered the eleven together and going up into a mountain, the Lord Jesus introduces his commission by directing attention to who he is and the position he occupies, so that everything that follows in command and direction must be seen in the context of who he is and the position which he occupies. He describes the position in these words, All authority hath been delivered unto me in the realm of heaven and in the realm of earth. All authority. That is, right to rule and to govern, for that's what authority is.

13:40 Jesus said it has been delivered unto me. Now we'll not go into the exegesis of when it was delivered, that in itself is a tremendously profitable study, but suffice it to say that the Lord Jesus Christ in his present position with reference to his Church stands in a relationship of supreme and unrivaled authority over his people. Granted, he is head over all things, Ephesians 1. He is the sovereign of the universe, of the animate and inanimate creation, but in a peculiar way he is the soteric, the saving, ruling, governing head of his people.

14:23 Ephesians chapter 5, Christ is the head of the Church. Therefore, wherever Jesus Christ is recognized amongst his people as the sovereign Lord, possessed of supreme authority over his people, the work of discipling can never be divorced from the act of baptizing. If you meet a group of people who profess to be Christians and they are not attempting to make disciples of all the nations, they are rejecting the Lordship of Christ over them. As the one invested with supreme authority he commands us, make disciples of all the nations.

15:06 Someone says, why bother the heathen? They're comfortable in their religion. It's not a matter of whether they're comfortable. Why go to them?

15:13 They don't want you. It's not a matter of whether or not they want us. The issue is this. King Jesus says, make disciples of the nations.

15:22 And as long as there are nations undiscipled, we must go and make disciples. Why? Because he has supreme authority. And if that authority is recognized in the going, it will also be recognized in the baptizing and in the teaching.

Obedience to Christ's Authority in Baptism

15:39 And there is no genuine recognition of his authority in the going if there is indifference to his authority in the baptizing and in the teaching of the whole council of God. Therefore, we are concerned with baptism because of the supreme authority which undergirds the act of baptizing the authority of the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. And may I bear personal testimony to what a thrilling personal experience it is every time I stand in the baptismal waters, the sense that I stand not because the stream of ecclesiastical tradition has led me thus to stand,

16:23 not because the pressure of a church constitution directs me thus to stand, but because my sovereign Lord commands me thus to stand and to baptize those who have been made disciples. And this is why you see, we cannot be indifferent to the whole issue of the proper subjects of baptism. Someone says, with all the books written for and against baptizing infants, for and against immersion or sprinkling, who in the world are you to think you're going to resolve these? Forget the whole issue.

16:57 No, no, we cannot. Why? Because when Jesus said, make disciples and baptize them, he includes both proper subjects and mold. For the word baptism meant something to the ears of his disciples.

17:11 Contemporary hearers. And when he said, make disciples and baptize them, the pronoun must be understood according to our Lord's intention. So you see, it is not some kind of remaining corruption that causes men to be concerned about these issues. With some it may be that.

17:31 You've got some people who just like to go around and fuss about something. They've got a quirk in their personality. They've got an area of uncrucified carnality that they'll find something to argue with with some saint up in heaven if it were possible. Thank God the Lord will purge that out of their system before they get there.

17:49 And granted, some people enter into controversy in this matter because of a foul quirk in their personality. But please do not attribute that foul quirk to everyone who enters into these things. For I stand here, my conscience bearing witness in the Holy Ghost, that the reason I attempt to expound this passage is because Jesus Christ, is the professed head of this body of His people. And we are bound by this commission to make disciples and to baptize.

18:18 And I remind you how God regards partial obedience. Remember in the Old Testament, Samuel said to Saul, the word of the Lord Saul is this, take the Amalekites and slay them. Big shots, little shots, beasts, everybody, men, women, children, slay the whole shebang. Remember what Saul did?

18:40 He slew all but King Ahag and the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen. And the next day when Samuel comes out to meet him, Saul, mouthing pious words, says, blessed be thou of the Lord, I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And you remember Samuel's answer? What meaneth then the bleating of the sheep in mine ears?

