Sermon 1 Peter 3:10-22 New Life in Baptism
Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church
May 17, 2020
Today I will be concluding my series of sermons on the topic of new life as a result of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We have been looking at the Book of First Peter to see how we deal with the world around us in our new lives in Christ. These lives are often difficult because we are changed by Christ into new creations, but we can rejoice in the midst of these difficulties because of all that Christ has done for us. As Christ transforms us into new people, we find that we are able to love one another more fully. Our new lives are not immune to pain and suffering, but through Christ, we experience the faith, hope, and love of God. As new people, we are formed into new faith communities called the church. And today we will see the victory of Christ over sin, as we are initiated into the fellowship of the church through the Sacrament of Baptism. We will get to all of this, but first, will you pray with me?
Holy Spirit, come upon us and baptize us with faith, hope, and love. Destroy the sin that clings so deeply to us. Transform us into the image of God as we were created. And bless us as God’s own people. We pray this in the name of our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
1 Peter 3:10-22 10 For "Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; 11 let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.
Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord.
Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water.
21 And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you-- not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.
I was born here in New Jersey. My parents lived in Collingswood and attended the Haddonfield Presbyterian Church. Shortly after I was born, they presented me to the church for the Sacrament of Baptism. At that time, the Rev. Dr. Bryant Kirkland was the pastor of that church. He baptized me. And for my entire life, I have heard from Dad about the great sermons that Dr. Kirkland preached. Dad told me that if I was ever in New York City on a Sunday, I should stop into Fifth Avenue Presbyterian church to hear Dr. Kirkland where he served as Senior Pastor for twenty-five years.
Several decades later, I was driving past the National Presbyterian Church in Washington DC. Their sign out front read, “Rev. Dr. Bryant M. Kirkland, Interim Pastor”. Could this be the same preacher? I had to find out. So the next Sunday I was in worship at National Presbyterian Church. After worship, I talked briefly with Dr. Kirkland. He was the pastor who baptized me. And I stayed at National Presbyterian Church for the next decade, until my ordination as a pastor.
Our new lives in Christ are sealed upon us in baptism. We participate in Christ’s death and resurrection. As we pass under the waters of baptism we die to the sin that separates us from God. And then we are raised to new life in Christ, who died for us and was raised from the dead. Baptism, therefore, points us forward to a glorious future where in our new lives we can fulfill God’s purposes.
The church baptizes disciples because we were commanded to do so by Christ himself who told us to go into the world and baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Just as Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit in his baptism so too are we. The anointing empowers us to do what Jesus commands us to do in a life of service to others and by forming inclusive worship where people from all the nations, who have come here to our community, can gather together in the presence of God where love, justice, and mercy abound.
Just as Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit in his baptism so too are we. The anointing empowers us to do what Jesus commands us to do in a life of service to others and by forming inclusive worship where people from all the nations, who have come here to our community, can gather together in the presence of God where love, justice, and mercy abound.
In baptism, the church is bound in a covenant relationship with God, our creator. Symbolically we participate in the waters of God’s good creation, we are saved from the waters of Noah’s flood, and we pass through the parted waters of the Red Sea with Moses. As the water of baptism flows down over our heads we are reminded of the prophecies of old who saw a day when justice would roll down like the waters and righteousness like an overflowing stream. In baptism, we experience a new covenant of God’s grace and goodness. In it Jesus is offered as the living water that leads us to eternal life.
The ancient Hebrews used circumcision as a sign of inclusion in God’s family. So too is baptism a symbol of our inclusion in God’s covenant. The waters of baptism are a sign of the faithfulness of God, the washing away of our sin, our rebirth into new life, and adoption into God's family. We become members of the body of Christ unifying us with believers in every time and place. We become one church where all barriers of race, gender, status, and age are transcended. Divisions of nationality, history, and practice are overcome.
