Well, I told her I wouldn't plan a surprise party,
but I didn't tell her I wouldn't do anything.
This week she joins me on the other half of the
great divide. And I welcome her here, where life
begins, right? People who know. All right. All
right, I'll pay for it later, but that's okay.
That's okay. Have you noticed that we live in
a world with a lot of signs and symbols? We could
not communicate really without them. Today I
want to talk about an important sign. It's the
sign of the covenant with Abraham in Genesis
chapter 17. But just to remind you how important
signs are, just take a look at the slide up there
this morning and see how we come to depend upon
them. Hand signals, signs for professions, signs
of approval, disapproval, signs of what happens
in your stock market account, hopefully. Handshakes.
By that symbolic act we are saying that we agree
together on this. We could not live without signs
and symbols. Prehistoric drawings on cave walls,
Egyptian hieroglyphics, the English alphabet,
all of these involve the use of symbols to represent
sounds or words. And that's what makes written
communication possible. We have road signs that
inform us where we are. tell us what the services
are at the next exit, or how fast we can travel
without meeting one of the law officers of that
region. Sports officials use signs to communicate
what's happening in the action. What does this
mean? See, I didn't say that, but the symbol
told you, or this. What about this? That's strike
three. That's not a mic. That's not a Michael
Jackson imitation, that is strike three. The
fact is that God sometimes uses signs and symbols
also to communicate with us. We see this in Genesis.
Those of us studying Revelation together have
seen it often in the book of Revelation, which
is a book about many signs and symbols. Today
we're talking about another one of the great
signs that God gives regarding the end times
in that particular class. The first time the
word sign is used in the Bible is actually in
conjunction with Cain, where it says in Genesis
chapter 4, for Cain, lest anyone finding him
should slay him." More commonly we're aware of
the sign or the symbol that is found in Genesis
chapter 9, the second time that the word sign
is used in the Bible. It's the rainbow. And God
said, this is the sign of the covenant which
I am making between me and you and every living
creature that is with you for all successive
generations. I set my bow in the cloud and it
shall be a sign of a covenant between me and
the earth." And so whenever we see the rainbow,
we should be reminded that that is God's sign
of His covenant with all peoples of the earth
regarding not sending a flood again to the whole
earth in judgment. That the rainbow is a covenant
sign for all the nations of the earth. Likewise,
with Israel, God gave a special sign of a different
sort in the Sabbath, which became a symbol of
that religious community of Israel and its covenant
of the law that was made at Mount Sinai between
God and Israel. That day of rest set them apart
from the rest of the nations. It was a sign of
who they were. Now in our text this morning in
Genesis chapter 17, we are going to see yet another
kind of a covenant sign. This one in conjunction
with the covenant with Abram. We see that in
verse 9. This morning I'm going to take a slice
of this chapter and talk about it rather than
talking about the whole chapter. But I'm going
to begin reading in verse 9 where it says, God
said further to Abraham now as for you You shall
keep my covenant I might just point out that
there are really three speeches that God makes
in this chapter in the first one he begins by
saying in verse 4 as for me and Then in verse
9 the second speech he says to Abraham as for
you And then third speech in verse 15 where he
says, as for Sarai, your wife. Now he says to
Abraham, as for you, you shall keep my covenant,
you and your descendants, after you throughout
their generations. This is the covenant which
you shall keep between me and you and your descendants
after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.
And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of
your foreskin and it shall be the sign of the
covenant between me and you." Thirteen years
have passed since God's last appearance as the
angel of the Lord to Hagar. Ishmael, who was
born to Hagar and Abram, is now a teenager. God
appears again to Abram. And he begins in this
chapter, in this appearance, by giving to Abram
a brand new name by which Abram had not known
God before. He says, I am El Shaddai. I am God
Almighty, for I am Almighty God. From the Vines
Expository Dictionary we learn that El Shaddai
served as the patriarch's covenant name for God.
continued as such until the time of Moses when
a further revelation took place and God gave
another covenant name through Moses and that
was the name what? Tell them that who has sent
you I am Yahweh that I am has sent you but for
Abram the name was not I am it was Almighty God
El Shaddai God Almighty revealed Himself as a
powerful deity who was able to perform whatever
He asserted. The degree of intimacy between El
Shaddai and the patriarchs at various stages
shows that the covenant involved God's care and
love for this growing family that He had chosen,
protected, and prospered. Now as we think about
the covenant between Abram and God, Let me just
point this out in general that a covenant is
a good thing. Covenants are important to an ordered
society. We could look upon the Declaration of
Independence as a covenant among the 13 colonies
to declare their independence from England. We
could see the Constitution as a covenant among
the states. of the United States as to the powers
that they are granting to the federal government
and yet retaining some powers for themselves.
