Understanding Baptism Through Biblical Typology

In this sermon, Preston explores the meaning and significance of baptism by delving into the biblical typology found in 1 Peter 3:18-22. He discusses the concept of types and anti-types from the Old and New Testaments, focusing on how Old Testament events like Noah's flood prefigure the New Testament understanding of baptism. Preston addresses a congregation likely composed of baptized believers, reinforcing the ongoing relevance and power of baptism in their lives. He emphasizes the parallels between Jesus' suffering, resurrection, and ascension with the believers' baptism, encouraging them to find comfort and strength in their identity with Christ. Through a detailed examination of the text, Preston aims to deepen the understanding and appreciation of baptism in the context of Christian faith and suffering.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:40 Understanding Typology and Baptism
01:47 The Waters of Salvation: A Three-Part Series
02:29 Revisiting the Flood and Baptism
04:17 Context of 1 Peter 3:18-22
06:45 Addressing Suffering Christians
10:17 The Significance of Baptism in Suffering
16:10 Encouragement Through the Story of Noah
20:55 The Power and Purpose of Baptism
29:20 Personal Reflections on Baptism
34:08 Invitation to Baptism and Conclusion

Transcript

Good evening. If you got your Bibles, you would go and turn to one Peter chapter three, one Peter chapter three. We, we start in verse 18 and looking through verse 22 for almost the entirety of our lesson, but we'll be in that general vicinity. You're visiting with us tonight. We're thankful you're here with us.

I know we've had a lot of people in town for Sacred Selections. If you're here for any other reason, we're honored that you've chosen to start your week off. Opening God's word with us, and that's what we're gonna do tonight. It's definitely fitting sermon, I think after Reagan's sermon this morning talking about reading scripture.

We're gonna read some scripture tonight, so get your Bibles open and follow along with with me. But we're really familiar with the concept of types and a NT type in the Old Testament, the New Testament. If you're not familiar with that concept, it's the concept that there are Old Testament persons or events.

That prefigured Christ as the fulfillment of Israel's hopes. And we call these types of anti types and anti we, you know, in our English language, anti usually has the connotation of being the opposite of, in a Greek language anti two posts is it's literally a translation or a transliteration of the Greek word anti type that we have in English.

That that prefix really can mean corresponding to type. And so we're not talking about things that are are opposite of something, but something in the same likeness. Something that was original, this original figure that anticipates this later type to come, this anti type to come and the New Testament typology is used repeatedly to drop parallels between the old covenant and the new covenant to show the continuity of God's salvation story.

We talked about that last week with the term redeemer, but one of the most powerful themes in both testaments is how God saves his people through water. We're gonna be doing a kind of three part lesson series on these waters of salvation, these Old Testament baptisms, if you will, where we have these New Testament texts that look back on the Old Testament and talk to believers about baptism in terms of these Old Testament events.

And I actually, when I I preached this, this is actually one of the sermons I felt really good about when I was asking to come here and they said, Hey, send us some pre. Sermons to listen to. I said, I really like this one. And so I sent this, this one I preached before and I preached all of these in one together.

And I called it a different name and everything, but I was like, I need to go back through and you know, do these one at a time. I think I'll get more outta it. I think they will too. And I started going back through my notes for the flood that we're gonna be talking about tonight. And, you know, it's very humbling as a young preacher to look back only like a year, a year and a half.

And you say, actually none of this is usable. I have to start from scratch. I totally missed Peter's point. And you may hear what I had to say tonight. Mike, think the same thing. Hopefully not. I've tried to do a lot of study this week and and feel more comfortable with the text this go around.

But what we're gonna do over these next couple months, we're gonna try and cover these three before the end of the year. We're gonna tell about God's saving acts of Noah and the flood and how that relates to our baptism at night here in one Peter three. Next we'll look at one Corinthians when Paul talks about the Red Sea in relation to baptism.

And then lastly, Matthew chapter four, where Jesus, this new Joshua is passing through the Jordan River before he enters his ministry. Just as Joshua led the people through the, into the Promised Land through the waters of the Jordan River. But all these events in the New Testament are connected to the believer salvation experience passing through the waters of baptism.

And so we're gonna do three things. This is on your handouts, so don't feel like you have to scribble this down if you need extra handouts for this. I printed at a hundred and they're already all gone, so, if we need some more afterwards, I can get those to you. But we're gonna study these New Testament texts in their context that teach the doctrine of baptism using the Old Testament.

