Universal Setting

The Importance of Studying Baptism

0:05 As we anticipated the coming of this Lord's Day, it was to be a Lord's Day in which we would have the benefit not only of the preached word morning and evening, but also of the two visible words that Christ has left as a legacy to his church, namely the ordinance of baptism and the Lord's Supper. In the light of the continuance of the reign, I think it the part of wisdom to say that we shall put off the baptism till next Sunday morning after the morning service, and perhaps in the kind providence of God the Lord has so ordered the weather that for whatever other reasons are locked up in his own wisdom, perhaps the instruction of today will better fit us to appreciate the activities of the next Lord's Day. Because in the light of this day, the day in which we anticipated the ministry of the word, both in its preached form and in its symbolic form, in baptism and in the Lord's Supper, I was constrained to come with what I trust is a fresh approach to the subject, particularly of baptism. I checked with Roger, who keeps dates on all the things that are preached, and it's been almost exactly two years since I addressed myself to this issue in any extensive way, and though I have no desire to magnify any biblical truth out of due proportion, I do believe that,

1:33 with two years having lapsed since there was any formal instruction on the ordinance of baptism, and since we have so many new people amongst us, it would be in the interest of God's truth and our edification if I were to address myself to the subject of baptism. And though we would never elevate baptism to the place that we give to such truths as the glory of Christ as God and man, the wonder of his son, I can introduce the subject perhaps in no better way than to quote from Thornwell, the great southern theologian, who, when debating about the subject of church government, said some things that are very appropriate to the subject of baptism. He said, While we admit that questions of government, and I add of baptism, are subordinate in importance to questions of faith, mere trifles compared with the great truths of the gospel as a plan of salvation, it does not follow that these things are of no value. Whatever God has thought proper to reveal, it becomes man to study. Whatever God has thought proper to reveal, it becomes man to study.

2:55 Everything in its place is a just maxim or rule, but it by no means implies that comparatively small things are entitled to no place. Because church government, and I add baptism, is not the great thing, it does not follow that it is nothing. We are as far removed, and then you kids, he uses a 50 cent word. We are as, with inflation, it's probably a dollar word now.

3:25 We are as far removed from latitudinarianism as from bigotry, and latitudinarianism is just a fancy word for someone, who has very few convictions about anything. Just believe what you want. He says we are as far removed from that as we are from bigotry, and bigotry is saying if you don't agree with me on every point in detail, I'll hold no fellowship with you. And Mr. Thornwell says we would steer clear of these two evils, latitudinarianism and bigotry. We wish to study the whole will of God, and we wish to give everything precisely that prominence, which God has given us, but we do not want to. And we wish to study the whole will of God, and we wish to give everything precisely that prominence, which God will not give to us. God designs that it should occupy in His own divine plan.

4:08 None should be content with striving simply to save their souls. They should strive to be perfect in all the will of God. Isn't that a classical statement? Why are we concerned then to study the subject of Christian baptism?

4:26 Is it that we would elevate baptism to the level of such cardinal doctrines as the nature of Christ's person? His salvation? Of course not. But we would study this doctrine because it is a doctrine revealed and we would be complete in all the will of God.

Baptism as a Visible Word of the Gospel

4:46 Now immediately it could be that some of you react in this way in your minds. Oh, I'm so disappointed. I came this morning expecting I should hear from the preacher something that would give me a new sight of my Savior. And all I'm going to hear about is, water, water, and more water.

5:06 I have water without on a rainy day and now water within as the preacher is going to expound on baptism. May I say, if you've even had a whisper of a thought in that direction, you reflect both an ignorance of the nature of gospel ordinances and probably a prejudice that has been built up because of improper teaching on the subject. For you see, the visible ordinances of the gospel, are simply the gospel presented to the other senses as the preached word is presented to the ear. It is no different gospel in baptism or in the Lord's Supper.

5:46 It is simply presented to different senses. The gospel of Christ preached comes to the ear. It comes to the sense of sound. But the gospel of Christ preached in baptism and in the Lord's Supper comes to our sight and to our touch.

6:03 As well. And so I do trust that you'll not be disappointed, but that in the proclamation of God's truth concerning this ordinance, there will indeed be a new and satisfying sight of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and a fresh understanding or at least a fresh enforcement of the grand truths that pertain to His glorious salvation. When I dealt with the subject, two years ago, I limited myself primarily to a text of scripture, Matthew 28, 19 and 20. And I wish to come at the subject this morning in a much broader way, in a more topical form that will take us to many portions of the word of God. And what I will attempt to do this morning is to set forth some aspects of the word of God under the general heading the universal setting of baptism and then, God willing, tonight, the undeniable, purpose or significance of baptism. So this morning, our main concern is simply to ascertain from the scriptures the universal setting of baptism and derive several implications from the teaching of the word of God. Now when we turn to the New Testament, concerned with such questions as why should we baptize?

The Universal Setting of Baptism: Preaching and Response to the Gospel

7:31 What is the significance? Who should be baptized? How should people be baptized? I would suggest that it is most helpful to begin by noting that the Holy Spirit in a very careful way has given to us many instances of baptism and though there are great diversities in the descriptions of the baptismal situations in the New Testament, there is at least one fundamental common denominator to every single instance of baptism with but one exception and we shall see the wisdom of God in that exception.

