Dying to Live Again

Mark Finley: Repentance means that we have a change of attitude toward our sins. We no longer love the things that break God's heart. In the blazing light of the cross, we choose to be done with anything that's contrary to God's will.
Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Dying to Live Again. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com and stay with us for a free Bible study offer later in this program. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Cappadocia in Turkey is famous for its rock formations. Over the centuries, the rain and wind have carved the stone into rugged cliffs and gigantic cone-shaped columns and towers. During the Middle Ages, many Christians who were fleeing persecution came to this isolated barren terrain. They dug into the porous rock to create hiding places and homes for themselves. They expanded their deeply dug tunnels into underground cities that descended into the bowels of the earth as much as eight or nine levels. At times, as many as 8,000 people lived in these man-made underground dwellings. Visitors today can see the remains of their homes complete with the kitchen areas. The blackened ash and soot on the ceiling from their cooking fires still remains as a solemn reminder of what life must have been like for these committed believers in the darkened chambers of the earth. There are other sections where they kept their animals and shafts they carved in the rock for light and air passages. But the part I found most interesting as we visited there, and I found it most impressive as I visited Cappadocia, was something that shows the faith of these dear people. An underground baptistry. The size and depth of the baptistry reveals that these faithful believers practiced baptism not by sprinkling or pouring, but by full immersion. The fact is baptisteries of this type are found in many parts of the ancient world. A few years ago, I visited the ruins of Ephesus in western Turkey. At its height, Ephesus was a magnificent city home to about 150,000 people. After walking down the main street past the Celsus Library in the stadium that seated 12,000, I saw something that caught my eye. It was a sign pointing to the ruins of a Christian church dedicated about 700 or 600 actually years before the time of Christ. As I walked through the tall grass and climbed over rocky ruins, another sign arrested my attention. This one said, Baptistry for adult baptism. The 6th to the 7th century AD. So, I climbed over some stones and there it was. Again, it was a large baptistry clearly designed for full immersion. I had heard that there was something similar in the city of Rome itself. So, I traveled to Rome to among other things search for that baptistry. There in the center of the city, not far from the Vatican, I found it. Located in a small octagon-shaped building that's attached to the church of Saint John of Lateran. We found what we believed, what is believed to be the oldest baptistry in Rome. Its size and shape show clearly that even in Rome the early Christians practiced baptism by full immersion. This ancient structure, among many others, confirmed that the Christian church continued to practice baptism by immersion for many centuries. In fact, it was not until 1311 AD that the Council of Ravenna approved sprinkling and pouring as equally valid as immersion in the rite of baptism. So, for 1300 years anyway, the early Christian church practiced baptism by immersion from 100 AD to about 1300 AD. The word baptize itself comes from a Greek term baptizo that means precisely to submerge or immerse something. It has no other meaning in the ancient world. No one in those days could have misunderstood it. Throughout the New Testament, baptism was always a sign of a believer's faith in Christ and commitment to his word and practiced by full immersion. Baptism is mentioned over 80 times in the New Testament and is part of Christ's final commission to his church. Last words are important. And Christ's final instructions to his disciples are extremely important. Just before ascending to heaven, Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16 verses 15 and 16. Baptism by full immersion is an expression of our inner faith. It signifies that we're totally committed to Christ. It is the outer sign, the public acknowledgment that Jesus has pardoned our sins, saved us by his grace, and changed our lives. It is a vital part of heaven's plan of salvation. Baptism does not save us, but it is the outer sign that Christ has saved us by his grace and we have chosen to live lives of willing obedience. In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus met with his disciples on a mountain in Galilee for one of the last times. This experience is recorded both in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark. Matthew's Gospel adds details that Mark's Gospel does not include. In Matthew, Jesus points out three important things that are associated with baptism. First, to teach. Jesus said, go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. You would not sign a legal document without reading it, much less you want to make a sacred commitment without understanding what's involved. So, the first step is to teach and instruct so the believer will understand the meaning and significance of Christian faith. Although we will keep growing and learning all of our Christian lives on the journey of faith, New Testament Christians were taught the essentials. The basics of the Christian faith and doctrine previous to their baptism just as Christ commanded. Speaking of those baptized on Pentecost, Peter declared in Acts chapter 2 verse 41, And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and prayers. To continue in the apostles' doctrine, these early believers must have known it ahead of time. Baptism follows a process of teaching God's word and of learning God's word. Second is believe. Teaching the gospel is essential, but it's not enough. There must be a faith response on the part of the hearer. Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creature and all creation. And whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Mark 16 verse 15. Belief is the intelligent response of a person's free will. To believe is to accept by faith the teachings one has heard. It is to place one's trust in Christ, accept the salvation he so freely offers. It's much more than mental assent. New Testament belief or faith requires a commitment of the will to surrender to the claims of Christ, surrender our lives to his will and obey his commands. So, before a person is baptized, Jesus said, go therefore and teach all nations. They must be taught. Before a person is baptized, the Bible says whoever believes they must believe. And thirdly, repent. The people who heard the gospel on the day of Pentecost believed it. In fact, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Acts 2 verse 37, Men and brethren, what shall we do? And what does Peter say to them? Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Repentance means that we have a change of attitude toward our sins. We no longer love the things that break God's heart. Our mindset has changed. We no longer desire to do anything that brings grief to our Savior. We're sorry for our sins and have surrendered the specific thing the Holy Spirit points out to us. We no longer cherish it. We no longer embrace it. We no longer hold on to it. In the blazing light of the cross, we choose to be done with anything that's contrary to God will. We regret our behavior, not just the consequences. We're sorry for what we did and not just sorry that we got caught. This is true repentance. The apostle Paul calls it a godly sorrow that produces repentance which in turn leads to salvation. 2 Corinthians 7 verse 10. All three of these steps are essential. They offer us another evidence that baptism is not for babies who cannot respond in faith and repent of their sins. Well, how many kinds of baptism there are there that are valid, they're accepted by our Lord? With the clear teaching of Scripture and the evidence of history, it does seem strange that churches practice different types of baptism. Some of them sprinkle water on babies. Others prefer to dip their finger in water and touch the child's forehead. Still others wait until a child is a little older and then they pour oil over their head. One group pours the oil three times in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I heard I've heard about something that's kind of strange called rose petal baptism. This one was done by a creative pastor who picked rose petals, put them in a pail, and poured them over kids' heads. Now, none of these different methods corresponds to what the Bible clearly teaches. When John the Baptist, that is literally John the Baptizer, came and began to baptize people in the Jordan River, the rite was not new. The Jews had large tanks in which they immersed themselves as a way to be free from impurity. The baptism that John administrated followed a similar idea. It was the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin according to Mark 1 verse 4. The apostle agreed calling baptism the washing of regeneration. That's the apostle Paul in Titus 3 verse 5. But in his letter to the Romans, he adds a new dimension that greatly enriches its meaning. He says that when the minister acting as Christ's representative submerges us into water, he's putting us in the grave. He's burying the old way of life, the person we used to be. And when he raises us again, it is a kind of resurrection. We are new in Christ. The guilt of the past is gone. Pardoned and cleansed, we live new life in Christ. In this way, he says we participate in the death of Jesus for our sins and also his resurrection and a new beginning in life.
Guest (Male): We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of Scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers. If you want to learn more about the Bible, check out our free Bible series at globalbibleschool.org. That's globalbibleschool.org. Discover answers to your deepest questions straight from God's word. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: Somebody says, well, doesn't Jesus forgive our sins when we confess them? Do we need to be baptized? He forgives our sins when we confess them certainly. But my friend, have you remembered every sin you've ever committed? Certainly not. So, when we go into the baptismal pool, Jesus says everything in your past life is cleansed. You're dying to it. Whoever comes to Jesus enters into a process of change. The Holy Spirit leads the way, gives us a new perspective that enables us to see the clear truth about ourselves and our sinful condition. At the same time, he fills our hearts with hope and a longing for something better. This process of growth and holiness never stops. It is the work of a lifetime. This steady, gradual change is what we call sanctification. But there's another type of change that's called conversion. Conversion is a U-turn on the highway of life. Conversion does not change where we are, but the direction where we're heading. It is not a change of behavior, but of values, of ideals, of hopes, of plans. When that happens, a change of behavior follows. Paul wrote, In my inner being, I delight to do God's law. Romans 7:22. This is the voice of a truly converted man. Unconverted people most emphatically do not delight in God's law. They're bored or maybe even irritated by talk about faith. They don't long for holiness or Christ-like character. And baptism is the burial of that dead person. We rise from the watery grave to newness of life. Romans 6 verse 4. But that does not imply we are a finished project. Like the new life that begins at physical birth, our spiritual birth is only a beginning. In the same passage where Paul says he delighted in the law of God, he confessed that the old sinful nature still clamored to be heard. He still had to struggle every day against the evil within. Romans 7 verse 15 to 18 tells us about that. He had to discipline his body and keep it under subjection. If not, the old nature would quickly regain its power over his life. As we go forward in the Christian life, we're guided. We're empowered by the Holy Spirit. Purpose and order come come into our lives and love fills our hearts to a degree we never dreamed possible. What's the meaning of baptism? Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be born again. As a religious leader, Nicodemus must have understood Jesus' meaning, but he was put off, irritated by the insinuation. After all, he was a famous religious leader with an impeccable public image. Was Jesus actually saying that he needed to be born again? So, he chose to avoid the issue. How can a man be born when he's old? he asked. Can um can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? John 3 verse 4 records that discussion. This, of course, is irony. A polite form of uh uh of sarcasm. But Jesus paid no attention to the tone. He answered calmly. Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3 verse 5. Being born of the Spirit is conversion. The experience we've just described, being born of water is baptism. Spiritual birth is invisible. God who knows our hearts is the true witness. Baptism on the other hand is public and visible. It can be photographed and certified and recorded in a book. Baptism is a public testimony to a spiritual reality. It stands for spiritual washing and cleansing from sin for death, burial, and resurrection to new life. But make no mistake, it's more. Much more than a symbol. The physical act of being submerged has no merit. It is not a good deed that we can present to show we deserve to get into heaven. Nevertheless, God in his mercy has chosen to honor our faith and respond to our desire for a holy life which we express through baptism. When we're baptized, the Holy Spirit fills our lives in a powerful, dramatic way. We learn this from the example of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 3 verse 16 and 17, and the Scripture says, He came up immediately from the water and behold the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him. And a voice from heaven came saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased. Notice the passage says that when Jesus came up from the water to come up out of the water, Jesus must have gone down into the water. Jesus is our example. He was baptized by immersion. We also learned that the Holy Spirit descended on him in a special measure of power. And it's true Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary according to Matthew chapter 1 verse 20. The Spirit guided him throughout his childhood and youth. The Holy Spirit strengthened him in the hour of temptation. He was never without the Holy Spirit, but when he was baptized, the Spirit came in a special way to empower him for his life of service and mission. John says that the Holy Spirit was not given to Jesus by measure. Our heavenly Father gives the Holy Spirit to us without measure to those who come in full surrender to his will. Jesus' experience is for us as well. The Holy Spirit is with us from the beginning, working in our hearts, bringing us to repentance and to new life in Christ. It's the Spirit who awakens in our hearts a longing for spiritual change. But as true as that is, just like Jesus who got an extra amount of the Spirit, the abundance of the Spirit to empower him for his ministry. So, when we come to the baptismal pool, I want you to think about it. We come to be baptized. And as we go into the water and come up out of that water, we have this sense of cleanliness. We have this sense of new life in Christ. God speaks from heaven says, This is my beloved Son John. This is my beloved daughter Mary. This is my beloved Son Peter. My beloved daughter Alice. God speaks to us in our hearts and we sense that we have that we are pleasing God. And then he grants to us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us. His coming may not be visible, but it's as real as when the Spirit descended on Jesus. You know, sometimes people tell me when I'm baptized, I don't want to join any church. I just want to be baptized. Eventually these people have not evidently these people have not understood what the New Testament says about this subject. On the day of Pentecost, Peter presented the gospel message in power of the Holy Spirit and 3,000 people surrendered their lives to Christ. Acts 2 verse 41. Can you imagine the excitement of that wonderful day? What a marvelous time when so many believed and were baptized. But the story does not stop there. Baptism is not an end in in itself. On the contrary, it's a beginning. Acts 2 verse 41 then 47. They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. And the Lord added to the church daily those being saved. The people who were baptized on the day of Pentecost were not left alone. The new believers would grow in the context of the church as a baby grows in the context of a family or home. The Bible record makes it clear that the new believers were added to them, to the church. That means they joined the fellowship of those who were already following Jesus. Also, they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. The word doctrine means teaching. This implies an ongoing process of instruction. As they were nurtured and instructed, they continued to grow. The basis of their instruction was the word of God and the teachings of Jesus. They received those teachings as they listened to the instruction, the doctrines of Scripture as taught by the disciples. The new believers did not attempt to worship God in