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[0:00] I appreciate the testimony of our brother and sister. Before we go on, let's have a prayer. Lord, we thank you for what you have done.

[0:16] Lord, for the wonderful work of salvation that you have wrought. And Lord, it is your desire, Lord, that if there's any here that have not found this peace, Lord, it is your desire that today would be the day.

[0:35] And Lord, we just pray that, yes, today would be the day of salvation for anyone who is in need.

[0:48] Lord, we just commit the remainder of this time to you. Lord, I ask, Lord, that your spirit will be upon me and help me to share.

[0:59] Lord, the word that you have for us, O God. Lord, that your word will come forth and your spirit can have its way today, Lord.

[1:10] We commit this time to you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Amen. I love to preach on baptism.

[1:32] And what else could we talk about today than baptism? But as we were driving to church this morning, a question came to my mind.

[1:45] And, you know, the answer is in my notes. But I didn't really look at it that way. The question was, what are the qualifications for baptism?

[2:03] And we heard our brother and our sister, they were baptized at one time without those qualifications.

[2:13] And so today, I want to answer that question. I want to answer that question. That, you know, what qualifies a person to be baptized?

[2:29] You know, in Acts, we have the account of Philip when the Spirit of God directed him to go out and to join himself to that chariot, that eunuch that was traveling.

[2:50] And he was reading. He was reading out of Isaiah 53. And Philip ran to that chariot and he joined him. He jumped on that chariot and he asked him, do you understand what you're reading?

[3:07] Do you know what you're reading here today? And the eunuch answered. He said, how could I unless someone would explain it to me?

[3:19] How could I unless someone would tell me what this means? And Philip, let's just start reading here.

[3:31] In Acts 8, verse 35. Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came into a certain water.

[3:46] And the eunuch said, see, here is water. What doth hinder me to be baptized? So the eunuch asked the very question that I asked. He asked, what doth hinder me to be baptized?

[4:01] Philip, you've explained this to me. Can I be baptized? Well, what was Philip's answer? He said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.

[4:14] And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. You know, in a very basic answer, this is our answer today.

[4:28] That we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Almighty living God. And if we believe that with all our heart, and we believe that, and we respond to that, which we will, if we really believe it, we will respond to that, then we can meet the qualifications to be baptized.

[4:57] And that's what they did here in verse 38. In Acts chapter 2, here we have the day of Pentecost.

[5:17] And Peter preached that message, that wonderful message there on the day of Pentecost. And all of a sudden here as he was speaking, in verse 36, he says this, he says, He preached this message to them and he told them, the Jesus that you crucified, you hung him on that tree, you crucified him, you killed him.

[6:14] He is the Son of God. And God has made him both Lord and Christ. And when he told them that, verse 37, when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and they said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do?

[6:40] What shall we do? We crucified the Lord of glory. We crucified the Savior of humanity. What shall we do? And the answer was, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins.

[6:59] And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for the promises unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

[7:13] And so Peter's answer to them that day was, repent, and after you've repented, be baptized. Christ. So now let's put this together.

[7:26] When we realize, and we believe with all our heart, that Jesus is the Son of God, and he's the Savior of humanity. He came to this earth, and he shed his blood for the redemption of humanity, for the human race, that we can be saved, that we can be set free from our sin, that our sins of the past, can be washed away, and we can be set free, and we can live a life of victory.

[7:59] But he says, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, then we will repent. We will repent. What does it mean to repent? You know, these people, they had crucified Jesus.

[8:13] And so he's calling them to repentance. You know, we didn't physically crucify Jesus, but as we were living in sin, we were crucifying him.

[8:24] We were nailing him to that cross. We were crucifying him, afresh and anew. And he calls them to repent. So instead of rejecting Jesus, instead of to wash our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, repent, repent, and be baptized, every one of you, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

[8:56] You know, we sang that song, I have decided to follow Jesus, and I'm so blessed. You know, Mike and Margie, they are walking out what we sang this morning.

[9:11] They have made that decision. And, and, you know, they made that decision a while back. But today, they want to publicly show that they have made that decision.

[9:24] They want to publicly show that they have renounced the world, self, and the devil. They have renounced those things of the past. They've renounced that, that, that self, life, and, and they've made Jesus the Lord and Savior of their life.

[9:43] You know, many people today, they, oh, they, they want to be saved. They want to be saved, but they don't want Jesus to be Lord of their life. And what I've heard from, from Mike and Margie is that they want Jesus to direct them in their life.