8:15 When we turn to the book of Acts, we find the record of the baptisms of multitudes. Acts chapter two, the baptisms of individuals. Acts eight and Acts 16, the baptism of households, the baptism of convertibles, converted Jews, of pagans, of proselytes, of men and of women. But in the midst of all this diversity, there is a universal setting to every single instance of baptism recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, with, I say, but one exception. And that universal setting is, I shall state it, and then he who asserts must prove, I shall then attempt to prove, here is the statement that I make, an assertion, that baptism is always inseparably joined to the preaching of and response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are eleven instances in the book of Acts in which we have the record of certain people being baptized.

9:26 Two of those are of the same baptism of the same person, and they form the exception. Namely, the Apostle Paul, and we'll see why. But in each of the other instances, nine, or if we split up the one in Acts 8 into two, it would be ten instances. In every instance, the act of baptizing is inseparably joined to the preaching of and response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, I've asserted, I shall attempt to prove.

10:01 In the commission of our Lord Jesus Christ, there is a very clear directive concerning the activity of the apostles as they seek to fulfill the commission of their Lord in making disciples of all the nations. I direct your attention to Luke chapter 24, beginning with verse 45. Speaking of our Lord in relationship to his disciples, then opened he their mind that they should understand the scriptures. And he said unto them, Thus it is written, that Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sin should be preached. Note the emphasis on preaching. Should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem, ye are witnesses of these things. Now, in this account of the commission, there is no mention made of baptism.

11:03 The focus is upon the content of the message which is to be preached among all the nations. They are to bear witness of these things, namely, Jesus Christ dying on behalf of sinners, being raised from the dead on behalf of sinners, and repentance and remission of sins being preached in connection with the name of Christ, that is, the revelation of God in the person and work of Jesus. Now, tie that together with Matthew 28. Verse 19, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and in earth, going therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe whatsoever things I have commanded you. Now, how are men made disciples? Well, according to this passage in Luke, men are made disciples, not by coercion, not by physical generation, not by external association, but in response to the preaching of the apostolic gospel. Bear witness to these things. Christ has suffered, Christ has been raised, repentance and remission

12:22 of sins preached in His name and in His name alone. These are the things that are to form the substance of the message with a view to making disciples. And the second part of the commission in Matthew 18, to baptize them, only comes into play when disciples have been made by the proclamation of the gospel, the preaching of this message. If we were to use Mark 16, you have a succinct statement of it there.

12:54 I share the view that this part of Mark is not in the original writing of Mark, but I'll quote it anyway. Mark 16, verse 18. For some who may share a contrary conviction, preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.

13:14 Indicating that baptism is integrally tied in with the preaching of the gospel. Now then, let us turn to the book of the Acts. Tighten your seatbelt. We're going to make a quick trip through the book of the Acts to demonstrate that the universal setting of baptism is the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Scriptural Proof from the Book of Acts (Instances 1-8)

13:33 Baptism is preaching of and response to the gospel. The first instance is Acts chapter 2. And we'll look at every instance recorded in the book of Acts. Acts chapter 2. We find people being baptized in verse 41. Then they that received his word were baptized. Now, what word was it? Some kind of a sacramental word.

14:04 A sacramental word that told them there was some mystical and powerful and magical power inherent in the waters? No, no. It was simply the word that proclaimed Jesus Christ. Verse 22.

14:17 Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you. And he proclaims unto them the Lord Jesus in those attestations of his uniqueness, his miracles. He concludes his sermon with this tremendous statement of the exaltation of Christ, constituted Lord and Christ in verse 36.

14:44 This is the thrust of his preaching. It's preaching of the apostolic gospel. Christ dead, Christ raised, Christ exalted, repentance and remission preached on the basis of the revelation of God in Christ. And in that context, and in that alone, they that received.

15:04 They that received this word were baptized. Now, what about the birds who sat on the limb of a tree and heard Peter preach? Well, they were not baptized because they had no capacity to receive the word. They that received the word were baptized.

15:19 What about some guy who was in the midst of all this crowd and while Peter was preaching, he was fascinated with the shape of Peter's beard. And all he was doing was analyzing how Peter trimmed his beard and he didn't hear the message. Was he baptized? No.

15:33 He could not receive the word that he did not hear. You see, this statement demonstrates that baptism was experienced only in the context of the preaching of and intelligent response to the gospel. Alright? The next instance of baptism, Acts chapter 8.

16:00 Philip goes down to preach in Samaria. And as he preaches, the Lord works mightily through him. Now, we read in verse 12 of Acts 8. But when they believed Philip preaching good tidings concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

16:28 And Simon also himself believed and being baptized, he continued with Philip. And beholding signs and great miracles wrought, he was amazed. This is the one. You may want to divide up into two and that will make the difference between nine and ten instances.

16:43 I like to consider them together because they are in that one situation. Now, could the scriptures be more plain? When they believed Philip preaching good tidings, it was the gospel preached. And in that context, there was this positive faith response to the gospel.

17:03 Then and only then did baptism occur. And it occurred only...

17:08 Only so far as that faith response was in evidence. Now, in the case of this man, Simon, it's evidently a spurious faith. But it was nonetheless an external faith response before there was baptism. Now, my assertion has been that the universal setting of baptism is the preaching of and response to the gospel.

17:35 We've brought our first two witnesses to the stand. Let's bring the third. Later on in the...

17:39 In the same chapter, we find baptism again. Verses 36 to 38. And as they went on the way, they came to a certain water. And the eunuch said, Behold, here is water.

17:53 What doth hinder me to be baptized? And verse 37 is not in the better manuscripts. There is not the good manuscript evidence for it. Most newer translations omit it.

18:04 So we move right to verse 38. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both...

18:09 Went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. Now, what is the setting? Look how different this is from the baptisms in Jerusalem. There was a multitude, 3,000, in the center of worship.

