Repentance and Baptism

This is my sermon for August 31

Peter was just finishing his sermon. The day didn't actually start with a sermon. It started with a prayer meeting. There were 120 believers praying in an upper room. They really didn't know what to do. Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came and empowered them for their mission. It was Pentecost, so there were Jews from all around the world in Jerusalem. Then the Holy Spirit came. He didn't come quietly. There was a loud sound like a mighty wind. It wasn't a mighty wind, but it sounded like it. The believers looked around and saw what seemed to be tongues of fire on each other. It wasn't fire, but it looked like it. Then the believers began to praise God. People from all around came to see what was happening. They had heard the sound. Then they heard the disciples praying and praising God in their own language. This got people's attention. Of course, there were the skeptics present who said, "They are just drunk." This is when Peter began his sermon, ". . .these are not drunk, as you suppose, . . ." He gave a rather lengthy sermon using the prophecy of Joel and Psalm 110 to show that Jesus was the Lord and the Messiah. He finished it by saying, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36 NKJV)

The text for the sermon was this verse (36) and verses 37-39:

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

What was it that cut the listeners to the heart? Peter had just given a lot of prophetic pointers to Jesus, and then he said, "This Jesus . . . that YOU crucified . . . God exalted . . ." You see, they knew about the crucifixion of Jesus, but they thought of him as only a man. But, this man that they -- yes, the Jews, but this is no cause for antisemitism, for in reality, since Jesus died for all of us -- we all crucified. But God had made him Lord. This is certainly a claim to the divinity of Jesus. God also made him Christ -- the anointed one -- the Messiah.

They heard the message. This Jesus that they had debased, God exalted. Obviously they were convicted by Peter's sermon. They could see that they had misjudged Jesus, so they asked the correct question, "What should we do?" It is easy to hear sounds, but not really listen. This happens to me all the time with my wife. She will catch me up short when she says, "What did I just say?" Of course, I have to play ignorant, because I didn't really hear. When we hear, there must be some kind of response. The Navy is known for its, "Aye, Aye, Sir!" This really doesn't mean, "Yes, Yes Sir!" When being talked to by a superior officer, the correct response is merely "Yes, Sir." But, when a direct order is given, then the aye, aye is used and it means, "Yes, I heard you Sir and I will carry out the order." This is the kind of hearing that is really required in the Bible. This is how the people heard Peter's sermon. They knew that something must be done in response to this message.

Peter gave them the answer, "Repent and be Baptized." He told them that when they did that that two things would happen to them. First, they would be forgiven for their sins. That sounds pretty good! But, secondly, they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Wow! This is very good. Peter went on to say that this was not just for them, but for everyone who responds to the call in this way. It wasn't just for the Jews, it was also for the gentiles. It wasn't just for that generation. It was for the generations to come, right down to this day. Peter stated that it was for all that Jesus loves and calls -- that is EVERYONE! It includes the Muslim, the murderer, the thief, the sexually broken -- everyone. No exceptions.

Well, what does it mean to repent. All to often, the picture that we give of repentance is that of giving up all of our old life. Certainly that is partially true, but that is not the basic meaning of the word. To repent means to turn around and go another direction. We are fond of discussing the fact that we are "born again" Christians. This is great. I am born again and grateful to God for this new birth. But this is not the most common invitation that Jesus gives in the gospels. His most common invitation is to come and follow me. This is what we should get from the word repent -- I have been walking in a different direction, but I have decided now to turn around and follow Jesus. Of course, as we make this change in our lives, there is confession of sins, and there is a renouncing of those ways that are incompatible with following Jesus.

Baptism is a sign of what has happened on the inside. We have died and now are reborn (see Romans 6). That is why we baptize by immersion. The picture of new birth is there. So Jesus says that we must repent and be baptized in order to be forgiven and to receive the Holy Spirit. True, but what about someone who dies before they can be baptized? Remember, baptism is the outward sign of inward change. Salvation comes before baptism. We confess that Jesus is Lord. Immediately we are forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit -- but don't forget baptism because it is really the first step in following Jesus.

This is the church. It is composed of Spirit filled believers who have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Since the Holy Spirit chooses to operate through believers -- the church becomes the operating venue for the Holy Spirit. We must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all that we do.

Finally, always remember that all of this is given be grace to all who believe. Peter isn't giving a series of "hoops to jump through." Peter said that this promise was for everyone. We must never make it difficult for people to hear the simple gospel.

