Category Archives: baptism

I’m angry at some preachers. Here’s why.

Posted on by
5

You’ve heard them, I’m sure. Some well-intentioned but thoughtless man of God stands before a gathering of the Lord’s people and in urging us to evangelize our communities will overstate the case.

“Jesus told us to become fishers of men! He did not tell us to be keepers of the aquarium!”

Invariably, especially if the audience is made up almost exclusively of preachers, the statement will be met with a chorus of ‘amen’s.’

The only problem is while that may sound good, it simply is not so.

Jesus did not send His disciples just to reach lost sheep–He certainly did that–but commanded that we are to “feed my sheep.” In John 20, He gave that command to Simon Peter three times.

It’s not enough to reach the sheep. They must be cared for, protected, provided for.  Nurtured.

In Acts 20:28, Paul tells the pastors of Ephesus that they are to “shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood.”

And here’s another one, the one that ticks me off.

Continue reading →

Overlooked Scriptures No. 3 “Jesus baptized no one.”

Posted on by
2

“The Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)….” (John 4:1-2)

Baptism has bumfuzzled God’s people from the first.

Where did the practice originate?  Answer: Evidently from the Old Testament practice of drenching a newly ordained priest (Leviticus 8:6). Later, some say, the “pouring” was given to proselytes coming into the Jewish faith from the world.  So, when John the Baptist arrived and began calling people to wade into the Jordan for a dip (which is the literal meaning of “baptize”), while people thought he was strange, no one seems to have questioned the practice.  Oddly, he was baptizing Jews, and neither Gentiles nor proselytes.

When our Lord was baptized, it signaled His coming out, His going public, His announcing to the world His identity.  That moment, in my thinking, was the first time Satan knew beyond a doubt who the Messiah was. He knew the Lord was there somewhere, for he could read Scripture. But ever since Joseph had skipped out of Bethlehem in the middle of the night with Mary and the Baby, headed to Egypt, Satan had no idea where they were.

Satan did not know who the Messiah was until Jesus was baptized.

Growing up in Nazareth, Jesus did no miracles.  He did nothing to single Himself out, which would cause the enemy to identify Him.

But Satan was on the alert.  He heard John preaching and thus knew to be expecting the Christ.

And then one day, Jesus of Nazareth walked into the water to John.  At that moment, the heavens opened and a voice from the sky shook the landscape.

Satan now knew.

Soon, when Jesus began preaching, His disciples baptized those wishing to go public in their faith.

Yet, He Himself baptized no one.

That’s what Scripture says in John 4:1-2.

What are we to make of that?

Let’s analyze this a bit.

In the first chapter of I Corinthians, Paul sends greetings to various members of that congregation which he had birthed.  He was not happy to learn that they had broken into divisions in his absence, with some following Peter and some Apollos and some following Paul.  Another group refused to be divisive, they said, and pulled off into a separate clique which was “of Christ.”  Then, Paul says, “I thank God I baptized none of you” (I Corinthians 1:14).  He thinks a moment, and adds, “Except for this one….and that one…and maybe another.”  But other than those, no one.

And then Paul left us with this memorable statement: For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel (I Corinthians 1:17).

I wonder if we have given that sentence the importance it deserves.

Continue reading →

Thank God for the ability to forget

Posted on by
1

When you come into the Promised Land and move into houses you did not build, take over crops you did not plant, and eat victuals you did not grow, then beware lest you forget the Lord. (Deuteronomy 6:12)

Don’t forget.  Unless you need to.

The theme of half the sermons from Old Testament prophets is “Remember, O Israel.”  The Hebrew word is zakar and it’s justifiably a big deal in God’s Word.

But there is a lot to be said for forgetting, too. Much in our lives does not need to be retained.

I heard of Jill Price, a California woman who remembers everything. Not that she wants to. Ever since she was 8 years old, beginning in 1974, her mind appears to have switched on some feature the rest of us do not have and wouldn’t want in a thousand years. From 1980 forward, she has “near perfect” recall on everything.

By “everything,” we mean what she had for dinner, what she watched on television, the news that night, the temperature, conversations, everything.

Jill Price’s story is told in a book some have called “the weirdest book of the year” with the title The Woman Who Can’t Forget.

Continue reading →

Overlooked Scriptures No. 3: “Jesus baptized no one.”

Posted on by
7

“The Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples)….” (John 4:1-2)

Baptism has bumfuzzled God’s people from the first.

Where did the practice originate?  Answer: Evidently from the Old Testament practice of drenching a newly ordained priest (Leviticus 8:6). Later, some say, the “pouring” was given to proselytes coming into the Jewish faith from the world.  So, when John the Baptist arrived and began calling people to wade into the Jordan for a dip (which is the literal meaning of “baptize”), while people thought he was strange, no one seems to have questioned the practice.  Oddly, he was baptizing Jews, not Gentiles and not proselytes.

When our Lord was baptized, it signaled His coming out, His going public, His announcing to the world His identity.  That moment, in my thinking, was the first time Satan knew beyond a doubt who the Messiah was. He knew the Lord was there somewhere, for he could read Scripture. But Jesus had done no miracles and singled Himself out in no way that would cause the enemy to identify Him.  But Satan was on the alert.  He listened to John preach and knew to be expecting the Christ.  And then one day, Jesus of Nazareth walked into the water and the heavens opened and a voice from the sky shook the landscape.

And that’s when Satan knew.

Continue reading →