18:24 Here is an individual out in the midst of the desert. But you see, the setting is precisely the same. For we read back to verse 31. This man is reading a part of the manuscript of Isaiah.

18:36 And he says, I don't understand what I'm reading. And how can I? Except some man guide me. And he pleaded with Philip to come up and sit with him.

18:45 And what did Philip do? Verse 34. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself or of some other?

18:54 And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached unto him Jesus. Baptism was found in this exclusive setting again. The preaching of and response. To the gospel of Jesus Christ.

19:13 Now let's bring the fourth witness in Acts chapter 10.

19:18 The next recorded instance of baptism. Verse 48. And he, Peter, commanded them, the household of Cornelius, to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. He didn't say go home and pray about it and let the Lord lead you.

19:34 He commanded them. He commanded them. And apostolic commands are the commandment. He commanded them to be baptized.

19:46 Well, in what setting? Well, the setting is very obvious. A setting in which the Holy Spirit had already come upon them. Well, in what setting did the Holy Spirit come?

19:55 In the setting of gospel preaching. Verse 36. The word which he sent unto the children of Israel, preaching good tidings of peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. That saying ye yourselves know.

20:12 And he starts, preaching unto them Jesus, and he comes to his conclusion in verse 43, to him, bear all the prophets witness that through his name everyone that believeth on him shall receive remission of sins. It was the proclamation of the gospel outlined in Luke 24. Christ is died, Christ is risen, repentance and remission of sins, preached in his name, in that setting alone baptism occurred. And only so far as that setting, was present.

20:44 All right, let's bring witness number five. Chapter 16 of the book of Acts.

20:53 Now we read of the baptism of a woman and her household. Acts 16, 15. And when she, Lydia, was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye judge me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us.

21:11 Now in what setting did Paul baptize Lydia and her household? Well, it's the setting again of the proclamation of the word of God. Verse 14. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened to give heed unto the things that were spoken by Paul.

21:36 Well, what things was he talking about? He wasn't talking about the stock market. He wasn't talking about the condition of wages in the Roman army. He himself tells us in Acts 20, 21 that wherever he went, he had one message.

21:48 Repentance toward God in faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verse 24 of that chapter, testifying the gospel of the grace of God. So the baptism of Lydia and of her household occurred in the context of the preaching of and response to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now then we move on to the latter part of Acts 16.

22:13 You heard something from this passage back a few weeks ago. Here we find, we find again an individual in his household being baptized. Verse 33. And he, Paul, took, I'm sorry, the jailer, took them the same hour of the night, Paul and Silas, washed their stripes and was baptized, he and all his, immediately.

22:35 Now in what setting was the baptism carried out? Verses 31 and following. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house. That is, you believing will be saved, your household believing will be saved.

22:51 And he says, boy, if that's true, I better get my household out to hear the word. So we read in verse 32, and they spake the word of the Lord unto him with all that were in his house.

23:02 If he understood this to mean that he had some kind of covenant headship that would automatically include his children and everyone in his household and the blessings of the covenant, he would not have bothered to rouse them from sleep to hear the preaching of the word of God. They would be saved only so far as they heard the gospel and responded in faith to the gospel. And so the record says in that context, he and his household were baptized and then we see them in verse 34, he and his household rejoicing in God. Now let's bring witness number six, I'm sorry, witness number seven, Acts chapter 18.

23:42 I hope you don't find this worrisome, but we've got to start if we assert with the proof from the scriptures and we're looking at every recorded instance, we're not overlooking anything. We'll come to that one exception in a moment, Acts 9 and Acts 22. Now Acts 18 and verse 8.

24:01 And Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized. Now there is no explicit record of Paul preaching, but we know in the light of what is said of the rest of the Corinthians that the pattern for Crispus and his household was exactly the same. He is one example of the general principle. Many Corinthians hearing, hearing what?

24:37 Hearing the gospel, believed and in the context of hearing and responding in a faith response, the ordinance of baptism was administered. Verse 5. When Paul and Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. That was the message he preached and when they blasphemed, he then turned to the Gentiles.

25:07 And now Acts chapter 19.

25:11 Acts chapter 19.

25:16 This strange incident, and I'm not about to expound it, I simply want to demonstrate that it fits the pattern. Paul came to Ephesus, he found certain disciples and he asked them a question, did you receive the Spirit when you believed? They said, we didn't even hear whether the Spirit was given. And he said, into what then were he baptized?

25:36 And they said, into John's baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, they should believe on him that should come after him. That is, on Jesus.

25:51 And no doubt it's at this point that Paul opened up. This truth, Luke doesn't give us a detailed account of everything that is said, but it's on the heels of Paul's proclamation that Jesus was the object to whom John pointed. Then it says, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And so there is, I believe, sound warrant for asserting that the universal setting of baptism in every recorded instance in the book of the Acts, with the one exception to which we'll look in a moment, is the proclamation of and faith response to the gospel of Christ.

The Exception of Paul's Baptism and the Binding Nature of Apostolic Practice

26:34 Now the one exception is the Apostle Paul.

26:39 Now why is he an exception? The record of his baptism is found in Acts 9 and again in Acts 22. Well, for the simple reason that he himself gives us in Galatians chapter 1,

26:53 verses 11 and 12. For my make known unto you, brethren, as touching, the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man, for neither did I receive it from a man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul says God bypassed his normal method of bringing me to saving faith. My gospel did not come through a man, but by direct revelation.

27:24 Therefore, even the records of his baptism understood, or this principle.

27:31 Now he's the one exception. Because God had his hand upon him for the apostolate, and his dealings with him were entirely unique, never to be repeated. But in every other instance, the Holy Ghost is careful to record that the universal setting is preaching and response to preaching. Tremendous diversities.