Current Reading

I belong to a group of pastors. We meet weekly and talk and pray. We have been together long enough that we can be open, honest and vulnerable with one another. We all are discouraged with the normal church culture. Please understand, we are not discouraged with God, nor the real church, in fact most of us aren't even really discouraged with our own ministries. What bothers us is that there seems to be an over-arching church culture that seems to color the perceptions of what the church should be. This is seen both inside and outside of the church. Of course, inside -- most people think it's alright. Those outside the church don't like what they perceive the church to be. But there are a lot of us (not just our pastor's group) that are not satisfied with this culture. There must be more. The church -- or the perceived church -- seems to be missing it. This leads me to my current reading. The authors of the books that I am reading also share our dissatisfaction.

About two months ago I read Gregory Boyd's "Repenting of Religion". I was really blown away. I couldn't put it down. I found myself saying "yes" on almost every page. Essentially, he states that we are called to love. Original sin has to do with making judgments of others (which is God's prerogative). Our churches have become very judgmental places rather that places of love. Of course this is a generalization -- but there is certainly some truth to this. He backs this up with a lot of scripture. Some of you may think that Boyd is suspect because of his Openness of God Theology, but I don't think this book gets into that. It stands alone. He bases much of his thesis on the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Since Bonhoeffer is one of my favorite theologians, I have started to reread him also.

I came back from the conference on the Holy Spirit in Greenlake Wisconsin to find that my wife had read "The Shack". I told her that I would like to read it. I did. Again, I was blown away. In many ways this novel was continuing what I had already been reading. I know that this book is somewhat controversial, so I will be spending some time in another post to discuss it. "The Shack" led me to Clark Pinnock's "Flame of Love, A Theology of the Holy Spirit". Once again, I find similar themes emerging. He talks of the dance of love within the trinity. I am not quite finished with this -- but will be soon.

Then I registered for Transformation Ministries annual conference and received a gift book in the mail. It was Dan Kimball's "They Like Jesus but not the Church". Here again the theme of church culture missing much of the gospel emerges. Kimball is certainly coming from a different place than Pinnock, than Boyd, than the author of "The Shack", but the theme of love and not judgment is right there.

I think that God is trying to tell me something. I think He is probably trying to tell the wider church something also. In the next few posts, I will try to review each of these books and then summarize what I sense that God may be saying to me. I must emphasize that this is very personal to me and I can't speak for everyone else. Let me know what you think.

Is the Church an Anachronism?

I have been reading Dan Kimball's book, "They Like Jesus but not the Church". It would seem from reading the book that the church is in trouble today. Is that true? Probably yes and no. The church isn't admired within the general population. Of course, the church is not about to go away because it is the church of Jesus Christ. He is the head of the church.

Rick Warren did a marvelous job on his interviews with Barack Obama and John McCain. It was great to see the church portrayed in a positive light -- and be relevant to what was happening in the world!

What do I mean when I say that the church is an anachronism? To our society, the church seems out of place. It is something out of the past and not relevant today. Of course, I don't believe that this is true, but it seems to be a very common belief. The scripture for today comes from Matthew 16:13-19:

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

It is important to note that this interchange took place at Caesarea Philippi, not Caesarea (a seaport and seat of Roman power in New Testament days.) Caesarea Philippi is in the northern part of Israel and was a center of pagan worship. The rocky cliffs are filled with pagan temples carved into the rock face. The question concerning the identity of Jesus is especially appropriate where idolatry is so prevalent. Of course the imagery is also understandable. The presence of rock. The idol temples composed of rock. Even the gates of Hell fit in this setting, for the caves in the rock were known to the Jews as the the gates of Hell.

The question put to the disciples by Jesus itself is messianic. He asks who do people say, "The Son of Man" is? This is a title from the book of Daniel. I think that Jesus is already making major claims in the face of all of the idolatry. Of course, the disciples gave some general answers as to Jesus' reputation. Then Jesus really comes to the real question: "What about you? What do you say?"

What about the answers that the disciples gave? They were reasonable. The Bible even says that Herod believed that Jesus was a reincarnation of John the Baptist. People were looking for the coming of Elijah. And certainly Jesus wept over Jerusalem as did Jeremiah. Jesus probably looked like a prophet to the outside observer, but he was so much more.

Peter gave the right answer. Of course, his name wasn't Peter until he gave the answer. In fact Peter which means rock wasn't even used as a name. So it was more like Jesus say, that is a great answer -- so great that I am going to call you Rocky. Why, because the truth that you announced is the Rock upon which I will build my church. There it is -- the church. It was built upon the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It is His church. In fact, Jesus says that Hell better watch out because the gates of Hell wont keep the church out. How relevant can you be! Nothing in this world can stand against the church. Much could be said about the binding and loosing, that is material for a whole posting itself. But, at the very least it means that the Lord's Prayer which says, "Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven", takes place in the church.

