The prophet Malachi foretold that God himself would come to cleanse and purify the Temple.
You can watch this message here.

Here are the words.
We heard on Sunday morning about the preaching of John the Baptist, the forerunner God sent ahead to prepare the way for the Messiah, the Saviour who was to come.
Luke 3 16 John answered them all, ‘I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’ 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them. (Luke 3:15-18)
The Jews in the time the birth of Jesus were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their Messiah. But they had forgotten the many warnings in the Old Testament that the Messiah’s purpose in coming would be to refine and purify God’s chosen people. John’s baptism in water was a symbol of cleansing from sin, a sign of forgiveness as sins are washed away in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah. When John spoke of the one to come baptising with Holy Spirit and fire, that would be a cleansing fire, a refining fire, purifying Israel, as the prophet Malachi had foretold.
The Jews had been waiting for hundreds of years for their Messiah to come and bring them the salvation God had promised. The prophet Malachi, like Isaiah, spoke of a forerunner who would come to prepare the way beforehand.
‘I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.
The prophecies of a messenger were fulfilled in the life and ministry of John the Baptist. But the messenger would only be the beginning of God’s wonderful acts of salvation.
Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Here was the heart of Malachi’s prophecy. The forerunner would prepare the way, and then GOD HIMSELF would come to the Temple in Jerusalem. So the Jews had an overlap of expectations. They were waiting for the Messiah, God’s anointed Saviour, and at the same time they were waiting for God HIMSELF to come. They would not have been able to get their heads around the idea that the Messiah would actually be God the Son. But the Jews in Jesus’s time had forgotten the next part of Malachi’s promise – which was a solemn warning.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
The Old Testament looks forward to the day of salvation when the Messiah will come to save his people. They were even expecting God himself to appear again at the Temple in Jerusalem. But Malachi warns that God will be coming in judgment and refining fire to purify his people. The Jews had forgotten God had called them on Mount Sinai to be “my treasured possession … a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:5-6) The whole nation, even the priests and the Temple itself had drifted away from God. So the nation were ignoring the warnings that when God came it would be to cleanse and purify and refine his chosen people. When he came, the Messiah, and even God himself, would come to rebuild the temple from scratch, to create a new and better and eternal temple.
Zechariah 6 contains a similar promise.
12 Tell him this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the LORD. 13 It is he who will build the temple of the LORD, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.”
The Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God’s people could meet with God and worship God. It was the place where through the priests they could speak to God and they could hear God speak. Through the system of sacrifices the Temple was the place where sin was dealt with. On the day of the Lord, God’s anointed Saviour would come and rebuild and purify God’s Temple.
Jesus began to fulfil this prophecy in a symbolic gesture when he drove the sellers and money-changers out of the vast Outer Courts Temple. John 2 14 In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
When the Pharisees challenged his authority, the answer Jesus gave was unexpected. In this saying Jesus is claiming to be the one who was coming to rebuild the Temple, fulfilling the prophecies in Malachi and Zechariah. Jesus was actually claiming to be God when he answered them,
‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.’
They replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?’ But the temple he had spoken of was his body. (John 2:19-21).
Jesus was pointing ahead to his resurrection. But he was also declaring that God’s new temple he would build would be his own body. Jesus himself would be God’s new Temple. He was the person through whom people would meet with God. God would speak through him. And by his death on the cross, through him God would deal with the problem of sin forever. Jesus would be both priest and king ruling over all things, fulfilling in his own body all the promises of Zechariah. Jesus would be prophet and priest, king and sacrifice.
Jesus did come to rebuild the Temple. And the new Temple he is building is his Church.
1 Peter 2:4 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Jesus came to restore and renew the Temple in his own body. As the church, we are now the body of Christ on earth, the temple of God, built out of living stones, where God lives by His Holy Spirit. But what about the refiner’s fire? God the Holy Spirit continues to work in each one of us, cleansing and purifying and refining us to be ready to stand in the presence of God in glory. We are being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
1 Peter 1 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Even now, the refiner’s fire is purifying the church. In this way the prophecy of Malachi is being fulfilled in our lives. For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

WE ARE BEING BUILT INTO A TEMPLE,
Fit for God’s own dwelling place;
Into the house of God which is the church,
The pillar and the ground of truth,
As precious stones that Jesus owns,
Fashioned by His wondrous grace.
And as we love and trust each other
So the building grows and grows.

This message is on video on YouTube here

These are the words on the slides.

Jesus – the prophet like Moses

17 The LORD said to me: ‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him.
(Deuteronomy 18:17-18)

Jewish expectations about the Messiah – God’s end-time redeemer

A Messiah like David (Isaiah 9:2-7) – the most popular expectation

A figure like Elijah (from Ecclesiasticus)

God’s Servant (Isaiah 42:1-7)

Melchizedek (Qumran community)

A prophet like Moses
(The Eschatological Prophet)

Deuteronomy 18:15-18
15 The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire any more, or we will die.’
17 The LORD said to me: ‘What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

Jews were expecting God to send
“a Prophet”
John 1:20 He (John the Baptist) did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
21 They asked him, ‘Then who are you? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’
‘Are you the Prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ …..
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, ‘Why then do you baptise if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?’
26 ‘I baptise with water,’ John replied, ‘but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.’