27:53 Individuals, publicly, privately, one man in the middle of the night, someone else in the middle of the night, Today, you could have an interesting study to write out all the diversities in the baptismal settings. But the fundamental, common denominator is this universal setting, preaching, and response. Now, why has the Holy Ghost been careful to record this?

28:18 Because apostolic practice is binding upon the church of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14.37, The things which I say unto you are the commandments of the Lord. And we read in the New Testament about those who hold the traditions received of us.

28:38 We do not believe with Rome that there is an ongoing tradition. We believe in apostolic tradition. These who were the foundation stones of the church of Christ, according to Ephesians 2 and verse 20. And so we cannot, in a cavalier way, simply sweep all of this evidence aside and say, But that is of no significance.

28:58 But that is of no significance with reference to the doctrine of baptism. Well, if it isn't, why has the Holy Ghost gone to such pains to describe these eleven or ten instances of baptism? Why has he been careful to record that the universal setting was hearing and response in faith?

Implication 1: Baptism is Not a Magical or Mystical Ceremony

29:19 Well, I believe the implications are very, very profound and fundamental for establishing a biblical view of baptism. And baptism time this morning will permit only. The touching on perhaps two of the implications. Implication number one.

29:38 Baptism was not regarded by the apostolic church as being a magical or mystical ceremony with meaning or significance apart from the preaching of and response to the gospel.

29:56 Baptism was not regarded by the apostolic church as possessing any meaning or significance, I home. Apart from the preaching of and response to the gospel. Let me illustrate. You kids, you can follow this, I'm sure.

30:14 When you stand in school, I don't know if they even do that in school anymore, but we used to. We used to stand in school and put our hand over our heart and say every morning, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, One nation, and a little phrase. Under God...

30:34 God was inserted afterwards when God began to go out of everything, if he ever was there, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Now, that act of pledging allegiance to the flag, when does it have meaning? Suppose you stand out here in the middle of Runnymede Road and you look up at the nearest sparrow that flies by and say, I pledge it. You say, ridiculous.

30:55 The act of pledging allegiance to the flag only has meaning in the presence of what?

31:01 Huh? In the presence of what? Sure. You see, that act has meaning and significance only in conjunction with the flag.

31:12 And if someone's walking down the street just wanting to say words and says, I pledge allegiance to the flag, it's an entirely meaningless mumbo-jumbo of words. The moment you separate the pledge from the flag to which the pledge is given, you have stripped it of meaning and significance. Likewise, God is joined baptism with the preaching of and response to the act of pledging allegiance to the gospel, and the moment you take this away, whatever you have left is not Christian baptism.

31:44 It is a meaningless, empty, hollow, religious form.

31:52 That's why Paul could say in 1 Corinthians 1, 12 through 18, dealing with the subject of division at Corinth, he says, into whose name were you baptized, Paul or Apollos or Cephas? Of course not. He said, in fact, he says, outside of baptizing a couple of people. People, I don't know, oh yes, he said, by the way, I did baptize such and such a household.

32:11 Why? Now get the significance. Verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 1. Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect, for the preaching of the cross is the power of God unto salvation.

32:30 Now wait a minute, Paul. You tell me in Corinthians, Christ sent you not to baptize, and yet I read in Acts that you baptize. You were so concerned about baptism, you got the jailer in his household baptized in the middle of the night.

32:45 Are you speaking with forked tongue? No, no. He's using a figure of speech in Corinthians. It's called an absolute for the relative.

32:55 For instance, I come to your house, maybe to pass on a note or a bit of information someone wants me to convey to you, and I happen to drop in at lunchtime, and you ask me to stay for lunch. I say, look, I haven't come for lunch. I've come with a message. That doesn't mean I may not sit down and accept your offer.

33:12 I'm using a figure of speech. An absolute for the relative. My main purpose for coming was not to mooch a lunch off you. It was to convey a message.

33:20 But if you'll have me for lunch, I'm not against that. All right? That's exactly what Paul is saying in Corinth. To card the Corinthians, he says, Christ sent me not to baptize.

33:30 That is, my primary concern was not to administer an ordinance, but to proclaim the gospel apart from which the ordinance has no significance. Take away the gospel and whatever. What is left in what is called baptism is a mere nothing. It is a nehushtim.

33:49 Remember what they called the brazen serpent when they began to worship it? Called it nehushtim. It is a nothing.

33:58 Now, do you see how this implication zeroes in on every religious system and every religious institution that denies the gospel, that pollutes the gospel at its main sources? I'm going to further apply. I'm going to clarify by daring to state this morning that Romanism as a religious system in its official doctrine has no baptism. Now, that would shock a Romanist who may be here this morning, but my friend, don't get mad.

34:29 Just listen to me. Listen to me. Listen to me.

34:33 Rome, in her official teaching, denies every fundamental facet of the doctrine of salvation by grace. Rome does not deny the authority of the word of God in her creeds. She does not deny the doctrine of the Trinity as the Jehovah's Witnesses. She does not deny the deity of Christ.

34:50 She does not deny many of these cardinal doctrines. But she denies in her official teaching. There has never been a recantation of those frightening statements of the Council of Trent and the reiteration of sacramentalism in the recent encyclicals that came out of Vatican Councils, Vatican II and III and all the rest. I've read some of those things translated from the Latin into English.

35:16 And at this point... And at this point, of this vital question, what must a man do to have his sins forgiven, the Bible says he must believe in Christ alone.