Marriage is rightly looked upon as a covenant
between a man and a woman. We employ covenants
in business. When we sign the credit card slip,
we are putting our name on a covenant that we
will agree to pay. Organizations sometimes have
covenants or agreements that declare their purpose,
their values, and the responsibilities of the
members of those organizations. It is not unusual
for churches to establish covenants by which
the members of the church also agree on certain
mutual commitments to one another. God makes
covenants, too. Covenants are a good thing. God
makes covenants as he does here with Abram. In
this covenant, he reiterates his promises to
Abram. You will notice that he first, or rather
he does in verse 8, reiterate his promise regarding
giving Abram and his descendants the land, but
he inserts a new thought. He says, I will give
to you and to your descendants after you the
land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan,
for an everlasting possession. That's the first
time I believe that God has said this to Abram,
that this is an everlasting, this is an eternal,
this is a forever grant of a piece of land to
Abram and to his descendants. But first God also
had reiterated that he would multiply Abram's
descendants exceedingly in verse 2. He says,
I will establish my covenant between me and you
and I will multiply you exceedingly. This is
very similar language to what God had said to
Hagar back in verse 10 of chapter 16. God now
uses that same language with Abram himself. And
he marks this occasion by changing Abram's name
to Abraham. You see that in verse 5. No longer
shall your name be called Abram, but your name
shall be Abraham. You will be the father of many
nations, father of a multitude. Abram means exalted
father, which was a mockery of a name really
to Abram for most of his life, because he had
not fathered children. Now he has fathered Ishmael
by Hagar, but that's the only child that he has.
God is now reiterating, I'm going to make you
a father of a multitude, so I'm going to change
your name. Likewise, he changed Sarai's name
to Sarah, which means princess. It's really very
little difference in meaning, but the change
is made nonetheless in verse 15. and it is intended
to mark this very special appearance of God.
The name change in each case symbolizes the covenant
that God is making with this family. But then
God gives yet another sign or a mark of the covenant
that he is making with Abram. The sign of the
covenant with Abram is male circumcision. Now
some of you will look at the slide and snicker
a bit, that's alright. Have you ever tried to
find in your clip art a symbol for circumcision?
So I put a bandaid up there. Now this is a significant
command that God gives, and it is significant
that God gives this command after the birth of
Ishmael. but before the birth of Isaac. It is
because of what this symbolizes. And that's the
question I want to talk about. What did circumcision
symbolize as it is a sign of the covenant? This
cutting away of the foreskin of the male reproductive
organ is intended to show two things. Separation.
inclusion and I want to talk about those. In
the first place the cutting away of the skin
symbolized the cutting away of the defilement
of the world. It is the removal or the separation
of Abram and his family from association with
the rest of the nations which were all pagan.
God is taking them out from the nations. He is
separating them. He is cutting away from them
that identity with the rest. At the same time,
down through the generations, it became a sign
of inclusion because it meant that these were
included in the covenant of Abraham. That they
were by this act included among the people of
the covenant. And so, ideally at least, this
sign became to those who practiced it a sign
of faith in El Shaddai, in Almighty God. That
he is the one who is able to keep his covenant
with his people and do what he has promised.
He is Almighty. And so those who believed the
covenant obeyed the covenant sign. But that brings
another question. And the question is, did this
act of circumcision effect personal salvation?
In other words, was every person who was circumcised
by that act made a true believer in El Shaddai?
The answer to that is no. That is not the case.
Circumcision was an outward sign, an outward
mark of faith in God's covenant with Abraham.
But salvation does not come from outward marks
or signs or actions. Salvation comes from an
inward act of genuine trust in the promise of
God. Salvation is the gracious gift of God. affected
by believing God's promise. Abram is not made
a believer at this point. He is a believer before
this. Paul goes to great lengths in Romans chapter
4 to make this point. He wanted everyone of his
readers to know that Abram was justified before
God before he was circumcised, that he had already
believed God and was counted as righteous in
the eyes of God, long before this outward sign
was given to him that was to symbolize that faith.
Even in ancient days, more important than physical
circumcision was the circumcision of the heart.
And so the Lord says to his people in Deuteronomy
30 verses 5 and 6, and the Lord your God will
bring you into the land which your fathers possessed.
And you shall possess it and he will prosper
you and multiply you more than your fathers.
Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your
heart and the heart of your descendants. to love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul in order that you may live. More
important than the physical act was the circumcision
of the heart, cutting away from the heart, the
defilement of sin. And that happens as one believes.
Circumcision signified entrance into and belonging
to the community of the covenant people, the
descendants of Abram, through Isaac and Jacob.
