EFC Subscribers:

Jan and I are leaving in just a few days for a three week teaching trip to Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt.  The first week of the trip will be on a biblical study tour sponsored by Dr. Douglas Jacoby. If you are interested in future tours to the Holy Land, you may want to go to Doug’s website www.douglasjacoby.com. After the tour, we will be traveling to Amman, Jordan 10/30-11/2 to teach, followed by Beirut, Lebanon 11/3-11/5 and Cairo, Egypt 11/6-11/11. I will be posting updates regularly on facebook and at the website. Please pray for our safety and health as we teach for these churches which are in some of the most challenging places on earth to teach the gospel.

New Materials

I have been teaching a series of sermons on Hebrews, a four-part class on Daniel, and have been one of the teachers on a six-part class on the Book of Acts.  All of the notes, power points and audio are available for free at the web site.

My newest book, The Christian Story Volume III: Finding the Church in Church History is now being printed and should be available for purchase at www.ipibooks.com by the end of October.

Robert Carrillo and I are nearly done with a book on Hebrews. This should come out in the Spring. In the meantime, I am writing a book titled, In Christ.  As a bit of a teaser, here is an early draft of one of the chapters in this book, which we are hoping will be available by summer, 2019.

Ch 3  At some point you came into Christ.

We were all at one time outside of Christ, but then God brought us into Christ. In the second chapter we found out how God brought us into Christ, if indeed, we are in Christ. It was through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus—through faith in his blood, that we are brought into Christ. The question we will address now is one of timing. When did we cross the threshold and enter the house? When did we come into contact with the blood of Christ? When did the atoning sacrifice apply to us? When is it that God’s wrath was transferred from us to Christ?

The Biblical answer to this question could not possibly be more clear than it is. Consider this passage:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. (Galatians 3:26)

When you were baptized, assuming that you have been baptized, you were baptized into Christ. Look carefully at that crucial word; “into.” We were baptized into Christ. That is when we became sons of God. It is when we entered the state of grace we call salvation. Of course, as we learned in Romans 3:21-26, our justification comes through faith in his blood. That is how we are saved, and we are reminded of this in the scripture we are considering here. But the question is not how but when. Baptism is when we came into Christ. There is not the slightest suggestion in all of scripture for any other time when we came into Christ: not even one. Despite what others may say, we do not believe into Christ. We do not pray into Christ. We do not repent into Christ. We are baptized into Christ. Before we were baptized we were outside of Christ. When we were baptized, we came into Christ. It is when we pass from being outside of the house to being inside the house with Christ. If you have not been baptized into Christ, then you are not in Christ. You are outside of Christ and that is not a place you want to be!

This passage helps us to better understand the Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matthew 22. On the face of it, the master of the banquet seems really harsh when he kicks the man out for not wearing the proper clothing. Why did he make such a big deal about the man not having the proper wedding garments? Is he some sort of a legalist? Isn’t the point of a feast to celebrate together, not the wearing of particular clothing? If we can assume that the proper clothing is essential, then could the master not have told the man to go out for a moment, acquire the right clothing and then return to the feast? But that is not what happened.

Jesus’ parable is inspired. It is about the kingdom of God and who has the right to enter into the kingdom. We learn in Galatians 3:26 that when we are baptized into Christ we are clothed with Christ. This is a parable, so it requires some interpretation. What is the meaning of having the proper clothes for the banquet? It is likely that this being “clothed” is a reference to the gift of the Holy Spirit which we receive when we repent and are baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38-39). The clothing might be “the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Either that or “being clothed with Christ” may simply be a reference to our being saved. Biblically, there is no difference between the two, as a saved person has received the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the Galatians passage does not specify precisely the meaning of “clothed.” In any case, there is a perfectly good reason that the unauthorized guest was sent away from the feast. He had not been baptized into Christ, and therefore he was not clothed with Christ. Figuratively, Christ is the clothing which is our entry ticket to the feast which is the kingdom of God.

