WEBVTT 00:00:01.790 --> 00:00:04.950 Well, I told her I wouldn't plan a surprise party, 00:00:04.990 --> 00:00:06.910 but I didn't tell her I wouldn't do anything. 00:00:09.769 --> 00:00:12.429 This week she joins me on the other half of the 00:00:12.429 --> 00:00:17.750 great divide. And I welcome her here, where life 00:00:17.750 --> 00:00:30.109 begins, right? People who know. All right. All 00:00:30.109 --> 00:00:32.229 right, I'll pay for it later, but that's okay. 00:00:32.670 --> 00:00:37.109 That's okay. Have you noticed that we live in 00:00:37.109 --> 00:00:43.549 a world with a lot of signs and symbols? We could 00:00:43.549 --> 00:00:47.909 not communicate really without them. Today I 00:00:47.909 --> 00:00:50.250 want to talk about an important sign. It's the 00:00:50.250 --> 00:00:52.429 sign of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis 00:00:52.429 --> 00:00:57.240 chapter 17. But just to remind you how important 00:00:57.240 --> 00:00:59.299 signs are, just take a look at the slide up there 00:00:59.299 --> 00:01:03.380 this morning and see how we come to depend upon 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:09.379 them. Hand signals, signs for professions, signs 00:01:09.379 --> 00:01:15.659 of approval, disapproval, signs of what happens 00:01:15.659 --> 00:01:20.819 in your stock market account, hopefully. Handshakes. 00:01:22.670 --> 00:01:26.290 By that symbolic act we are saying that we agree 00:01:26.290 --> 00:01:29.930 together on this. We could not live without signs 00:01:29.930 --> 00:01:34.489 and symbols. Prehistoric drawings on cave walls, 00:01:35.129 --> 00:01:37.930 Egyptian hieroglyphics, the English alphabet, 00:01:38.349 --> 00:01:42.629 all of these involve the use of symbols to represent 00:01:42.629 --> 00:01:46.709 sounds or words. And that's what makes written 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:50.109 communication possible. We have road signs that 00:01:50.109 --> 00:01:54.709 inform us where we are. tell us what the services 00:01:54.709 --> 00:01:57.989 are at the next exit, or how fast we can travel 00:01:57.989 --> 00:02:00.150 without meeting one of the law officers of that 00:02:00.150 --> 00:02:05.209 region. Sports officials use signs to communicate 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:07.689 what's happening in the action. What does this 00:02:07.689 --> 00:02:12.169 mean? See, I didn't say that, but the symbol 00:02:12.169 --> 00:02:18.229 told you, or this. What about this? That's strike 00:02:18.229 --> 00:02:22.199 three. That's not a mic. That's not a Michael 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:30.400 Jackson imitation, that is strike three. The 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.979 fact is that God sometimes uses signs and symbols 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:38.539 also to communicate with us. We see this in Genesis. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:41.319 Those of us studying Revelation together have 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:43.300 seen it often in the book of Revelation, which 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:46.870 is a book about many signs and symbols. Today 00:02:46.870 --> 00:02:49.310 we're talking about another one of the great 00:02:49.310 --> 00:02:52.770 signs that God gives regarding the end times 00:02:52.770 --> 00:02:58.009 in that particular class. The first time the 00:02:58.009 --> 00:03:00.349 word sign is used in the Bible is actually in 00:03:00.349 --> 00:03:04.550 conjunction with Cain, where it says in Genesis 00:03:04.550 --> 00:03:19.439 chapter 4, for Cain, lest anyone finding him 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:24.280 should slay him." More commonly we're aware of 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:26.819 the sign or the symbol that is found in Genesis 00:03:26.819 --> 00:03:30.159 chapter 9, the second time that the word sign 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:34.500 is used in the Bible. It's the rainbow. And God 00:03:34.500 --> 00:03:37.900 said, this is the sign of the covenant which 00:03:37.900 --> 00:03:40.599 I am making between me and you and every living 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.780 creature that is with you for all successive 00:03:43.780 --> 00:03:47.840 generations. I set my bow in the cloud and it 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:51.800 shall be a sign of a covenant between me and 00:03:51.800 --> 00:03:55.520 the earth." And so whenever we see the rainbow, 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.020 we should be reminded that that is God's sign 00:03:59.020 --> 00:04:03.159 of His covenant with all peoples of the earth 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:06.099 regarding not sending a flood again to the whole 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:10.400 earth in judgment. That the rainbow is a covenant 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:15.250 sign for all the nations of the earth. Likewise, 00:04:15.409 --> 00:04:18.189 with Israel, God gave a special sign of a different 00:04:18.189 --> 00:04:23.250 sort in the Sabbath, which became a symbol of 00:04:23.250 --> 00:04:26.529 that religious community of Israel and its covenant 00:04:26.529 --> 00:04:30.790 of the law that was made at Mount Sinai between 00:04:30.790 --> 00:04:35.149 God and