Baptism, My Son, and the Power of the Gospel

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This Sunday (Father’s Day) at Wilkesboro Baptist Church, I’ll be preaching this sermon “What We Believe about Baptism and Why it Matters.” This sermon is a part of a larger series addressing important doctrines for our church. Baptism is a vital part of the Christian life.

  • As Baptists, we don’t believe baptism saves you. We believe Jesus saves you and baptism is an outward picture of an inward change (Romans 6).
  • As Baptists, we hold to believer’s baptism. We understand Scriptures to teach that baptism follows conversion as an act of obedience to Jesus, a public profession of faith in Jesus, and identification with a local church.

Since I’m preaching on the subject of baptism, we will celebrate baptism. One of my absolute favorite things to do in ministry is participate in baptism. This Sunday will be exceedingly special as I get the privilege of baptizing my oldest son, Will. After months of discussions and questions, Will trusted Jesus to be his Lord and Savior several weeks ago! Now, he’s ready to announce his faith publicly with baptism. I can’t tell you how thrilled and excited I am as a father and pastor that I get to baptize my son. I’m also very excited for the others that I’ll get to baptize on Sunday.

But even with the excitement that will permeate our church and the families of those being baptized on Sunday, I’m burdened by recent statistics concerning my own denomination—the Southern Baptist Convention. A recent Baptist Press article revealed a decline in baptisms and membership across our denomination. I’m positive the factors in declining membership and baptisms are complex. In some places, theological errors diminish the church’s outreach. In some places, evangelistic apathy hinders the church’s witness. In some places, cultural capitulation mitigates the church’s influence.

The solutions to every challenge faced by our churches and congregations are certainly not simple or easy.But one thing is biblically clear and amazingly simple—“the gospel is the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).

If we want to see people come to faith in Jesus, we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we want our churches to baptize new members, we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we want our denomination to grow and expand, we must preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you are reading this, and you are in ministry, let me ask you to make a commitment. Preach and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ regularly and clearly.

If you are reading this, and you are a church member, let me ask you to make a commitment. Learn to share the gospel and tell others about Jesus. Invite them to a Bible-believing, gospel-preaching church.

If you are reading this, let me ask you to make a commitment. Pray for lost people. Show them love by praying for them, inviting them to church, and sharing the gospel with them. They are all around us, and if they are going to become followers of Jesus, they need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. It IS God’s power unto salvation. That’s God’s simple solution to the problem of lostness and sin in our world. It has worked for two thousand years. I’m confident God’s solution will not fail. Let us not fail by neglecting to join God in his gospel mission.

Why God’s View of Humanity Matters

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In today’s culture, mankind is a complex concoction of chemical processes—mankind is an evolved animal species that has reached the top of the food chain. Today’s understanding of man is utterly hopeless and confused. If we arose from evolution, we are not distinct from animals. We live by pure instinct. Morality is a social construct, not an absolute certainty. Jean Paul Sartre (a famous postmodernist), described himself this way,

It was true, I had always realized it—I hadn’t any “right” to exist at all. I had appeared by chance, I existed like a stone, a plant, a microbe. I could feel nothing to myself but an inconsequential buzzing. I was thinking … that here we are eating and drinking, to preserve our precious existence, and that there’s nothing, nothing, absolutely no reason for existing.

But that can’t be so… Sartre cannot be correct. When I hear beautiful music, I feel. When I see an artistic masterpiece, I feel. When I witness an egregious injustice, I feel. When I hear a heartwarming story, I feel. Why do we as humans have emotions and moral sensibilities? Surely it cannot be because there’s no reason or purpose for existence. No, humanity has a distinct purpose. I believe God made us in his image.

According to Genesis 1:27, God made both the male and female gender in his image. One area where today’s culture is confused is regards the transgender bathroom controversies. We see this evidenced in the LGBTQ movement and Bruce Jenner’s transformation to normalize gender confusion and transitions. What is this about? Ultimately, we are witnessing the cultural grandchild of the sexual revolution of the 1960s. The 60s witnessed a sexual morality consistent with humanity not created but evolved. Since then, sexual norms have been constantly changing and consistently under attack—to the point now where the attack is now on one’s given gender. If gender is a “choice,” not a part of the created design, then man is not made in God’s image. I believe the consequences of this point of view are breathtakingly dangerous:

  • Man does not have inherent dignity or worth. We are worth no more than animals.
  • Man does not have inherent morality. If gender is a product of choice and not an absolute biological certainty, then everything is a product of choice without absolute standards.
  • Man does not have cultural security. The laws of our land, if they follow the biblical intent of civil law, should protect the innocent and those that cannot defend themselves. This gender confusion and shifting standards create a scenario where protection of the innocent is not guaranteed by the expected standards.

What are we to do about this progression? First, as Christians we must take our stand on biblical truth and recognize that gender is part of God’s design. As such, we should acknowledge the inherent dignity afforded to every human being as a result of being made in God’s image. Second, we must be willing to become the vocal minority in a culture that is decidedly rejecting biblical norms. We must not relegate the biblical affirmations regarding human dignity and gender to silence and solitude.

Being made male and female in God’s image indicates that God made us for relationship and interdependence upon one another. Ultimately, God made us for relationship with him. Some in today’s culture have made gender the issue at which to attack God’s design. As his followers, we must be willing to address culture on this issue because relationship with God is at stake.