Why is this important? It tells us at least six important truths about the church:

• The Church is God’s Creation – it is never irrelevant
• The Church is given to Men – they are not always relevant
• The Church is representative of God’s Kingdom
• We must – and do – belong to the church
• We must always seek to see the church as representing Jesus
• We must always seek to make the church relevant to our world.

A New Thought -- My Sermons

As I was thinking about writing a new post, I thought of my sermons. It's not that they need to be preserved, but my mind is thoroughly preoccupied with thinking about my sermon. Since I don't speak from a manuscript, I will have to do a little work to get the sermon in shape to be placed on line.

My sermon today was titled "Isn't the Church an Anachronism?" The text was Matthew 16:13-20. I was reading and preparing the sermon on this text, while also reading Kimball's "They Like Jesus, But Not the Church." I present the Church of Jesus Christ as the visible expression of Jesus in the world today. The church is relevant. The church is a product of His love. Those of us who know Jesus must love the church! We must minister in the context of the church. But, I also presented the fact that the church is made up of very fallible men and women. We are not always relevant. We present obstacles in the way of people coming to Jesus. Therefore our job as the church is to be Jesus for our world.

I am not entirely satisfied with this little synopsis! I think that each Saturday or Sunday I will give a brief synopsis followed by a separate post with the transcribed sermon. That way, if time is of the essence -- or the interest is not there, you don't need to read the entire post.

To Life

Hayley is 18! For those who don't know, Hayley is my oldest grandchild. She is beautiful, talented and the apple of Grandpa's eye. We celebrated yesterday. We celebrated her life that she has lived thus far and we celebrated the promise of life to come.

What has she done thus far? I suppose, not a lot in the eyes of the world. But, for those of us who know her, she has done everything. I think back to the beginning. She changed our lives. Suddenly, I was a grandparent. Her Uncle became an Uncle. Her mother's life certainly did change. Some of the changes were easy and brought great joy -- and some of them were difficult. But, for better or worse, Haley was here and our lives will never be the same. She has grown -- not just in chronology but in maturity. I think back to the things that meant a lot to me. Holding her as a baby, taking care of her as a toddler, going to school talent shows and graduations. It was routine -- that's what life is -- but it was and is profound. Life is meant to be celebrated.

What is the bigger issue around this celebration of life. Well, just that. All life is meant to be celebrated. I mention Haley because she means so much to me. But, what about children starving in Darfur? What about the AIDs kids in Africa? What about the displaced people in Georgia? What about the people living in the mess of Iraq? What about the aborted children around the world? We (I) have become somewhat desensitized to death. The news screams out about this one dying of gunshot wounds, a fatal accident, a plane crash. I confess that I love "Law and Order" in all of it's spinoffs. All of them start with the fact that life is cheap and bad things happen to people. This is true, but isn't this why it is so important to celebrate life that we have? Isn't it important to stand for life at all times? Isn't this why we need to help where we can to preserve life?

God created us and breathed the breath of life into us. God celebrated life by saying our creation was very very good! God says that the shedding of innocent blood is among the most serious offenses that can be done. If we stand for and with God -- we need to take life seriously. Let's celebrate! Let's celebrate the life God gives us! Let's celebrate the life to come because of the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is good to be alive.

Purpose and Goals for this Blog

I mentioned in my profile that I hope to discuss things in my life or the lives of my family. I also hope to relate these to what is happening in the world at large. I didn't mention, but I also want to relate this to God. I strongly believe that God is active in this world. To me, this is not just in some abstract way, but God is personally, intimately involved in the lives of his people.

Some may want to ask what I mean by "his people". All people in this world, are God's people. They may or may not recognize this fact. In fact they may not really like this fact -- or may disagree with me that this is a fact. I merely set this forth as my strong belief. This belief is so fundamental to me that it colors the way I think. So, when I begin to share about what is happening in my life -- God will be there.

This is my second attempt at a blog. My first blog was only read by a few of my closest friends. They were very patient with me because my postings were few and far between. Thus, I make a clean start. Here is my goal. I hope to write a posting at least once per week (my real hope is that I will post daily -- but I am only committing to weekly posts). I also intend to let a growing number of friends, colleagues and others know about this blog -- that is big for me, because it means I am going out on a limb. Lastly, I really intend for at least one posting a week (maybe the only posting that week) to be about something really significant.

For those of you that I have sent notification about this blog, I ask that you give me some feedback. What do you think -- agree? disagree? Why? If I am not really giving anything that you feel is significant -- tell me. I guess that this implies that I would like this to turn into a place of dialogue. And that implication is absolutely correct.