This also explains why the dumb-struck man was not offered the chance to go out, acquire the proper clothes and then come back into the banquet. The Parable of the Marriage Feast is about the kingdom of God but it is also about the judgment scene at the end of time. If we die outside of Christ, then we have lost our opportunity to come into Christ. For this man, it was too late and therefore he was cast out into eternal darkness. This is a sobering message indeed.

There are only two passages in the New Testament which tell us when we come into Christ.[1] The second of these is found in Romans 6. Speaking of the need for us to respond to God’s grace by avoiding sin as much as we humanly can, Paul reminds us;

Or don’t you know that all us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. (Romans 6:3-7)

As we saw in the Galatians passage, we are baptized into Christ. This passage gives us more detail, as it explains the connection between our baptism and the saving sacrificial death of Jesus. When we are baptized into Christ we are buried with Jesus. Christ’s death becomes ours at that point. But that is not all. Burial with Christ is not enough, otherwise we would still be dead in our sins. When we are baptized into Christ we are buried with him, but we are also raised with him to live a new life. What a glorious truth this is! This is a profound mystery, but it is truth. When we are baptized into Christ, at that very point in time we participate in the death of Jesus, but also in the resurrection of Christ. It is the point in time when his substitutionary death for our sins applies to us personally. This is not a symbol. There is not even the slightest hint anywhere in the Bible that baptism is a symbol (we will see this even more clearly below) In baptism something actually happens. We die, are buried and are raised with Christ in baptism. This is what is taught in the Romans passage.

In point of fact, as we learn in this scripture, “If we have been united with him [through baptism] in a death like this, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” What is the converse of this statement? It is this: if we have not been united with him [through baptism] in a death like his, the we will not be united with him in a resurrection like his. We will still be dead in our sins. Baptism is essential to salvation.[2]

We can see the wisdom of God in making baptism the point in time of our salvation for a few reasons (not that our logic has anything to do with it, really). First of all, as we know from Ephesians 2:8-9, we are saved by grace, through faith, not by works, so that no one can boast that his or her works were sufficient for salvation. To believe is to do something. Belief is a work. We can be sure of this because Jesus said it is so. Jesus was asked, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” To this Jesus responded, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29) Belief is a work of man. It is something we do. It is not done to us. It is a work which God’s grace may allow us to do. Without God’s grace none of us would believe. Nevertheless, belief is a work. In the same way, prayer is a work. It is a thing which we choose to do, as is repentance. These things are all works, and belief and repentance are necessary in order for us to be saved. Perhaps this is one reason that God chose baptism rather than belief or repentance or the saying of some sort of “Sinner’s prayer” as the point it time when we cross over from being outside of Christ to being in Christ. These things are works, but baptism is not a work.

How is baptism different from these things? It is something done to us. Despite what some may say, baptism is definitely not a work. Or to put it more precisely, it is not a work of man, it is a work of God. Just in case there might be some debate about this, we have the unambiguous statement of God in Colossians 2:11-12. “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Baptism is a spiritual circumcision. It is a cutting, a removal of the flesh. This is no symbol, to say the least. The one doing the working when we are baptized is God. This is what the passage says. We can also see a parallel to Romans 6:3-9 in that Paul tells us that baptism is a burial which is followed by a resurrection. God does not tell us why he chose baptism as the point in time when we are circumcised by Christ, but the fact that baptism is a thing done to us, rather than a work we do may be part of the reason. It reminds us that we are saved by God. We do not save ourselves.

Baptism is not a work because it is literally not something we do. It is done to us. The grammar of the Greek used in reference to baptism makes this clear. “Repent and be baptized.” (Acts 2:38). In this command the word baptized is in the reflexive sense. In other words, it is a passive verb, which means that it is something done to the person. For example, one can save or one can be saved. To save is to do something. To be saved is to have something done to you.

Even the very action of baptism is literally something done to a person. Not long ago I was at the Jordan River and observed a number of Jewish people undergoing baptisms. What struck me is that Jews are not baptized. They baptize themselves. It is not something done to them. They do it alone. Apparently, when Christian baptism was first practiced, the apostles and those who followed them purposefully broke from the Jewish tradition of people baptizing themselves. Instead they made baptism a thing done to us. We can see that God wanted it to be very clear to us that our salvation is something done to us.