35:28 Period. Full stop. Rome says no. Anathema upon anyone who so teaches.

35:35 Now what is the gospel if you take away the note that man is saved by grace through faith and not of works? Is it the gospel? Paul says in Galatians 1, it is no gospel. And where there is no gospel, there can be no gospel.

35:49 There can be no gospel. be no Christian baptism. Rome has no Christian baptism. She has a meaningless, magical, mysterious, superstitious religious ceremony. That's all she has. Liberalism has no baptism. I don't care whether they immerse, sprinkle, pour, or do all three. Liberalism denies the reality of human sin. Liberalism denies the supernaturalness of Jesus Christ. Liberalism denies the supernatural necessity of a true satisfaction for sin in the death of Jesus Christ. And my friend, if a man denies those things, he has no gospel. Therefore, he has no baptism. And therefore, in every liberal church, when water is placed upon the head of infants, in every liberal Baptist church or independent church where they immerse them, whatever they're doing, it is not Christian baptism. It has significance only in the context of the Word of God.

36:53 The Word of the Gospel, the Apostolic Gospel preached, and the Word of the Apostolic Gospel embraced. You want to read how God feels on ceremonies that even He Himself has instituted when they are detached from truth and from reality? You read Isaiah chapter 1. God had instituted the sacrificial system through Moses. God had instituted their special feast days. And you know what the Israelites did? They thought that in maintaining the sacrifices and the feast days, they would be able to do it. They thought that in maintaining the truth of God and the effects of truth upon their lives, God would be pleased. And you know what God says in Isaiah chapter 1? He says, it's a stench in my nostrils. He said, I cannot waive all of your sacrifices, the new moons, the feast days. God says, I'm sick of the whole thing. Now, what does God say when He sees in so-called Christian churches,

37:51 Romanism, liberalism, Russellism, that denies the divinity of Christ? And He sees people say, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. God says now, as He said to the prophet, away with it. It is a stench in my nostrils.

38:11 Sebastian Martin, why do you get so worked up about it? Because, my dear friends, listen. The sinful human heart of man is a superstitious heart that in its blatant denial of the gospel will cling to some silly religious form and pin its hopes for eternity. Upon that form, you've had to deal with enough people as I have whose confidence is in some mumbo-jumbo said over them, or some mysterious ceremony done to them.

38:43 You cannot help but be vexed and cry out against such wicked and pernicious error. That's the first implication. In the light of the universal setting of baptism, baptism was not regarded by the apostolic church as being a magical or mystical ceremony with meaning. There is no meaning or significance apart from the preaching of and response to the gospel.

Implication 2: Baptism Must Not Obscure or Contradict the Gospel

39:08 But now there's a second implication, and hang in with me closely now, will you please? And I'm convinced, not convinced, but I'm quite certain this is one reason why I've experienced such turmoil and opposition in my own spirit and even this morning in seeking to deliver my soul on this point because the devil, I believe, hates, he hates the clarification of the truth of God at this next point. Follow me closely. In the light of the universal setting of baptism, baptism was not regarded by the apostolic church as having any significance that would obscure or contradict any fundamental truth of the gospel.

39:51 Not only does it lose significance, it rents loose from the preaching of the gospel. Follow closely now. Because it was always joined with the preaching of the gospel, it indicates that it's not a sin. It's not a sin.

40:04 It's not a sin. But its significance in apostolic thought and practice was not such as to obscure or contradict any truth of the gospel.

40:15 Can we conceive of so absurd a situation in which the apostles would proclaim a gospel by lips and then obscure and contradict it in the visible word of baptism? What's the purpose of an illustration?

40:30 Ostensibly, the purpose of an illustration is to illustrate and make clear, not to blur and make obscure. Now, sometimes I may tell the illustrations, you sit there and scratch your head and say, that's a great illustration, but I don't see how it illustrates the point. I hope most of the time you say, oh, I see it. You see, the purpose of the illustration is to do precisely what the word says, to illustrate, to throw light upon, to illuminate the point in hand.

40:54 What's the purpose of an object lesson?

40:58 Well, the object lesson is to enforce a point that you're trying to convey with words and people aren't quite getting it, so what do you do? You use an object lesson to make it plain, right? All right, now, baptism is always found in what setting? Preaching the gospel.

41:12 What gospel? The gospel of Christ. What's that? The gospel that proclaims men are sinners.

41:18 God is holy. God has sent his son to die for sinners. God has raised him from the dead. God has seated him at his right hand.

41:26 In his name, he offers forgiveness to all who will throw themselves upon the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith. That's the gospel they preach. Now, can you imagine that? Engaging?

41:37 In an ordinance? In a ceremony that would obscure what they had just proclaimed?

41:43 Furthermore, can you imagine them engaging in something that would not only obscure, but actually misrepresent? Can you consider the Lord Jesus instituting something that would contradict, that would neutralize, that would dilute the gospel he said they are to preach? Is there anyone here who would dare assert that the Lord Jesus would do such a thing? I hope not.

42:09 Well, if so, then, it is right for us in studying the subject of baptism to ask the question, what does this supposed significance of baptism do to the cardinal points of the gospel? Does it obscure them? Does it deny them? Does it dilute them?

42:28 Or does it enforce them? There were times when we were working on this building, when we renovated it some six and a half years ago. There were times when we were working certain jobs in which you wanted to make a living. You wanted to make sure the nails were really fastened, and you'd take a nail that was longer than the board was wide.

42:47 And having driven the nail through, you'd then clinch it by bending it over on the other side, so the nail could not pull out. That's what baptism is. The nail of the truth of the gospel is driven into men's hearts by preaching and by the power of the Spirit. Baptism comes along and bends the nail over.

