Good morning, everybody. Open your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Acts, chapter 2. The title of today's message is Baptized in Obedience. If I had to pull the body right now and ask, what are the peaks? What are the most extreme examples of joy that you've experienced in your walk with Christ? I'm sure that the answers would be varied. the conversion experience as we realize He actually offers His Son to pay for our sins. and that they're all paid for? The realization that that habitual sin and our enslavement to it has been broken? Oh, there's numerous, there's numerous different experiences within the life of a believer. Maybe it's the conversion of a dear friend that you've prayed for for years. But also, how could we forget being baptized? this act of obedience to our Lord and Savior and the joy that comes with it is fantastic, and that's what we're going to be talking about today. If you've got the book of Acts open, I'll bring you up to speed. We're going to be in verse 37, and Peter is just been indwelt with God's Holy Spirit, he has delivered this fantastic sermon in Jerusalem, and he has gotten right to the heart of his listeners. He has provoked them. He has let them know in no uncertain terms that they have participated in the crucifixion of Christ, the Son of God. And their response is instructive. Verse 37 says, Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men, brothers, what should we do? having been convicted by the Holy Spirit, there must be a response. And they're eager to hear, what are they supposed to do? And Peter says, in verse 38, repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you. and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself. And with many other words he solemnly bore witness and kept on exhorting them, saying, be saved from this crooked generation. So then those who had received his word were baptized. In that day there were added about 3,000 souls. and they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers. Having been convicted by God's Holy Spirit, having been prompted by the Holy Spirit to respond, They plead with Peter. What are we to do? Peter gives them the answer. Repent. Acknowledge your sins to God. Be baptized. Have your sins forgiven. Be indwelt with God's Holy Spirit. Are we talking about baptism today? Especially on this occasion, as we're going to be baptizing a new and dear brother of ours? This is just a really special day. And yet, I want the main point of today's message, which will come out in Acts 8, that's the main body, I want this to shine forth. This is what the Ethiopian eunuch, we're gonna look at, this is what the Ethiopian eunuch says to Philip. After that same piercing of the heart, after that same explanation of truth, He says, what prevents me from being baptized? What keeps me from obeying the Lord in this thing that he has commanded? I want us to consider that. I want us that perhaps have not been baptized to consider what is keeping me from being baptized? We're going to talk about all kinds of stuff related to baptism as we look at Acts chapter 8. We're going to also look at the context, and the context is instructive because it is a somewhat hostile environment, a hostile time, as persecution has increased and yet the spread of the gospel is increasing all the more. Then we're going to look at our sermon today in Acts chapter 8 as the Ethiopian eunuch at the prompting of God's Holy Spirit through the Apostle Philip is baptized in obedience to the Lord. Then we're going to have some takeaways. We need to understand what is baptism? Is it even important? Do I have to do it to be saved? We're going to look at all of these questions because there's a lot of misunderstanding. And then we're going to conclude by going to Romans 6 and hearing basically all of these bundled up by Paul nice and neatly. as we learn what it is to be living in obedience to the Lord through this illustration of baptism, this picture that demonstrates a spiritual reality. But before we go any further, let's ask the Lord to help us. Father God, to think that you would invite us to participate in this beautiful picture of the gospel is so intriguing, it's so wonderful and encouraging. It gladdens our heart, Lord, that we can see in a physical, tangible way what it is to be buried with Christ. what it is to be raised from the dead and to have our hopeful expectation, our confident expectation affirmed through this act. Lord, I pray that you would give us ears to hear, eyes to see. I pray that you would give me the right words to speak and that this would only be of you. Lord God, we love you and we invite you and your Son and your Spirit to hold dominion and absolute sway over us today. May you be glorified alone. It's in Christ's name I pray, amen. Okay, you can turn to Acts chapter eight. And in Acts chapter eight, as I mentioned before, there is an incredibly intense persecution has taken place. At the end of Acts chapter 7, Stephen is martyred for his faith. He gives a testimony. He convicts the religious leaders of their sin, and they stone him to death. In Acts chapter 8, in verses 1 through 5, we hear about what has happened. after that. First one, now Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day, a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house and dragging off men and women. He was delivering them into prison. Therefore those who had been scattered went about proclaiming the good news of the word. Now Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began preaching Christ to them." Here on this map you can see Jerusalem here in the middle, and Philip's journey not down like north, not down south, but he's leaving from the