A second point of wisdom we can see in God’s choice that we be saved when we are baptized is found in that this ceremony marks for us a definite point in time when we were saved. We can know the precise time when we came into Christ. As human beings, who live in a time-based reality, we need ceremonies as a rite of passage. A great analogy to the role of baptism in our salvation is the role of a wedding in a marriage. If you think about it, the fact that a ceremony changes one from not being married to being married can seem silly. If we really love one another and if we are truly committed to one another for life, why do we need a ceremony to seal the deal? Are we actually different—changed in any fundamental way by the ceremony? The answer is no. Yet, we need the ceremony. Why? The answer is that this is essential because of the nature of us as human beings.

At the risk of pushing the analogy too far, let us imagine that a man and a woman fall in love with one another. Is it okay for them to “sleep” together at this point? Why not? Because they are not married of course. We could compare this stage to coming to belief in Christ. Coming to belief does not mean one is in Christ. Suppose the couple have gone beyond being in love. Let us suppose that they are engaged and that they have made a commitment to one another for life. In fact, it is the morning of the wedding. Is it acceptable, if they are Christians, to consummate the marriage when the ceremony is just a few hours away? Definitely not! Why not? That is an easy question; because they are not married! We could compare this stage to a person having repented of their sins, having counted the cost and made the decision to be a disciple of Jesus. Are they then a Christian? The answer is no, because baptism is to being in Christ as a wedding is to a marriage. It is the point in time when we change from not being married to being married. It is the point in time when we are saved—when we are moved from being outside of Christ to being in Christ.

As with the marriage relationship, we human beings need a ceremony to mark the point in time of the transition from a state of not being married to being married. God recognized this in us, so he created the institution of marriage. The same is true of our salvation, as we have a physical act that marks the definite transition from being lost to being saved.  If we came into Christ when we repented, how could we know exactly when we were saved? The answer is that we would really have no idea, unless we can rely on some sort of warm feeling. We can look back at our lives and see that we have repented, but at what exact moment was the repentance sufficient for salvation? There is no way to know. If we came into Christ through having faith, when, exactly, did we have sufficient faith? Could we ever even be assured that we were saved? If we are saved by praying, then which prayer is the one that did the trick? Let the reader understand that I am applying human reasoning here and such reasoning does not prove anything, but we certainly can see the wisdom of the means by which God chose for us to come into Christ. As a wedding puts us into a state of being married, because of God’s providence through his “plan” of salvation, we can know that we are saved and we can know when we were saved.

The principle purpose of this book is that those who are in Christ can understand and experience all of the wonderful blessings that come with being in Christ. We will begin to enjoy these things all the more because we contemplate what we have in Christ. There is sense in which this chapter has been a distraction from this goal. We have been discussing how to get into Christ, not the blessings we have in Christ, but the fact is that a great many of the people you and I meet and perhaps even some of those reading this book are like the man in the Parable of the Wedding Feast. We think that we are in Christ but we are not because we have not yet been clothed with Christ. There is not a lot to be gained from thinking about all the blessings that are found in Christ for a person who is still outside of Christ. Therefore, this chapter is needed, either to assure you that you are in Christ, or so that you can realize what you are still lacking with regard to salvation. If you are lacking, you can do a more careful study of the biblical doctrine concerning how one comes into Christ, and you can go out and get the correct clothes. If you are reading this book, then it is not too late for you as it was, tragically, for the man in the parable who was thrown out into the eternal darkness. If you have not yet been baptized into Christ, then consider Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:2-3;

“In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Let us listen to this voice and let us take care of first things first. It is time, now, for us to consider what God has in store for those who are in Christ.

[1] Actually, there is a third passage which could be seen as telling us when we come into Christ. Although the phrase “into Christ” is not found in Ephesians 1:13, this passage could be thought of as reminding us of when we came into Christ. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14) Although this scripture does not specifically mention baptism, we learn here that we were included in Christ when we received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is promised to us when we repent and are baptized. Therefore this scripture is consistent with the two we are using here that tell us when we come into Christ.

[2] Surely Abraham and Moses will be in heaven, and they were not baptized. See the appendix for further discussion on this point.