Israel. That day of rest set them apart 00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:38.290 from the rest of the nations. It was a sign of 00:04:38.290 --> 00:04:42.269 who they were. Now in our text this morning in 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:46.709 Genesis chapter 17, we are going to see yet another 00:04:46.709 --> 00:04:52.370 kind of a covenant sign. This one in conjunction 00:04:52.370 --> 00:04:56.689 with the covenant with Abram. We see that in 00:04:56.689 --> 00:05:00.110 verse 9. This morning I'm going to take a slice 00:05:00.110 --> 00:05:03.389 of this chapter and talk about it rather than 00:05:03.389 --> 00:05:06.670 talking about the whole chapter. But I'm going 00:05:06.670 --> 00:05:09.990 to begin reading in verse 9 where it says, God 00:05:09.990 --> 00:05:15.529 said further to Abraham now as for you You shall 00:05:15.529 --> 00:05:18.329 keep my covenant I might just point out that 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.910 there are really three speeches that God makes 00:05:20.910 --> 00:05:24.569 in this chapter in the first one he begins by 00:05:24.569 --> 00:05:29.949 saying in verse 4 as for me and Then in verse 00:05:29.949 --> 00:05:33.209 9 the second speech he says to Abraham as for 00:05:33.209 --> 00:05:37.980 you And then third speech in verse 15 where he 00:05:37.980 --> 00:05:43.980 says, as for Sarai, your wife. Now he says to 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:46.500 Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant, 00:05:46.660 --> 00:05:49.199 you and your descendants, after you throughout 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:51.759 their generations. This is the covenant which 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:55.500 you shall keep between me and you and your descendants 00:05:55.500 --> 00:06:00.100 after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised. 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:02.860 And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of 00:06:02.860 --> 00:06:06.089 your foreskin and it shall be the sign of the 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:12.370 covenant between me and you." Thirteen years 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:18.129 have passed since God's last appearance as the 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:23.810 angel of the Lord to Hagar. Ishmael, who was 00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:30.589 born to Hagar and Abram, is now a teenager. God 00:06:30.589 --> 00:06:35.870 appears again to Abram. And he begins in this 00:06:35.870 --> 00:06:38.110 chapter, in this appearance, by giving to Abram 00:06:38.110 --> 00:06:42.129 a brand new name by which Abram had not known 00:06:42.129 --> 00:06:50.730 God before. He says, I am El Shaddai. I am God 00:06:50.730 --> 00:06:56.550 Almighty, for I am Almighty God. From the Vines 00:06:56.550 --> 00:06:59.170 Expository Dictionary we learn that El Shaddai 00:06:59.170 --> 00:07:03.889 served as the patriarch's covenant name for God. 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.360 continued as such until the time of Moses when 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.680 a further revelation took place and God gave 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.459 another covenant name through Moses and that 00:07:14.459 --> 00:07:20.439 was the name what? Tell them that who has sent 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:26.819 you I am Yahweh that I am has sent you but for 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:30.980 Abram the name was not I am it was Almighty God 00:07:30.980 --> 00:07:35.300 El Shaddai God Almighty revealed Himself as a 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:38.279 powerful deity who was able to perform whatever 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:42.519 He asserted. The degree of intimacy between El 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:45.899 Shaddai and the patriarchs at various stages 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:50.019 shows that the covenant involved God's care and 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:53.779 love for this growing family that He had chosen, 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:58.959 protected, and prospered. Now as we think about 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.079 the covenant between Abram and God, Let me just 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:04.639 point this out in general that a covenant is 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:09.279 a good thing. Covenants are important to an ordered 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:13.920 society. We could look upon the Declaration of 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:17.779 Independence as a covenant among the 13 colonies 00:08:17.779 --> 00:08:22.560 to declare their independence from England. We 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:25.279 could see the Constitution as a covenant among 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.399 the states. of the United States as to the powers 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:31.860 that they are granting to the federal government 00:08:31.860 --> 00:08:36.220 and yet retaining some powers for themselves. 