43:04 It doesn't drive the nail back out and extract it. It just bends it over. All right, now if that be true, if that be true, now listen carefully. What is one of the dominant notes of the apostolic preaching?

Critique of Baptismal Doctrines that Obscure Salvation by Faith Alone

43:18 Well, it's the fact that in the gospel, the needy sinner and the offered Savior come into direct contact with each other by faith and faith alone. Now listen carefully. I know it's warm. I know it's a heavy day.

43:33 But hang in there. Listen now. One of the dominant notes of the apostolic gospel is this. In the gospel, the needy sinner...

43:41 In all of his native sins, sin original, sin actual, sins of the mind, sins of the heart, sins of deed and thought, the needy sinner in the totality of his sin comes into direct contact with the mighty and offered Savior. And what is the bridge of contact? By faith and by faith alone. Now that truth is so evident in the New Testament, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by pausing to prove it.

44:11 It's there. I'll just give you one key text. When the jailer said, What must I do to be saved? Paul says, Believe upon, rest upon, commit yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.

44:30 Now if that is so, what do we do with the doctrine of baptism that says, In the gospel, you're saved by grace and grace alone, but grace is somehow funneled through the water.

44:44 Now whatever any individual man may hold is one thing. But a church is responsible for what it states in both its official creeds and in its liturgy. And in the liturgy of Lutheranism, and in the liturgy of many of the Reformed churches, in the liturgy of Anglicanism, there is an undeniable assertion that though salvation is all of grace, grace is somehow infused into or conveyed through baptismal waters. Now if that be so, what does it do with this fundamental note of the Apostolic Gospel?

45:27 It obscures it. It obscures it. It does not make it patently clear that the sinner is to look beyond the preacher, beyond the water, beyond the church, and is to lay hold of Christ and Christ alone. I say to any unconverted man, woman, boy or girl in this building this morning, upstairs or downstairs, I have warrant to say to you that no matter what your sin has been, if you will turn from your sin and embrace Jesus Christ in faith, you will be saved sitting right where you are this morning.

46:05 You don't need a drop of water. You don't need your name on a church roof. You don't need the prayers of a pastor or priest. There need be nothing to stand between you and the offered Savior.

46:18 Herbert Carson in his excellent book, Farewell to Anglicanism, gives a biography of his own struggles when he was in the Anglican church. These were some of the words of the liturgy that greatly disturbed him. After speaking to the godparents that they would, as it were, be the ventriloquist for the baby, Dost thou renounce the devil? Dost thou believe?

46:44 You look at the baby and then the godparents answer. Strange kind of religious ventriloquism. Having obtained the infant's consent, via his sponsor, I then prayed, and this is the language of the official liturgy of the Anglican church, the Book of Common Prayer. Listen.

47:00 Sanctify this water to the mystical washing away of sin, so that the infant might receive the fullness of thy grace and ever remain in the number of thy faithful and elect children. End quote. Mr. Carson says a soldier cannot remain in the army when he has enlisted, a soldier can remain in the army when he is enlisted, but it makes nonsense to speak of a civilian remaining in the army if he has never been a soldier.

47:31 To speak of an infant remaining in the number of the faithful is to infer he is already there. And this is on the basis of the baptism which is about to follow. But the language was worse than this. Having marked the child with the sign of the cross, I was then expected to say, and now this is a quote from the official liturgy of the Anglican church, quote, Seeing now, dearly beloved brethren, that this child is regenerate, and grafted into the body of Christ Church.

47:59 He was then required to thank God, picking up the quote again, that it hath pleased thee to regenerate this infant with thy Holy Spirit, to receive him for thine own child by adoption, and to incorporate him into thy Holy Church. End quote. And dear Bishop Ryle and other godly Anglicans have danced the tightrope, trying to say these words don't mean what they obviously mean, and what the common man in the street feels they mean. Namely, if I get my child done, he's in.

48:33 Oh, how this great truth of the gospel, apostolic gospel is obscured in this absurd and Christ dishonoring doctrine of baptism that puts the water somewhere between the sinner and his need and Jesus Christ in the plentitude of his grace. Would you believe so able a theologian as Charles Hodge, and I check this quote to make sure that it wasn't a misquote. In defending the doctrine of infant baptism, Hodge says, quote, Those parents sin grievously against the souls of their children who neglect to consecrate them to God in the ordinance of baptism. Let the little ones have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, even if they afterward choose to erase them. Being thus enrolled may be the means of their salvation. End quote. That's Systematic Theology, published by Eerdmans, volume 3, page 588, and it is accurate to the word.

49:36 What is that doing? No one could ever accuse Dr. Charles Hodge of any kind of unorthodoxy. Heterodoxy is the technical word.

Critique of Baptismal Doctrines that Obscure the Gospel's Universalism (Infant Baptism)

49:50 But you see, in his baptismal practice, he was obscuring this fundamental note of the gospel. There is one way for a child to receive grace, one way for an adult to receive grace, that's the living contact with the Son of God. Now, another dominant note of the apostolic preaching and instruction, and follow closely now because the noose is drawn tighter, is that no external distinctions and relationships are of any significance in either assessing a man's need or in being the basis of his acceptance of God. No external distinctions and relationships are of any significance either in assessing a man's need, his state before God, or forming the basis of his acceptance before God. Remember how God had to deal with Peter about this. For centuries, God made external distinctions that were very valid and very necessary.

51:06 But now there comes the universalism of the true gospel. That middle wall of partition is going to be broken down. And you read about it in Acts 10 and 11. I don't have time to go into the details, but if you're in earnest, you read the dealings of God with the household of Cornelius.