19:00 And then he went on to tell him, because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath rejected thee from being king, for obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. You see, his partial obedience was regarded as total disobedience. What God said to Saul was this, if you killed one Amalekite because your heart was subject to my authority, you would have proven that subjection by killing all of them. And if we baptize because we are submissive to Christ, not church tradition, not what theologians tell us, not what the creeds force upon us,

19:44 but out of loving submission to our gracious Lord, our loving submission will be shown in our effort to be obedient at every point of the baptismal ordinance. We will not arbitrarily say, oh, proper subject is a matter of indifference, mode is a matter of indifference. Who are we to say that if the head of the church has given a revelation of his mind in holy scripture, therefore the body of professed disciples who love him, the word of God comes to them saying, if you love me, keep my commandments. And as long as the Lord Jesus has a people on earth who love him, who are subject to him, baptism will be with us,

20:27 and the deeper our love to him grows, the more we shall desire that this gospel ordinance will be found in the strictest conformity to his revealed will in the word of God. All right, so much then for our first point this morning. What is the supreme authority undergirding the act of baptism? It is the authority of the exalted Christ.

Who Should Be Baptized? The Indispensable Attendants

20:52 All authority hath been given unto me. Now, in the second place, the indispensable attendance. I wanted to use the word concomitance, and I was even working up a little definition for you kids, because it sounds better. It says it more accurately, but I've said no to my aesthetic sensitivity.

21:10 To my aesthetic sensitivity to concomitance, though I've sneaked it in. And the second point is the indispensable attendance of baptism, or who should be baptized. Now look at the text, and I'm going to give you a little grammar lesson this morning, because it's necessary to understand its meaning. Jesus said, going therefore, it's a participle.

21:32 It's not an imperative verb as the make disciples is, though you'd think that from the English translation. Having gone, it's an aorist participle. Having gone, and here's the verb, make disciples of all the nations. It's the word for disciple put in a verb form, and it simply means to make a disciple.

21:52 It's used in Matthew 13, 52 about the scribe who is made a disciple of the kingdom of heaven. It speaks in Matthew 27, 57 about Joseph of Arimathea who had been made a disciple. Acts 14, 21, the apostles made many disciples. Now that's the main verb.

22:10 Make disciples. Then it's followed by two participles, baptizing and teaching, both in the same verb form. And then it has two pronouns. Look at it.

22:23 Baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them. So you have a main verb, make disciples. Two participles, baptizing, teaching, two pronouns, plural pronouns, them and them. Now along comes the sacramentalist and he says, Aha!

22:43 You see what the text obviously teaches? We're to make disciples of all the nations. And you know how you make disciples? You baptize them and then you teach them.

22:52 So you make disciples by baptizing and by teaching. Very simple. And though this may be warranted grammatically, there is a great problem. And the problem is with the little pronoun them.

23:05 Look at it. Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them. And here's where our English language is impoverished. As in French and I believe in Spanish as well, your pronouns must agree with your nouns in gender.

23:20 And you have masculine, feminine and neuter. Well, in the Greek, the nations is a neuter noun. Make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them, that is a masculine, plural pronoun. Now to what noun does it answer?

23:39 It can't answer to the nations. So you don't make disciples of the nations by baptizing the nations, going in and indiscriminately baptizing. No, no. It refers to the assumed noun disciple.

23:52 Make disciples of all the nations and having made disciples, that is a masculine noun in the Greek, baptize them, those who have been made disciples and teach them, those who have been baptized because they have been made disciples. Make disciples and teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. So do you see the two indispensable attendants or concomitants of baptism according to our Lord's commission? What are they?

24:26 Discipleship on this side preceding and teaching the whole counsel of God on this side following. And whenever baptism is administered without those two attendants, it is administered contrary to the command of Jesus Christ the head of the church. If baptism's the bride, she's always found with her two attendants. Always.

24:59 Always. Make disciples baptizing and teaching. Now you ask the question, well, how do you make disciples? What does it mean to teach them?

Apostolic Practice: Acts as the Framework for Baptism

25:13 Well, this passage obviously doesn't answer it. So where do we go from here? Well, let's look for an answer. Well, we see how the apostles understood the command of their Lord and carried it out.

25:25 That's fair enough, isn't it? How did they understand the command? Well, let's look for the examples of their practice. And at this juncture let me say that Acts chapter 2 and the experience of the day of Pentecost forms the framework within which all of the subsequent baptismal passages fits or fit.

25:47 Subsequent. Subsequent ones fit. All right. Acts chapter 2.

25:51 Now I know it's warm and it's not the easiest day to think hard but gird up the loins of your mind and think with me. Will you? Peter is standing on the day of Pentecost to explain this unusual phenomena. Tongues rushing mighty wind.