isolation. They became part of the church, part of a spiritual community. Their fellowship activities included sharing meals and worshiping together. They were part of a prayer ministry and prayer groups. They continued to witness more and more people as they joined the church because the Lord added to the church daily as such it should be saved. A friend of mine, Pastor Ron Wade, tells this story. He says, I was in the heart of the business district in Medellín, Colombia, hurrying along the sidewalk to meet an appointment. When I passed a young woman sitting on a piece of cardboard, two children were by her side, a baby of some eight or nine months and a child of about two. I was struck by the expression of anguish on the woman's face. The children were playing quietly, but she paid them no attention. She seemed to be gazing at something in the far distance. I slowed down briefly and might have spoken to her, but it was near closing time, so I hurried on to the bank. Some 20 or 30 minutes later as I returned from my errand, a huge crowd had gathered at the place. They were all looking and talking and pointing. The children were still there, but the woman was gone. She had chosen to abandon them in the most public part of the city, a spot where thousands of people hurried by constantly. There were many expressions of compassion from the crowd. What terrible anguish. What pressures from life would lead a woman to walk away from her own flesh and blood? What's going to happen now? I asked someone. We've already called the child protection agency, he replied. I'm sure they will be here in a few minutes. Think of the difference a loving family would make for those children. Think of the support they would receive if adopted into a home that really wanted them and supported them in every way. When we're baptized, we become part of God's church. We become part of a caring family. But what if the church is not as supportive, not as caring, not as loving as it should be? The prophet Isaiah provides this helpful insight. Can a woman forget her nursing child? Asks the Lord through the prophet Isaiah. And not have compassion on the son of her womb? He's presenting the strongest possible example of human love. And yet God realizes that it is in fact possible. Surely they may forget, he says. Yet I'll not forget you. See, I've inscribed you on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49 verse 15 and 16. Even the strongest kind of human love cannot compare with the compassion and tender mercy and love of God toward his children. Churches are not perfect. At times people will let us down, but they are God's ordained place for us to grow in Christ. And the good news is that Jesus will never let us down. His love is forever. A man said to me, I'd like to be baptized, but I'm afraid. My family doesn't agree. I'll have no support at home. Also, I'm not sure that I can resist temptations when they come along. Will you have problems and temptations after your baptism? Yes, I can ensure you that you will. But when you're tempted to concentrate your mind on how weak you are, don't forget how strong he is and how much he loves you. Remember his promise, I'll never leave you or forsake you in Hebrews 13 verse 5. Jesus told Nicodemus that the new birth has both a spiritual and physical dimension. We are born of the Spirit and we're born of water. In the same way, we're born into a family that is both physical and spiritual dimensions. It's the family of God in heaven and earth according to Ephesians 3 verse 15. Through our spiritual birth, we join the company of angels and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. We walk with Jesus in his love at the center of our lives. But through our physical rebirth, which is baptism, we join the family of God on earth. We become part of the church, for by one Spirit, the Bible says, we're all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free. And have all been made to drink of one Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 verse 37 says that that one body is the church. Through baptism by immersion, we join the company of the remnant, the faithful ones of the last days who according to Revelation 14:12 keep the commandments of God and of the faith of Jesus. We join a Christ-centered Bible-believing church. We become part of God's people, his Sabbath-keeping Adventist people around the world. God is making appeals today to men and women to step out in faith, to make this decision to walk into the water, to have the cleansing of their sin, to have the peace and joy that he can only give, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to be empowered in their life. I appeal to you right now, my friend. Will you make that eternal decision to follow Jesus Christ? Will you make that eternal decision to say, Lord, I am yours. Will you experience the power of Jesus in your life anew as you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit at your baptism? Will you sense that you're becoming part of something big, something large for God? That you're becoming part of a worldwide ministry around the world that is proclaiming his gospel until he will come again.
Guest (Male): You've been listening to Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you enjoyed today's message and that it increased your faith in God and his word. If you'd like to learn more, Pastor Mark invites you to visit globalbibleschool.org for an inspiring, interactive Bible study experience. That's globalbibleschool.org. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: Oh, friend of mine, God has a church family for you that'll reach out to you in loving compassion, kindness where you can grow in Christ and be instructed in God's word. Will you open your heart right now at this moment as the Holy Spirit is convicting you and say, Jesus, Jesus, I want to walk ahead through those waters of baptism.