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:41.559 Marriage is rightly looked upon as a covenant 00:08:41.559 --> 00:08:45.639 between a man and a woman. We employ covenants 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:51.080 in business. When we sign the credit card slip, 00:08:51.379 --> 00:08:53.799 we are putting our name on a covenant that we 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:59.789 will agree to pay. Organizations sometimes have 00:08:59.789 --> 00:09:02.429 covenants or agreements that declare their purpose, 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:06.049 their values, and the responsibilities of the 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:10.470 members of those organizations. It is not unusual 00:09:10.470 --> 00:09:13.250 for churches to establish covenants by which 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:16.169 the members of the church also agree on certain 00:09:16.169 --> 00:09:20.970 mutual commitments to one another. God makes 00:09:20.970 --> 00:09:25.039 covenants, too. Covenants are a good thing. God 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.879 makes covenants as he does here with Abram. In 00:09:28.879 --> 00:09:31.940 this covenant, he reiterates his promises to 00:09:31.940 --> 00:09:36.480 Abram. You will notice that he first, or rather 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:39.899 he does in verse 8, reiterate his promise regarding 00:09:39.899 --> 00:09:42.740 giving Abram and his descendants the land, but 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:46.360 he inserts a new thought. He says, I will give 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.860 to you and to your descendants after you the 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:52.840 land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:59.340 for an everlasting possession. That's the first 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:02.600 time I believe that God has said this to Abram, 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.460 that this is an everlasting, this is an eternal, 00:10:06.539 --> 00:10:10.700 this is a forever grant of a piece of land to 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:16.440 Abram and to his descendants. But first God also 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:20.320 had reiterated that he would multiply Abram's 00:10:20.320 --> 00:10:23.419 descendants exceedingly in verse 2. He says, 00:10:23.580 --> 00:10:26.600 I will establish my covenant between me and you 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:30.460 and I will multiply you exceedingly. This is 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:33.559 very similar language to what God had said to 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:39.100 Hagar back in verse 10 of chapter 16. God now 00:10:39.100 --> 00:10:44.559 uses that same language with Abram himself. And 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:48.940 he marks this occasion by changing Abram's name 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:54.860 to Abraham. You see that in verse 5. No longer 00:10:54.860 --> 00:10:57.279 shall your name be called Abram, but your name 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:03.320 shall be Abraham. You will be the father of many 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:07.279 nations, father of a multitude. Abram means exalted 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:12.600 father, which was a mockery of a name really 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:17.440 to Abram for most of his life, because he had 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:22.129 not fathered children. Now he has fathered Ishmael 00:11:22.129 --> 00:11:26.809 by Hagar, but that's the only child that he has. 00:11:27.789 --> 00:11:31.029 God is now reiterating, I'm going to make you 00:11:31.029 --> 00:11:33.509 a father of a multitude, so I'm going to change 00:11:33.509 --> 00:11:38.610 your name. Likewise, he changed Sarai's name 00:11:38.610 --> 00:11:43.309 to Sarah, which means princess. It's really very 00:11:43.309 --> 00:11:46.490 little difference in meaning, but the change 00:11:46.490 --> 00:11:51.409 is made nonetheless in verse 15. and it is intended 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:54.889 to mark this very special appearance of God. 00:11:56.470 --> 00:12:01.789 The name change in each case symbolizes the covenant 00:12:01.789 --> 00:12:06.129 that God is making with this family. But then 00:12:06.129 --> 00:12:09.470 God gives yet another sign or a mark of the covenant 00:12:09.470 --> 00:12:13.090 that he is making with Abram. The sign of the 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:17.419 covenant with Abram is male circumcision. Now 00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:19.860 some of you will look at the slide and snicker 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:21.779 a bit, that's alright. Have you ever tried to 00:12:21.779 --> 00:12:26.259 find in your clip art a symbol for circumcision? 