The Country Church Bourbon Indiana

Text: Romans 6:1-5; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:4-6

Text: Romans 6:2-5

Theme: Baptism is a symbol of our death to sin and new life in Christ.

It is a complicated topic developed over many verses in Romans, but when we were saved by Jesus, we were united with Him in his death, burial, and resurrection. The result is that we have died to sin and been given a new life of righteousness.

Before we were Christians, sin ruled us. Sin was our master. That doesn’t mean that we were as evil and malicious as possible. But everything we did was tainted by sin in some way.

When we became Christians, the rule of sin over our lives ended. And the rule of Christ over our lives began. We still sin, but sin does not rule over us and we don’t continue habitually in it. Instead, our lives are marked by new life in Christ.

Baptism symbolizes this. When an individual is fully immersed in the water, it represents their full immersion into Jesus’ death. When they rise up again out of the water, cleansed, it represents our unity with Jesus in His resurrection and our cleansing from sin through Jesus. It is a powerful demonstration that the old things have passed away, and a new start has begun for the Christian.

Text: Matthew 28:18-20

Theme: Baptism is a part of following Jesus as one of His disciples.

When Jesus finished His earthly ministry and was about to ascend into heaven, He commissioned the church to go, make disciples, baptize them, and instruct them in the teachings of Jesus.

Baptizing people “in” the name is significant, because it shows identification. Being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit shows that you are declaring your allegiance to them.

Baptism, therefore, is a part of being a disciple. Being baptized is a public declaration that you are identifying with, or declaring your allegiance to, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Text: Ephesians 4:4-6

Theme: Baptism is one of the things that unify us as Christians.

As Christians we are part of one body. We are unified as all being a part of the church. We are unified by sharing one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one God and Father, and one baptism. Being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one of the things that unify us as believers.

Application:

There is coming opportunity for you to be baptized. We have one more baptism service coming up late August or sometime in September. If you have not yet received baptism, feel free to let me know.