SERMON TITLE: On Baptism
SCRIPTURE: multiple (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 11-2-25 (morning)
Sermon Discussion Guide
Take notes here
As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
For two weeks — we’re taking a break from our series in Romans. And — we’re doing so — to prepare for our evening worship service tonight. Tonight we’re going to receive new members into our faith family. We’ll celebrate baptisms. And we’ll take the Lord’s Supper together. Three ancient and biblical practices that have been part of the life of the church since its beginning. Yet these are three practices for which there’s much confusion and misunderstanding.
So — to prepare ourselves for our time together tonight — we’re taking a look at each of these practices. Last week we looked at church membership. This evening we’ll see what God’s Word says about the Lord’s Supper. And — this morning — we’ll look at baptism.
Now — if you’re not a Christian — and maybe even if you are a Christian — sermons on church membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper may seem pretty irrelevant compared to whatever’s going on in your life right now. And I can understand thinking this way. Yet I’d like to offer that ancient biblical practices — like membership, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper — help us to see how the church of today is connected to — and has a history with — the church of the past — going as far back as what we read on the pages of the Bible.
So — though these topics may seem unrelated to your specific situation — when we step outside of our individual worlds and into this corporate world known as the church — we find that these three practices have much relevance for us. And I believe this is true even if you’re not currently a follower of Jesus — for this will give you a better understanding of what it means to follow Jesus.
So baptism — now — and the Lord’s Supper — this evening.
If last week’s topic — church membership — is related to the most infamous sermon I’ve preached while here at Gateway — baptism is related to the longest teaching I’ve ever done in one sitting while here at Gateway. The two hour, thirteen minute, and forty-one second time of teaching and Q&A — and yes — this all also took place during the peak of my “long hair” era as your pastor. And — if you don’t know what that means — you’re better off than those who do. And I know that some of you are now itching to share a pic of “long hair Josh” with someone who wasn’t here back then. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Today’s sermon is going to be a significantly briefer overview of baptism — but much of today’s sermon will be taken from that teaching. And — if the longer version interests you — search for The Sacrament of Baptism on our website and you should be able to find it.
Now I have two goals for us today. First — I want us to look at how God relates to his people in both the Old and New Testaments. And — second — I want to address some of the common questions we get asked about baptism.
So — first — how does God relate to his people? Believe it or not — perhaps the most significant disagreement among American Christians takes place in answering this question. For our answer reveals how we view the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Meaning — when we consider how God relates to his people in the Old and New Testaments — does continuity or discontinuity hold the most weight?
All Christians agree there’s both continuity and discontinuity — so what I’m talking about is which do you believe one finds more of between the Old and New — is there more continuity or discontinuity in how God relates to his people? And it’s important to understand what your view is — because this will determine your view of baptism — along with many other non-essential doctrines that Christians disagree about.
So let’s look at each of these views.
View number one is this: The Old Testament is precisely that…old. It’s outdated or obsolete. In this view — the New Testament is brand new. Which means — according to this view — the Old and New Testaments have more discontinuity than continuity. The Old Testament is still the inspired Word of God, but it reached its expiration date when Jesus came. So anything in the Old Testament is — at best — helpful in a historical sense — but has no impact on Christians today because we’re New Testament only people.
This is a fairly popular view among American Christians. It’s a reason why so many Christians in our country neglect reading and studying the Old Testament. And why — even those who do — aren’t quite sure how the Old Testament applies to them today.
And — yet — many who hold this view are quick to read a psalm when they need to be comforted — even though being a New Testament only person kind of goes against doing this. Some — who hold this view — may quote verses like, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Now — to not make a straw man argument — there would be many who hold this view who wouldn’t quote from Jeremiah like that — or even the Psalms. But this is view number one — where the Old Testament is old. It’s helpful in a historical sense, but has no impact on Christians today because we’re New Testament only people. Which means that the way God relates to us has more discontinuity than continuity when compared to the way he related to the people of the Old Testament.
And many Bible believing, God loving, gonna be in Heaven Christians — and pastors — whom I respect and have learned a great deal from — hold this view.
View number two is this: The New Testament is a continuation of the Old. This view sees the Old and New Testaments as telling one story. The Old set the foundation that the New is built on. The Old looks forward to the New. The New looks back to the Old. This view believes that there’s more in common — that there’s more continuity between the Old and New Testaments — than discontinuity.
Something else — to know about this view — is that — a central continuity between the Old and the New is how God relates to his people. Specifically — that the relationship between God and his people has always been — and continues to be — covenantal in nature. And this is the view that I hold.
But what does it mean for God’s relationship with his people to be covenantal in nature?