Then we're gonna consider how each of these Old Testament events was relevant to the bap to baptism. And then lastly, consider what's, what's the gift? What's kind of the, the real point to the meat behind the writer's intention of relating baptism to the Old Testament waters? How, what what is the gift that's revealed through these waters when we look back into the Old Testament?

We're gonna begin with our text tonight in First Peter chapter three, and we're gonna kind of start looking outside of it after we, after we initially read it and kind of work our way in to verses 20 through 22. We're really where we wanna focus that towards the end of our lesson, but along with me, and let's read first Peter chapter three, verse 18 through 22.

As we begin, Peter says, for Christ also suffered once for sins. Righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison because they formerly did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few that is eight persons were brought safely through water 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 and authorities and powers having been subjected to him. So this is probably a passage you're really familiar with for a couple different reasons.

Maybe. It's because this passage is often really debated. It's, it's one that people disagree on a lot for a number of reasons. Particularly about verse 19. We'll mention in passing, that's a lesson for another time. Or maybe you're familiar with it, because it's a passage we usually go to to show people the, the necessity, the need to pass through the waters of baptism.

We use it often as a proof text and, and rightfully so. It doesn't get much more clear than that statement. This baptism now saves you. But I think in my experience, and I always have to be careful because I'm, I know Reagan's always like, well, hey, I've been preaching here for 15 years. Like, don't throw me under the bus yet.

But in my experience and not, I've only been here a year, you know, this passage, little, little, has really been paid attention to the audience that Peter's talking to and who he's talking to and why he's bringing up baptism. In this letter in particular. I think when we neglect the context, we lose out on Peter's wider teaching of baptism.

Certainly we still see the necessity of it, but I think we miss out on the wider point that Peter might be trying to make. And so we're gonna be trying to discuss that tonight as we study. And so let's begin with just looking at who it is that Peter is talking to and what we, what we wanna look at is the text, right proceeding and right following after this text we just read.

'cause what we see just surrounding our text, but also if you read the rest of the letter. What we find is Peter is addressing Christians who are suffering. And we're gonna read some passages here, and I want you to notice the, the words highlighted and read as we read this, this persecution, these Christians were enduring.

It took the form of slander. Of reviling, maligning and evildoers speaking against Peter's audience. And so look at the context surrounding our text. We just read notice before what Peter says in verse 13. We go back much farther. But this certainly will be we'll suffice for what we're trying to point out.

But look, in verse 13 when Peter says, now who is there to harm you if you were zealous for what is good, but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ, the Lord is holy. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason, for the hope that is in you.

Yet do it with gentleness and respect. Having a good conscience so that when you were slandered those who rev vile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame for it is better to suffer for doing good. Then if, if that should be God's will then for doing evil. And so you can see on the screen, I'll have to make the point more than just reading that you can see already all the diff different things that these Christians were facing right before Peter jumps into his teaching on baptism.

Well notice after what he brings up as well. In verse one of chapter four, he says, since therefore, Christ suffered in the flesh arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh, has ceased. From sin so as to live for the rest of the time and the flesh. No longer for human passions, but for the will of God for the time that his past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do.

Living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you. But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. So the persecution going on, we could look wider at the letter to make this point, but for time sake, the persecution they're experiencing is not some empire wide persecution from the Roman government.

It's more of a grassroots type movement. It appears from their fellow countrymen. From people who saw them not participating in their gentile way of life, and so they probably maligned them because of that. Maybe they were seen as not being patriotic because they were participating in some of the things, and so they were likely pulled in front of these local authorities.

Slandered. They were maligned in, made to have to make a public defense as why they believed. What they believed, why they were acting the way they were acting in contrast to their neighbors. And they likely suffered a lot of things. They probably were ostracized socially. Their go, their their businesses were probably harmed.

They probably experienced verbal and, and physical abuse of some kind. And so these Christians that Peter is talking to, they're suffering at this moment and they really need something to hold onto. They need some answers. You know, I think when we think about how we use one Peter three the, our, our key passage tonight you know, we use it so often to prove the necessity of baptism at conversion.

Of course, not trying to diminish that in any, in any way tonight. So don't misunderstand me, but I think if we do that consistently, we don't pay attention to context. We miss out that Peter is talking to baptized believers. He's, he's talking to suffering Christians. If Peter brought up, brought up baptism to baptize believers, well, it tells us that their baptism still had relevance and it still had power in their persecution after their conversion.