But salvation was still a hard decision to trust
God's everlasting promise. And so therein lies
the problem that developed. The ritual itself
became the primary thing over time. People forgot
or neglected the spiritual significance of the
inward circumcision of the heart. That was lost
as they continued to practice this physical rite
of circumcision. And so they possessed the outward
form. But they had not the life of God. And circumcision
as a rite then became an issue even in the early
church, as most of you are aware, as people were
concerned about this outward rite rather than
what happened spiritually inside. So did circumcision
affect personal salvation? By this act was Abram
saved? No. He was saved long before this by faith.
There is no outward act, there is no religious
right that one can perform that will make him
right with God. That happens only as the result
of a heart decision to trust in the promise of
God. Well that brings me to a third and final
question that I want to pose this morning. And
it's this, does the new covenant have signs?
Now let me define the new covenant. Let me explain
that in case you're not sure what I mean. The
new covenant is not the covenant that God made
with Abram. It's not the covenant of Moses and
the people of Israel at Mount Sinai. The new
covenant is the one that is based upon the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for our
sins. A sacrifice that was made once and for
all. This covenant promises eternal life to all
who will place their faith in the Savior who
died on their behalf and who believe that He
rose again from the dead on the third day. That
is the new covenant. Does this new covenant have
any signs associated with it? The answer is yes,
it does. In fact, there are two signs, two symbols
that we can point to that God has given us regarding
this new covenant just as He gave circumcision
of males on the eighth day as the sign of the
Abrahamic covenant. The first sign that God gives
to us of the New Covenant is the Lord's Table.
The elements on the Lord's Table are intended
to be signs of what He did on the cross. They
are symbolic. They represent His sacrificed body
and His shed blood on behalf of the sins of the
world. And that is why Jesus said, as he did
with his disciples that night in the Last Supper,
this is the cup of the new covenant in my blood.
He says, this cup is the sign, it is the symbol
of the new covenant. So every time that we gather
and observe communion together, we are remembering
by that sign. by that symbolic act, what Jesus
has done for us. It is the sign to us of the
new covenant. The second sign of the new covenant
is that of believer baptism. Believer baptism.
In fact, in the New Testament, baptism is correlated
to circumcision in the Old Testament. Now, it's
not an exact parallel, and I want to emphasize
that. It is not an exact parallel. But there
is a correlation, and I'm speaking of Colossians
chapter 2, and you may want to turn to that text
in Colossians chapter 2, verses 11 and 12. Because
it is one of the major New Testament passages
that shows the correlation between circumcision
and baptism. Colossians chapter 2 verse 11, which
says, and in him, in Christ, you were also circumcised
with a circumcision made without hands in the
removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision
of Christ. That last phrase means that Paul is
here thinking of the death the cross death of
our Lord Jesus Christ as though it were the act
of circumcision. And our identity with Him in
that death is, as it were to us, circumcision
of the heart. But there's an outward sign of
this. There is something that speaks symbolically
to that inward act. Verse 12, having been buried
with him in baptism, in which you were also raised
up with him through faith in the working of God
who raised him from the dead. And so in this
passage, there's a very clear correlation between
the circumcision in Abraham's covenant and the
baptism of the new covenant. A water baptism
is an outward act, as was circumcision, that
denotes the inward work of the Holy Spirit cleansing
us from our defilement with the rest of mankind,
our sin, and regenerating us, giving us new life
so that we are now a part of God's new community,
the church. of Jesus Christ. Water baptism is
the outward act that pictures that. Now what
is the tragedy? It is the same tragedy in essence
that fell upon ancient Israel. It is that there
are so many who think that they are Christians
because of the outward acts of partaking in communion
and being baptized. The Jews were convinced in
ancient Israel that they truly belonged to Yahweh
because they had been circumcised as young boys.
But that was wrong. They had to believe themselves
in order to truly belong to the living God. And
how many people are there today in our world
who think that they are Christians because of
some outward act that they have done by going
to mass in the Catholic understanding of the
Lord's table? Or partaking of communion? Or in
being baptized? Now there are churches that have
drawn an exact parallel between circumcision
and baptism. Please stay with me here. They have
drawn the exact parallel in the sense that they
believe that you should baptize babies. And by
that act of baptism, the child is brought into
the covenant people of God, into the family of
God. But that is not New Testament baptism. New
Testament baptism is the baptism of the newly
born -again person. Not the person who's just
newly born the first time. New Testament baptism
is the baptism of one who believes. And by that
is born again, not one who has been simply born
of a mother and father. Believer's baptism, then,
is the outward sign marking entrance into God's
new community, the church. That is the symbolic
meaning of it. It is a sign of the new covenant
when one is baptized as a believer. By going
through that sign, just as the males who were
the descendants of Abram were circumcised, to
show that they belonged to that covenant. So
one who is a believer in the promise of God today,
which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord, shows that he has entered into God's new
covenant people, his new community, the church,
by being baptized. He is commanded of God, not
at eight days of age, and only for males. It
is commanded of all men and women who believe.
