Francis Chan - Is baptism required to be saved?

how's your summer and how easy it is to get distracted and and this week one of our our leaders here the church told me about his friend who won her husband just died he died in his sleep 33 years old okay 33 years old they've been married over 10 years dies in his sleep but he died in his girlfriend's bed he'd been having an affair for a year unbeknownst to her I want you to think for a moment what in the world would go through that guy's mind as he stood before God can you imagine that's when God says it's your time what in the world goes through your head as you stand before a holy God I just I couldn't get that picture out of my head it's like okay God you know what like that song we sang you know it's like Lord I'm prone to wander lord I feel it you know I feel these temptations I all these things I want to take this but I don't want to go there god I don't want to come to the end of my life and end up over there somewhere that's why that song we sang it's like Lord bind me you know grab a chain grab a fetter and just bind me to you because I know myself and there's these temptations I want to go all these places but I don't want to end that way I want to be with you I want to be close to you look in a room this size I know there's all sorts of garbage going on in here and I just want to say that to you as a reminder of you guys life is short man I'm saying this in love how do you want to come before God know that whatever you're in the midst of doing just picture God at that time saying you know you know what it's your time now okay it's it's time today while there's time you know get things right in your life and I know there's Affairs going on in this room I'm just going you or you are crazy to take a risk like that I know there's deception in this room I know some of your businesses are absolutely crooked and no one else knows in this room just God and you I'm just guessing in a group this size and and those people that are there watching in the satellite room you know what there's all sorts of stuff going on man just in love I'm going thank God beg the Holy Spirit repent turn from that because that's not who you want to be is it that's not the type of life you want to live I mean that's why we're in this room because we're saying we don't want to be that God we want to be sold out we want to be filled with the spirit living for you and I hope that's you today and if not I hope you prayed that prayer that we just saying what's Spirit of God you know just just fan into flame this passion for your name consume he changed me stir it up in my heart this passion for your name and that for all this in the last time I spoke and I spoke on the Holy Spirit and it's been so good I've had so many positive responses about this series on the Holy Spirit but the last time I spoke I got a lot of confusion coming back a lot of people were confused after my last message over one issue when I preached on acts 2:38 where the passage says repent and be baptized and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit I've had all sorts of emails and phone calls and letters asking okay well it sounded like you were saying I have to repent and then be baptized and then received the Holy Spirit and then other people were asking well can I be a Christian without being baptized others are saying can I be a Christian without repenting can I be a Christian without the Holy Spirit and when does the Holy Spirit actually come in if I just repent do I get the Holy Spirit right then without being baptized and all these questions came in and I I want to answer them all with a question back at you why do you ask because they didn't ask they they asked one question when they heard the message when they heard the Gospel message when they heard that Jesus died on the cross for their sins that he paid the penalty for their sins here that he was buried and he rose from the grave they asked a different question they asked what do we need to do what do we need to do Peter's response was what you need to repent be baptized and be filled with the Holy Spirit and you know what they didn't ask any questions after that what they did was they repented got baptized and were filled with the Holy Spirit I know his crazy response isn't it they just did it but we would rather ask a bunch of questions and we would rather philosophize and speculate and go well yet but technically can't you really I mean did they really have to get baptized I mean I mean and when when did the Holy Spirit come in was it when they got under the water what was that when he came in or when they come out or was he already in them or did it take the Holy Spirit again to repent anyways in the first place or what if they were on their way down and they trip you know what why don't what about this what about that you guys they just did it I don't understand the questions I don't understand where the questions are coming from because my seven-year-old my seven-year-old was in service and she understood my seven-year-old was in service that Saturday night comes home crying and says dad I want to be baptized I want the Holy Spirit in me I want to follow Jesus and I go great baby that's great so you know what you need to come back tomorrow morning and get baptized and so she did and she's up here crying and and asking Jesus you know of asking for the Holy Spirit to come into her life to help her live the way this my seven year old got it she didn't come home and say well Kay dad