[9:59] They want Him to receive the honor and the glory. They want to be available for Him to use them wherever they would desire, wherever He would desire. He, you know, God directed them here, but it doesn't say that He's going to keep them here.

[10:16] He might, but He might not. But the thing is, are we open? Are we willing? Are we available? If God would call us that we will be willing to go wherever that might be.

[10:30] Are we willing to, to, to walk in whatever calling God has for us? Have we made that commitment to, to follow Jesus no matter where He takes us?

[10:46] You know, and, and, yes, I'm challenging all of us. I believe it is good. You know, every time that, that, that we, we, we have a baptism.

[10:56] I believe that's a good time for us to examine our own lives. You know, I think it's Corinthians where it says, examine yourself and see whether you are in the faith.

[11:09] You know, there's, there's this tendency to cool off. There's this tendency to get used to, to life and just live life and go to church and, and go, go to work and, and just live life and get used to everything and, and not have that fervent zeal.

[11:27] today. I'm, I'm asking you, are you still in your first love or have you, have you drifted? Have you cooled off?

[11:39] Have you allowed the things of this life to, to draw you away? To draw you aside? You know, most of us have made the decision and we publicly, publicly, sealed our commitment to the Lord Jesus.

[12:00] Are we living faithfully in that? I appreciate the many scriptures that have already been, already been, been read and quoted here this morning and most of those are in my notes but we won't look at all of them.

[12:21] We'll probably look at a few more. the Apostle Paul, he was recounting his conversion experience and, as he was, 16, arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins calling on the name of the Lord.

[12:52] You know, you know, obviously, as, as, as the Spirit of God was speaking to, to Saul there, when he, when he knocked him down on the Damascus road and, and, and, and he was speaking to him and then he told him arise and, and he told him where to go and he said, be baptized and wash away your sins.

[13:23] You know, we, we know that it's the blood of Jesus that washes away our sins but I believe that baptism is more important than what we many times realize.

[13:37] Yes. I believe that baptism, yes, baptism is a sign, a public proclamation that I have decided to follow Jesus.

[13:57] It's a proclamation to all you that are here and observing and it's a proclamation to, to the heavenlies. It's a proclamation to the unseen forces, the unseen world.

[14:12] Yes, the good, the angels of God, the spirit of God and, and the kingdom of God. It is also a proclamation to the kingdom of darkness and one reason that, that has convinced me so much that that is how it is, is when, when we hear and we read, we, we, we realize how hard the enemy fights against baptism.

[14:45] You know, you can, you can read the Bible, you can even pray a prayer, you can do whatever, you, you can, you, but, but when you come to the point of baptism and you publicly acknowledge and you publicly make this proclamation, this confession that I will follow Jesus no matter what the cost, I will follow him the rest of my days.

[15:15] When you come to that point, the powers of darkness are arrayed against you. I believe that it is much more so than what we realize.

[15:33] But when you look at lands where there's persecution, there's very little opposition until a person becomes baptized.

[15:45] When they make that decision that they will be baptized, they will seal their commitment in the waters of baptism, in obedience, following the commands of our Lord, that is when all hell will be arrayed against them.

[16:06] Yes. Yes. Second Corinthians 5.

[16:19] You know, we heard those verses in the Gospel of John where Jesus said, unless a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

[16:34] He cannot, you cannot be a part of it. You cannot even, you don't really comprehend the kingdom until you come to that place where you're born a new person.

[16:51] in 2nd Corinthians 5, verse 17, he says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

[17:06] Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. You know, when we're born again, when we're born again, we become a new creation in Christ.

[17:21] we become a new creation. And how do I know when a man becomes a new creation? It's because those old things are passed away.

[17:33] It's because the old life is gone. It passes away. He's no longer the man that he used to be.

[17:43] Did you hear our brother here this morning? He said when he was confessing his sin, I'm no longer that man. that's who I used to be.

[17:54] And that's how it is when we become a new creation in Christ Jesus. When we're born again, we're no longer the man I used to be. I'm now a new man.

[18:06] I'm now a new creation. I'm now a new man in Christ Jesus. Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live.

[18:20] How is that? Not that I live, but Christ lives his life through me. The life that I now live. Yes, it's a life of Christ living through me.

