The Gospel On Display

The Gospel on Display

Scripture References: Matthew 28:18–20, Romans 6:1–14

Today we have the privilege of witnessing the baptism of Sharon Samatha Shell, and Leilah Weems.

These two ladies give clear testimony of the Lord calling them to Himself, and are openly declaring their faith in Him as the Lord and Savior of their lives…

Baptism is a beautiful and profound picture of what happens in a person’s life when the Lord saves them. It is a visual illustration, and expression of an inward reality. It is an act that pictures the gospel!

Before witnessing their baptism, let’s turn to the Scriptures and consider what God has revealed about this event.

First, let’s review why we even have this practice.

Look with me to what is known as “The Great Commission”... Here are some of the words Jesus spoke to His disciples, after His resurrection from the dead, and before He ascended to heaven –

Matthew 28:18–20
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

For time’s sake, let’s simply focus on the commission portion of this text. There is a threefold commission – to make disciples, mark disciples, and mature disciples. First, to –

1 – Make Disciples

Matthew 28:19–20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

A disciple is one who comes to learn from, and follow after a teacher… Jesus is more than a teacher, but He is our Teacher… Disciples are made when they come to … savingly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Disciples are made when are saved.

Coming to faith is Christ – that is, to savingly believe on Christ – is the beginning… When one is born-again, they are, at that moment, heaven-bound.

But, there is more. Every Christian, that is everyone who is truly born-again, is called by God to participate in this process of … “making disciples”... How do we do that? By simply sharing the gospel with others!

The Holy Spirit is the One Who conveys to the mind and heart the truth and beauty of the gospel. As we learned a couple of weeks ago, The Holy Spirit is the One who –

John 16:8
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

What does the Lord use to do that? What is the primary instrument needed for one to come to know the reality of their sinful condition, and the truth that Jesus is God’s very provision for deliverance from that sinful condition?... The instrument is the very Word of God! As Paul later wrote –

Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

You hear the gospel of Christ. The Lord illuminates your heart and mind to the truth of the gospel, and He “draws you to Christ”!

John 6:44
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

This drawing is the direct work of God!... Our part, as disciples, is to simply proclaim / share / preach the gospel of Christ – just as the Apostle Paul writes –

1 Corinthians 15:1–11
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,... 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

So then, the recipients of the gospel are now charged by the Lord to share the gospel with others! Our message today is the same message the first disciples preached!... Listen to –

2 Corinthians 5:18–20
18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

So… the “making” of disciples begins with the sharing of the gospel, and the Lord Himself then drawing people to Himself, and they are born-again… They are saved.

2 – Mark Disciples

Disciples are marked … by believer’s baptism.

Matthew 28:19–20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

We baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, because that is what Jesus said to do… All of God is involved in salvation: As the old-timers use to say; “The Father thought it, the Son bought it, and the Holy Spirit wrought it!” All of God is involved in redeeming His own, and He redeems … our all – our past, present and future…

In fact, that leads to the rest of the commission. We make, mark, and –

3 – Mature Disciples

Disciples mature as they grow in their understanding and application of truth to their lives…

Matthew 28:19–20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Notice again – that in order to be a disciple – there must be a certain commitment on the part of the follower… Becoming a follower of Jesus begins with the experience of being born again. There is a beginning point in our relationship with Christ – and that is initiated at the point when the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see our desperate need for the Savior and draws us to Christ with the realization that He – and He Alone is the One Who can save us… That is – He is the One Who rescues us for the wrath of a Holy God – Whom we have all offended with our treasonous heart…

Yet – though discipleship begins at the point of one’s salvation – discipleship is an ongoing process in your growth and maturity in that relationship. It has been rightly said that “Disciples are made – not (merely) born”... In your notes, you will find a helpful chart clarifying distinctions between salvation and discipleship… Disciples are first saved, and then set on the road toward maturity in Christ. That road is called … discipleship.

Salvation vs. Discipleship (continued)

The Apostle Paul was later directed to write about the theological reasons for baptism, and we find that treatise in the book of Romans… Our time is very limited today, so I want to encourage you to read the entire 6th chapter of Romans, and ask the Lord to help you grasp all that is being said, and how it applies to you… In fact, a word-by-word study of this chapter will fill your mind and heart with such life-transforming truth, that you will be forever grateful for coming to the knowledge of these matters!... For times’ sake, we will not go past verse :14 today…

Paul begins this section building upon what was said previously. So, we need to read that… Look with me to the end of chapter 15… As we read it, let’s think about it under the heading –

1. The Need for, and Provision of the Gospel

Romans 5:18–21
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Paul is juxtaposing Adam and Jesus… He is comparing and contrasting the “first Adam”, over and against the “Second Adam”... Through the disobedience of the first Adam – we are made sinners. Through the obedience of the Second Adam; Jesus – we are made … saints.