mountain peak of Jerusalem down to Samaria. This is where Philip is. And as Philip finishes the work in Samaria, he's going to come back to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, he's going to get a message, a message that's going to send him to another people group he probably doesn't want to engage with, and yet he will. Now, the Samaritans, they're not friends with the Jews. The area that he's going to, they're not friends with the Jews. And yet, the Lord has said in Acts chapter one, verse eight, before he ascended, that this is exactly what is going to happen. You shall be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, even to the end of the earth. Philip is about to do this. He's going to give a message. He's going to obey it. So if you have your Bibles, open to Acts chapter 8. We're gonna start the message in verse 26. The message is broken into four points. The first point is titled, Philip's Faithful Obedience. I love this passage. Okay, verse 26. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. He's in Jerusalem right now. saying, rise up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert road. So he rose up and went. And we'll just stop there. Do you notice something odd about this encounter? There's no explanation. There's no end goal given. He just says, get up, go. Isn't that odd? Isn't that bizarre that the angel of the Lord doesn't tell Philip why he's going, where he's going, what he is to do? Isn't that interesting? I think it's interesting as a man who doesn't always know why the Lord influences him from scripture to do something. That resonates with me. No explanation is given to Philip. And this is going to repeat as we're going to see in the text. Have you ever encountered that? Lord, I don't know why you have given me this overwhelming feeling that I must obey you in this thing. You're not explaining it to me. And then after that, you see as the Lord moves and it astonishes you. Maybe I'm the only one that has encountered that, but it is always a delight when I see on the back end what faithful obedience produces. So we'll continue. He rose up and went, verse 27, and behold, there was an Ethiopian eunuch. A eunuch is somebody who has had his male reproductive organ removed in some fashion. Okay, we're going to talk about that in just a little bit. This is a trusted official in the kingdom where he works. He is a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. So he's an African fellow. He's black. who was in charge of all her treasure, and he had come to Jerusalem to worship. He too is obedient. He too has come to Jerusalem. Now what's interesting is his obedience probably involves some discomfort. What do I mean? Racism isn't limited to our area. or even in certain areas of the United States. Deuteronomy 23 says that anybody who is emasculated is not invited into the assembly of the Lord, not allowed. He's clearly a Gentile, and yet he has come to worship the Lord. Do you think that the Pharisees who travel over land and sea, Jesus said in Matthew 23, 15, do you think that they who try and convert proselytes, and Jesus says, make them twice as much a son of hell as themselves in their hypocrisy, do you think that this eunuch was receiving, while he was in Jerusalem, mixed messages, misunderstandings? We're gonna see that he is confused later on. His obedience involves some discomfort. It probably involved some pushback. And yet he went to Jerusalem to worship. Verse 28, and as he was returning and sitting in his chariot and was reading the prophet Isaiah, somehow he'd gotten a copy of this Greek translation of the Hebrew text written some 700 years before. He's reading in Isaiah. Then, verse 29, then the Spirit said to Philip, go over and join this chariot. Again, there's no explanation. Just go, Philip, go. No explanation is given. Why? What for? He's different than me. Why should I talk to him? He's received a commission, hasn't he? Here's an observation. Christ doesn't repeat some of his commands, especially his commission. Philip knows what he is to do. It doesn't have to be repeated. The Spirit doesn't say to him, go and share the gospel. He knows. He just says, go and join this chariot. Some of us wait for step-by-step instructions when we really need to exercise faith and obey what he has given us to do. Philip does that. Philip, verse 30, Philip ran up. Maybe the chariot's going fast, or maybe Philip is eager. I don't know, it doesn't say. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. He said, do you understand what you are reading? Do you know what you're doing? Do you understand? Romans chapter 10, verses 14 and 15, Say this, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him whom they have not heard? How will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim good news of good things. Philip has good news of good things. How beautiful are the feet of those who are sent, who reveal the truth to those that do not know the Lord. Philip asked him, do you know what you're reading? Well, the eunuch is confused, verse 31. And he said, well, how could I? unless someone guides me." And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this, as a sheep is led to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will recount his generation? For his life is removed from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I ask you earnestly, Of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else? Do you think he had been confused as he went to Jerusalem and asked the scribes, the Pharisees, the religious elite about this mysterious passage? Probably. This is known historically, Isaiah 53, this passage that he read out of, it's the butchery of the