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:37.080 So I put a bandaid up there. Now this is a significant 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.320 command that God gives, and it is significant 00:12:41.320 --> 00:12:45.360 that God gives this command after the birth of 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:52.740 Ishmael. but before the birth of Isaac. It is 00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:56.639 because of what this symbolizes. And that's the 00:12:56.639 --> 00:12:59.279 question I want to talk about. What did circumcision 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:05.000 symbolize as it is a sign of the covenant? This 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:08.000 cutting away of the foreskin of the male reproductive 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:12.659 organ is intended to show two things. Separation. 00:13:14.560 --> 00:13:18.639 inclusion and I want to talk about those. In 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:22.240 the first place the cutting away of the skin 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:26.919 symbolized the cutting away of the defilement 00:13:26.919 --> 00:13:33.120 of the world. It is the removal or the separation 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:36.820 of Abram and his family from association with 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:39.559 the rest of the nations which were all pagan. 00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:45.279 God is taking them out from the nations. He is 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.860 separating them. He is cutting away from them 00:13:47.860 --> 00:13:53.059 that identity with the rest. At the same time, 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:56.419 down through the generations, it became a sign 00:13:56.419 --> 00:14:01.899 of inclusion because it meant that these were 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:06.639 included in the covenant of Abraham. That they 00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:10.360 were by this act included among the people of 00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:17.110 the covenant. And so, ideally at least, this 00:14:17.110 --> 00:14:20.889 sign became to those who practiced it a sign 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:27.789 of faith in El Shaddai, in Almighty God. That 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:31.730 he is the one who is able to keep his covenant 00:14:31.730 --> 00:14:33.909 with his people and do what he has promised. 00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:38.450 He is Almighty. And so those who believed the 00:14:38.450 --> 00:14:44.039 covenant obeyed the covenant sign. But that brings 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:48.460 another question. And the question is, did this 00:14:48.460 --> 00:14:52.419 act of circumcision effect personal salvation? 00:14:55.139 --> 00:14:58.179 In other words, was every person who was circumcised 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:03.159 by that act made a true believer in El Shaddai? 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:08.720 The answer to that is no. That is not the case. 00:15:10.049 --> 00:15:14.669 Circumcision was an outward sign, an outward 00:15:14.669 --> 00:15:18.169 mark of faith in God's covenant with Abraham. 00:15:19.509 --> 00:15:22.809 But salvation does not come from outward marks 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:26.929 or signs or actions. Salvation comes from an 00:15:26.929 --> 00:15:32.070 inward act of genuine trust in the promise of 00:15:32.070 --> 00:15:40.200 God. Salvation is the gracious gift of God. affected 00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:47.320 by believing God's promise. Abram is not made 00:15:47.320 --> 00:15:53.519 a believer at this point. He is a believer before 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:58.220 this. Paul goes to great lengths in Romans chapter 00:15:58.220 --> 00:16:04.500 4 to make this point. He wanted everyone of his 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:08.179 readers to know that Abram was justified before 00:16:08.179 --> 00:16:14.960 God before he was circumcised, that he had already 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:18.000 believed God and was counted as righteous in 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:23.480 the eyes of God, long before this outward sign 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:27.159 was given to him that was to symbolize that faith. 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:31.879 Even in ancient days, more important than physical 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:35.720 circumcision was the circumcision of the heart. 00:16:37.230 --> 00:16:40.490 And so the Lord says to his people in Deuteronomy 00:16:40.490 --> 00:16:44.730 30 verses 5 and 6, and the Lord your God will 00:16:44.730 --> 00:16:48.549 bring you into the land which your fathers possessed. 00:16:49.450 --> 00:16:52.429 And you shall possess it and he will prosper 00:16:52.429 --> 00:16:55.429 you and multiply you more than your fathers. 00:16:56.629 --> 00:17:00.809 Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your 00:17:00.809 --> 00:17:06.509 heart and the heart of your descendants. to love 00:17:06.509 --> 00:17:09.150 the Lord your God with all your heart and with 00:17:09.150 --> 00:17:15.609 all your soul in order that you may live. More 00:17:15.609 --> 00:17:20.069 important than the physical act was the circumcision 00:17:20.069 --> 00:17:24.509 of the heart, cutting away from the heart, the 00:17:24.509 --> 00:17:31.450 defilement of sin. And that happens as one believes. 