explained this to me it is crazy but she just obeyed it was like those believers back then that didn't sit around as a bunch of theological scholars they just heard repent be baptized we feel the Holy Spirit great let's do it they didn't when the spirit came in and what second what moment what came first they just did it and what's crazy to me is that we have gotten so off track in America and the way we talk about the Bible that nowadays people say you can be a Christian without repenting being baptized or having the Holy Spirit I mean how many gospel presentations do you hear where people say well just walk down an aisle pray a prayer receive Jesus okay where do you see that in the Bible though I mean I did it I did as a kid because that's what I was told and I was in the system and I felt just absolutely fine with it until I started reading the scriptures and then never sound well with me where is it talk about this prayer for receiving I see repentance I see baptism see the Holy Spirit oh but what are we getting this and the longer I'm a believer the more I'm going wait am I going crazy here or are we missing the obvious repent be baptized be filled with the Holy Spirit it was simultaneous to them you know when when Paul wrote to the to the Romans he just says you know don't you understand when you were back when you were baptized when not if when you were baptized it was just an assumed thing a Christian was baptized see but we've screwed everything up because we really do say you know what you can you can be a Christian and well you don't really have to get back we don't talk about baptism and that always bugged me and and and that's why I thought we know when the and the New Testament seemed like they believed and then they just went and got baptized right then I mean they heard the message cut to the heart the repent got baptized were filled with a spirit you go to Acts chapter eight Phillips talked to an Ethiopian eunuch he explains everything to him and he goes well shouldn't I get baptized he goes yeah let's stop the chariot and go down to a body of water you know is when people got the message they just want to got baptized and I'm like well then we should do it that way and that's what we got a baptism well appear I'm go you know what and when someone believes they should get baptized when someone decides to repent they should get baptized be filled with the Holy Spirit they didn't have a class they didn't wait until they prove themselves this one didn't why don't we just do it the way they did it why don't we just preach it together repent be baptized be filled with the Holy Spirit where this whole walking the aisle you know thing come from where did this you know just slip up your hand and pray a prayer with me thing come from I mean do you see it if you see it somewhere in Scripture show it to me because I haven't seen I haven't found it yet I'm not saying it's wrong to do those things I'm just saying well let's do what the Bible obviously says to do let's go back to the early church then the church in its purest form Christ just descended and here the church is starting and that's what they did and it was just the assumed thing to do and let's just obey but I think it's it's nuts that we do so much talking and questioning and these theological debates and I'm saying let's just apply the obvious if you just repent be baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit what's there to fight about if you just obey it then we don't have to come up with all these questions you know it's almost like I just go wait it shouldn't we have figured this out centuries ago oh I mean what isn't this just simply what's in there because you guys what's crazy this idea of repentance this is the scariest part to me is that do you understand what repent means it means to turn it means to do a 180 it means you're heading one direction and you do a 180 and had a different direction that's what it means to repent u-turn now most of the time when someone talks about becoming a Christian here in America anyways when they talk about this they don't talk about turning to follow Jesus most people never turn most churchgoers they're heading a certain direction in life they see Jesus Jesus come follow me and they go no you follow me in the church ago that's a good idea that's easier then I can keep going down this path and keep doing whatever I want to do and now I've got Jesus on top of it and he's following me around I can use him especially at the end when I'm about to burn in hell he'll keep me from there I could really use Jesus you guys that's not the message we were never told to tell Jesus to follow us on our path we're supposed to see Jesus over there and go repent I want to follow you now I was heading down this direction I was doing these things but now I see a better way of life I see a better way to live I see someone I want to follow not lead follow and it's just so crazy I mean that's what a Christian is a follower of Jesus and it is is sickening to me that so many people teach nowadays that you can be a follower of Jesus Christ without actually following it doesn't make sense to me but that's what's taught is just receive Jesus pray this prayer he'll keep you from hell you just just do your same old thing but now Jesus is with you in life that is not the message of the Bible the message of the Bible is Jesus saying come follow me I got a better way of living okay you know all that sin you know that's not gonna bring you fulfillment follow me you know what