Good News about Baptism

Intro

In Matthew 3 we are introduced to the Baptism of Christ. This ceremony which has become the norm for almost all Christian churches is also the subject of some division and much misunderstanding.

Goal

To help us appreciate baptism and its significance.

Plan

We will look at what is not mandated for baptism and what it and the meaning of baptism.

The principal sacrament

Baptism can be viewed as a sacrament, a physical act with divine grace, physical ceremonies for the church. The principal sacrament is baptism. Jesus was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17) though the mode is unclear, perhaps purposefully. Baptism pictured a new beginning in Moses for Israel (1 Corinthians 10:2), a new beginning through Noah’s flood (1 Peter 3:20-21), Jesus’ suffering (Luke 12:50) or washing away our sins (Mark 7:4; Titus 3:5). Invoking the name of the Trinity is mandated (Matthew 28:19) but the mode or age are not. Baptism of the Holy Spirit was pictured by fire landing on people’s heads (Acts 1:5; 2:3) and so either placing water on the head or immersion are appropriate. The regeneration of baptism or rebirth differs it from all other ceremonies that could be called sacraments.

If it was good enough for Jesus...

Have you ever heard someone say that if an immersion baptism was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me? We read that Jesus came "up out of the water" after his baptism. The Greek in Matthew 3:16 means Jesus literally came "up away from" the water. It is perhaps purposefully not clear whether he was immersed or merely stood ankle deep. Some early church mosaics and paintings show Jesus standing ankle deep in the Jordan River and John the Baptist using a shell to pour water over him. In this case Jesus would have also come up out of the water when he left. Historical evidence outside the Bible suggest that Jesus probably was immersed, but the Bible record is perhaps purposefully vague. Is the method of baptism not as important as the fact of baptism?

Dippers & washers

Who is right about baptism, the dippers or the washers? Baptize literally means to dip, but in the Bible it is not always used literally. It is also used to mean wash (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38; Acts 22:16). So both are correct. But doesn’t history tell us that dipping was the original mode? History is not infallible. So, Protestant faith is based on sola scriptura, the Bible alone, and the Bible is deliberately vague as to which mode is preferable. When Jesus came up out of the water after his baptism, it could have been ankle deep (Matthew 3:16). Israel was baptized into Moses by walking dry shod through the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). So, less literal modes of baptism like washing are also legitimate. Dippers and washers are equally baptized into Jesus Christ.

Right or righteous

A choice between two good things is often the most difficult of all. It’s a dilemma to make a decision between doing the right thing versus fulfilling all righteousness. Both choices may be good and right, but which one is God’s will? As Jesus approached John to be baptized (Matthew 3:13-17), the right thing in John’s mind was that he should be baptized by Jesus. Logically, the lesser ought to be baptized by the superior. However, that was not Jesus’ purpose. His purpose at that time was humility not high position. He was born in a stable, served in an itinerant ministry without a building and died on the cross. What was God’s reaction to Jesus’ choice of taking the lesser position? He was well-pleased. How about us? Do we always demand our rights or willingly fulfill all righteousness?

What is baptism

Repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins and receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39) included children. Baptism is to wash away sins (Acts 22:16). God can choose to give the Holy Spirit before physical baptism (Acts 10:45-48). It is the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5), a spiritual rebirth. Jesus declared baptism necessary (John 3:5). It is a baptism into Jesus and his death and a new life (Romans 6:3-5). It is also like circumcision (Colossians 2:11-13), performed on children. Three whole households were baptized (Acts 16:15; 16:33; 1 Corinthians 1:16). At least one must have contained children. A baptism is a physical washing (the mode is unimportant), a spiritual washing (cleansing from sin) and must include Jesus' prescribed invocation of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Baptism requirements

A baptism of repentance alone is not the baptism of Christ or his church (Acts 19:1-6). What about a so-called believers’ baptism where belief is a prerequisite? The Ethiopian eunuch was told he could be baptized if he believed (Acts 8:36-38). Being baptized and receiving the Holy Spirit are not always the same event (Acts 8:14-17). God gives the Holy Spirit at a time of his choosing. An infant baptism and later confirmation of faith with laying on of hands to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit are appropriate. What about catechism? Pre-baptism classes are very helpful, but not biblically mandated. Acts 2:41 shows 3,000 baptized after hearing and accepting only one sermon. In churches where Christ’s commands in the Gospels are taught weekly (Matthew 28:20) then every sermon is a catechism anyway.

