Baptism
Sunday, Lou Anne and I had the awesome privilege of worshiping with the eight-month-old Crosspoint Church meeting in the Morehead Conference Center. It was a great, upbeat worship that was attended by somewhere between 200 and 300 worshipers. The music was excellent. Daniel Lucas, lead pastor, preached the concluding sermon in a series he called, “Religion Bytes”, based on Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It was an excellent sermon that highlighted the difference between grace and law. At the end of the service, the congregation moved to the swimming pool at Morehead University where 16 new believers were baptized by Pastor Lucas. I think it was the first baptism service that I’ve ever witnessed that had a lifeguard on duty. What an exciting event!
If my figures are correct, I think that during the short life of this new church, 30 new believers have been baptized. That’s amazing and inspiring!
But, it shouldn’t be surprising. The church is doing everything it can to be inviting and safe for people far from God. Greeters, in their brown Crosspoint t-shirts, were everywhere shaking hands and welcoming everyone with warm smiles and greetings. Jesus was lifted up in the music.
Pastor Daniel Lucas preached a clear message about Jesus and the meaning of salvation. People responded in faith.
One strong emphasis was made during the service: the importance of being baptized as a public profession of faith in Jesus. My impression was that this was a regular feature of Pastor Daniel’s sermons. I also noted he began the invitation with his introduction to the sermon and repeated the invitation to come to Christ throughout his message.
Sometimes, I’m dismayed that we have made something out of baptism that it isn’t. Southern Baptists are right on target in their proclamation that water baptism does not save. In fact, it is heresy to proclaim that baptism does save or is part of salvation.
New Testament baptism isn’t a mark of denominational loyalty, either. New Testament baptism is a public proclamation of the salvation that a new believer has experienced.
It is something a believer can never forget. I still remember going into that lead-lined baptistry (they didn’t know the danger of lead back then) at Second Baptist Church, Hopkinsville, and being baptized when I was 11 years old. I can’t remember the words spoken at that service, but I will never forget the public way I declared my new faith in Jesus Christ!
Planters, make much of baptism! New believers need to be baptized as soon as possible after receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Doubt may creep into the mind of a person who has made a verbal declaration of faith, but it is very difficult to forget the physical experience of baptism and its strong public profession that the individual belongs to Jesus. “. . .go and make disciples of all peoples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. . .” Matthew 28:19
1 Comments posted by: Larry Baker on September 30th, 2008