26:09 Men hearing in their own language the mighty works of God. And he begins his sermon in verse 14. But Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice. Some of you get upset with some of us preachers who lift up our voices.

26:27 There's good precedent for this throughout the entire word of God. Cry aloud. Spare not. Show unto my people their sins.

26:35 Jesus stood in the temple and he cried saying. Peter lifted up his voice. He didn't mumble things. So the people stood there.

26:45 What in the world is he saying? He lifted up his voice. But he said it. All right.

26:51 Now what did he do? Well if you read through his sermon there were all the ingredients of true preaching. There was exposition of the scriptures. There was the discussion of the narrative of gospel facts.

27:03 Christ has been crucified. God has raised him up. There was a declaration of God as the sovereign controller of all things. The text Pastor Blaise began to open up last Lord's promises.

27:18 And then there was the entreaty to repentance and faith. All of the ingredients of true preaching. Historical narratives. Scriptural exposition.

27:27 Indictment of the conscience. Pronouncement. Promise. Command.

27:32 Exhortation. Concluding now with verse 40 and with many other words he testified and exhorted them saying save yourselves from this crooked generation. Now what's he trying to do in all this preaching? In a sense the nations have been gathered to Jerusalem.

27:50 For you remember Acts 2 begins with the statement verse 5 dwelling at Jerusalem devout men from every nation under heaven. On the day of Pentecost you have a specimen event. It's in microcosm what the gospel will do throughout the entire gospel age. Men gathered from every nation.

28:08 Peter under the commission of Christ to make disciples of all the nations to baptize and to teach them. Now notice the careful wording of Luke beginning with verse 41. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls and they continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and the prayers. Now notice these ingredients carefully delineated by Luke.

Examples of Apostolic Baptismal Practice

28:48 There was first of all a certain group who gladly received the message filled with narrative exposition exhortation indictment promise and command and exhortation they gladly received the word. And what's that a description of? That's a description of how a man becomes a disciple. He embraces the word of salvation in faith.

29:17 With a view to obedience. That's how a man is made a disciple. He hears the call of Christ through the word of Christ and he embraces the Christ thus set forth in the word. Now a certain group gladly received the message.

29:36 Now second fact is this group and no other was baptized. Notice then they that received his word were baptized. All who embraced that word in faith were baptized. Any who did not embrace the word in faith were not baptized.

29:56 And for any to say well it's inclusive but not exclusive that's like saying all who had black hair came to the meeting. But that says nothing about people who have white hair or brown hair. Yes it does. Those that received the word were baptized and then subsequent the third fact this group came to the existing group of the hundred and twenty and was subjected to apostolic instruction and the total life and ministry of the church at Jerusalem they began to teach them all things that Christ had commanded them.

30:32 And in Acts chapter two you have a beautiful framework demonstrating the apostolic obedience to the apostolic commission. And I suggest to you that every passage in the book of the Acts of baptism fits into this general framework. Let me give you just several examples very quickly. Turn please to Acts chapter eight.

30:59 Acts chapter eight Philip is preaching at Samaria and we read in verse twelve but when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized both men and women. Now what does that tell us? Who were baptized those who had heard the preaching of the good tidings concerning the kingdom of God and Jesus Christ? But not only those that heard it but it says those who had

31:44 believed it and they embraced it. They were made disciples and who were they? It says they were men and they were women. That is inclusive but it's also exclusive.

31:56 If someone asks the question no it says men and women. Men and women indiscriminately no. Men and women who had heard and received the word. Here is the clear teaching fitting the framework of Matthew twenty eight.

32:12 There is baptism with her two attendants reception of the word and then being gathered together into a people of God and the subsequent history reveals that they were gathered together for the apostles came down to them in the things of God. Turn to Acts eight thirty four to thirty nine. You have the instance of Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch and the eunuch answered Philip verse thirty four I pray thee reading from Isaiah fifty three the scriptures before him who is the prophet talking about himself or some other and Philip opened his mouth and beginning from the scripture preached unto him Jesus and as they went on the way they came unto a certain water and the eunuch

32:56 was baptized and he commanded the chariot to stand still and they both went down into the water both Philip and the eunuch and he baptized him. What do you have the word is preached the word is received baptism is administered. You have the same thing in Acts chapter ten verses forty four to forty eight with the household of Cornelius when the Holy Ghost falls upon them Peter says who can forbid water that these should be baptized who have received the same thing with Lydia in Acts chapter sixteen you have it with the Philippian jailer in Acts sixteen twenty nine to thirty four you have it in the case of the Corinthians Acts eighteen five to eight and verse eleven. Now I'm not just