Outro

Baptism is the most important of all the sacraments. It is more important than marriage or whether we take communion weekly, monthly or annually. It is the initiatory rite into this wonderful journey we call Christianity. It begins our journey from the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of God.

Good News for Foreign Astrologers

Intro

Do members of foreign religions sometimes offer God greater honor than we who follow the Bible? Does God work through non-Christian religions to bring people to himself? What do the babylonian captivity of ancient Israel, a pagan religion and worldly politics have to do with the birth of Christ?

Goal

To show that we cannot limit God to our narrow vision of the world.

Plan

We will look at brutal human leadership, an ancient foreign religion, the Magi and the gifts they brought to Christ.

The Herods

In Matthew 2:1 we are introduced to Herod. The name applied to a dynasty of foreign Edomite (i. e. Idumean) kings. As clients of Rome their rule included Galilee and Judea during the time of Christ. They were known for military expertise, cruelty and being lovers of luxury. As subcontractors to the Roman Emperor, they enforced Roman rule, took taxes in the form of money, food and merchandise, and kept order. While taking taxes for Rome, they were also free to take for themselves. The excessive tax burdens led to unbearable poverty which, along with the imposition of emperor worship, led to frequent revolts by zealots. It was a precarious position with threats all around. So, the kingdom of God, while not of this world, was understood as a political force by the disciples, Jewish leaders and the Romans.

Former captors celebrate Jesus?

Jews were deported from their own land into Babylonian captivity during the 500’s BC. At that time the chief of the magi was Nergal-Sharezer. They were the wise men of Babylon, priests, physicians, alchemists and astrologers. Their influence was widespread throughout much of the middle east. They most likely came into contact with teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures during the Jewish Babylonian captivity and mixed them into their own religion. Many Jews did not return from exile in Babylon and may have had further influence on the religion of the magi. The particular magi who came to visit the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1) could have come from virtually anywhere east of Jerusalem such as Persia, Babylon, Arabia, or India. It was 500 years later, a long time. National tragedy can be used by God to bring people to Jesus.

The Magi

Ever since we were children we have heard of the visit of the Magi after Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1). Who were they? The Greek term is magoi. Friberg defines this as wise men of the Magian religion, magicians or sorcerers. Louw and Nida prefer “men of wisdom who studied the stars.” An ancient historian, Herodotus of Halicarnassus called them interpreters of omens and dreams who perhaps still sacrificed to Persian gods. They were possibly baptized into the church many years later by the apostle Thomas while on his way to plant churches in India. Why did pagans show more belief than followers of God? Herod had access through the Jews who had even easier access, but most of them chose not to be interested. What is our reaction to the birth of Jesus?

Babylonian captivity & Christmas

How does Israel’s Babylonian Captivity tie in with Christmas? What if our country was conquered by a foreign nation and large numbers of our population were exiled, taken captive for about 60 years? We have never experienced that, but historically native Americans and African Americans have. English history in Australia and the U.S. State of Georgia was begun by exiling prisoners to form a population base. During Israel’s captivity the current Babylonian Hebrew alphabet began. Jeremiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Daniel and several deuterocanonical books recorded it. Many Jews never returned home. It was probably also their first major contact with the Magi, who were the sacred class in ancient Babylon. Their knowledge was a mixture of astrological superstition, semi-scientific alchemy, magic and early Zoroastrianism. It was descendants of this group who honored Jesus’ birth (Matthew 2:1).

The worship

When the Magi inquired about Jesus in Matthew 2:2 they said that they had come to worship him. This upset Herod who plotted to kill Jesus. These wise men of the east did not come merely to honor Jesus, but to worship him. When Jesus was tempted by Satan he was told to bow down and worship the devil. But Jesus replied that worship is something reserved only for God (Matthew 4:10), and he told the devil to leave. In Greek, the same wording is used for when a leper, a synagogue leader, the disciples, a gentile woman and Zebedee’s wife also worshiped Jesus (Matthew 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17). Although it is popular for people to think of Jesus as merely a good man, he was God with us.