00:17:33.180 --> 00:17:36.259 Circumcision signified entrance into and belonging 00:17:36.259 --> 00:17:39.240 to the community of the covenant people, the 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:42.200 descendants of Abram, through Isaac and Jacob. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:48.839 But salvation was still a hard decision to trust 00:17:48.839 --> 00:17:54.559 God's everlasting promise. And so therein lies 00:17:54.559 --> 00:18:00.119 the problem that developed. The ritual itself 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:06.539 became the primary thing over time. People forgot 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:13.220 or neglected the spiritual significance of the 00:18:13.220 --> 00:18:18.740 inward circumcision of the heart. That was lost 00:18:18.740 --> 00:18:21.900 as they continued to practice this physical rite 00:18:21.900 --> 00:18:26.500 of circumcision. And so they possessed the outward 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:34.670 form. But they had not the life of God. And circumcision 00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:38.230 as a rite then became an issue even in the early 00:18:38.230 --> 00:18:41.430 church, as most of you are aware, as people were 00:18:41.430 --> 00:18:45.009 concerned about this outward rite rather than 00:18:45.009 --> 00:18:51.049 what happened spiritually inside. So did circumcision 00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:54.950 affect personal salvation? By this act was Abram 00:18:54.950 --> 00:18:59.519 saved? No. He was saved long before this by faith. 00:19:01.019 --> 00:19:04.579 There is no outward act, there is no religious 00:19:04.579 --> 00:19:07.720 right that one can perform that will make him 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:14.519 right with God. That happens only as the result 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:19.000 of a heart decision to trust in the promise of 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:24.140 God. Well that brings me to a third and final 00:19:24.140 --> 00:19:28.349 question that I want to pose this morning. And 00:19:28.349 --> 00:19:32.829 it's this, does the new covenant have signs? 00:19:34.269 --> 00:19:36.609 Now let me define the new covenant. Let me explain 00:19:36.609 --> 00:19:39.730 that in case you're not sure what I mean. The 00:19:39.730 --> 00:19:42.130 new covenant is not the covenant that God made 00:19:42.130 --> 00:19:45.470 with Abram. It's not the covenant of Moses and 00:19:45.470 --> 00:19:48.990 the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. The new 00:19:48.990 --> 00:19:54.869 covenant is the one that is based upon the sacrifice 00:19:54.869 --> 00:19:59.960 of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for our 00:19:59.960 --> 00:20:06.019 sins. A sacrifice that was made once and for 00:20:06.019 --> 00:20:13.319 all. This covenant promises eternal life to all 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:17.240 who will place their faith in the Savior who 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:21.740 died on their behalf and who believe that He 00:20:21.740 --> 00:20:25.660 rose again from the dead on the third day. That 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:31.490 is the new covenant. Does this new covenant have 00:20:31.490 --> 00:20:37.390 any signs associated with it? The answer is yes, 00:20:37.390 --> 00:20:45.029 it does. In fact, there are two signs, two symbols 00:20:45.029 --> 00:20:48.930 that we can point to that God has given us regarding 00:20:48.930 --> 00:20:53.329 this new covenant just as He gave circumcision 00:20:53.329 --> 00:20:57.150 of males on the eighth day as the sign of the 00:20:57.150 --> 00:21:01.410 Abrahamic covenant. The first sign that God gives 00:21:01.410 --> 00:21:06.029 to us of the New Covenant is the Lord's Table. 00:21:08.529 --> 00:21:12.710 The elements on the Lord's Table are intended 00:21:12.710 --> 00:21:17.009 to be signs of what He did on the cross. They 00:21:17.009 --> 00:21:21.890 are symbolic. They represent His sacrificed body 00:21:21.890 --> 00:21:26.329 and His shed blood on behalf of the sins of the 00:21:26.329 --> 00:21:30.460 world. And that is why Jesus said, as he did 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:33.619 with his disciples that night in the Last Supper, 00:21:34.980 --> 00:21:40.940 this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:47.319 He says, this cup is the sign, it is the symbol 00:21:47.319 --> 00:21:51.579 of the new covenant. So every time that we gather 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:54.799 and observe communion together, we are remembering 00:21:54.799 --> 00:22:00.119 by that sign. by that symbolic act, what Jesus 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:04.240 has done for us. It is the sign to us of the 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:09.299 new covenant. The second sign of the new covenant 00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:16.339 is that of believer baptism. Believer baptism. