Bloor Lansdowne Christian Fellowship – BLCF Church Message for Sunday:
‘Dead to Sin; Alive in Christ; Baptized with the Holy Spirit and Fire’
© April 19, 2015 by Steve Mickelson
Announcements & Call to Worship: Responsive Reading #616 (Christian Baptism – from Matthew 3 and 28, Acts 2, Romans 6); Prayer
Opening Hymn #154 King of My life, I Crown Thee Now; Choruses Tithing and Prayer Requests: Hymn #572: Praise God; Prayers Today’s Scriptures: Romans 6:1-14; Colossians 2:6-15; Matthew 3:11
Acts 2:36-41 (ESV) Peter’s Sermon at Pentecost
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Let us pray…
The expression “Terms of surrender” is a familiar one to anyone who is familiar with the history of war. These are conditions by which a party surrenders to the authority of an opposing army.
For our lesson today, I would like to examine the conditions by which a believer surrenders to the authority of the Lord. First, let us examine the conditions that we surrender to authority of Jesus.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter gave a sermon, which highlighted the terms by which we surrender to the lordship of Jesus, in Acts 2:38-39, we read:
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
If we repent of our sins in the name of Jesus Christ, we see that we will be baptized with the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is not just for a single generation but is given all generations throughout the world. All who respond to the call from God, the Father. For Peter was no longer a disciple or student of the Lord, but now a messenger or apostle of the Gospel of Christ as we see in rest of the passage, Acts 2:40-41:
40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
But one thing we have to bear in mind that our battle was not with God or Jesus, our battle is with sin. You may recall from last Sunday’s lesson, that all of us are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. It is a legacy handed down to every descendant of Adam and Eve. Our sin separates us from God and brings a death sentence upon us. The only way to commute that sentence is to accept God’s gift of salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ, by confessing our sins and accepting the lordship of Jesus. Otherwise, like the convict on death row, we face a death sentence from God. Canada may have abolished capital punishment for serious crimes, however, Parliament is powerless as far as being able to strike down the penalty for sin. All of us face the death penalty in the hereafter if we reject Christ’s gift of salvation. Christ did not die for us, but he died for our sins because he loves us. And with the Lord’s death, there is an expectation upon us as believers, to follow a new path in Christ, Romans 6:1-14:
Romans 6:1-14 (ESV) Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.
5 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. 6 We know that our old self[a] 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. 7 For one who has died has been set free[b] from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
Footnotes: a. Romans 6:6 Greek man b. Romans 6:7 Greek has been justified
When we confess our sin and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we are no longer subject to the old Mosaic Laws but become believers governed by our faith, now considered instruments for righteousness.
Not only are we no longer subject to a worldly authority. And we discover another aspect of God’s unconditional love, for not only is available to all generations, with no geographic limits, as we had read before, but the gift of salvation is given to Jew and Gentile, alike:
Romans 10:5-13 (ESV) The Message of Salvation to All
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
The final condition placed upon the believer is to follow a new path, guided with the help of the Holy Spirit. We have the debt of our sin is paid in full, by the sacrifice that Jesus gave on the cross:
Colossians 2:6-15 (ESV) Alive in Christ
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits[a] of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[b] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.[c]
Footnotes: a. Colossians 2:8 Or elementary principles; also verse 20 b. Colossians 2:15 Probably demonic rulers and authorities c. Colossians 2:15 Or in it (that is, the cross)
While Parliament is powerless to set aside the death sentence that we face for our sins, Christ alone has set aside our conviction for sin if we confess to God and accept His love and mercy through His son Jesus. And unlike the governance of the old law, where every sin mandated a new baptism in water and sacrifice for that sin, God’s New Covenant provided that Jesus be the final sacrifice for our sin, that we may receive God’s grace and baptism of the Holy Spirit:
Matthew 3:11 (ESV)
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
We must pledge our obedience to God. As believers, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us keep our faith to the Lord on the right track and to keep us on the righteous path, by God’s grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ who paid for us all at Calvary. Let us show our faith through confession of our sin, keep the faith by living in His Word with the help of the Spirit and peach the faith by sharing the Gospel of Christ to fulfill the Lord’s Commission to all who follow the Way of Christ.
Let us pray…
Closing Hymn #286: Years I Spent in Vanity and Pride
Benediction – 2 Corinthians 13:14: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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