Bringing pagans to Christ

How can we bring people of different religions to Christ? Over the years I’ve seen many different approaches all the way from outright insults to arguments showing them the “error of their ways” and numerous more tactful approaches. How about letting God bring them to Christ? That’s what happened to the Magi. How God did it is also interesting. Magi were astrologers among other things. How would God bring an astrologer to Christ? God has used many ways to reveal himself to people. In this case he used their own religion and revealed his purpose in a manner that they would understand, a star. There is nothing to be found of Old Testament language of condemnation for these pagans, but rather a gentle leading to the place of Christ’s birth even using elements of their own faith (Matthew 2:2).

The politics

When the wise men from Babylon or Persia inquired about Jesus (Matthew 2:3) they had no idea of the politics involved. They only wanted to worship the Messiah and seem to have naively believed that others would too. However, there were a lot of power plays threatened by this news. Israel was ruled by a brutal foreign king, Herod, who was a client of the Roman Emperor. Herod was vulnerable. He had encountered trouble with Rome and Jewish zealots before and had brutally murdered many other potential rivals. Jewish leaders had made an uneasy peace with the devil by cooperating with Rome and its puppet king Herod. They had profited by this compromise and zealots rising up to free Judea were a threat to their arrangement. The kingdom of heaven and its Messiah were a political threat all around.

Jewish influence on the Magi

Of about a million Jews living in Babylonian captivity only about 42,000 returned to Jerusalem. The rest remained in the Persian Empire. Unlike their relatives who had returned they had peace and protection for a thousand years. Over the next 1500 year history of the diaspora in Babylon, the head of the Jewish community was always a descendant of king David and had noble status in community life. It was here that the current Hebrew script was invented and the Babylonian Talmud was written. As Jews intermingled with Babylonian society and some possibly even intermarried, the Hebrew Scriptures would have eventually influenced local religions. Median Priests, the Magi, had great prestige in Babylon. Their political power included approving who would be king and they appointed judges. They believed in one god and were influenced by ideas of a Messiah.

The gifts

The gifts given to Jesus in Matthew 2:11 were gold, frankincense and myrrh. The number of the wise men is taken from the three gifts, but they could have been as many as twelve people according to eastern tradition. Gold was a gift for royalty. Frankincense and myrrh are aromatic herbs with healing properties. Frankincense comes from the sap of Boswellia trees and used for incense, perfume and anointing oil (Exodus 30:32-34). As a gift it possibly symbolized Jesus' high priestly office. Myrrh comes from the sap of Commiphora trees, is bitter and another ingredient of anointing oil. As a preservative is was used to anoint the dead and thus foretold Jesus’ death on the cross. The gifts may have been seen as prophetic and symbolic of Christ as king, high priest and suffering savior.

A gift to bring

Some foreign dignitaries with a completely different religion recognized Christ and brought a gift. Herod did not. Instead he plotted to kill the Christ child. The powerful often do not seek to give others recognition but to remain in power. It’s something that we see in our western democracies and is the same story no matter the form of government down through history. The story of the wandering astrologers, the Magi tells us that things are about to change. Non-Jews would soon be embraced by God. Herod did not offer a gift. He feared change, feared that his position may be about to be taken away. When we hear of a change in God’s way of doing things, we can choose to fear and threaten or bring a gift to the Messiah. What gift do we bring (Matthew 2:11)?

What gifts we bring

As we think of the story of the Magi, it is natural to ask about what gifts we bring to the Christ. The Magi did not bring money, though that would have been a very useful gift for Jesus’ parents, but we do have other things that we can offer. One of the greatest gifts that we can bring to Jesus is our attendance in his presence every chance we get. We call this discipleship. As we listen to what he has to teach, we offer a gift by putting it into practice. He calls that being doers and not just hearers of the word. That means that we show love to God and neighbor, that we show compassion to others, that we forgive as he forgave, that we practice the way of self-sacrifice offering our whole selves to him.

