WHAT’S HINDERING YOU

Baptism is an outward display of your inward profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Acts 8:37, “… If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Some you probably received an unscriptural baptism at birth. Maybe, you got baptized thinking that was the means by which grace was bestowed upon you. Maybe you thought baptism was how a person gets to Heaven. I am here to tell you, on the authority of God’s Word, if you have not been born again, that water that you were sprinkled with, that ran over your forehead as a baby, or maybe someone wiped it across your brow in the shape of a cross, only got you wet!

If you have never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you’re still on your way to hell. But the good news is you don’t have to! You can trust Jesus right now and go to Heaven! You can get into a local, New Testament church being discipled in the doctrines of Jesus Christ, following Jesus, and obeying His commands to be baptized! The Eunuch asks Phillip in Acts 8, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” Phillip’s answer was Scriptural and as simple as ”… If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.”

Are you saved and on your way to Heaven? If not, what’s hindering you?

CHRIST COMMANDS BAPTISM

Baptism doesn’t save but it is an outward showing of what has transpired in our hearts.

Matthew 28:19, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Baptism is for those who have trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It’s for those who are willing to show others that they have consciously made a decision to trust Jesus with their life. While, baptism is not required for salvation, it does identify who you have chosen to love with all you heart, mind, and soul. When someone gets married, the husband and wife exchanges wedding rings, they are not necessary but the rings when worn, does show to those around that we are married.

Friend, if you have been saved and have not been baptized, what is hindering you from doing so? What’s holding you back from following the Lord’s command? What’s hindering you from taking that step of obedience? Go on, be a testimony to others! They may stop and take into consideration their standing before God and trust Him as Saviour as well.

BAPTISM— DON’T GET THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.

The greatest of all miracles is the salvation of a soul. -Spurgeon

And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Acts 8:37

Baptism is a wonderful time in a person’s life. However, it is not for everyone, it is only for the repentant believer. The one who has trusted Christ as Saviour is the only candidate for baptism. It is not for the infant, the one who has reached a certain age, the one who has repeated a prayer, or for church membership. It is only for those who have confessed their sin, asked Jesus to forgive their sin, and trusted Him to do it. Scripture has a clear definition of baptism.

Baptizing is the representation of what has taken place in our heart. It is us identifying with the death, (Rendering your will to that of the Lord’s), the burial, (The submersion in water), the resurrection, (The coming up out of the water resurrected to new life). How can one be baptized but has not already taken place in their heart?

Friend, don’t get your cart before the horse. If you get baptized before you get saved all you really did was get wet. I close this morning with a verse from Mark. Notice with me which the emphasis is on, the belief or the baptism. Hint—only one will damn someone to hell for all eternity, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:16