[18:36] Is that us? Is that our experience? Is that where we are at today? Or did we start off in this walk and drift away?

[18:47] Did we start off in this walk and become entangled in the wilderness like the children of Israel? You know, the children of Israel, they came out of Egypt with a great deliverance, a great deliverance from Pharaoh and the armies of Egypt.

[19:09] And in Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes, he says, that Israel was baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and it's a type of our new life in Christ.

[19:28] You know, we become born again and we're delivered from that old Pharaoh, that devil that we used to serve, the devil that used to control our life.

[19:40] We were a slave to him. Just like Israel was a slave in Egypt. They served Pharaoh and they were slaves in bondage.

[19:51] They couldn't make up their own mind. They couldn't go do what they wanted to do. You know, before they left, during the time when God brought those plagues, Pharaoh tried to bring a compromise.

[20:06] He tried to strike a deal with them. Well, you men, you go, but you leave your families here, you know, and various other things. You know, the devil will do anything he can to get you to just make a deal with him and to cut a compromise.

[20:26] But it's, that does not work in this life. It does not work in the life of the Christian to make a deal with the devil. So, Israel left Egypt.

[20:44] They left Egypt. The Bible says they left with a high hand. And when you're born again, you're flying high and you're wonderfully delivered from that old life, right?

[21:00] They left Egypt and they got to the Red Sea and old Pharaoh says, those people belong to me. Those people are my slaves.

[21:14] And he looked around Egypt and they were gone and there was no work happening anymore. So what did he do? He got his army and he went after them.

[21:25] He went after them. He said, you are my slaves. You are mine. I'm going to bring you back. Well, we know the story.

[21:38] God opened the Red Sea and Israel marched through it. Once Israel was on the other side, Moses lifted his rod again over the sea and God brought that water back.

[21:53] And what happened? Pharaoh and all his army was destroyed. You know, Satan won't be destroyed when we are delivered.

[22:10] However, there's one thing that happens here and I believe it's a really good time for us.

[22:22] You know, there at the Red Sea, after they had crossed the Red Sea, which was their baptism. They belonged to God now.

[22:37] Pharaoh had no more claims. Pharaoh was destroyed. No one in Egypt could anymore say those people belong to us.

[22:48] They are our slaves. The question of ownership was settled. That question was settled now.

[23:01] They belonged to God. I believe that is one of the biggest things, the big thing about baptism is that proclamation that I belong to God.

[23:19] I have made that decision. I will follow Him no matter what the cost. I will follow Him no matter where He leads me. I will follow Him no matter what happens.

[23:33] I belong to God. I will not turn back. I will not turn back in the face of opposition. I will not turn back in the face of persecution.

[23:44] But I will serve Jesus the rest of my days. I believe that is one of the big reasons why there is such opposition from the powers of darkness to baptism.

[24:03] You know Jesus mentioned that we count the cost. We count the cost.

[24:16] Are we willing? are we willing to pay the price to follow Him with all our heart?

[24:33] In Romans, we already heard a few of these verses, but in Romans chapter 6, 6, I look at Romans chapter 6 as, to me, it's the main chapter in the Bible that talks about baptism.

[25:07] I know there's all these others, but I love Romans chapter 6. You know, chapter 5 ends with where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

[25:26] And then verse 1, what shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?

[25:40] Know ye not? So He's asking us a question. And I believe He's talking to people that have been baptized. He's talking to people that are in the church.

[25:52] He's talking to people that have been in this way for a time. And yes, maybe some of them had backslidden, maybe some of them had gone back into sin.

[26:08] Maybe some of them had been drawn away into false doctrine. You know, we look at all the false doctrine, the false teachings that are out there today, but they were even prevalent in these days.

[26:28] Know ye not? Yes. verse 3.

[26:40] Know ye not that so many of us that as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

[27:06] For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth!

[27:25] we should not serve sin, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.

[27:37] Now let's just look at this a little bit before we go on. You know, he asked the question before this, you know, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

[27:52] Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And there's people that say you can live in sin and you as a believer, it doesn't matter how you live and everything will be okay, but let me tell you, that's not the plan of God.

[28:10] It's not what Jesus paid for. He paid the penalty for our sin, but he paid for us to live a victorious life over sin.

[28:24] He paid for us to be a new creation in Christ that we are no longer that old man that we used to be.

[28:35] So when we are baptized, when we are baptized, what does it signify? It signifies here, verse 4, we are buried with him in baptism.