Magi facts and fiction

The western tradition of three magi comes from the number of gifts that they gave. Eastern traditions suggests that there may have been twelve. While they were certainly high officials, it is a myth that they were kings. That idea possibly arose around the 8th century in trying to retrofit Psalm 72:11 which was not meant to be quite that time-specific in nature. The names Melchior (a Persian scholar or king), Caspar (an Indian) and Balthazar (an Arabian) are also probably also fictitious embellishments because they came from one country (Matthew 2:12). The Christmas Nativity Scene is often but not always a montage of two events, Jesus born in a stable and the magi visiting him later in a house. What is significant is that among the first to recognize Jesus as ruler of Israel were foreigners.

Outro

Members of pagan religions sometimes offer God greater honor than believers in the Bible. God often works through non-Christian religions to bring people to himself. We cannot limit God to our narrow vision of the world. If leaders of a pagan religion offered expensive gifts to Christ, what do we offer?

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http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7598-herod-i

Friberg, Timothy, Barbara Friberg, and Neva F. Miller. Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Baker's Greek New Testament Library. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. BibleWorks, v.3

Louw-Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1989, United Bible Societies

http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus01.htm

http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/12/magi-and-star-orthodox-understanding.html

http://www.itmonline.org/arts/myrrh.htm; http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/9/6; http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/sea/products/afdbases/af/asp/SpeciesInfo.asp?SpID=17990

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/356642/Magi

Jesus as a foreigner

Intro

Mistreatment of others is a hallmark of every nation on earth. Legislators may try to make laws to prevent it but even their laws are at times responsible. Does the message of our Savior’s birth give us any hope?

Why

I hope that this message helps us recognise humanity’s mistreatment of others and how Jesus is our only hope.

Plan

We will look at two areas of abuse in our world, foreigners and innocent children.

The Bible and Foreigners

Jesus was a foreigner in Egypt and later in Nazareth. Under God’s law, uncircumcised foreigners did not have the privilege of citizenship like eating the Passover or being king. Citizens could not be charged interest but foreigners could. But in every other way foreigners were not to be mistreatedin any way, not oppressed, must be given the same poverty relief as a native born citizen, live the the same legal standards, and the same loving care as native born Israelites. God watches for the welfare of the foreigner and other disadvantaged groups. God will bless a people that does not oppress the foreigner. In the New Testament we are told that God will speak the Gospel through foreigners, but Christians of all nations are not foreigners to each other, though foreigners to the world with their citizenship in heaven.

Killing our children

One of the saddest stories of Christmas is the murder of the children (Matthew 2:13-23), yet we are no different. We decry the senseless murder of innocent children at a school and the perverted treatment of little ones in child porn and then turn a blind eye to the greatest abuse of our children, abortion. Legitimate medical reasons for choosing between a child's life and its mother’s exist, but we kill innocent children mostly for convenience. We are a terribly hypocritical uncivilized peoples. We abhor rape and rightly have sympathy for our women. Yet we also punish the wrong people, the innocent children who had nothing to do with the crime, but are just as much victims as the mothers were. We decry all kinds of terrorism except our own homegrown terrorism against the innocents. When will we stop!

Outro

Jesus came to offer forgiveness and salvation from these and other sins. Humanity cannot solve its own problems. That’s why the world needs a Savior.

God’s values - Christmas Day 2013

Intro

Who would God invite to witness the most important birth on earth? We might be surprised as to the guests that God considered to be worthy.

Goal

I would like us to understand that worldly importance is unimportant to God. He has very different values.

Sermon Plan

We will look at God’s guest list and peace on earth.

Real breeding in heavenly style

The wealthy may flatter themselves that they have better breeding than the poor. Heaven may disagree. The announcement of Jesus’ birth was not made to the wealthy and powerful of this world, because God has different values than snobbery and selfishness. It is not because God is poor. He owns everything there is from here to the farthest reaches of outer space. But God understands true values. He announced the birth of the Christ to the lowest classes, among them unwashed and unkempt shepherds out in the field. Simeon was granted his dying wish to see the Christ child. He was a man whose only status was that he was righteous and devout. Anna had the privilege of announcing Christ. Her only status was that she worshiped and prayed night and day (Luke 2). Now that’s real breeding in heavenly style.