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:22.700 In fact, in the New Testament, baptism is correlated 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:27.750 to circumcision in the Old Testament. Now, it's 00:22:27.750 --> 00:22:29.970 not an exact parallel, and I want to emphasize 00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:33.930 that. It is not an exact parallel. But there 00:22:33.930 --> 00:22:36.809 is a correlation, and I'm speaking of Colossians 00:22:36.809 --> 00:22:39.210 chapter 2, and you may want to turn to that text 00:22:39.210 --> 00:22:44.890 in Colossians chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. Because 00:22:44.890 --> 00:22:48.130 it is one of the major New Testament passages 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:52.329 that shows the correlation between circumcision 00:22:52.329 --> 00:23:04.099 and baptism. Colossians chapter 2 verse 11, which 00:23:04.099 --> 00:23:11.220 says, and in him, in Christ, you were also circumcised 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:17.839 with a circumcision made without hands in the 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:22.539 removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision 00:23:22.539 --> 00:23:29.000 of Christ. That last phrase means that Paul is 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:32.630 here thinking of the death the cross death of 00:23:32.630 --> 00:23:35.849 our Lord Jesus Christ as though it were the act 00:23:35.849 --> 00:23:40.430 of circumcision. And our identity with Him in 00:23:40.430 --> 00:23:47.089 that death is, as it were to us, circumcision 00:23:47.089 --> 00:23:52.250 of the heart. But there's an outward sign of 00:23:52.250 --> 00:23:56.769 this. There is something that speaks symbolically 00:23:56.769 --> 00:24:02.779 to that inward act. Verse 12, having been buried 00:24:02.779 --> 00:24:08.059 with him in baptism, in which you were also raised 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:12.500 up with him through faith in the working of God 00:24:12.500 --> 00:24:18.200 who raised him from the dead. And so in this 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:21.940 passage, there's a very clear correlation between 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:26.359 the circumcision in Abraham's covenant and the 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:30.640 baptism of the new covenant. A water baptism 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:35.420 is an outward act, as was circumcision, that 00:24:35.420 --> 00:24:40.539 denotes the inward work of the Holy Spirit cleansing 00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:44.900 us from our defilement with the rest of mankind, 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:52.019 our sin, and regenerating us, giving us new life 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:56.400 so that we are now a part of God's new community, 00:24:57.380 --> 00:25:04.890 the church. of Jesus Christ. Water baptism is 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:08.650 the outward act that pictures that. Now what 00:25:08.650 --> 00:25:14.349 is the tragedy? It is the same tragedy in essence 00:25:14.349 --> 00:25:17.970 that fell upon ancient Israel. It is that there 00:25:17.970 --> 00:25:20.470 are so many who think that they are Christians 00:25:20.470 --> 00:25:25.109 because of the outward acts of partaking in communion 00:25:25.109 --> 00:25:32.410 and being baptized. The Jews were convinced in 00:25:32.410 --> 00:25:36.869 ancient Israel that they truly belonged to Yahweh 00:25:36.869 --> 00:25:41.890 because they had been circumcised as young boys. 00:25:45.829 --> 00:25:52.190 But that was wrong. They had to believe themselves 00:25:52.190 --> 00:25:57.109 in order to truly belong to the living God. And 00:25:57.109 --> 00:25:59.289 how many people are there today in our world 00:25:59.289 --> 00:26:02.410 who think that they are Christians because of 00:26:02.410 --> 00:26:05.509 some outward act that they have done by going 00:26:05.509 --> 00:26:10.950 to mass in the Catholic understanding of the 00:26:10.950 --> 00:26:18.369 Lord's table? Or partaking of communion? Or in 00:26:18.369 --> 00:26:24.069 being baptized? Now there are churches that have 00:26:24.069 --> 00:26:27.990 drawn an exact parallel between circumcision 00:26:27.990 --> 00:26:32.670 and baptism. Please stay with me here. They have 00:26:32.670 --> 00:26:34.690 drawn the exact parallel in the sense that they 00:26:34.690 --> 00:26:41.869 believe that you should baptize babies. And by 00:26:41.869 --> 00:26:44.630 that act of baptism, the child is brought into 00:26:44.630 --> 00:26:47.509 the covenant people of God, into the family of 00:26:47.509 --> 00:26:55.259 God. But that is not New Testament baptism. New 00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:58.980 Testament baptism is the baptism of the newly 00:26:58.980 --> 00:27:04.180 born -again person. Not the person who's just 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:09.519 newly born the first time. New Testament baptism 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:13.440 is the baptism of one who believes. And by that 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:16.359 is born again, not one who has been simply born 00:27:16.359 --> 00:27:22.559 of a mother and father. Believer's baptism, then, 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:29.099 is the outward sign marking entrance into God's 00:27:29.099 --> 00:27:34.059 new community, the church. That is the symbolic 00:27:34.059 --> 00:27:37.759 meaning of it. It is a sign of the new covenant 