rabbis. They have mishandled this text every different direction. They don't know what it says. And this eunuch wants to know because whoever this is is somebody who pays for sins. You know what? All scripture is about Christ. either directly or indirectly, it points to him. Isaiah 53 is a super clear example of that. How do I know that? Well, the Lord himself believes that. As he was resurrected from the dead on the road to Emmaus, he interpreted from the Old Testament all the things that were concerning him. Philip himself said in John chapter one, verse 45, he said to one of the other disciples, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth. It's about him, it's about Christ. What's interesting is if you look at scripture and you don't look for Christ, you're gonna be confused. You're not gonna understand. You may be earnest, you may be sincere, you may get good morals, wise instruction, but if you're not looking for Jesus, Probably futile. All scripture is about Christ, and it points to him. The point of the quote that the eunuch read and that he inquired about is that the Messiah, this suffering servant, pays for sins. This eunuch wants to know, how can I be relieved of this burden? Who is this suffering servant? who goes and dies for sins, silently, submissively. Who is this? He asked earnestly. Here's an observation. If you seek God with all your heart, as Jeremiah 29 verse 13 says, you will find him. if you are sincere, if you are in earnest, if you want to know God, He will reveal Himself to you. He will go out of His way to reveal Himself to you. Philip, go south on this road. It's a desert road. He will not explain necessarily to the messenger what is about to happen. but He will provide the way to be seen. All of general revelation, all of creation declares the glory of the Lord. His servants, they too share the good news. If you sincerely want to know Jesus, if you want to know Him, He will be found. Take comfort in that. Enjoy that. and let that solidify you day by day." Well, Philip, he has been waiting, I'm sure, anxiously, to tell the eunuch the gospel, and he proclaims it to him, verse 35. Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from the scripture, he proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. Your sins can be forgiven. You, anxious one, you, penetrated to the heart, you, the one that is convicted, the one that is burdened by the Holy Spirit and understands your penalty that is due, you can know the good news that the Son of God himself paid for every one of your sins, past, present, and future. Do you think that that was a hard message to proclaim? No, it's an easy message to proclaim. It is a wonderful message to share. You can be free of the death penalty. Oh, what a delight it is to share the good news. I doubt Philip had any trouble. I bet you he didn't hem and haw over it and wait for that perfect He just gave him what he was desperately needing. He proclaimed it to him. Here's a takeaway, not part of our takeaways that we're going to do in a few moments, but Jude 3 tells us that we are to contend for the faith. First Peter chapter 3 says that we are to defend our hope. We have to be ready. We have to be vigilant, diligent, prepared. Does that mean that it's going to come off without a hitch, friends? No. It does not always go easy. And yet, if we are listening to the prompting of God's Holy Spirit, waiting patiently for just the right thing to say, We will see the Lord at work. One other thing that I might mention, it says beginning from the scripture. Turn with me. He quoted out of Isaiah 53. He didn't stop in Isaiah 53. I'll share this because I'm not positive, but perhaps Philip shared this with the eunuch. as a way of explaining some more of the Lord's character. Go to Isaiah 56. I'll just read a couple of verses. There's more to be said about this. but in the interest of time, we're gonna limit it to just what these verses says. Thus says Yahweh, verse one, keep justice and do righteousness for my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed. How blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who takes hold of it, who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahweh say, Yahweh will surely separate me from his people. Nor let the eunuchs say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus says Yahweh to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, And choose what pleases me, and hold fast my covenant, To them I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off." Contrary to allowing, as in Deuteronomy 23 in that context, allowing somebody in pagan worship to harm themselves and then participate in the assembly of the righteous. No, the one who comes faithfully, even emasculated, who wants to obey the Lord, he's invited in. Do you think that would be good news that the eunuch would want to hear? I think so. I think so. He began from Isaiah 53 and he proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. Perhaps he even told him about Isaiah 56. I don't know. But perhaps. Let's continue. Fourth and final point. the believers' joyful obedience. And as they went along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, look, water, what prevents me from being baptized? Apparently in the gospel presentation, it had come up that baptism is an act of obedience to your Lord and Savior. And he looked at this water that shouldn't be there in this desert land, It says, hey, here's an opportunity for me to obey. What is preventing me from obeying my Lord and Savior who died for my sins? Is there any reason why I can't? That's the main point of the message. Is there any reason why we can't obey the Lord? Is there? Is it a legitimate reason? This