What Peace on Earth

Christmas proclaims peace on earth, but what peace on earth? That message only tells half the story. If we examine Luke 2:14 it has some other words as well. Many translations say peace on earth with whom God is well pleased or on whom his favor rests. That peace then seems to be conditional, rather than unconditional. In fact, one of the very first things Jesus experienced after his birth was a decided lack of peace on earth. He had to flee to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23). In fact Jesus contradicted the idea that he came to bring peace on earth, by stating very clearly that he did not (Matthew 10:34; Luke 12:51-52). There is a real peace to those of good will, even in the midst of trials, a peace which passes understanding (Philippians 4:7).

Outro

Just as there is a peace which passes human understanding, so too is there a set of values that this world simply cannot understand. Let us learn from God what true values and true peace are.

Christmas Day - a True Children's Story

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Hattie May Wiatt. She lived in a house near her church in Philadelphia. It was a small church and very crowded. It was so small that people had to get admission tickets so as to take their turn going to church. One day a group of children were waiting outside to get into the Sunday School, but it too was already full. The children waiting were not very happy. One of the little children was Hattie May Wiatt. She had in her hand an offering and some books. She was debating on whether or not to wait or just go back home. Then all of a sudden Pastor Conwell happened by. He took her up in his arms and put her on his shoulder. She held on to his head tightly as he carried her through the crowd in the hall and into the Sunday school room. There was room for her in a chair away back in a corner.

The next morning as the pastor came down to the church from his home he passed by the Wiatt’s house, and met Hattie coming up the street on her way to school. As they met he told Hattie of his hopes that they would soon have a larger Sunday School room. She hoped they would too. Little Hattie was afraid to go to Sunday School alone because it was so crowded. The pastor repeated his dream to build a larger one soon and said he was only waiting for enough money to build a school building large enough to get all the little children in.

A couple of years later Hattie became very sick, and Pastor Conwell went to her home to see her. He prayed with her and walked up the street praying for the little girl as well. Somehow he knew it would not be long. And so it was that the sad day eventually came and Hattie May Wiatt died. Before she died Hattie had saved up 57 cents to start the Sunday School. She had it in a little bag and her mother handed it to the pastor. He took it to the church that week and announced that the church had the first gift toward the new Sunday school building. It was a gift from little Hattie May Wiatt who had gone on ahead of everyone else into the shining world that God has prepared for us.

Pastor Conwell then changed all the money into pennies and offered them for sale. He received about $250 for the 57 pennies, and 54 of those cents were returned. He then had the remaining 54 cents put in a frame where they could be seen by everyone. Then he took the $250 and changed it into pennies. By selling those pennies, the church received enough money to buy the house next door. The Wiatt Mite Society was formed to honor the small 57 cent mite given by Hattie. It owned the new building which became a department of the Sunday school.

But the crowds kept growing because in those days church was very important to people. Pastor Russell H. Conwell and the people remembered Hattie and knew that with a small offering like hers and faith anything was possible. The people had faith in God and believed God could build a larger church even though they did not even have money for a down payment. Some even had enough faith to say they ought to build on the main road.

Mr. Baird owned some nice land on Broad Street and Pastor Conwell asked him what he wanted for it. He said that he wanted $30,000 which might be worth almost a million today. Pastor Conwell told him that the church had only 54 cents toward the $30,000 but that they were foolish enough to think that some time the church would own that lot. Later the pastor went and asked Mr. Baird if he would hold the lot for five years. Mr. Baird said that he had been thinking about it and decided to lower his price to $25,000 and that he would take the 54 cents as the first payment. The church could give him a mortgage for the rest at 5% interest. So the pastor left the 54 cents with Mr. Baird who later returned it as a gift. So the church bought the lot, and began a new church building. Eventually the church turned the house purchased by the sale of the 57 cents into the first of many educational buildings which eventually became Temple University.

It all began with Hattie May Wiatt, a schoolgirl from a hard-working Philadelphia family. Her family was not wealthy but God multiplied her 57 cents into a large church of thousands, Philadelphia’s Temple University, the Samaritan Hospital, the Garretson Hospital and untold deeds of Christian kindness. Think of the people who have earned degrees and now serve their communities in law, medicine, dentistry, theology, and teaching because one little girl Hattie May Wiatt saved her 57 cents. She laid the foundations. Never underestimate what great things can be done by the smallest of gifts given in faith.

When Jesus comes back he will say ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ And so when we give to little children or those in need at Christmas time we are giving to Jesus. But giving is not just for Christmas. It is a way of life.