and and don't you want to spend eternity eternity with me don't you want to be with me forever all right this amazing treasure don't you want me and many of us look at him and go yeah I will follow you anywhere anywhere see repentance repentance the best illustration I could think of is I've shared this before was 15 years ago in my life I repented 15 years ago I was dating a girl as dating a girl life was good and then I was in church one day and as guest soloist comes named Lisa and so on life is fine for me I'm going down this road got a girlfriend everything else and then suddenly I see this girl on stage singing and she's singing you know don't you wish your girlfriend was you guys shouldn't know that song okay I don't know what she's singing but that's what I was hearing okay and and it's this whole idea of okay suddenly it's like yes I do okay you know and it was not one of those things where I just keep going down this journey in life and saying hey gee you know Lisa want to join me and this other girl and and all these things that I've got going on it's a turning where I go okay I am going after her I will drop everything and go after her now you multiply that a thousand times and that's what repentance is about it's about you are heading one direction in life and you see someone so beautiful Jesus Christ and his way of living and his promise of eternal life and you say you know what I don't care about anything mother-father kids my my house my job my future my boy from girl it doesn't matter man I've got to have this Jesus I'm gonna follow after him and his that's repentance now have you ever repented have you ever seen God as a treasure that great that you you don't care about anything all of a sudden the things of this earth grow strangely dim right because you're like wow I could have God I want that that's repentance and then he says be baptized now does baptism save you if you have your Bibles turn to first Peter chapter three I'll just answer it biblically even though I just feel like why is it even a question you know does it do it then you don't have to worry about it you know that's that's my philosophy but let's look at it biblically first Peter chapter three first Peter 3 and we'll start in like verse 20 ish first Peter chapter 3 verse 20 and it's the middle of a sentence but who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built in it only a few people ate in all were saved through water and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God okay so he says here he says now this baptism saves you he does say that but right after he makes that statement he clarifies he goes he goes not I mean I don't mean that that the literal water that removes the dirt from your fleshing of that physical thing that's going on he goes I'm not talking about that he goes the baptism does save you baptism saves you he goes but it's not the physical water taking the the dirt off of your body he says but it's this pledge to God that you're making at that time if this pledge to God for a pure or clean conscience or a good conscience other translations say it's this appeal to God for a clean conscience this is calling out to God see your baptism was supposed to be the time that you pledged yourself to Jesus Christ and it uses that they example the illustration of Noah's Ark he says it's just like Noah's Ark he says you know when the wrath of God came there were eight people that were saved and they were saved by climbing in to the ark okay they were saved by going into the ark see that's a picture of baptism baptism is this idea of I am climbing into the ark that God has provided and that Ark is Jesus Christ I am going in inside of him I am you know baptized into Christ as Romans describes we were going into Christ were going into his salvation into his sacrifice and everything he's done for us and that's why baptism and says that when you're you're you're baptized you're you're being buried with Christ and just like Christ rose from the grave you're rising again to a new life it's it's you going into the ark but but it's different it's you going into Jesus now the baptism the actual physical act of the water you know cleaning off the dirt from your skin that's not what saves you but it says what saves you is this appeal you're making at that time it's this public confession that you're making at that time that you know what I am buying into Jesus Christ I am going all-in to him I'm climbing into him as the arc of my salvation because that's what saves you and that's what baptism represents and so understand that God has prescribed in Scripture a method by which we confess to him and to everyone else around us that we are going into Jesus Christ that we have accepted everything that's about him and we were being baptized into him we're climbing into the Ark of the accomplished work of Jesus Christ see God never says in there that if you want to follow me raise your hand walk down an aisle pray a prayer what he prescribed is repent be baptized that's your calling out that is your confession for clear conscience and he says and then you'll be filled with the holy spirit now this idea of the Holy Spirit I was thinking about this because there's not a whole lot of talk about the Holy Spirit and I believe the reason is because there's not a lot of talk about repentance because I want you to think about this if all you want to do is keep yourself from going to hell and you have no desire to really turn and follow Jesus why do you even need the holy spirit