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:42.440 when one is baptized as a believer. By going 00:27:42.440 --> 00:27:45.460 through that sign, just as the males who were 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:48.380 the descendants of Abram were circumcised, to 00:27:48.380 --> 00:27:52.460 show that they belonged to that covenant. So 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:55.819 one who is a believer in the promise of God today, 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.539 which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our 00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:03.500 Lord, shows that he has entered into God's new 00:28:03.500 --> 00:28:07.660 covenant people, his new community, the church, 00:28:08.599 --> 00:28:14.119 by being baptized. He is commanded of God, not 00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:18.039 at eight days of age, and only for males. It 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:21.859 is commanded of all men and women who believe. 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:25.500 And it's to take place subsequent to the new 00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:30.319 birth. Because that's when faith was placed in 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:38.259 Christ. Baptism is the evidential sign that witnesses 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:41.279 that one now is a part of God's new covenant 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:45.740 family. That's why baptism is not an option. 00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:50.759 It is not an option for us. It is a command to 00:28:50.759 --> 00:28:57.299 obey. Now there's a warning. The warning is this, 00:28:57.519 --> 00:29:03.859 that baptism can become an empty ritual. Whether 00:29:03.859 --> 00:29:06.539 done with babies or done with adults, it can 00:29:06.539 --> 00:29:11.259 be just an empty meaningless ritual of the church 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:14.700 as circumcision came to be in ancient Israel. 00:29:16.420 --> 00:29:19.220 Baptism, as an outward act, can be nothing more 00:29:19.220 --> 00:29:23.819 than that. But that's not what God commanded 00:29:23.819 --> 00:29:29.720 it to be. There's another warning that's related 00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:32.640 to that, and it's this. The baptism does not 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:36.859 affect personal salvation. There are people who 00:29:36.859 --> 00:29:39.940 teach that today. Not only the baptism of babies 00:29:39.940 --> 00:29:42.480 bringing people into the family of God, but the 00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:48.690 baptism of people being necessary. as an addition 00:29:48.690 --> 00:29:51.509 to their faith to bring them into the family 00:29:51.509 --> 00:29:54.990 of God. They believe in what's called baptismal 00:29:54.990 --> 00:29:59.329 regeneration. That you have to believe and be 00:29:59.329 --> 00:30:05.349 baptized in order to be saved. You see that is 00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:12.250 a heresy that is related back to what happened 00:30:12.250 --> 00:30:14.069 in the early church when they thought you had 00:30:14.069 --> 00:30:18.460 to believe and be circumcised. in order to be 00:30:18.460 --> 00:30:20.900 saved. Only now it's believe and be baptized 00:30:20.900 --> 00:30:27.099 in order to be saved. So baptism does not affect 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:30.440 personal salvation. But having given that word, 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.539 let me say again that it is the mark that God 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:39.000 has given to us that is to be performed as an 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:41.299 outward act to show that we are a part of His 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:45.140 new covenant people in the world. When God appeared 00:30:45.140 --> 00:30:51.470 to Abram On this occasion, twice in this chapter, 00:30:51.829 --> 00:30:57.529 Abram falls in his face before God. He falls 00:30:57.529 --> 00:31:00.970 in his face before this one who is Almighty God 00:31:00.970 --> 00:31:07.210 in awesome worship of the supremacy of this one 00:31:07.210 --> 00:31:11.710 who has appeared to him. And when the time came 00:31:11.710 --> 00:31:14.390 for him to follow the command that God gave him, 00:31:14.410 --> 00:31:18.140 he immediately obeyed. and circumcised not only 00:31:18.140 --> 00:31:22.500 himself but his whole household. Without delay, 00:31:23.339 --> 00:31:25.900 without argument, he did what God told him to 00:31:25.900 --> 00:31:30.680 do. And the question I have for you today is 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:36.119 this. Have you obeyed God, submitting to the 00:31:36.119 --> 00:31:41.960 sign of the new covenant? Have you obeyed God 00:31:41.960 --> 00:31:46.089 in baptism? Regarding the early church, it says, 00:31:46.410 --> 00:31:49.309 so then those who had received his word were 00:31:49.309 --> 00:31:53.349 baptized. It was not even an issue, it was not 00:31:53.349 --> 00:31:57.309 even a question in the early church. I remind 00:31:57.309 --> 00:31:59.230 you of the time that Philip was called by God 00:31:59.230 --> 00:32:04.029 to go down to the desert in Gaza to do one -on 00:32:04.029 --> 00:32:07.210 -one personal evangelism with a high government 00:32:07.210 --> 00:32:10.809 official from Ethiopia. God had already prepared 00:32:10.809 --> 00:32:12.930 the man's heart. He was reading the scriptures, 00:32:13.309 --> 00:32:17.730 Isaiah 53. When Philip drew near to his chariot, 00:32:18.390 --> 00:32:20.450 he invited Philip to come up into the chariot 00:32:20.450 --> 00:32:23.490 and to explain to him the meaning of this passage 00:32:23.490 --> 00:32:29.190 and who this was that died. And it says that 00:32:29.190 --> 00:32:35.950 Philip joined him and showed to him Jesus. And 00:32:35.950 --> 00:32:37.829 after he had done that, it's very interesting. 