https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/WhatDoesBaptismHaveToDoWithSalvation.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: II Kings 5:1-14<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Leprosy is a terrible disease. <\/p>\n
A. It is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions and nerve damage<\/p>\n
B. It has only been curable since the early 1980’s. <\/p>\n C. So it is no wonder that a commander in Syria’s army would go great lengths to be\ncured.\n D. Yet when Naaman came to Elisha, the man would not even come out to see him.\nInstead he sent a servant out and told him to dip seven times in the Jordan River\n
II. What did the water of the Jordan have to do with Naaman’s cleansing?<\/p>\n A. In reality, it had nothing to do with his cleansing. Dipping in the Jordan before\nand since has never cured leprosy.\n B. As Naaman pointed out, there were nicer rivers than the muddy Jordan. But if\nNaaman dipped in any other river, he would not have been cleansed\n
C. If he dipped only five times instead of seven, he would not have been cleansed<\/p>\n D. If he did not listen to his servants, decided the whole thing was unnecessary, he\nwould not have been cleansed.\n
E. So what did the water have to with Naaman? It got him wet.<\/p>\n F. But what cured Naaman was God when Naaman managed to humbly obey the\nsimple request of God.\n 1. That is why Elisha did not come out to talk to the brilliant military\ncommander of the Syrian army\n 2. This is why God, through Elisha, told Naaman to dip seven times in an\nunimpressive, out of the way river\n 3. Naaman had to demonstrate humble obedience, and by doing so God was\nglorified. His action proved his faith in God – James 2:18\n 4. Naaman didn’t earn his cleansing. God didn’t owe it to him. But God was\nwilling to give it to him when he swallowed his pride and put God first\n
III. What does waters of baptism have to do with salvation?<\/p>\n A. In reality, it has nothing to do with salvation. Water cleans the surface of the body\nbut not the soul – I Peter 3:21\n
1. It is Jesus death and resurrection that gained our salvation.<\/p>\n
B. But a person who will not humbly obey God’s simple request will not be saved. <\/p>\n
1. A refusal to be baptized proves a lack of faith in God<\/p>\n
2. That is why Peter said baptism was the answer of a good conscience<\/p>\n a. The Greek word behind “answer” is eperotema<\/i>. It means an\ninquiry, demand, or a request.\n b. Humble, willing submission to the command proves the good\nconscience with the person\n
c. Baptism is an inquiry into what kind of person are you<\/p>\n C. It doesn’t earn the person anything. Being baptized doesn’t mean God owes you\nsalvation. But when a person does as God commands, God is willing to give\nsalvation to the person – Ephesians 2:8-10\n
IV. What gift is God offering for obedience to a simple command?<\/p>\n
A. He is offering forgiveness of sins – Acts 2:38<\/p>\n 1. As a person comes up out of the water, his sins are washed away – Acts\n22:16\n 2. Again, not because of the water but because God gives this gift when a\nperson humbly obeys\n
B. He is offering a new life – Romans 6:1-11<\/p>\n
1. It is a life freed from the shackles of past sins<\/p>\n
2. It is the start on the road to eternal life<\/p>\n C. He is offering a relationship with His Son and the rest of His children – Galatians\n3:26-4:7\n
1. We are Christ’s friend when we obey – John 15:14<\/p>\n
2. Our lives are now about Christ – Galatians 2:20<\/p>\n
V. Thus, we can say that baptism is an expression of our faith<\/p>\n
A. It is an act that demonstrates that we believe God<\/p>\n
B. But are we saved when we believe or when we act on that faith?<\/p>\n 1. Was Naaman cleansed when he believed that God’s prophet could heal\nhim or when he dipped the seventh time in the Jordan?\n
2. Consider Saul. He saw Jesus – Acts 9:3-6<\/p>\n
a. For three days he fasted – Acts 9:8-9<\/p>\n
b. He spent his time praying – Acts 9:11<\/p>\n
c. But he still had his sins, until he washed them away – Acts 22:16<\/p>\n 3. Until he heard the command of God and acted on it, he had not yet\ndemonstrated his faith and had not received the gift of salvation from God\n C. Were you baptized because your humble obedience to God, showing your faith in\nGod?\n
D. Do you trust that Jesus has the power to save you from your sins?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 5:1-14 I. Leprosy is a terrible disease. A. It is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions and nerve damage B. It has only been curable since the early 1980’s. C. So it is no wonder that a commander in Syria’s army would go great lengths to be cured. D. Yet when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[52,463,47],"class_list":["post-47430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-baptism","tag-humility","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/plan-of-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":0},"title":"Plan of Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Foy E. Wallace, Jr Number One Gospel Sermons, pages 46-47. When the time came to reveal that great Plan of Salvation, God assigned that function of revelation to the Holy Spirit. God is the primitive cause of man's salvation, he willed it. Jesus Christ is the sacrificial cause of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10963,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-baptism-necessary-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":1},"title":"Is baptism necessary for salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I am from Brazil, and I am seeking salvation. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for my sins on the cross and rose on the third day for my justification. I am sorry for all my sins. I would like to ask you:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13261,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-convince-a-friend-that-baptism-is-required-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":2},"title":"How can I convince a friend that baptism is required for salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A friend and I are currently studying with an individual who is stuck on the fact that baptism is, in his view, clearly not required for salvation and praying Jesus into your heart will do fine.\u00a0 We go round and round and just when he starts to agree with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44375,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-answer-on-circumcision-and-how-it-relates-to-baptism-and-covenants-made-it-clear-to-me-why-baptism-is-necessary-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":3},"title":"Your answer on circumcision and how it relates to baptism and covenants made it clear to me why baptism is necessary for salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Someone asked about\u00a0the law of circumcision\u00a0and your answer was so helpful to me, especially in how it relates to covenants between man and God, then and now, with baptism. Now I understand how it can be symbolic of salvation, as the Baptists claim, and be a step in salvation,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptism-necessary-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":4},"title":"Baptism: Necessary for Salvation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Allen Dvorak It is virtually undisputed truth that man is saved by divine grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). However, some have concluded from this fact that there is nothing that man can or must do for his salvation. It is frequently argued that \"water baptism can't possibly be necessary\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/baptism2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":63804,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-work-of-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":47430,"position":5},"title":"The Work of Baptism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6:1-11 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A frequent objection raised to baptism is that it is a work \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWe are not saved by works.\u201d we are told. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Romans 4:4-5 - Faith justifies \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ephesians 2:8-9 - Saved not as a result of works \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Now certainly baptism is something done,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47430\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}