Baptism: Repentance, Faith, and New Life

Even more radical is not only is John telling them that their religious works, their inheritance does not save them before God, but also that salvation is open to anyone and everyone who would come and repent and confess their sins. So follow me. This is gonna cover every single person in the room. If religion and good behavior does not earn my forgiveness, then irreligion and bad behavior does not ultimately condemn. If you're taking notes, write this down. If our goodness does not earn our forgiveness, then our sinfulness does not exclude us from being forgiven. [00:26:28] (70 seconds)

Listen to me. I can't I I'm gonna be very clear with you right now. You can write this down. Obedience is not what the gospel requires. Obedience is what the gospel produces. The gospel comes as a gift of grace to be received by faith. And when you receive the good news of Jesus Christ by faith, when you repent, turn from your sin, turn from your ways, you will want, you will desire to obey and follow your savior king Jesus. Listen to me. The only obedience required for the forgiveness of sins is the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ who died for your sins. [00:42:38] (53 seconds)

If I come and I borrow your car, and I go joy riding with my buddies, and I total your car, and I come back to you and say, I wrecked your car. And you look at me and you say, it's okay. I forgive you. Really? Yeah. You're forgiven. Don't worry. That forgiveness, hear me, doesn't fix the damage. It doesn't fix the problem. Someone has to pay. Forgiveness would mean, for you to forgive me in that moment, forgiveness would have to mean that the cost to fix what was broken is now on you. [00:32:56] (58 seconds)

Do you see how I'm dying to self, dying to my ways, dying to my own savior? I'm going to raise to Jesus Christ as my savior. It's leaving the old and walking in the new. Symbolizes death of the old way, life in the new way. When we surrender, when we repent, and come to Jesus by faith, baptism then is the new symbolic picture of going from old to new, dirty to clean, guilty to forgiven, dead to life. [00:48:26] (32 seconds)

Our sin has separated us, and if we die in our guilt separated from God, we will spend eternity separated from God, in judgment from God that we rightly deserve. But hear me. The gospel. Say gospel. The good news is that God sent Jesus Christ to us. Jesus lived a sinless life. Jesus died upon the cross for our sins in our place. Jesus took upon himself the punishment, the payment that my sin deserves, [00:36:42] (39 seconds)

What we need to understand is that the forgiveness of sins is offered freely to anyone. The bible would call it grace. Everyone say grace. Grace. There's an offer. An offer of salvation. There's an offer of forgiveness. It's offered as grace. But what we also need to understand is that the forgiveness of sins is not only freely offered, but forgiveness of sins is not without cost. Let me explain. [00:32:16] (39 seconds)

True repentance from sin. True faith in the gospel produces a joyful obedience within us. So listen to me. This is what I'm saying. The gospel is not legalism. It's not moralism. That would be burdensome. That would be weight. That would be heavy. The gospel is liberating. When you repent and believe in Jesus Christ, what he's done for you, it sets you free. So when repentance and faith in the gospel collide in your heart, it produces a joyful obedience within us. [00:43:38] (40 seconds)

And in his death, he defeated the penalty of sin, which is my greatest enemy, and he defeated death. And so Jesus dies on the cross, and on that cross in his death, he cries out, it is finished. What's finished? The debt. The wrath of God is paid. The the wages of your sin is paid. How can we be sure? How can he we be sure that the bill was actually paid? Well, on the third day, what happened? He rose from the grave. Jesus rose from the grave showing us victory over sin and death [00:37:21] (43 seconds)