00:32:39.100 --> 00:32:44.119 The Ethiopian's first response was, here is water. 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:47.500 As they came along, they came to an oasis. He 00:32:47.500 --> 00:32:50.259 said, here is water. What prevents me from being 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:55.779 baptized? You see, immediately he knew that was 00:32:55.779 --> 00:32:59.160 the right thing to do, to show that he was no 00:32:59.160 --> 00:33:03.039 longer a part of the covenant of Israel, the 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:06.759 Abrahamic covenant. But he was now a part of 00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:10.019 God's new community. the believers in Jesus, 00:33:10.400 --> 00:33:13.440 the Messiah. And so Philip responded to him, 00:33:13.819 --> 00:33:19.420 if you believe with all of your heart, you may 00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:24.660 be baptized. And he said, I believe that Jesus 00:33:24.660 --> 00:33:28.960 is the Christ, the Son of God. And with that 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:30.960 they stopped the chariot and immediately the 00:33:30.960 --> 00:33:35.059 man was baptized. To show that he was entering 00:33:35.059 --> 00:33:39.240 into this new relationship with Christ and with 00:33:39.240 --> 00:33:43.339 Christ's Church. There are some of you that have 00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:46.559 toyed with this and thought about it and wondered 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:49.839 if you should and when you should or should you. 00:33:50.319 --> 00:33:52.559 And I want you to know today from what we have 00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:55.759 studied how important it is that you be baptized. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:00.660 It is hard to believe that one would be a genuine 00:34:00.660 --> 00:34:03.359 believer in Jesus Christ and refuse baptism. 00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:08.380 because it is the very first mark of genuine 00:34:08.380 --> 00:34:12.639 discipleship, that one is genuine about his faith, 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:17.880 that he follows Jesus in baptism, obeying this 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:21.780 sign of the new community. No, it doesn't save. 00:34:22.239 --> 00:34:26.320 Yes, it can be an empty ritual. That's the error 00:34:26.320 --> 00:34:29.420 of it. But the truth of it is that Christ has 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:32.360 appointed it and commanded it for all of those 00:34:32.360 --> 00:34:39.550 who claim to be Christ's followers. I invite 00:34:39.550 --> 00:34:46.309 you to bow with me in prayer. After we've dismissed 00:34:46.309 --> 00:34:48.090 the service I'm going to be standing here in 00:34:48.090 --> 00:34:50.510 the front and again today I have a pad of paper 00:34:50.510 --> 00:34:54.789 and if you have not been baptized as a believer 00:34:54.789 --> 00:34:59.090 in Jesus Christ I want to invite you to come. 00:35:00.210 --> 00:35:03.929 today and indicate that you are desirous of following 00:35:03.929 --> 00:35:06.530 the Lord in this command as a sign of the new 00:35:06.530 --> 00:35:10.230 covenant, that you are a genuine believer in 00:35:10.230 --> 00:35:15.389 Jesus as the Christ. What prevents you from being 00:35:15.389 --> 00:35:22.550 baptized? If you believe, you may. Lord Jesus, 00:35:23.710 --> 00:35:27.820 I pray that today You will bring conviction on 00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:30.460 the hearts of any here who have believed and 00:35:30.460 --> 00:35:33.719 have not been baptized to follow through with 00:35:33.719 --> 00:35:38.880 that important command. I also pray that if there 00:35:38.880 --> 00:35:41.360 be some friend here who's never become a Christian 00:35:41.360 --> 00:35:46.239 but may have gone through baptism or some other 00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:48.599 religious rite thinking that that was enough 00:35:48.599 --> 00:35:53.039 that you will show that friend that one that 00:35:53.039 --> 00:35:59.000 you love that he or she needs to believe on the 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:03.000 Lord Jesus Christ and commit their life to him 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:11.159 in order to be saved. And so work in our hearts 00:36:11.159 --> 00:36:14.920 what needs to be done, either convicting or confirming 00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:21.300 that we belong to you. In Christ's name I pray, 00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:22.539 Amen.