And it's to take place subsequent to the new
birth. Because that's when faith was placed in
Christ. Baptism is the evidential sign that witnesses
that one now is a part of God's new covenant
family. That's why baptism is not an option.
It is not an option for us. It is a command to
obey. Now there's a warning. The warning is this,
that baptism can become an empty ritual. Whether
done with babies or done with adults, it can
be just an empty meaningless ritual of the church
as circumcision came to be in ancient Israel.
Baptism, as an outward act, can be nothing more
than that. But that's not what God commanded
it to be. There's another warning that's related
to that, and it's this. The baptism does not
affect personal salvation. There are people who
teach that today. Not only the baptism of babies
bringing people into the family of God, but the
baptism of people being necessary. as an addition
to their faith to bring them into the family
of God. They believe in what's called baptismal
regeneration. That you have to believe and be
baptized in order to be saved. You see that is
a heresy that is related back to what happened
in the early church when they thought you had
to believe and be circumcised. in order to be
saved. Only now it's believe and be baptized
in order to be saved. So baptism does not affect
personal salvation. But having given that word,
let me say again that it is the mark that God
has given to us that is to be performed as an
outward act to show that we are a part of His
new covenant people in the world. When God appeared
to Abram On this occasion, twice in this chapter,
Abram falls in his face before God. He falls
in his face before this one who is Almighty God
in awesome worship of the supremacy of this one
who has appeared to him. And when the time came
for him to follow the command that God gave him,
he immediately obeyed. and circumcised not only
himself but his whole household. Without delay,
without argument, he did what God told him to
do. And the question I have for you today is
this. Have you obeyed God, submitting to the
sign of the new covenant? Have you obeyed God
in baptism? Regarding the early church, it says,
so then those who had received his word were
baptized. It was not even an issue, it was not
even a question in the early church. I remind
you of the time that Philip was called by God
to go down to the desert in Gaza to do one -on
-one personal evangelism with a high government
official from Ethiopia. God had already prepared
the man's heart. He was reading the scriptures,
Isaiah 53. When Philip drew near to his chariot,
he invited Philip to come up into the chariot
and to explain to him the meaning of this passage
and who this was that died. And it says that
Philip joined him and showed to him Jesus. And
after he had done that, it's very interesting.
The Ethiopian's first response was, here is water.
As they came along, they came to an oasis. He
said, here is water. What prevents me from being
baptized? You see, immediately he knew that was
the right thing to do, to show that he was no
longer a part of the covenant of Israel, the
Abrahamic covenant. But he was now a part of
God's new community. the believers in Jesus,
the Messiah. And so Philip responded to him,
if you believe with all of your heart, you may
be baptized. And he said, I believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God. And with that
they stopped the chariot and immediately the
man was baptized. To show that he was entering
into this new relationship with Christ and with
Christ's Church. There are some of you that have
toyed with this and thought about it and wondered
if you should and when you should or should you.
And I want you to know today from what we have
studied how important it is that you be baptized.
It is hard to believe that one would be a genuine
believer in Jesus Christ and refuse baptism.
because it is the very first mark of genuine
discipleship, that one is genuine about his faith,
that he follows Jesus in baptism, obeying this
sign of the new community. No, it doesn't save.
Yes, it can be an empty ritual. That's the error
of it. But the truth of it is that Christ has
appointed it and commanded it for all of those
who claim to be Christ's followers. I invite
you to bow with me in prayer. After we've dismissed
the service I'm going to be standing here in
the front and again today I have a pad of paper
and if you have not been baptized as a believer
in Jesus Christ I want to invite you to come.
today and indicate that you are desirous of following
the Lord in this command as a sign of the new
covenant, that you are a genuine believer in
Jesus as the Christ. What prevents you from being
baptized? If you believe, you may. Lord Jesus,
I pray that today You will bring conviction on
the hearts of any here who have believed and
have not been baptized to follow through with
that important command. I also pray that if there
be some friend here who's never become a Christian
but may have gone through baptism or some other
religious rite thinking that that was enough
that you will show that friend that one that
you love that he or she needs to believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and commit their life to him
in order to be saved. And so work in our hearts
what needs to be done, either convicting or confirming
that we belong to you. In Christ's name I pray,
Amen.