[28:50] We are buried. buried. What do you bury? You don't bury something unless it's dead, right? So what we are signifying today is we're burying that old man, that old man that you used to be, that old man that we used to live, that old man that lived in sin, that old man that got his orders from the devil, that man, we're going to bury him.

[29:24] But we don't, but what does he say then? That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

[29:43] So as we bury that old, the new will be resurrected. that's what baptism signifies. That's what we're showing today, is that we arise in newness of life.

[30:00] We are dead with Christ and we also live with Christ. And that new man that lives with Christ, he is a man that is born of God.

[30:15] He is born of the Spirit of God and therefore he is not subject to the devil. He's not subject to Pharaoh. He can live a life above sin.

[30:32] Why? Because he is the very nature of God. We are born of the Spirit of God. Peter talks about we are partakers of the divine nature.

[30:50] When we are born again, that seed of Christ comes into us. It comes as the Word of God. You know, one of the best illustrations that I can think of in this is, let's go back to the Virgin Mary.

[31:12] The angel came and he talked to her and he told her, you will bring forth the child of promise.

[31:31] I don't have the words exact how it was. But he told her what God's plan was. And she says, how could this be?

[31:44] I don't know a man. How could this be? And the angel said, I don't have those words.

[31:59] But the angel told her how it would be. And what was her response? She said, be it unto me according to thy word.

[32:12] When she received the word of God by faith, what happened? She became pregnant with the Son of God.

[32:24] And when we hear the word of God and we say yes to the word of God and we accept it as truth, we accept what the word of God says that we were sinners and we were born in sin and we had a sin nature and we need to be born again, then that seed of Christ can come within us and we grasp a hold of it by faith and we're birthed.

[32:56] the new creation is birthed within us. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Verse 6 here in Romans 6, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that old man of sin, that old man of sin, he's crucified with Christ, that that body of sin would be destroyed, that we do not need to serve sin anymore.

[33:28] You know, we had the sin nature, that old man, it couldn't please God because it was that man of sin. That's why we had to become a new man.

[33:43] Hallelujah. But now, after we are that new man in Christ, let's read here in verse 11, he says, well, let's just, I think we read through verse 8, let's read verse 9, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more, death has no more dominion over him, for in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

[34:19] Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

[34:41] Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God, for sin shall not have dominion over you.

[35:01] Sin shall not have dominion over you. You know, now we are baptized and we're walking the new life, but it's not an easy road because we still have an enemy and he doesn't like the fact that we're serving Jesus.

[35:23] Our enemy hates the Lord Jesus and if we are representing Jesus here on this earth, he's going to be against us and he's going to fight against us and he's going to try to trip us up.

[35:39] He's going to try to get us to fall back into our old sin. but we can live a life of victory.

[35:53] And he goes on through this chapter, he lays out one side and then the other. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey in verse 16, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin and the death or obedience and the righteousness.

[36:16] You know, these are choices we make every day. Will we stand firm? Will we walk in righteousness and in truth and in obedience?

[36:27] Will we walk in the power of the Holy Ghost or will we yield to that old flesh? He says, but God be thanked ye were the servants of sin but ye have obeyed from the heart.

[36:42] That form of doctrine that was delivered. You being then made free from sin ye become the servants of righteousness. You know, we are free from sin but now we are a servant of God and we serve him with all our heart.

[37:00] We belong to him. We allow him to be on the throne of our heart. Yes. Yes. The end of verse 19.

[37:11] Even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. Yes. You know, and I, you know, all through these epistles, Paul and Peter and all of them, they, they continually lay out both sides.

[37:39] Are we going to choose? Are we going to stand? Are we going to live in victory? Are we going to abide in Christ? Are we going to waver?

[37:50] Are we going to compromise? Are we going to give in to the flesh and the old? Verse 22 and 23.

[38:01] But now being made free from sin and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life.

[38:16] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. you know, these are choices that are in our hands.

[38:32] Will we live? Will we live a holy life unto our God? Or will we give in?

[38:46] Will we reap? We will reap what we sow. Will we reap the wages of sin? or will we be rewarded with eternal life?

[39:00] Yes. Well, I believe the Lord is well spoken.

[39:15] There's anyone here that is not sure where you're at. there's anyone that's not sure where you're at.

[39:30] Today is the day of salvation. And today you can be set free. Amen.