Water Baptism – Burial

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Water Baptism – Burial “Bringing Men to Jesus” Lesson 5 Birth of the Church Lesson Point: To discuss Jesus ascension into the heavens. To teach New Birth Salvation and how the Acts 2:38 plan of Salvation correlates to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. To emphasize the purpose of the Holy Ghost. I. The Ascension II. Pentecost Comes III. Repentance IV. Water Baptism V. The Saving Name - Jesus VI. Holy Ghost Baptism VII. Grace and Faith VIII. The Purpose of the Holy Ghost Chart 1: The Ascension During the forty days immediately following Jesus resurrection, he spent many hours with His disciples (Acts3:1). This was the same Jesus that was crucified and buried in the tomb only now He had a “glorified body” and told His followers “All power is given unto me in heaven and Page 63 “Bringing Men to Jesus” earth” Matthew 28:18. He was not a ghost or an apparition. He possessed a body which had flesh and bones and could be touched or handled. He could appear and disappear at will and He even ate and drank with His disciples more than once. His resurrected body bore the marks of His crucifixion and He invited the disciples to examine the scars in His hands and His feet. Luke 24:39 “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” The disciples were not the only ones to see Jesus after His resurrection. More than five hundred people witnessed Him walking and talking and pronouncing blessings on the people. They beheld as His body was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. The 1st chapter of the book of Acts states that during the forty days after His resurrection, Jesus gave commandments to His disciples and explained things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. They understood that Jesus was about to ascend into Heaven, they also knew that the New Testament Church was about to be born. Matthew declares that Jesus had already given the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to Peter. This is why Peter would preach the first Apostolic message on the Day of Pentecost. In Acts 1:4, Jesus commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem until they received the “promise of the Father” which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. In verse 8 of the same chapter He promised that they would receive power when the Holy Ghost came upon them. They went to Jerusalem where they assembled in an upper room. They were waiting for the “Promise of the Lord.” One hundred and twenty people tarried for the Holy Ghost in prayer and meditation. Chart 2: Pentecost Comes Page 64 “Bringing Men to Jesus” The birth of the New Testament Church is recorded in the second chapter of the book of Acts. Acts 2:1 – 4 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” The day of Pentecost was the Jewish feast day celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover. Jerusalem was crowded with multitudes of Jewish pilgrims who had come from all over the world to celebrate Pentecost. The disciples and a group of men and women had assembled themselves in an upper room where they were tarrying for the Holy Ghost. The Bible tell us all of the Apostles were there and also the Mary the mother of Jesus with His brethren. All together there was about one hundred and twenty people praying and awaiting the “promise”. The Holy Ghost came to them as Jesus had promised that it would. It came with a sound from heaven; it came suddenly! It sounded like a strong rushing wind. Forceful, powerful, it filled up the house where they were praying and waiting. The Spirit of God appeared in tongues like as of fire and sat on each of the believers. They were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak in other tongues as God’s Spirit gave them utterance. Evidently in their excitement and their worship of the Lord, the “believers” had made their way down from the upper room into the street and courtyards about them. The worship was loud and demonstrative and soon a large crowd of spectators had gathered to see what it was all about. Jews out of every nation heard these “believers” speak “in our own tongue wherein we were born”. These “believers” were mostly Galileans and of the poorer classes of people. The Jews that had gather to see the disturbance realized that these believers could not have been taught to speak all these different languages. They were amazed and began to question as to what could be the meaning of it all. Page 65 “Bringing Men to Jesus” Remember, these Jews had journeyed from many nations to celebrate Pentecost in the Holy City of their ancestors. What they were witnessing was a phenomenon! Nothing less than a sovereign move of God could empower these unlearned Galileans to speak in the different languages. There were seventeen different languages represented that day. They heard them speak in all of those languages. It was to Peter that Jesus had given the authority preach on this birth day of the Church. It is also important to note that the other Apostles were in agreement with him. The fact that Peter preached the first gospel message on Pentecost Day is evidence that the purpose of speaking in tongues is not to propagate the gospel. If it were, then it would have been senseless for Peter to preach. The worship and the praise was so different from anything these Jewish people had ever seen that, Peter assures the them that the believers are not drunk with alcohol He even points out that it was not the time of day when people engage in drinking. Then the Apostle cites an ancient prophecy to explain what is happening. The Jews were familiar with Old Testament Scriptures and they certainly could not deny that what they were seeing fit the description given by the Prophet Joel. Acts 2:17 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy…” It was unmistakable! God’s Spirit was being poured out upon all flesh! The Holy Ghost had been sent down from heaven. Peter preached the death, burial and resurrection of Christ to those Jews. Conviction fell on the crowd and they responded by asking what they could do to be saved. Peter then told them what was essential to Salvation. He introduced them to the New Testament Plan of salvation found in Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Page 66 “Bringing Men to Jesus” This particular verse gives precise and complete directions for New Testament Salvation. The gospel of Jesus Christ is His death, burial, and resurrection. I Corinthians 15: 1 – 4 “…I declare unto you the gospel which I have preached unto you…by which ye are saved…how that Christ died for our sins…And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day…” So, the Bible definition of the ‘gospel’ is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul declared that we are saved by this gospel. Any gospel that does not include the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ is not a saving gospel. A person responds to the gospel or applies the gospel to his life by repentance from sin (death to sin), water baptism by immersion in the Name of Jesus Christ (burial with Christ), and receiving the Holy Ghost (New life in Christ). Chart 3: Repentance A. The Need for Repentance The Bible declares that all human being are sinners and guilty before God. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Because of sin all of mankind is under the sentence of death. Page 67 “Bringing Men to Jesus” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…” Sin carries with it an ever-present shadow of death. If a person clings to sinful living, it can only result in eternal death and separation from the presence of God. The only remedy for sin is Salvation through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Man cannot save himself. It is impossible for him to generate a quality of life that can lift him out of sinful living. B. The Command to Repent God demands that a person repent of his sins. The Apostle Peter’s message on Pentecost Day began with a command to repent. His preaching was obedience to the instructions of Jesus just before the Ascension. Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem.” Repentance is a response of faith to the call of God. It is absolutely necessary to salvation.
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