Sermon Notes | Baptism Sunday, April 23rd, 2023

The Fruit of the Gospel: REBIRTH

Pastor Chris Pletcher

1 Peter 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Salvation through Jesus is a supernatural rebirth of the fallen human spirit. It is a resurrection miracle!

Rebirth - the action of reappearing or starting to flourish or increase after a decline; revival.

John 1:9-13

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

"Baptism is a multi-layered prophetic act of obedience for everyone who would come to salvation in the name of Jesus Christ."

Layer 1 // CLEANSED //

1 Peter 3:21-22

Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

The water isn't washing your body; it's cleansing your conscience.

Titus 1:15

To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.

Hebrews 9:13-14

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

"Saved" means more than your eternal salvation.

SAVE : sozo (Greek) : to deliver from judgement, to keep safe, to rescue from danger, to heal and make whole, to deliver from forces of evil; to save, heal and deliver

Romans 6:1-7

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.

"On the other side of the Red Sea, the Israelites realized that they couldn't go back to Egypt if they wanted to; and Egypt couldn't get them back no matter how hard they tried."

Layer 2 // DELIVERED //

John 1:29-34

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ʻAfter me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.ʼ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ʻHe on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.ʼ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Layer 3 // FILLED //

Ephesians 5:15-18

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Water baptism is just the beginning; Spirit baptism is the goal. God is more interested in you getting FILLED than you getting DRENCHED.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free— and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

Layer 4 // CONNECTED //

"God did not rescue you with a Great Salvation to leave you alone, isolated and defeated as a Christian. Baptism is the public declaration that you are a PART of the BODY of Christ. You are identifying with the church as your family, and you are declaring your intention to be connected and stay connected."