Let’s first define the word covenant. One definition is that, “A biblical covenant is a binding relationship of eternal consequence in which God promises to bless and his people promise to obey.” So there’s a promise of blessing by God and a promise of obedience by the people. No obedience — no blessing. And notice that we should be thinking eternally — both for the promises and the consequences.
Both to the views — that I’ve described for you — believe there are covenants in the Bible. But where the difference between these two views is seen most clearly — is in how the two views understand what’s known as the New Covenant. But — before we get to the New Covenant — let’s briefly look at the covenants that come before it.
The first covenant in the Bible is called the covenant of creation or the covenant of works. It’s found in Genesis chapter two.
Genesis 2:15–17 ESV
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Notice there’s an obedience required on the part of the man — “work and keep the garden and don’t eat from one tree” — as well as a promise from God — “if you eat from the tree you will die” — which implies a blessing — “if you obey me — and don’t eat from the tree — you will live.”
But — spoiler alert — they eat from the tree. Adam and Eve break the covenant.
Let’s pause for a question — which we’ll ask ourselves numerous times today.
Does this covenant apply to us today? Meaning — do we experience the results of this covenant being broken? Yes. Adam’s breaking of the covenant has affected all of us. Even though we’re not Adam — this covenant has continuity with us and our relationship with God today.
Which leads us to the covenant of redemption also known as the covenant of grace. This is an eternal covenant between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit where — together — they agree to accomplish our salvation. Technically — this is the first covenant — because it was made in eternity past — but it’s the second covenant found in the Bible. And — it’s the covenant — that I’m suggesting — that ties all of the covenants together.
We find it in Genesis chapter three — where — in speaking to the serpent and the woman — God says…
Genesis 3:15 ESV
15 I will put enmity (or hostility — there will be war — ) between you (the serpent) and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he (this future descendant of the woman…) shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
And this covenant is fulfilled on the cross when Jesus is crucified. God’s enemy — the Serpent — also known as Satan — saw Jesus on the cross and thought he’d won the war. But as the nail went through Jesus’ feet — as the serpent struck his heel — the nail went through Jesus’ feet and straight through the head of the snake as it went into the wood of the cross. The seed — the promised descendant of the woman — defeated the snake.
Here’s our question again: Does this covenant apply to us today? Yes! This is our hope, right? That the offspring of the woman — Jesus — has crushed the head of the snake on the cross and did so on our behalf.
The next covenant we find in the Bible is God’s covenant with Noah. After Adam and Eve’s sin, the wickedness of mankind multiplied resulting in God’s judgment through the flood. This covenant is found in Genesis chapter nine when — after the flood — God put a rainbow in the sky and promised to never again judge his creation in this way.
My question again: Does this covenant apply to us? Anyone worried about God destroying the world again with a flood? No. Why? Because of his promise to Noah, right?
Anyone get amped up because the rainbow — a sign of God’s promise to his people — has been hijacked by another group? You do. Why? Because the rainbow is personal, right? It’s not just a promise to Noah — the rainbow’s a sign of God’s promise to his people — including us today — isn’t it?
Next we have God’s covenant with Abraham. This covenant is found in Genesis chapters twelve, fifteen, and seventeen. Abraham’s story begins with God calling him out of a foreign land — promising that he — God — will make Abraham into the father of many nations.
But there’s a problem. Abraham’s old and doesn’t have any children! So the covenant picks up again — a few chapters later — with God repeating his promise to Abraham. And it’s here where we find the words…
Genesis 15:6 ESV
6 And he (Abraham) believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
God makes a promise to Abraham that — though he’s crazy old and childless — he will be the father of many nations. And Abraham believed God.
The covenant continues a few chapters later.
Genesis 17:1–14 ESV
1 When Abram (that’s his name when we first meet him, but God’s about to change his name…when he) was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 13 both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. 14 Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
Let’s ask our question again: Does this covenant apply to us today? Yes. Why? Because “Father Abraham had many sons — and many sons had Father Abraham” — if you know it, sing along with me — “I am one of them and so are you. So let’s all praise the Lord!” That’s an old Sunday School song for those who didn’t grow up in the church.
But there’s more truth to that children’s song than you may realize. What right do we have to sing these words if this covenant doesn’t apply to us in some way? But how do we know it applies to us? Because of the verse, “He believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness” and its importance to the authors of the New Testament.
Fast forward a few hundred years and we come to the Mosaic covenant — which is found in Exodus chapters twenty through twenty-five — and is repeated in the book of Deuteronomy. The Mosaic covenant builds on the previous ones but gives details as to how God’s people are to be holy and set apart — thus all of the laws and ceremonies and celebrations that are found in the books of Exodus and Leviticus. And — the point of it all — is that God’s people are to be “a holy kingdom, in distinction from the offspring of the serpent” — which echoes the covenant language from Genesis chapter three.