33:41 spouting passages carelessly if you're not convinced that this is the apostolic framework I challenge you to study every incidents take your concordance look up the word baptism baptized and see if it does not fit the framework of the passage before us. Baptism was always a sign of regeneration in faith already existing or it was a hypocritical profession of these things where a man did not have them as in the case of Simon the Sorcerer. Now in the light of this biblical teaching that the two attendance of baptism are reception of the word and subjection to instruction what conclusions are warranted and in the time remaining I want to give you three very vital conclusions. The first is that baptism is a

Conclusion 1: Baptism Requires Pure Gospel Preaching

34:26 worshipive practice. Whichpoint number 1? All administration of baptism where there is the absence of pure gospel preaching turns baptism into a religious superstitious institution. All administration of baptism where there is the absence of pure gospel preaching turns baptism into a mere religious superstitious institution or act.

34:54 Every instance in the Bible the rapture the converts In the Book of Acts, according to the commission of our Lord, baptism follows the making of disciples, not by magical incantations of the hocus-pocus of the official manipulator called the priest or the prophet or some other thing, but the reception of the word followed the clear proclamation of gospel truth.

35:22 Now, this tells us that the so-called baptisms that go on in liberal churches, whether by sprinkling or immersion, the baptisms of the Roman church, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, are no more Christian baptism than my jumping in the pool in your backyard to have a dip is baptism. And we need to be clear about this, dear people. Baptism is Christian baptism only if she has her bridesmaids.

35:52 Make disciples. Baptizing. And the only way disciples are made is by the preaching of the apostolic gospel. Take away that gospel.

36:00 I don't care how much water or how little water and on whom. It's nothing but a superstitious religious hocus-pocus.

36:10 Now, can I state it any more bluntly?

36:15 Baptism says in sign language only what has been spoken in the verbal proclamation of the gospel. The gospel of the grace of God says to sinners, look, you're foul. You're unclean. You're polluted.

36:30 You can never enter heaven unless you're cleansed by the blood of Christ. Baptism says as the water cleanses the body, so the blood of Christ has cleansed the soul. The gospel of grace is that cleansing is the work of God. Baptism visibly demonstrates it in the cleansing of the water.

36:53 The gospel says that you must be joined to Christ. You must enter into the virtue of his death so that his death for sin becomes your death. His death to sin becomes yours. You must have newness of life for him.

37:07 That's the message of the gospel. The message of baptism is as we are planted together in the likeness of his death, so shall we also be with him in the likeness of his resurrection. Christ being dead, dieth no more. Being raised, dieth no more.

37:21 Even so, we should walk in newness of life. That's the gospel. The gospel of cleansing. The gospel of new life.

37:29 And where that gospel is not preached as the undergirding interpretation of baptism, baptism is no longer Christian baptism. That's why Paul could say as he does in 1 Corinthians 1, 13-17, Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Now, he didn't mean that absolutely. It's a figure of speech.

37:50 Maybe I come over to your house for a meal, but my real intention is to talk to you about your soul. And after the meal, I say, look, my friend, I didn't come over. I didn't come over to your house to eat a meal. I came to deal with you about eternal issues.

38:00 I'm using a figure of speech we use all the time. What Paul is saying is that the gospel takes so much precedence over baptism that if the gospel is not understood, baptism is nullified.

Conclusion 2: Baptism Requires Discipleship

38:14 And so the first principle we see coming out of our Lord's commission, the two attendants of baptism making disciples by the proclamation of the gospel and by the instruction unto a life of godliness, we understand that wherever the people, the pure gospel is jettisoned, Christian baptism no longer remains, and in its place is a mere superstitious religious rite. Secondly, the second conclusion warranted is this. All administration of this ordinance, where there is no discipleship through reception of the word preached, is a violation of Christ's commission. All administration of this ordinance, where there is no discipleship through reception of the word preached,

38:59 is a violation of the word preached. In some circles, when one becomes a certain age and can answer the right questions, baptism follows. There is no question of the individual. Have you become a disciple of Jesus Christ?

39:14 Has God effectually called you out of darkness into light? In others, and I speak kindly now, godly men and women bring their children to a baptismal font to pledge themselves to godly nurture and to present the child to God, and though this is done sincerely and with great earnestness, we must ask the question, does this act called baptism fit the framework of the commission of Jesus Christ?