and what do you need them for so maybe you could do some tricks perform a couple miracles or something no what's the use of the Holy Spirit if all you want to do is go man I was gonna go to hell and high I could pray this prayer and I don't have to ok great pray that prayer you don't have to why do you need the Holy Spirit yea though the Holy Spirit is only if you want to repent see the Holy Spirit is if you truly do want to follow Jesus and you see a way of living that you go you know what I want to live the way God has prescribed in this book I agree with God I don't just hate the penalty of sin I hate sin itself I don't want to be a murderer I'm a one alive I would love at the end of my life if I had no greed if I had no hatred no bitterness no anger no lust that I was just totally pure I actually want to live this way the way that God says and has outlined in Scripture I actually think that we better than being an addict or or being you know well whatever stuck in my sin I want this and because I want this well you know what guess what I can't pull that off on my own because left to myself I'm gonna wander I'm gonna go mess around and do all of this stuff so go God would you give me your spirit because I want to live this way and I can't do it on my own and so because I want to repent I realize I'm not gonna be able to pull this off I need your Holy Spirit see why do I want the work in the Holy Spirit in my life because I want to be pure I actually want to be holy I'm not looking at this thing going oh great I gotta be faithful I gotta be honest I gotta you know I'm going i want that for myself and so God put your spirit in me have him just keep changing me changing me changing me because that's a type of man I want to be at the end of my life and not only that but the Bible also explains that the reason why God gives us the holy spirit he says is for the common good he explains that he will gift you the Holy Spirit will distribute gifts all around this room and all of the services all these different people why is is it's for the purpose of the common good he gives you a gift so that you can help the other people in this room become more holy more pure more right you see it's this idea when I pray to God and I go god I want your spirit just like moving through me this weekend why so that I can be powerful no I want his spirit moving through me because leave it or not I actually care about a lot of you in this room a lot of you that I have relationships with and some of you I don't know you and yet I don't mean that I don't care about you I care but it's you know especially with those that I actually know and those you have a relationship with it's I god I want to be a part of helping these people in this room your body God I want these people to be in love with you because that's the greatest thing for them and that's the greatest way for their future man I want them to be consumed just passionate it's also it's not just that but it's for the sake of God like my dream at the end of my life it is not my dream or my goal at the end of my life to have thousands of people in this church that I can say to God God look there's thousands of people over there and and they all kind of like you he's not interested in that I could have 20,000 people that but they showed up they go to church every once in a while so I'm gonna gave a whole two percent you know whatever they they you know one of them toss yeah I I'm not interested in that what I want see then in my life is to to have this army you know of people that are crazy about Jesus where I could stand before the throne one day and go God look at that I don't know maybe 100 people maybe there's more maybe it's thousands but look at those people man they're crazy about you God they would do anything for you you saw the way they live their lives I want this bride that's pure and spotless and to know that I was a part of that that I somehow was used and so God could you use me to delete other people to you but truly to you who actually repent and actually want to follow you and actually become more more like you and so that I can come because I'm when I look at Scripture that's what he wants he doesn't care how huge his bride is he cares about how pure it is how devoted he goes man I want to devoted loving bride read the whole Old Testament that's all he ever wanted of Israel it wasn't about numbers it was about who's here who's really sold out for me I want a faithful bride and so I want to be used in my life before I die I want to get and and that's why I love some of you that are so in love with Jesus because there's just like this kinship there's like this okay you get it you get it you get it you're in love with cheese and that's why I like coming in this room you know I was telling Jim I loved worshiping with our band because I I know them personally you know I know who Diana who just is crazy about Jesus and it's just that's my sister in Christ you know and it's just awesome and I see it in truest life you know and and and I love people that I know and it's like you know what we are in love with Jesus and and I I'd be proud to stand side-by-side with them before the throne of God and because I want to do that the end of my life I say hey god I need the Holy Spirit I don't need the Holy Spirit to draw a crowd okay I can draw a crowd by being funny juggling whatever okay I can get a crowd here that's not what I want I want something beyond that I want people whose lives are just obsessed with Jesus Christ and