January 13, 2008 am   It is the Right Thing To Do.    Matthew 3:13-17

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

Why should we be baptized?  Why should we come to church?  Why should we serve the Lord?  Why should we follow the Lord? 

^{Matthew 3:13} Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ^14 But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

^15 Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

^{                16} As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ^17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ^[1]

1. The Calling:  Why did Jesus come to be baptized?  Jesus is calling.  Tenderly calling you and me to be who He wants us to be. 

2. The Command:  Be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The purpose of Jesus’ baptism was to inaugurate His ministry as Christ with the clear, public approbation of the Trinity. This baptism is similar to Samuel anointing David king over Israel , though here Jesus is anointed King of Kings by a more miraculously conceived messenger.

3. The Completion:  Doing the right thing as commanded by the Lord Baptism is your coming out party.  You are coming out of the closet as a Christian to go forward in the public to say that you are a follower of the Lord who also was baptized. 

4. The Consent:  This is God’s hand on your life.  God’s blessing was upon the life of his beloved Son.  God’s blessing will be upon you and me when we are willing to follow the God’s desires for our lives. 

Why John?  John wanted to do the right thing.  The right thing for him was to be the baptizer.    Why be baptized?  Would you be?  Have you been?  How old should you be?  Should you be rebaptized? 

It is humbling thing to be baptized.  Will you put your life in the hands of another to be put under the water.  What does it mean and what does it show when you follow the Lord in baptism?  Jesus came up out of the water?  Why was he in the water to be baptized?  We are called Baptist because of the baptism.  Why did the Spirit descend and light upon Jesus as a dove?  Why did God the Father speak from the heavens to say that this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.   Would He ever say that about us?  Could have ever said that about us?