Gtcotr/ws080118
Last
week we began reading from the passage of scriptures at the end of the Gospel
of Mark. We only covered one verse last week, verse 15, and tonight we hope to
get a little farther into this passage. Let begin this evening by reading verse
15 again …
Mark 16
15 And He said to them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 “He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
·
Believing
is a matter of the heart and it is our confession to God …
·
Water
Baptism is a matter of our obedience and it is our confession to the world …
·
Salvation
is the free gift of God to become one with Christ for all eternity while water
baptism is a grace-filled opportunity to identify with Christ in this life.
·
There
is a dynamic necessity to both Believe and Embrace salvation.
·
Just
as Jesus was not water baptized so that He would become the Son of God, we
aren’t water baptized so that we can become a child of God either. Jesus was
water baptized because He was the Son of God and a voice from heaven revealed
His identity.
·
Romans 10
follows this same idea in the fact that we are told about two necessities
concerning Jesus:
o to believe in Him as
Savior
§ A faith we have
towards God
o and to confess Him
as Lord
§ An act we do in
public to identify ourselves as Believers
·
Acts 2:38 renders
the best harmony of the Gospel message by encouraging us to repent and be
baptized because our sins
have been forgiven.
·
We
cannot minimize the compromised position and the loss of potential blessing and
impact at risk to the Believer who refuses to identify with Christ through
water baptism … one would of reason be left absent of faith concerning that
person’s salvation. Refusal would be equal to denial if no greater reason were
present.
·
Water
Baptism is a circumcision of our heart towards God …
·
When
we are Baptized
into Christ it is:
o A Baptism
of Salvation –
Noah and his family
o A Baptism
of Repentance –
John the Baptist
o A Baptism
of Deliverance –
Moses and the Red Sea
o A Baptism
of Identification –
Jesus at the Jordan River
o A Baptism
of Purification –
Jesus washing the Disciple’s feet
o A Baptism
of Commitment –
Throughout the Book of Acts
·
These
realities are all rolled up into one baptism into Christ.
·
Those
who are baptized into Christ have put on the Lord Jesus …
o Their conscious is
cleansed
o Their old man is
buried with Christ in a watery grave and
o They are raised to
walk in the newness of life …
§ Baptism helps us in
our walk with Christ …
·
Water
Baptism tells the world that we believe in Jesus …
17 “And these signs will
follow those who believe …”
·
Important to note: Signs follow believers … Believers do not
follow signs …
Luke 21:8 And He said: “Take
heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’
and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.”
Matthew 24
24 “For false christs and
false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if
possible, even the elect.
25 “See, I have told you
beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to
you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is
in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 “For as the lightning
comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son
of Man be.”
The Kingdom will not come with observation (Luke
17:20), but in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet, with the shout of the Arch Angel … suddenly the Lord
will come to His temple! (Malachi 3:1)
Mark 7:36 Then He commanded
them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more
widely they proclaimed it.
3 times in Matthew, 3 times in Mark and 3
times in Luke, Jesus commanded His disciples and those who were healed to tell
no man. Jesus didn’t want people following Him around just because He did
miracles, signs and wonders. Jesus had a message He wanted people to hear.
We do not rejoice in signs, wonders and
miracles, (Luke 10:20), but rather we are called to rejoice in the
exact same things of which all of heaven and the holy angels do rejoice … that
sinners are repentant, and names are being written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
(Luke 15:7 & 10)
Mark 16
17 “And these signs shall
follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak
with new tongues;
·
In My name …
o
What does it mean to be “In the Name of
Jesus”?
Next week we will pick up right here with what it means
to be in the Name of Jesus.
18 “they will take up
serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them;
they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 ¶ So then, after the Lord
had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right
hand of God.
20 And they went out and
preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word
through the accompanying signs. Amen.