goes beyond just baptism. Baptism is just like an example of obedience in the life of the believer. And we're going to talk more about that. Is there anything that prevents us from obeying him? That's something we need to wrestle with daily. What is preventing us from doing that? It's probably an idol. It's probably from the domain of darkness. It's probably not to your best interest. If something is preventing you from obeying the Lord, it's not your friend. This Ethiopian eunuch, he wants to show that Christ is Lord and the eunuch delights in obeying him. So what is preventing us from doing the same? If you're here and you haven't been baptized and yet Christ is your Lord and Savior, I would warmly invite you to talk to not only myself or Pastor Gary or one of the other elders or even another believer. Talk to us. This is an amazing experience that we're going to talk about in detail. I want to invite you to participate because there are some that have not, and that can be for a number of different reasons. Let's talk about some of those reasons. They basically boil down to two aspects, internal or external pressures. Some of those might be legitimate but can be worked through, and some maybe are less than legitimate. Some internal pressures that may keep us from being baptized or ignorance of our obligation. Think of, hear me clearly, there is an obligation to do this, but it doesn't merit salvation, okay? So just, I wanna make that abundantly clear. I'm gonna say this a bunch of times. There is an obligation though. Christ commands it. Maybe we're ignorant of that. Maybe we misunderstand baptism's necessity or symbolic value. Maybe we're scared of water. Putting your face in water, I mean, that is terrifying to some people. That's an internal pressure. Maybe we're scared of public speaking. I get that. As a guy who does that every week. Yeah, I know. There is also external pressures. Push back from loved ones. If you get baptized, you're cut off. You know, there's some cultures. that once somebody is baptized, once somebody professes their faith in Christ, they prepare a home for them because their family is going to push them out of their home. It is no small event in the life of the believer. They know what they're doing, and they know the consequences. There could be professional consequences from a job. There could be a fear of others' responses. There could be a lack of resources, a desert, perhaps. We're not in a desert. We've got water even in the summertime falling out of the sky. We don't have some of those excuses, and yet there are other legitimate reasons why an immersion going into the water baptism may not be the best way. If you're worried about that, you should come and talk to one of the elders, because there's grace. There's a wiggle room. We want to help you obey your Savior. And ultimately, if Christ is our Savior, if He's our Master, we're going to want to obey Him, what He has commanded, especially in this act of baptism. So that is an attempt to maybe mitigate some of those things that come up in our mind that prevent us from being baptized. You'll notice if you have an NIV or an ESV something strange in your Bible. Where's verse 37? Do you have an ESV? Some of you do. Where is verse 37? Do you have an NIV? There's something conspicuous there. Where is verse 37? We're going to talk about that. Verse 37 is omitted from the NIV and the ESV because it was a scribal edition dated to the 6th century. We're still going to read it because it's helpful. This tells us something about 6th century Christians. They believed that a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God was fundamental to obeying the ordinance of baptism. If you have it in your Bible, you're gonna see that. Verse 37, and Philip said, if you believe with all your heart, you may. You may be baptized. He answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Why is it there and not in my Bible? It's included in this because in the sixth century, it was added to some copies of scripture, and yet it's bracketed in mine. It's from the Codex Laudianus. And it's helpful, but you need to know that about your Bible if you've got verses that are missing. That's not done on accident. That's intentional. Let's have some takeaways. Actually, before I do that, let's finish the text and then we'll go to our takeaways. Verse 38. And he ordered the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, And he baptized him. So this is an immersion experience. They went into the water, they got under the water, and they came up out of the water. That's immersion. Immersion and immersion. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord slouched Philip away. The same word that is used in the rapture. And the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, that's Ashdod, a Philistine village on the coast there. Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he kept proclaiming the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. That's what the Lord had told him to do. Acts chapter one, verse eight. He's carrying out his commission, he's doing it. I find it interesting that the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. So just as an aside, if you're carrying around maybe tracks that you're not handing out because you're hoping that your clothes are gonna be left behind and somebody's gonna rummage through them and find a track, you're gonna do better just handing it out because I don't think Philip is not wearing anything when he gets snatched away. He's wearing something as he went to Azotus. Okay, let's have some takeaways. I wanted to answer these questions very clearly. What is baptism? Why is it important? And is it required for salvation? Here's the first. Baptism is self-identifying with Christ. It's saying, I am a Christian. I am a Christian. I am with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. That is something that nobody else can do for you. Your parents can't do that for you. Your church can't do that for you. You have to do it. You have to say, yes, I am with Christ. Water baptism is a picture of going into the grave and coming up out of it. That's why it's important. It's showing that we are united with Christ. That's why it's important. It's a public testimony that we are unified with Christ. And as an outcome of that, if we are saying, yes, we are unified with Christ, if our conduct is incongruent, it doesn't match that testimony. We invite the body who has heard our testimony into mutual accountability. If you say, I am a Christian, I have been baptized, then Christian, why aren't you acting in accord with that profession? We invite that. We accept that mutual accountability. That's right. That's good. Here's the question that's on everybody's mind. Is baptism required for salvation? No. We know this, but it needs to be said anyway. No. Salvation is through repentance for sins and faith in Christ alone. We could stop right there. And yet, why is this required? Baptism is an act of obedience, proving indeed that Christ is actually Lord of our lives. He has commanded this. Will we do it? Yes, no. Yes, no. Will we do it? What prevents us from being baptized? Is Christ Lord of our lives? In today's message, we looked at Acts chapter two, as the Holy Spirit used the Apostle Peter to convict, to preach a message that brought about the conviction of 3,000 Jews that repented. They were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins and received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The intent of this message was to ask the question and have us answer it internally. What is preventing me from being baptized? Is there anything? What is preventing me from obeying Christ as Lord? Is there anything? We need to know what that is because it's something that needs to be addressed. We looked at the context briefly of the hostile environment that this was happening in, and we learned a little bit just ruminating on Acts chapter 8 and the eunuch and the things that Scripture tells the Jews to do and what Jesus reported about the Jews that it wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise in Jerusalem either for the eunuch. And yet, in hearing from Scripture about the Messiah that died to pay for his sins, he was baptized in obedience. We did some takeaways. We just looked at what it is. It's identifying ourselves with Christ. It's being united with him. It's having a tangible, physical representation of the gospel that is a delight and a high point in the believer's experience. We learned that we don't have to do that for salvation. The perfect example of that is the rebel that died on the cross next to Christ. Today you will be with me in paradise. And yet, we've got time. We're not nailed to a cross. We have been commanded to do it. I would invite you to participate. And now let's go to Romans chapter six. As the apostle Paul wraps this up with a bow and makes it abundantly clear, that the Christian experience is one of increasing obedience that also involves baptism. Romans chapter six, verse one. What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Is our life to be marked by disobedience? just so that we can see God's grace in play. He says in verse two in Greek, me gnoito. It's a very strong phrase. May it never be. How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? The going into the water coming up out of the water. That symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We were united with him. through the receipt of the Holy Spirit as he transformed us, as he continues to renew our mind so that we want to obey him. Therefore, verse four, we were buried with him through baptism into death so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection." Isn't there hope there? If it's true, if it's legitimate, if Christ is our Savior, ah, there's a resurrection confidence that you can sleep on every night. Knowing this, verse six, that our old man was crucified with him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Somebody's not a slave to sin, he's a slave to Christ. It's obedient to him. We are to be marked by obedience to Christ, not to earn salvation. Ever. We can't add to God's work, but to show that we understand that He is indeed our Lord. I would invite you If you do not know the joy of Christ as your Lord, please come and talk to me or one of the other elders. If you don't know the pleasure of serving a good and gracious King that is willing to exchange His life for your sin penalty, please talk to us. There is a delight in knowing Christ. I invite you to know Him. Let's stand. I'll close my Father God, what a tremendous salvation you have prepared for those that respond to you. What a tremendous salvation you have prepared from before the foundation of the earth. You knew what you were going to do and what you would accomplish. and what you would purchase with your son's own blood. Lord, I pray that our lives would be marked by obedience. I pray that we would demonstrate our faith by looking at your word and doing what it says. Lord, I pray also for the baptism to come as we baptize our brother. Lord, I pray that the testimony would resonate that the truth of being baptized because we believe that Jesus is your son. I pray, Lord, that it would echo throughout our collective church experience and that there would be much joy in all who participate. It's in Christ's name I pray.