In baptism, we are sealed with the promises of scripture. We receive God’s grace and God’s summons to respond. We are called to repentance, faithfulness, and discipleship. Baptism gives the church its identity, purpose, and mission to the world. Baptism is a sign and seal of what God has already done. It is effective even when we are not faithful because God is always faithful. Baptism is the start of our new lives where God’s grace begins its work.
For this reason, we baptize both believers and their children. Just as God saved both Noah and his family from the flood so too are the children of believers saved from eternal death by our faithful God. The baptism of infants, like circumcision before it, is a sign of the covenant that God has already made with both the parents and the child and is a mark of their inclusion in the family of God. It is a witness to the truth that God loves us before we can even respond.
For this reason, we baptize both believers and their children. Just as God saved both Noah and his family from the flood so too are the children of believers saved from eternal death by our faithful God. The baptism of infants, like circumcision before it, is a sign of the covenant that God has already made with both the parents and the child and is a mark of their inclusion in the family of God. It is a witness to the truth that God loves us before we can even respond.
Every time we see a baptism we are reminded that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was for us because just as water washes away dirt from the body so too does Christ’s blood wash away our sins. Though this washing away of our sins by the blood of Christ we receive forgiveness from God through grace, and we are renewed by the Holy Spirit and set aside for God’s purposes as the church.
Just as we worship one God there is one baptism. Baptism only needs to be done once because of God’s grace, faithfulness, and love never need to be renewed. In baptism, God’s covenant is permanently sealed upon us. Therefore there is never a need for a second baptism. In our church, we accept all baptisms done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as Christ commanded us.
Our church, as a part of the Church universal, has a responsibility to nurture those baptized into the Christian life. That is why the session of this church must provide for Christian education for people of all ages. When infants are baptized the church has a special responsibility to assist the parents in raising their children in Christian life. Both the parents of the child and the church must promise to nurture and guide the child until he is ready to profess his own faith and assume responsibility of church membership.
Our church, as a part of the Church universal, has a responsibility to nurture those baptized into the Christian life. That is why the session of this church must provide for Christian education for people of all ages. When infants are baptized the church has a special responsibility to assist the parents in raising their children in Christian life. Both the parents of the child and the church must promise to nurture and guide the child until he is ready to profess his own faith and assume responsibility of church membership.
When someone desires the Sacrament of Baptism for themselves or their children he must first profess his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, renounce evil, rely on God’s grace, and declare a desire to participate in the worship and mission of the church. A parent must declare his intent to provide for the Christian nurture of the child. The congregation must profess that it will support and take responsibility for the nurture of those baptized. And the pastor must thank God for God’s faithfulness, praise God for acts of reconciliation, and ask that the Holy Spirit attend and empower the baptism making the water a sign and seal of redemption and rebirth.
We must always remember that the author of baptism is God alone, not us. We do not create sacraments only God does. Baptism is a symbol that God has given us. We find the meaning of this symbol in the pages of scripture. In the Word of God, we find the faith which unlocks the meaning of the symbol. As the church baptizes new disciples God works through the church so that, through the proper administration of the sacrament, members of the church will find God.
God always acts through the sacraments even if the pastor does not administer them properly. The true baptizer is not the minister but Jesus Christ himself. And Jesus is the rock from which the holy water of baptism flows.
God always acts through the sacraments even if the pastor does not administer them properly. The true baptizer is not the minister but Jesus Christ himself. And Jesus is the rock from which the holy water of baptism flows.
So if you have already been baptized I urge you to remember your baptism. If you can’t remember yours then I urge you to remember baptisms you have seen. Most of all remember what God has done for you in washing away your sin and bringing you to new life in Christ.
If you have not been baptized, I can tell you that God loves you and if you turn toward him, God will wash away your sins. You are invited by God to respond in obedience. Pass through the baptismal waters as a sign and seal of your new life in Jesus Christ and be nurtured in a life of discipleship to Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, help us to go into our community to proclaim the good news that you have forgiven us and welcome us home as your people. Place in the hearts of the people we talk to a desire to come to church for this good news to be sealed upon them in baptism and to be nurtured as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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