I can't accomplish that by my own power and so if that's your desire and you go oh I want to be a part of that you know most likely you're not going to be the one upfront teaching but you know you go maybe you're the ones that's behind the scenes counseling and or maybe you're the one that's disciple and you've got a group of people in your house a few couples together and you're just this teaching them the Word of God you're living and explaining to them and you're being used supernaturally somehow to help create this army this bride this group of friends of God that are really pursuing him if you want to do something supernatural like that and be a part of that type of movement then you need the Holy Spirit see the Holy Spirit is for those of you in this room that would say I want to live a holy life and I want to help others live a holy life well great then you need the Holy Spirit but if that's not your goal in life then why don't even eat him if you don't want to repent you don't really want to follow him into serving the people of Christ because you know what you can come to this church without the Holy Spirit you can fit in perfectly without the Holy Spirit you can sing without the Holy Spirit when I am I want to share something this is stuff that I'm still just now really coming to grips with and figuring out let me just share my testimony and then ask you a question growing up I heard things about Jesus pride from 5 years old on I heard things about God and I believed in God okay then in junior high my mom took me to a crusade an evangelistic crusade at First Baptist Church in Stockton and I just remember the guys name and I think it was Jim Wilson was the name of the I didn't know what the other services he was the the guy that was preaching does this evangelist fired up and this three-piece suit just going after it and I remember sitting in the back and him saying don't you deny Jesus you deny Jesus you're going to go to hell and then here were his exact words if you deny him it would be better for you to bite your tongue off and spit it out and I thought oh I don't want to do that so I remember amber walking up an aisle and praying with a little old lady and asking Jesus come in my life because I did not want to go to hell then later on someone had told me about baptism now you should get baptized that's what you're supposed to do once you believe it okay I'll get baptized then in high school someone explained to me what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus Christ - you know that you're supposed to have this love relationship with Jesus I'm like really okay now I get I'm getting more of the picture and now I understand the cross better now I get it then when I was in college I was told that I was supposed to repent I was told that you know what accepting Jesus means accepting him as your Lord it means that you're willing to follow him that's what the word Lord means it means master like really okay I'll follow him this later on that I really understand the Holy Spirit and understand okay this Holy Spirit supposed to come into me and I know he's in my life now question when did I become a Christian when I repented when I first believed I got the Holy Spirit when do I get the Holy Spirit Ahn's baptized when was it there's a bunch of different answers in this room right and isn't that the testimony of many of you where you're going man I wish there was like a moment where I could just nail and say all was right then you know hey guys here's what I'm understanding in Scripture a believer is someone who believes right believe her okay a believer is someone who believes and applies the truth when he or she hears it that's what a believer is you hear the truth you believe it you obey all I know is when I would hear the truth of God's Word I would obey it and then as I learned more truth I obeyed it as I learned more truth I obeyed it I'm still learning truth they're still thinking many things in that book I don't understand and I'm learning but as I learn it I obey it so all I know is that I'm a believer and I'm a follower of God's truth we can sit here and debate well what about this this is it I don't know but my point to you this morning is this some of you may be like me you got like bits and pieces all the time and some of you didn't know that you were supposed to be baptized so were you saved back then I'm just saying don't even worry about that I'm not asking you now that you hear the truth are you gonna obey it maybe you didn't know that you're supposed to repent I'm saying well now that you know you're supposed to repent are you gonna repent okay maybe you didn't understand what the Holy Spirit was all about till these last few weeks now that you understand you want the Holy Spirit seekers a believer a follower as one as as he hears truth see if he follows and so let's let's not spend our time trying to figure out well is this person that person it's just just look at your life right now and as you're confronted with truth do you follow it or do you sit there and you just want to talk we want to talk talk talk rather than obey just repent be baptized be filled with the Holy Spirit and then we don't have to talk so much let me just I don't know it's like so easy to me but but I I maybe I'm being too simplistic but but I'm just looking at Scripture and going oh my little kid got it can 80 80 something-year-old man came out the last service and he got it you guys may have been going to church my whole life and it was that simple