So how is it that this baptism helped them at this time? Well, Peter not only tells us who he's riding to and the circumstances in which they're under. He also reminds them why he's or he tells us why he reminds them of baptism. It's because he's trying to help them identify with Christ suffering.

That's how our text, let's zoom in. Now, we've looked at before and after. Let's zoom in and look at our passage again and verse 18 begins, he says, for Christ also suffered. Identification, the identification of Christ. It's followed here by this kind of recounting of the gospel story, the kind of high points of the gospel message, and what we'll see in the immediate context surrounding, and you can look on the backside of your, your handout, if you've got one of those, and I'll have this on the screen as well.

What you'll see is surrounding this, our, our teaching on baptism is the gospel frames his teaching here. He starts out again saying, Christ suffered this. There's this, this suffering element that he's bringing up. But, but it led to a positive outcome. Christ's suffering wasn't just for suffering's sake.

It was leading to something he says, the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God. He goes on to talk about the death and the resurrection of Christ. He was put to death in, in the flesh, but he was made alive in the spirit. And verse 19, again, this is where people get tripped up and there's a whole host of opinions on what this means that he went and, and proclaimed to spirits in prison.

All I'll say is, in my opinion, in very short terms without getting bogged down, it is a proclamation of victory that Jesus is proclaiming. He is not, you know, it's not a get out jail free type card. Preaching the gospel again to spirits in prison, to human spirits but it's a proclamation of victory over spiritual forces.

We can talk about it afterwards, and I may preach on that in the future, but we'll move on. And so there's a break and that's when we get our teaching on baptism. But then he returns again to the resurrection and then to the ascension and the reign of Christ. And so we have that kind of trajectory of Jesus suffering, that kind of low point of the cross that was the perceived low point, leading all the way to Jesus' ascension and his reign at the right hand of the father.

So in their persecution, he reminds them of the gospel in order to to remember that the gospel promised that suffering. It led to glory, Christ-like suffering, led to glory In their persecution, Peter's helping them re-identify once again with that gospel that they had obeyed so long ago. This good news, it was that story of their self-sacrificial savior.

It was Jesus. It was his path that they had chosen to follow themselves. This is what Peter said earlier in First Peter, chapter two, verse 21 where he starts to allude to the Isaiah 53 in the suffering servant language, and he says in verse 22, for to this, you have been called because Christ also suffered for you.

Leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. So Jesus Peter, he's trying to tell him over and over again in this letter, he is your model for how to act in suffering. If they followed in his footsteps, Peter goes on to say, well, they wouldn't deny their pledge in baptism. Deceit would not be found in their mouth.

They wouldn't try to get out of, of their past confession. If they were before governors or rulers, they wouldn't lash out their attackers. They wouldn't revile the people who reviled them. They would simply entrust themselves to God as Jesus has did as Jesus did. Therefore, Peter could say in chapter four, verse one, as we said, this sounds a lot like Philippians two to me.

He says, since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. Sounds like, Paul's letter to Philippians doesn't that, you know, have this bind which is yours in Christ Jesus, the same mind of Christ. In other words, what he's telling them is that since you've committed to Christ in baptism.

Face persecution as you did. This is what you signed up for long ago for Peter Baptism. It wasn't just some, you know, simple box checking moment in a believer's past. It was their self-identification with the death and the burial of Jesus. We disciples of Christ, we die to sin. We follow him wherever it lead, wherever he leads us, even if that means suffering.

Therefore remind them of baptism. It recalled their personal declaration that they desire to share in the same sufferings of Christ. But it was also a promise to experience a positive outcome that would come from their suffering as well. That not only would they share in Jesus' sufferings, but they would also share in his resurrected glory.

There was the real reality facing Peter's audience, even though they had this promise in front of them that that resurrection glory was still a real far way off. And so this is where Peter now turns to encourage his brothers using the Old Testament type of the flood. Peter had framed our texts on, on baptism with his gospel story, as Peter said in chapter one, the Sufferings of Christ and his subsequent glories, if we want to summarize it that way.

He's trying to encourage his readers, and now he goes on to do that with the story of Noah, and he, he uses kind of makes three parallels between Noah and his family. Again, Jesus had proclaimed victory over the spirits who disobeyed. He says, when God's patience waited. In the days of Noah, while the ARC was being prepared, in which a few that is eight persons were brought safely through water.

