“True Baptism”
Sunday Morning, September 2, 2012
scriptures: Romans 5, John 3, Romans 5, Romans 6, 2 Corinthians 5
keywords: faith, peace, saved, trust, Jesus, tribulations, faith, experience, confession, baptize
audio file: click to open in a new window or right-click to download
https://www.ekklesia.church/media/2012/20120902.mp3
Romans 5:1 It is through God that we have peace and by having faith in him.
John 3:16-18 Jesus came that the world through him might be saved. When we believe in
God we put our trust in him. So many look at verse 16 but don’t read the following
verses- there are consequences if you don’t believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:2-5 We have access to God through faith. We shouldn’t just tell people to pray
because if a person is not trusting in God they will not be able to reach him.
As a believer, we should glory in tribulations. Do we praise God when we are going through
things? Verse 4- Many times God tries us through experiences to see if we are for real. Often times
people pray that the trial will leave instead that their faith will show up. You have to be
real as a Christian-you have to be like a car that starts when the key is turned. However,
some people just go to church because of other people- their family, boyfriend or girlfried.
Verse 5- you are not ashamed when you decide to trust in God. Baptism is a public confession.
The love of God is given to us when we accept Jesus and we have the capacity to love.
Romans 6:1-13 Some Christians identify themselves by the fact that they have been baptized
However, just being baptized doesn’t mean anything if you are not saved. Baptism is a
a signature moment in one’s life but it symbolizes that you are a Christian. Some people
are baptized for the wrong reasons. When they were a child they may have been baptized but
may not have given their life to the Lord. When you got baptized were you giving yourself
away to Jesus Christ. Verse 4- the water symbolizes a grave that the old person dies in
a new person will result. When you are baptized you want to be a different person, you want
to think differently, you want to treat people differently. Verse 10- When you got baptized
did you say that you wanted to live for God, unto God. Some people have gotten baptized and still
are sleeping with people or still smoking weed. How can you be truly given unto the Lord if you
are still doing the same thing. Some people will even say that they got baptized but they are still
the same old person. If that is true, then something is not right if they are still the same old
person.
2 Corinthians 5:10-14
Verse 11- If we don’t do what we are supposed to do in God then we will go to hell.
When people look at you they shouldn’t look at you and think that you are not going to do something any different. When you give your life to the Lord people are going to look at you differently. Verse 15: You shouldn’t be living for you now if you are a Christian. If you got baptized but did not commit your life to Christ then you are not saved. How many of you can say that you don’t live for yourself. We are not supposed to live for our kids, our job, our country