39:44 That's the question we must ask. The question is not, are Mr. and Mrs. Jones sincere when they bring little Johnny to a baptismal fountain, say in all earnestness, as in the presence of an all-seeing God, O God, we pledge ourselves to rear this child to your glory, and we plead that your grace, may be conferred, and in due time this child may be saved, and when the water is applied upon the forehead in the name of the triune God, they are utterly sincere.

40:11 Many godly people have done that in absolute sincerity. But my friend, my question is this, is what happens at that baptismal font when parents take a pledge of godly instruction and consciously and publicly dedicate their children to God, is that what is in the commission of Jesus?

40:32 Make disciples, baptizing them. Is that parent prepared to say that child is a disciple? That he has heard and received the word? No, the parent says, it is an ordinance in which we pledge ourselves to so rear him that in time he may become a disciple.

40:51 It is an ordinance in which we embrace God's promises that he shall make them disciples. Granted. But does that fit the commission? Now if you're here as a pedo-baptist this morning, don't get angry with me.

41:05 Answer my question. Answer my question. Does that fit the commission of Jesus?

41:14 Does he say, present your children in the hope and prayer that they shall become disciples and baptize them? No. He says, having made disciples, baptize them.

41:27 Now of course, I'm not even saying anything about those godless parent strangers to the gospel who get their kids done because they're superstitious pagans, and they're not even going to waste my breath talking with that. But I do speak to some of you listening now and some of you who will listen subsequently as these messages go out on tape. I ask you to ask yourself, honestly in the light of Matthew 28, does what you do when you bring your children to a baptismal font fit the commission of Jesus? Ah, but one well-instructed pedo-baptist says to me, Pastor Martin, don't you realize that that commission was only for the initial missionary advance of the church.

42:08 That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case.

42:08 That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case.

42:08 That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case.

42:09 That's not the case. That's not the case. That's not the case. We'll deal with that in point four.

42:14 I don't say that to be funny. We'll deal with that in point four. The perpetuity of this command, I am with you to the consummation of the age among all the nations. To limit that just amongst pagan nations who are then somewhat Christianized is to fly in the face of the whole passage.

42:33 Jesus gave the commission envisioning the triumph of the gospel in all the nations to the end of the age. This commission, binds the church at every stage of her history. Every stage. So the second conclusion is warranted.

Conclusion 3: Discipleship Requires Baptism

42:48 All administration of the ordinance where there's no discipleship through the reception of the word is a violation of the commission. And then thirdly, and with this I close this morning, all professed reception of the word unto discipleship that is not followed by baptism is a failure to comply with the directives of this commission. Just as it's certain that baptism is never found without its attendants discipling and teaching, so the attendants are not to be found without baptism. You're not to have the bridesmaid without the bride.

43:24 Not to have the bride without the bridesmaid. But you're not to have the bridesmaids without the bride. Notice the commission. Make disciples by preaching the word, pleading that they will come to repentance and faith and wherever you believe God has blessed your labors to the making of your heart, Speaking of a disciple, you are to baptize them.

43:46 It's not to leave it to their option as to whether they would like to be baptized. Hence, Peter says in Acts chapter 10, He commanded them to be baptized. They are to be instructed that baptism is not optional. Ah, but someone says, Since I've come into direct contact with the Son of God and His salvation through the work of the Spirit with the Word, why bother?

44:09 Since there's no residue of grace in the baptismal waters, yet awaiting me? The answer is because the one you now profess to love, trust, and know commands that you be baptized. If anyone could be exempt from baptism, it'd be a man who got converted like Saul of Tarsus did. Voice from heaven, a light brighter than the noonday sun, and yet God sends a humble disciple to him who says, Arise, why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized.

44:38 And so I say to you who object, Well, since there's no... There's no saving merit, and why should I bother?

44:45 Do you say you love the Lord Jesus? That you've come into direct saving contact with His grace? Then prove your love by obedience. But someone else objects, Ah, but Mr. Martin, I was baptized as an infant.

44:57 Must I now be rebaptized? My question to you is this. Whatever was done to you as an infant, was that the baptism of this commission in Matthew 28? Whatever was done, no matter how sincere...

45:10 Was it the baptism of this commission? Were you a disciple, a learner, a person attached to Jesus Christ in faith, love, and obedience? You say, No, sir. My subsequent history proved I was nothing but a fallen son or daughter of Adam.