And so the first point is really about God's patience. He's waiting to deliver them until the arc is prepared. When Noah comes on the scene in Genesis, we're told he is 500 years old. By the time the flood waters come, we're told he is 600 years old. We're not given a specific timeframe by Genesis as far as I could tell.

If you can find one, let me know. As as far as how long God is waiting in. Some, some people take Genesis six three statement of humanity's day shall be 120 years to refer, not to span of life, but just the time until the earth would be destroyed. Some maybe disagree with that, but no matter what you see the timeframe as in Genesis Peter's point, still rings true that God patiently waited to deliver Noah.

And so this is to make a point to these, these persecuted Christians that the, the really short, simple point is you need to be patient for your day of salvation when that's gonna come. Noah one and his family, they had to wait for their salvation. They had to work, they had to keep going and keep building that arc until that deliverance came.

And so the believers Peter's audience must be patient for the day of salvation. That is to be revealed. They've gotta hold on to that, that promise of the gospel. But then he goes on to talk about the, the, the number of people saved, you know, Noah his three sons, shim, ham, and JP are, and plus their four wives.

They're the only eight people that are saved. And, and as Genesis talks about, and of course this would relate to Peter's audience because they were the minority in, in their culture at their time. Me being a minority was not supposed to be a cause for concern, concern for them. God had saved only a few before and so Peter tells him God can do it again.

If the audience felt small in contrast to this pagan majority around them, well, they could definitely relate to Noah and his family 'cause they were the only eight people in the whole world that were saved. They were much more of a minority than Peter's audience. Peter's telling his audience, you guys are the chosen few in your, your wicked community.

You're the chosen few who hold to Christ who will be saved. So don't allow these feelings of powerlessness, these feelings of fear from your community. Don't let them distract you and forget that even though you might be the small eight in your community, God has the power and has the desire to save you in the future.

Then lastly, Peter brings it home, drawing the connection through them, passing through the water to safety. After entering the arc, Noah and his family were brought safely through water. It wasn't the water itself that saved Noah and his family. Peter doesn't say that Noah was saved by the water. He says that Noah was saved through the water.

Genesis chapter seven and verse seven, verse six tells us, you know, Noah's 600 years old and the flood waters came, and Noah and all his family, it says they went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. And so even Genesis tells us that Noah wasn't saved by the waters, but he was saved from the waters.

Peter drawing the same connection says baptism, which is an anti type of this, it is a corresponding, and the likeness to this now saves you. Peter's audience had passed through water to safety just as Noah and his family had done the flood. It was, it was a type, it was a foreshadowing, a symbol of their future baptism.

But in baptism, it wasn't the water itself that was the means of salvation. It was something that his brother Harold said as we were talking this week, something deeper, to borrow his pun. And so only from Reagan. Sorry, Harold didn't land wasn't my joke. But this is where Peter really reveals the true gift in saving power of baptism.

This is where he gives us our statement that we love so much that this baptism now saves you baptism. He says, which corresponds to this, this former type of Noah, he says, now saves you not as a removal from dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Christ.

And so Peter reveals that the gift of baptism is that it now saves you. But before he really reveals that what, what the undergirding power is that really gives baptism a sal quality. He makes two qualifiers about what the power of salvation is not, or a misunderstanding is about it. And he starts with this statement not as a removal of dirt from the body.

So baptism, he says, you know, it's not about hygiene, it's not about magic water. In baptism, you're not saved because you took a physical bath. The focus in power of baptism is not about some sort of outward cleansing. And likewise, baptism isn't about some magic ritual that you just have to go through the motions in order to be saved.

Both of these kind of misconceptions, they trivialize, they miss the point and the power of baptism. He clarifies the right mindset, and he says that the right mindset is to make an appeal to God for a good conscience. The ESV says appeal. If maybe you have the Christian, Christian Standard Bible or NIV says a pledge of the new King James version, most you probably have says an answer.

This word in the Greek, it only appears here in the New Testament. And so, there's kind of a debate as far as what exactly this word means. We kind of know what the root means, but maybe not so much what this this word means. But if we think about it in terms of, of an appeal or a request, the idea that would be the, the believer is petitioning God for forgiveness of sin.