51:22 Then when the council of Jerusalem meets, they interpret what happened. And in James, in Acts 15, 7 to 11, we read these words, God made no distinction between those Jews who were there in Cornelius' household and the Gentiles upon whom the Spirit came, purifying their hearts by faith. That was a great discovery. We read that and say, well, what big stuff.

51:45 We knew that for years. But not these Jews. To think that God would bring Gentiles to Himself without one bit of difference because of external relationships, that was a mind-blowing truth to Peter. God had to give him a vision, not once, twice, three times.

52:02 Then he had to send the Holy Ghost down upon that household in such a miraculous way they're all speaking in tongues, so the Jews would have to say, wait a minute, we can't find one thing different between what they got and what we got on the day of Pentecost. We've only got one conclusion less. God must have given them the same thing He gave us. And if God gave them just as much as He gave us, then they must be on the same footing as we are.

52:24 And that took a whole council of elders and apostles and representatives from two major churches to thrash that out and come to that conclusion. National distinctions are gone. Ethnic distinctions, they're gone. So when Paul preaches, he's careful to underline this.

52:45 What do I preach to Jews, the covenant people? I just preach to them, ratify the vows made at your covenant. No, sir, he said in Acts 20, 21, preaching to Jews and to Greeks, same message, repentance toward God and faith toward Christ. He said, don't you people misunderstand.

53:01 I got one gospel. I preach it to Jews. I preach it to Gentiles. He repeats that in Acts 26, 20.

53:07 I preach first to Damascus, then in Judea, then in all the Gentiles. Men should repent, turn to God, do works, meet for repentance. He starts writing the book of Romans. What does he say?

53:19 The gospel I'm going to preach is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Jew first, only in terms of the gospel being ordered to the Jew because it was at the center of Judaism there at Jerusalem that the gospel began its penetration in its full apostolic message. Then he goes on in Romans and he says, there's no any difference. God has concluded them all under sin.

53:45 Oh yes, he says further on in the book, the Jews have still some wonderful external privileges. They have the fathers. They have this. They have that.

53:53 But he said in terms of their need, they're identical with the Gentile dogs and follow closely. In terms of their acceptance, they are accepted on one basis alone, faith in Jesus Christ the Lord. Ah, but someone says, what about the covenant? Didn't God say, I'll be a father and a God to you and to your seed?

54:21 Isn't that the covenant he made with Abraham? Hallelujah, it is. Genesis chapter 17. Isn't that the covenant that he has ratified in Christ?

54:30 Is there not but one covenant? If the provisions of the old covenant extended to the head of the family and his seed, shall we expect something less in the new? My friend, let me ask you a question if you're thinking that way and I ask it lovingly. I'm smart-alecky.

54:43 Too much is at stake this morning. It's the gospel that's at stake. Remember, remember, we're not dealing with forms and ceremonies. We're dealing with whether or not this fundamental point of the gospel is obscured or the nail is bent over in your view of baptism.

54:58 What does the Bible say about God's covenant to Abraham? Does it have any respect to external distinctions now in the new covenant? Well, let the apostle, the inspired interpreter of that, promise of the covenant, answer your question. For in Galatians chapter 3, he gives an explicit treatment and I know it's 12.30 and I'm generally undone, but you'll have to forgive me. I'm sensitive of time. I know you've got babies downstairs, but I must finish what's on my heart. I beg your indulgence this morning, please.

55:30 Galatians chapter 3, verse 6. Even as Abraham believed God, it was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham. They that are of faith are the sons of Abraham.

55:51 And the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preached the gospel before unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Now follow down to the actual quote of the promise. Verse 16.

56:09 Now to Abraham were the promises spoken and to his seed. Ah, here's the promise of the covenant. I'll be a God to thee and to thy seed. Now notice carefully.

56:19 Here's Paul's inspired interpretation. But he saith not, and to seeds, as of many, but as of one. And to thy seed, which is Christ, is that seed to whom the promise is made. It is Christ.

56:38 Well, how then can the promise become mine? Ah, read on, dear friend, read on. Look at verse 27. As many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.

56:49 There can be neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, no external distinctions, male nor female. You're one man in Christ. Now listen carefully. Here's the conclusion of the argument.

57:00 If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise. Therefore the promise of the covenant is in Christ, and it is not mine until I'm in Christ, and pray tell what is the one way to get into Christ. Tell me in unison. By faith alone.

57:25 In unison. Faith. The only way to gain an interest in the covenant. The only way to gain an interest in the covenant.

57:37 It has nothing to do with national distinctions. It has nothing to do with bloodlines. It has nothing to do with carnal relationships. That's why God was careful with Abraham, the one to whom he first archived, and articulated that covenant to make a distinction in that very familial, familial that Ishmael may live before thee.

58:02 No, God says, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And Isaac bears two sons, conceived in the womb at the same time. And God switches the natural order. Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated.

58:18 Paul picks up that argument in Romans and says, look, look, Isaac's promise even then had respect primarily to the seed of faith, not a carnal seed. And I say this whole argument for infant baptism builds on the structure of the covenant. And listen to me carefully, and that's why I wanted my notes, so I wouldn't overstate it in the heat of the moment. If not a denial of a fundamental truth of the gospel, is a tragic blurring of a fundamental truth of the gospel.

58:57 I read from the Psalter, which is used in many of the traditional reformed churches. I read from the liturgy on baptism. Listen carefully. These questions are to be addressed to the parents.