And notice that this covenant comes after God had rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt. They were enslaved — and their rescue — their salvation comes first — and then God gives them the law. God rescues first — then he gives instructions on how to obey. Obedience is always a result of salvation — obedience is never a way to earn salvation.
Something to pay attention to — is how in Galatians — Paul tells us that the Mosaic covenant — which introduced God’s law — and the Abrahamic covenant — which introduced God’s promise — are not in opposition to each other. The law — of the Mosaic covenant — doesn’t invalidate the promise of the Abrahamic covenant. Paul infers that the promise continues as the covenants build on each other. For the multiple covenants are all building towards the fulfillment of the one promise.
This is why I’d suggest — as you wrestle with the continuity and discontinuity of the Old and the New — that you look at what the New Testament has to say about the covenants.
The next covenant is the Davidic covenant — it’s found in Second Samuel chapter seven.
In this covenant with David — God makes it clear that the king of Israel stands as a representative for all of God’s people. In this covenant the king is called both to obey God and to lead the people in obeying God. And though earthly king after king will fail to do this — in this covenant — God promises that one day a King will come — from the line of David — and he will do what no other earthly king was able to do before him. For this future King will perfectly fulfill all of the obligations — not only for himself as king — but for his people — as he obeys God as their representative.
And — I hope it’s obvious — but Jesus is the King being described — he’s the fulfillment of God’s promise to David. In fact, the New Testament seems to be screaming at us that Jesus — being the fulfillment of God’s promise — is the fulfillment of all of the covenants. I say this because the New Testament begins with the words…
Matthew 1:1 ESV
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
In the first verse of the New Testament — Matthew connects the genealogy of Jesus through God’s covenants with David and Abraham.
And now we arrive at the New Covenant — where the two views of the Old and New part ways. Let’s see if the New Covenant is new — in the sense of a completely new start — with no connection to the previous covenants — that would be view number one — the discontinuity dominant view — or if the New Covenant is a continuation of — or the next step in God’s relationship with his people — view number two — the continuity dominant view.
We’re in the book of Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Notice how Jeremiah emphasizes the covenantal relationship between God and his people. That God is a promise-making — but more importantly — a promise-keeping God. God had made covenant promises to his people and here — in this New Covenant — a new promise is made. But don’t miss that Jeremiah mentions the previous covenants.
At this point — some additional background will be helpful. The people of God are about to be in exile — they’re about to get kicked out of the Promised Land because of their covenant unfaithfulness. But God — because he’s always faithful to his people — even when we’re faithless — God gives a new promise. God’s people will return to the land.
But there’s even more to this promise. For in this New Covenant God promises to do something to the hearts of his people. God’s law will be written on their hearts — meaning God’s law will be in them.
In the Exodus story — God’s law was written on stone tablets — but in this New Covenant the law will be written on the hearts of God’s people. Leading to the culmination of this covenant — which is also found in the previous covenants, by the way — the culmination when God says that he will be their God and they will be his people.
So here’s the picture.
“A day is coming,” says the Lord. “When a New Covenant will be established. And I will be your God and you will be my people.”
And this New Covenant — I would like to suggest — is a continuation of the previous covenants found in the Bible. That it’s not brand new — in the sense of not being connected to the others — but is new — in the sense that it’s the next step of God’s faithfulness to his people.
To prove this — I want to look at two aspects of the covenants — that demonstrate their continuity — which will get us to baptism, I promise. There are many other aspects that we could look at — to prove this point — but we only have time for two today.
One way the covenants demonstrate continuity is that they each have a sign. And — not only does each covenant have a sign — it’s important to notice what the sign is signaling.
To Noah — the sign is a rainbow.
Genesis 9:13 ESV
13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
The rainbow is the sign that God will be faithful to his promise — “never again will I destroy the earth by a flood.”
To Abraham — the sign is circumcision.
Genesis 17:11 ESV
11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.
Circumcision is the sign that God will be faithful to his promise — “Abraham, you will be the father of many nations.”
To Moses — the Passover Meal was established prior to the covenant. The Passover Meal is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise — “my judgment will pass over the homes whose doorposts are covered by the blood of the lamb.”
To David there’s no obvious sign — though the kingship and crown and throne imagery point us to Jesus our King. The kingship is a sign that God will be faithful to his promise — “my promised King will come.”
And — with the New Covenant — the sign is baptism. And baptism is the sign that God will be faithful to his promise — “whoever believes in my Son will be saved.”
There’s continuity: each of the covenants has a sign pointing to God’s faithfulness.
A second way the covenants demonstrate continuity is in who the covenant signs are for.