Like a person maybe making a, a plea before a judge because they had a really unfavorable judgment against them that they want reversed. And Peter uses judicial language a bunch in this letter. If you look for it. I've got that here, up on the screen right here and on your handouts as well, if you wanna read that on your own time.

Because it was, it was a reality that his, his audience was facing. They're being drugged before courts making defense for the fate that's in them. But he also contrasts that repeatedly with this heavenly court, with God, this judge who is going to judge the living and the dead. And so maybe that's kind of what he has in mind.

This appeal kind of like a, a legal proceed of some kind. But on the other hand, maybe it's the concept of a pledge or an answer. Idea of maybe a believer making a formal public declaration of allegiance or maybe answering a series of questions from a Baptizer. Think about the Ethiopian unit being asked questions from Philip.

But either the meanings, whichever you take, there's, there's a little bit of room for disagreement on this for sure. I think either, either understanding definitely fits our understanding and, and our practice of baptism as well. 'Cause we understand that we're making a plea for the forgiveness of sins for God to purify us, but also we usually proceed the baptism with a formal questioning of some kind by the, the person wanna be baptized.

Don't know what the formal term for that is, but whether, whatever choice you take and, and whatever evidence leads you to a conclusion on one of these type of understands. What's clear that Peter says is that it has to come. From a good or a clear conscience, in contrast to the outward and the superficial view of baptism, an appeal for forgiveness or a formal pledge of allegiance to Christ, it's got to proceed from a pure heart.

You can come and make a public declaration in front of a million people and you can fool everybody in the room, but you can't deceive God. Even still, when we think about a pledge or a quest while it's incredibly necessary, it's pivotal to experiencing salvation, it's still not what empowers baptism to save.

Finally, Peter reveals the true source of baptism, saving power, the resurrection and the reign of of Christ. And so Peter returns to this idea of the resurrection. To reassure his suffering. Audience, once again, Peter's brought up the resurrection a ton of times in his letter. I've got, you can look at those on your own time as well, and even began his letter with a really similar statement to what we have here.

Look in verse three through four of chapter one,

where this idea of being saved through the resurrection of Jesus Christ is, is repeated a very similar statement. Verse three begins, these are some of the first words of Peter's letter. He says, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you.

So Peter here is paralleling Noah's salvation through water in verse 21 with the believer, salvation and baptism through the resurrection of Christ in verse 21. But then he goes on and he alludes to Psalm one 10 verse one, the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament where he says that Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God.

Angels, authorities and powers having been subjected to him. For Peter, we know he understood that baptism was a past act of conversion. We think about Pentecost so often. What was, what is his, the climax of his sermon in Acts chapter two, verse 38, when he said, repent and be baptized. Each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now as we've been saying, you know, who is he talking to? This isn't just a, you know, abstract teaching or the about baptism, but he's talking to baptize believers about their baptism, and they've already received the forgiveness of their sins, and so now his emphasis is different for them. It's not Tono anything that he had said before, but now he's showing that their baptism is an ongoing comfort for them.

It's not only a past act of conversion, but it's an ongoing comfort. Well, how? Why? Why is it? Well, because it was a reminder again, of the gospel. Jesus died but conquered in order to be resurrected and reign with God in heaven. So despite the persecution, despite all the things that were right in front of them, they could endure because they identified with that very news.

Peter called to mind their past confession of faith and baptism and Jesus. He had conquered all those evil forces, physical and spiritual, that confronted these Christians. They believed this good news. I like what Peter David said while I was studying this week. He said they are suffering as Christ suffered, but in baptism, they are also joined to the resurrected reigning Christ.

The ability of the powers to afflict them now through their persecutor is not the last word. The reign of Jesus Christ is. Peter here emphasizes the, again, this is not an exhaustive sermon, so obviously there's more that we will talk about in terms of the power of baptism. But Peter's point here in this letter in one Peter is that baptism's power lies in the union that it creates between the believer and the resurrected and the reigning Christ.

And so this is both a comfort. This both both comforted and also committed Peter's audience to unswerving loyalty in the face of all the persecution that they faced. So tonight, you know, we fought a lot about what does First Peter three mean? What, what, what would it meant to its original audience?

But, you know, we're in East Texas, we're thousands of miles removed, thousands of years removed from these people. Peter was talking to, what does this mean for us today that baptism now saves to you? I want you to think about a few things before we close. First I want you to remember, I want to ask you, do you remember when you were baptized?