59:12 Do you acknowledge that although our children are conceived and born in sin, and therefore subject to all miseries, yea, to condemnation itself, yet, they are sanctified in Christ, and therefore, as members of His church, ought to be baptized? Here's the prayer of thanksgiving in the liturgy. Almighty God, and merciful Father, we thank Thee and praise Thee, Thou hast forgiven us and our children all our sins through the blood of Thy beloved Son, and received us, that is us, our children, through Thy Spirit as members of Thine only begotten Son, and adopted us to be Thy children, and sealed and confirmed the same unto us by holy baptism. Now thank God there are good men who use the liturgy that don't preach this way in their actual experience. But don't be surprised if your people take the word seriously. This is teaching that the children of believers are incorporated into Christ by virtue of their blood relationship to their believing parents.

60:26 This is a denial of a fundamental tenet of the gospel, namely, as many as received Him. To them gave He the right to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. If ye are of faith, then are ye Abraham's seed. Do we believe in the one covenant of grace, the covenant of grace?

60:55 Hallelujah, we do. We believe the covenant of grace is the structural backbone of the whole revelation of the Scriptures. But, beloved, we refuse to believe that our children are on any other footing than the children of those who do not know the Savior as adults. They are sinners.

61:17 They are lost. They have great privileges. They have great responsibilities. But someone objects and says, Pastor Martin, if you do not believe that the children are in the framework of the covenant, then you'll be indifferent about their nurture and their...

61:31 My friend, listen. I don't need a prostitution of baptism to make me a faithful parent. I have the command of Ephesians 6, 4. Fathers, nurture your children in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.

61:46 I don't need a ceremony that prostitutes a gospel ordinance to be committed to my duties as a father. Kind of a heartless creature is the man who will not give religious instruction to his children because they have not had some form of religious ceremony applied to them. I do not speak this morning in anger, beloved, but I am convinced with all of my being the more I study this issue that the devil has accomplished a tremendous victory in the ranks of those very churches where the gospel of God has come to its purest expression and seeing that he could not gain his end by clouding the minds of the great reformers at the point of the preached gospel, he said, Aha! I'll get them through the back door. I'll obscure the meaning of the visible gospel. And as I obscure the meaning of the visible word, it will cast its ugly shadow back upon the preached word.

62:58 And that's precisely what has happened in the history of the church. I am not saying that a right view of baptism will preserve the truth of God till the Lord comes back. That would be a foolish statement, both unsound scripturally and historically. But what I am saying is this.

Call to Embrace Christ and Re-evaluate Baptismal Practice

63:13 There is enough built-in tendency in the human heart to obscure the gospel without cooperating with the devil by obscuring the visible word of the gospel. And so I assert that the New Testament teaching that baptism has as its universal context preaching of response to the gospel warrants these two very clear deductions. Baptism was not considered by the apostles to have any significance, magical, symbolical, anyway, apart from preaching, apart from faith response. Secondly, baptism was not regarded by the apostles as having any significance that would contradict or obscure any fundamental truth of the gospel. And I plead with you as I close and again I thank you for your forbearance. You who are visiting with us were normally done here at twenty after. I assure you of that and I am not indifferent and I am fully conscious of all these things but I hope a little seniority through the years will give me the right to indulge myself once a year in delivering my soul.

64:20 Listen now, listen. Our concern is not to be nasty to anyone. Our concern is that God's truth may be glorious in the earth. The truth of the priest's gospel.

64:32 The truth of the symbolic gospel in baptism and in the Lord's Supper. And I entreat you if you've been clinging to some magical, mystical form and you've never come into direct living contact with Christ, look upon whatever was done to you for what it is, an empty, hollow form and embrace the Savior this morning. The Savior who delights to show mercy to needy sinners. And I say to any of you who've embraced the Savior, that you look back upon a form that was initiated or administered to you as an infant, my friend, listen, listen.

65:08 Whatever, whatever that was, can it be the baptism of the book of Acts? I lay the issue to your conscience. Can it be the baptism of the book of Acts? Can it be the baptism of the book of Acts?

65:19 If not, it is not apostolic baptism. If it's not apostolic, it is not biblical. Ah, but you say, my mother, my friends, listen, he that loveth father and mother more, than me is not worthy of me. Yes, but my friend, the issue is not your church.

65:35 The issue is the word of God. That's the one issue. Well, you're not going to make a baptism, my friend. I'm not out to make a baptism out of you.

65:42 I have one concern, to see God's truth glorified in your life. To see it glorified in your life. Did your baptism as an infant declare this glorious truth that born into this world as a vital part of Adam's fallen race, you had no special footing before God? That's the truth of the gospel.

66:02 Read Romans 3, 10 through 20. Read it. No difference. No, no.

66:08 That baptism said there was a difference. You were sanctified in Christ because your mother and father were in Christ. Now, that's a denial of a biblical principle. Will you continue to cling to that which is a denial of essential truth?

66:23 Will you? Will you? I lay the thing close to your conscience, dear friends. Not for the sake of party spirit, but for the sake of God's holy truth.

66:37 And I say to you as God's people in this place, as we, I trust, have a sense of awesome responsibility in preserving and in proclaiming the apostolic gospel by word, let us jealously guard the apostolic gospel in simple. And if you sense any tendency in this assembly at any point for sacramentalism, that which would obscure the fundamental points of the gospel, you rise up in holy anger, and seek to drive it from these walls, so that sinners who come amongst us will have no question as to what the gospel is, both when it's preached and when it's visibly demonstrated. Christ died for sinners. Sinners can come directly. That's the gospel. Oh, may God give us a love for it and a willingness to preserve its purity at any cost.

67:33 Let us pray.