45:24 And if you don't believe me, ask my mom and dad. All right? If you were no disciple when water was placed upon your head or as in the Greek Orthodox Church, you were immersed up to your neck, for they do that with infants in the Greek Orthodox Church to this day. Because to the Greek mind, you could no more say, I baptize thee and just sprinkle, than you could say, I fly and lay down in the dirt.

45:45 That's why in the Greek Orthodox Church to this day, they immerse even their infants.

45:50 Yes, they do. Because to the Greek mind, it's incongruous to say, I baptize thee and then put a few water. They have words for sprinkle. You have words for mere washing.

46:00 They don't say, I rantize you. I sprinkle. I baptize. Baptizo.

46:05 But that's another subject. We'll come to that subsequently. But you see the issue, those of you who've been baptized, quote, as infants? Whatever that was, this does not mean that you're saying your parents were hypocrites, they were insincere.

46:18 All you're saying is the thing that would make your parents, if they are Christians and still living, or if they're in heaven now, it'd only make them rejoice. What you're saying is this. Mom and Dad, you presented me to God in what you thought was a biblical ordinance. And you pledged yourself to pray for my salvation, that I would become an obedient disciple of Christ.

46:38 And Mom and Dad, God has answered your prayer. And He's answered even to the point where I see now that what He requires, is that I be baptized as a disciple and thereby confess my union with Christ. And Mom and Dad, I love the Savior so much that I'm willing even to go against the family tradition. Now, if Mom and Dad are true Christians, how will they react to an expression of your love to Jesus Christ?

47:02 Will they get mad at you? If they're true Christians, they'll rejoice. Now, they may have to say, as Spurgeon's mother did. You remember the incident when Spurgeon wrote to his mother, or his mother wrote to him after he had become a Baptist by his study of the Word of God?

47:15 He was not a Baptist in his background. And his mother said, Now, Charles, I prayed that God would save thee, but I never prayed that He would make thee a Baptist.

47:26 To which Spurgeon answered with his characteristic wit, Ah, but Mother, you were praying to the God who does exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think.

47:38 And so I say tenderly, knowing how deep are the ties that sometimes bind parents who believe that it is a scriptural ordinance to have their children sprinkled. And I don't throw stones. There have been too many godly people. Let's never talk smart about such people.

47:54 Too many godly saints. But, oh, beloved, call no man master. Be he John Calvin, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards. These men were wrong at this point.

48:03 They erred. And they changed baptism into something else with reference to children. And many of them as much as admitted this, that the baptism of the child is some other baptism, but the Bible says there is but one baptism. And it is the baptism of the commission of Jesus Christ.

48:19 And so forever, any who would say, must I be re-baptized? I say, if what you are talking about is the water applied upon your forehead as an infant, that was not Christian baptism. It's not a matter of being re-baptized. It's a matter of being truly baptized.

48:34 That's all. So I answer your question with a question. Is it right for you to obey Jesus Christ? You ask me, must I be re-baptized?

48:42 My question is, is it right for you to obey Jesus Christ according to your present life? And if He's brought you here this morning and given you, and given you light on the subject, why has He given you light? That you might walk in that light as He is in the light. And in the path of obedience is the path of blessing.

Summary and Call to Obedience

49:00 And so I leave you with these two points now this morning from Matthew 28. What is the supreme authority undergirding the whole matter of baptism? It is the authority of an enthroned and an exalted Christ. Second principle, what are the inseparable attendants of baptism?

49:18 The making of disciples, and the teaching of the disciples. Therefore, all baptizing divorced from pure preaching of the gospel turns it into superstition. All baptizing that is done while someone is not a disciple through faith in Christ and the word preached and able to be submissive to the apostolic teaching is baptism falling outside the framework of this commission. And all who say they have embraced the word and are disciples, who are not baptized biblically, are living in disobedience to the will of the Lord Jesus.

49:56 May God grant that He will bless to our hearts the truth and that perhaps some of you here who have never embraced the gospel, you've heard enough gospel this morning, and the gospel we preach is the same gospel that's preached from the baptismal waters. It's in union with Christ that we are forgiven. It's in union with Christ that we are cleansed. It's in union with Christ that we rise, rise to newness of life.

50:21 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved and being saved. Be baptized. Join yourself to His people and learn whatsoever He has commanded that you might walk in obedience to Him. Let us pray.