By means of the Law, and our failure before it, we are made aware of the judgement we deserve… By the means of God’s Grace, coming through Christ, we come to know forgiveness and are the recipients of eternal life!

The point is – it takes great grace to bring one out of sin into life! The greater the guilt – the greater the grace!

Two “One Act” Contrasts – Romans 5:18–19

2. The Logic behind, and Display of the Gospel

Romans 6:1
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

The idea is – if it takes great grace to deliver out of great sin, then what about just … live in sin all you want, since that results in even greater grace on God’s part for you?... That my friend, is stink’n think’n!

The heart that “wants” to “live-it-up” in sin, thinking that God will just “pour-it-on” with grace – is a heart that has not be changed by grace in the first place! That is NOT Christian thinking at all!

Romans 6:1–2
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

Notice something that is very heavy here… Paul raises a question; “how shall we who died to sin still live in it?” Are we “dead” to sin?...

Kenneth Wuest is a big help here – “The tense of the verb (is) aorist, which speaks of a once for all act. God has wrought a cleavage or separation between the believer and the sinful nature which is a permanent one, a once-for-all disengagement of the person from the evil nature. This surgical operation is never repeated. So far as God is concerned, He has so thoroughly done His work that that separation could be permanent. But alas, because of the frailty of man, the Christian at infrequent intervals does yield to the evil nature and sin. But the point is, God has so constituted him, that he need not do so. He has imparted the divine nature which gives the Christian a hatred of sin and a love for righteousness. In addition to this, the Holy Spirit has been caused to take up His permanent residence in him to aid him in his battle against sin, and in his effort to live a Christian life.”

So, we see that Paul is not saying that a Christian never sins – he is saying that a Christian can’t live in it! He can’t “be at home” in sin!

Christians come to realize that sin, tolerated sin in our lives, is … dangerous. Unrepentant sin only leads to greater sin and darkness. Christians, by God’s grace, are always battling against their sin…

Bob Deffinbaugh says it this way – “There is a corollary to the principle that grace always outruns and exceeds sin, and it is this: sin always seeks to use that which is good to promote evil.”

We are grateful that God is continually exercising grace toward us – but we also realize that sin is something not to play around with – because it is more dangerous than we truly realize…

God’s grace is not “a license to sin” – it is the rescue from sin!

In what follows, the Apostle Paul leans into truths that we need to grasp, and these truths are all … illustrated in baptism.

The Christian’s Identification with Christ

Romans 6:3–4
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

There are at least 6 times when – (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5, 11:16) – the Bible records that the “real” baptism is not the baptism illustrated by the water – but the baptism of The Holy Spirit – which occurs when one is born again!

Charles Ryrie summarizes this well, when he wrote – “Baptism with the Holy Spirit joins the believer to Christ, separating him from the old life and associating him with the new. He is no longer ‘in Adam’ but is ‘in Christ.’ Water baptism portrays this truth.”

In being placed under the water, the Christian is identifying with the death of Christ… In being lifted out of the water, the Christian is identifying with the resurrection of Christ!

These truths happen the moment one is born again, and is illustrated when one is baptized as a testimony to the fact that they have been born again!

The Christian’s Transformation through Christ

Romans 6:5–7
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

Are we getting it?... The gospel brings about the transition - out of death into life – but it also brings about a transformation. The life one now has in Christ is one of transformation! We no longer live as we once did – praise God, we don’t have to!... This transforming work is accomplished by Christ!...

The Christian’s Determination for Christ

Romans 6:8–14
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Can you sense that there is a lot of truth in this chapter that truly transforms the way we think about, and live … life!

There is the internal work of God within us… We then, in response to Him, … cooperate with Him, by yielding ourselves to Him in every area of life!

For the rest of my life, I am going to miss the most influential expositor I have read and listened to for nearly 50 years… Pastor John MacArthur went home to be with the Lord this past week, at the age of 86… He has been the most faithful, courageous, and yet genuinely humble man of God whom the Lord had given such a platform… He occupied a platform many covet, but few could handle…

John MacArthur
“If the believer is to fully live out his new life in Christ, he must begin by knowing he is not what he used to be. Once the believer knows the foundational truths about his death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, and his victory over the penalty and power of sin, he is well on his way to victory in the Christian life. Doubts and fears become less and less because he knows he is dealing with a vanquished foe, a monarch who has been dethroned. The believer has been resurrected to new life and therefore has the confidence to strip away his grave clothes and live victoriously!”

Let’s Pray