Some of you, that's probably easier to do bad. She's like, I just gotta think back to last Wednesday. You know, some people were like, you know, 67, 70 years ago, you know. So some, for some of us that's easier than others. But when I think about when I was baptized, I was baptized on December 23rd, 2007. I was 10 years old.

I was baptized in the Chipley Church of Christ. My dad baptized me being December 23rd. Great time to pick, to be baptized. Very cold waters, even for Florida. I remember what I was wearing. I was wearing red Gym Shorts that actually belonged to my sister's friend from school. Don't know how enough a girl's shorts, but they were do, they were boys gym shorts, but I was wearing her shorts and I was like, what shirt do I wear to be baptized?

Well, I had like a Jesus fish shirt and I was like, well, that's the perfect shirt for the occasion. And I wore that shirt. And other than that, in that moment when I was baptized, I don't really remember anything else. But do you remember why, whenever that was for you, do you remember why you were baptized?

I remember why I was baptized. I was a little boy. I was only 10, but I already had felt guilty for things that I had done, and I wanted forgiveness. Even as a little kid, I, I understood that that hell was a real thing, and it scared me. I wanted to be saved. And, you know, I'm 28 now and 18 years, you know, is that 18 years?

I gotta make sure my math is here, is good, or do under pressure. But even in 18 years, you know, since I've been baptized, I, I realized that at that moment when I was 10, there was a lot that I didn't understand and what I was doing and, and, and making that pledge and that plea or what was ahead of me. But what I did understand above all things, what the one thing that was clear to me.

Was it in baptism? That's where I came in contact with Jesus. And Jesus was the only way that I was gonna be able to be saved. You know, we, we can think about all these things, right? We can think about when we were baptized, why we were baptized, whether that was six days ago, or whether it was 60 years ago.

But we, we can think about our baptism in terms of the past, but do you ever think about your baptism in terms of the present, like Peter talked about in his letter? Do you think about as a reassurance that brings comfort to you and hope in times of trouble? Do you think about how your baptism now saves you, as Peter said to his audience?

You know, as I've grown as a man and as a Christian over the last several years, you know, it's funny. Even call myself a man, honestly, I guess I've had a baby now I can say that. But even feels weird to say it. 'cause in my mind I'm still that 10-year-old boy it feels like. But every now and then, I think about that moment.

But what I really come to learn of what I've really come to appreciate over these last 18 years of being a Christian, not the specifics of that moment. It's not about what I wore, it's not about who baptized me. It's not about how cold that water was, but what I think about every day is about the decision I made to follow after Jesus, the resurrected and the reigning Lord.

You know, I'm sure like all of you who've chosen to put on Christ in baptism, your life has not been a upward, you know, inclined to glory. Like it's just been a cakewalk. You've had highs and lows in your life, times where you've exceeded or where you've grown in faith, sometimes where you've struggled.

But in all these times, when I, when I find myself suffering or, or struggling with my sin, when I feel powerless in the world or, or just uncertain about the future. Well, what I think about, I don't think about those, that water in Chipley, Florida. What I think about is the Gospel of Christ and I think about how Jesus's story has become my own.

And I think about, I think about now that even though I might suffer, and I know that you all do too, Jesus did too. I wouldn't, wouldn't try to do this. But I think too that, you know, not only did Jesus suffer, but Jesus was raised from the dead too. And so will I be, and so will you be as well if you put him on in baptism.

And so I got a simple question for you tonight. Have you, have you been baptized? Why? If you have been, why were you baptized? Have you asked God for forgiveness? Have you made a pledge to follow after him? Have you expressed allegiance by passing through water and experience salvation through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you haven't, well we want to help you with that today. 'cause that's the only way that we can have hope, is through Jesus, through our resurrecting, reigning Lord. 'cause despite everything that's going on in our world right now, despite the violence, the hatred that's being spewed from all over the place, there's a lot of uncertainty.

I felt really uncertain this week. Maybe you did too. We have something to hold onto, something outside of ourselves to grasp on to. And it's not just some water behind me, it's, it is something deeper. And it's our resurrected Lord in Christ who reigns in heaven, who empowers that act that we do to actually give us real forgiveness of sin, salvation, and hope for the resurrection of the dead.

And so tonight, if we can help you with that, we'd love you to come as we stand and as we sing.

I heard.