and I just got it how did that happen let me just ask you a few questions and we're done for questions and I I want you I don't care what age you are I don't care if you're two years old I don't care if you're 90 I want you to answer these questions for yourself from the depths of your heart this is not a survey we're talking about eternal life so do you believe these things in your heart I'm asking you as an individual forget everyone else in the room every relative you've ever had what is in your heart and I ask you this because all the stats you know I'm especially to you who are teens or students in here because all the stats tell you now that eighty eighty percent of the people who grow up in church all through high school eighty percent of them by the time they're out of college will deny their faith will walk away from the church and the reason is because it was never yours to begin with you're just here for mommy and daddy you don't even know what you believe in your own heart and that's why I'm asking you you as an individual answer these questions for yourself number one do you you in your very core of your being do you believe that God is great I mean really great how great how great is God to you see cuz because most of us would say yeah God's good yeah I'd like to have God yeah why not what the heck throw them in I'm not talking about that the Bible the Bible removed this Bible teaching Church where the Bible says what the Bible teaches is that the person who gets it the person who gets the kingdom of heaven is like a guy who sees this field and sees a treasure in this field that is so valuable that he walks away from the field and says man I will sell everything I have to get that field I gotta have it I don't care all my other stuff is junk I'm consumed with this field I will give away everything if you give me this field God says that's a person who understands me is the person who sees jesus who sees a relationship with God and go man I can have that well forget my mom my dad my brothers I don't care I don't care about the career I don't care about my girlfriend I don't care how many people like me I just gotta have this God is he that valuable to you as an individual do you see God as great because God sees himself as great he says that many times I am a great God he believes it about himself the question is is do you believe that he's really that great or are you sitting there going on or no I I don't know if I want to give all that up for him just just to get God well then you don't get it question number two do you believe that God's way of living is best I mean do you really really do you believe that the way that he outlines it in this book do you agree with God that sin is a bad thing not that not just the penalty of sin not just hell we'll all agree hell is bad right amen bad okay it's not just the penalty of sin but do you hate sin itself like you really don't want to lie you really don't want to be greedy you really don't want to feel this hatred toward someone else you want to live I mean God Jesus is outlined this way of living do you really look at that and go I want to be that person do you do you really want that or secretly aren't there a bunch of things over here a bunch of things that you want to do that you know are wrong in God's eyes and you're not sure if you're ready to give it up yet or are you really a person says no that's better because God thinks his way of living is best question is do you thirdly do you and your heart want to be in love in love with God do you do you want to be in love with it I'm not talking about into an intellectual belief I'm not asking do you want to intellectually believe that a God exists that's not the question in Scripture here the question is is do you want to love being loved with God with all your heart soul mind and strength do you think I am a human being that wants to be in an intimate love relationship with my Creator see because that's what God wants of you he wants a love relationship the question is is do you want that really and then finally last question do you want to have power in your life a power to actually live out this holiness and a power to actually impact other people to live out this holiness if you really want that do you really want to spend your life getting rid of sin putting to death the deeds of the flesh and spend your life encouraging other people to do the same thing do you really want to do that with your life because God wants to he wants to put his spirit in you he wants to empower you the question is do you want it to accomplish these purposes so those four questions he once again do you think God is great do you think his way of living is best do you want to be in a love relationship with him in love with him and do you want his power to change you and use you to change others and impact others and build others up because that's what God wants God thinks he's great God thinks his way of living is great God wants to be in a love relationship with you and God wants it put his spirit in you to empower you and if you can answer yes to all four of those questions and you agree with God then repent be baptized be filled with the Holy Spirit that's it that's the gospel [Music] you

Channel: Ready4Eternity

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Keywords: https://www.ready4eternity.com, Francis Chan, Baptism, Holy Spirit, Gospel, Lord, Repent

Id: _OYFECXN3n0

Length: 39min 59sec (2399 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 03 2018