In Noah’s story — who was called righteous? Noah was. But who was saved in the ark? Noah and his family. Who received the sign of God’s covenant promise — the rainbow in the sky? Noah, his family, and all of creation — including us. Though the covenant was made with Noah — though he was righteous — the sign of God’s promised faithfulness was given to others in addition to Noah.
In Abraham’s story — even though the covenant was between God and Abraham — who received the sign of circumcision and were recipients of God’s promise? Abraham, his two sons — Ishamael and Isaac — and his entire family for all of his male descendants would receive the sign. Though the covenant was with Abraham — all of his descendants were recipients of the sign of God’s promised faithfulness.
The same continues with Moses — and the promise God made to David — and even with the New Covenant. The sign of God’s promised faithfulness was given to more than just the individual.
Which leads us to Peter — a Jewish man who believed in Jesus. After Peter preached the first sermon about Jesus — the crowd asked him, “What are we to do in response to this news?
Acts 2:38–41 ESV
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.
Imagine what these Jewish people had just heard in Peter’s sermon about Jesus? They heard that God’s promise — that the Seed of the woman would come and defeat the serpent — the Promised One who would come and save God’s people from eternally drowning in the flood of their sins — the Promised One who would perfectly fulfill the Law on the behalf of God’s people — who would be a Saving King — Peter’s audience had just heard that all of God’s covenant promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
And Peter said to them, “This is a promise for you and your children — to everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And those who received Peter’s word about Jesus were baptized — for baptism is the sign of the new covenant — a sign of God’s promised faithfulness to his people. Baptism reminds us that God always saves those who believe in his Son.
Which leads us to some common questions we’re often asked about baptism.
The most common question is usually something about infant baptism — or the practice of baptizing those who’ve yet to proclaim faith in Jesus. Why do we baptize babies and young children before they believe?
Because of the continuity between the covenants — meaning — we practice infant baptism because all of the previous covenants included signs that were given — not only based on the faith of the individual — like Abraham or Noah — but also to the children of those individuals — Isaac, Ishamel, and Noah’s family. And — nowhere in the New Covenant — nor in the New Testament — do we see a change in this covenant expectation of who is to receive the sign. Though there’s plenty of evidence for covenantal signs being given to children there’s no “thou shall stop giving covenantal signs to children” in the New Testament.
Which leads to another question. Are baptized children automatically saved? Of course not! We don’t believe that baptism saves anyone — Jesus does. And — truth be told — there’s no guarantee that individuals baptized as believers are actually saved. Many people baptized as believers have walked away from Jesus — which is rightfully sobering.
Another question we’ve gotten more recently has to do with us connecting membership to baptism — and baptism to membership. Meaning — although we do allow for some exceptions — for the most part we require people wanting to be baptized to become a member of our church. And for parents — who want to baptize or dedicate their child — to be members. Why do we do this?
First, know that those who are new to the Christian faith have no issue with our connection between baptism and membership. It's folks who come to us from different church backgrounds who usually object. Instead of a lengthy answer — here — I’d encourage you to go listen to last week’s sermon about the benefits of membership and the commitment Gateway’s members make to those who are baptized in our church and I think you’ll see why we believe baptism and membership should have greater connection to one another.
We also get asked about re-baptism — or being baptized again. This is where an individual was baptized at some point in his or her life — maybe as an infant — or as a teenager — and wants to be baptized again.
Here’s our stance: If you were baptized in a Bible believing church — we won’t baptize you again. Why? Because your first baptism did exactly what it was supposed to do: it pointed to God’s faithfulness to his people and the promise that he always saves those who believe in his Son. And when baptism is about God’s faithfulness — and not our decision to follow Jesus — we find no need to be re-baptized. If you’re not sure if it was a Bible believing church — call the church office and someone will follow up with you to help sort through your question.
Here’s the bottom line — no matter where you land on infant baptism or connecting baptism and membership together — I hope we all agree that baptism — as the sign of the new covenant — does what the signs of the previous covenants did. That baptism points to God’s covenant promise to his people: That he is always faithful to save those who turn to his Son in faith. And may every baptism you witness going forward — remind you — and stir in you abundant joy — as it signals to you, “My God is always faithful. He always keeps his promises to his people.” Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, what a wonderful truth: You are always faithful — and you always keep your promises to your people.
Holy Spirit, may you imprint the hope and joy — that many of us are experiencing as we marvel at this truth — may you imprint this hope and joy deeply to our souls.
And — Jesus — the promises we experience are because of the promises you kept on our behalf. Fulfilling our end of the covenant — so that we might experience blessings and favor from your Father who is now our Father.
Father, Son, and Spirit — thank you for your faithfulness to your people. Draw more to you even now. Reveal to them who you are — the One who is faithful, true, and the only God who saves. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
May you go filled with hope in knowing that God always keeps his promises to his people. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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