In what ways did Jesus fit the pattern of an Old Testament prophet?
• Prophetic words – messages demonstrating divine knowledge
• Warnings of impending judgment
• Calls for justice and righteousness
• Calls to repentance
• Parables and especially allegories were in “the prophetic tradition”
e.g. Parables of the Tenants in the Vineyard (Matthew 21:33ff) like Isaiah 5 parable of the vineyard.
Jeremiah, the potter and the clay
Nathan’s parable to David of the little lamb.
• Miracles revealing God’s love and power c.f. Elijah and Elisha
• Rejected as all the prophets were

How Jesus described himself

Mark 6:4, Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’

Luke 13:33 “In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!”

What other people said about Jesus

John 4:19 ‘Sir,’ the woman said, ‘I can see that you are a prophet.

Luke 7:14 He said, ‘Young man, I say to you, get up!’ 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. ‘A great prophet has appeared among us,’ they said. ‘God has come to help his people.’

Luke 7:19 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.’

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’
14 They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

Matthew 21:10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, ‘Who is this?’
11 The crowds answered, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.’

Matthew 21:46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Luke 22:63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, ‘Prophesy! Who hit you?

The disciples on the road to Emmaeus

Luke 24:19 ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

The preaching of the Early Church

Acts 3:21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.”

So the Jews were expecting the Messiah to be a great warrior king like David. But the Messiah God sent turned out to be more like “a Prophet like Moses”.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:10-11)

SEE N.T.Wright
Jesus and the Victory of God (1996)

The promise also carries a warning
18 …. I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.
(Deuteronomy 18:17-19)

This video discusses what it means to be “saved” in the Gospels.

https://www.facebook.com/pbthomas1/videos/10158785566658426

These are the words on the slides for this message.

“Your Faith Has Saved You”

In the story of the sinful woman who anointed Jesus, he forgave her sins and we read,
Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’
(Luke 7:50 NIV2011)

What does the word “save” mean in the Gospels?

In the story of the healing of Bartimaeus we read.
‘Go,’ said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (Mark 10:52 NIV2011)
Some translations say there, ’your faith has saved you.’
Including N.T.Wright’s New Testament for Everyone, the Geneva Bible and the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
The Message translates that as “your faith has saved and healed you”

In the story of the healing of the ten lepers Jesus says to the one who returned to give thanks,
‘Rise and go; your faith has made you well.’ (Luke 17:19 NIV2011)

But again in other translations we read,
“Your faith has saved you.”
N.T. Wright’s New Testament for Everyone, Geneva Bible 1599, HSCB, Evangelical Heritage Version, Expanded Bible, Lexham English Bible, New American Bible Revised,
And again the Message says, “Your faith has healed and saved you.”

Exactly the same word is sometimes translated “save”, and at other times “heal”.

σώζω (sózó) “I save”

In Matthew 15 x; Mark 14 x; Lk 17 x; Jn 6 x

Greek New Testament
Society of Biblical Literature Edition – Logos 8

English-Greek Interlinear NT
New Revised Standard Version in Logos 8
www.biblegateway.com

σώζω (sózó) has three broad meanings in the New Testament

1. TO RESCUE from danger and to restore to a former state of safety and well being

2. TO HEAL – to cause someone to become well again after having been sick

3. TO BRING A PERSON TO THE BLESSINGS OF SPIRITUAL SALVATION

TO RESCUE from danger and to restore to a former state of safety and well being
Rescued from the danger of drowning: Matthew 8:25 and 14:30
Jesus being delivered from death on the cross: Matthew 27:40 (par. Mk 15:30); 27:42b (par. Mk 15:31b and Lk 23:35b); 27:49; Luke 23:37, 39
Being brought safely through a period of danger to life (Mt 10:22 and 24:13 par. Mk 13:13; cf. Mt 24:22 par. Mk 13:20).
More metaphorically, where Jesus is like a shepherd who seeks out and saves the lost [sheep] Luke 19:10

TO HEAL – to cause someone to become well again after having been sick
Healing from diseases or deliverance from demons:
Matthew 9:21 (par. Mk 5:28); 9:22a (par. Mk 5:34 and Lk 8:48); 9:22b;
Mark 5:23; 6:56 10:52 (par. Lk 18:42); Luke 7:50; 8:36, 50; 17:19
Healing in a broad sense of doing whatever is needed to promote physical life and health.
NOTE – it can be unclear whether the meaning is “Your faith has saved you” or “Your faith has made you well” Mk 5:34 par. Lk 8:48; Mk 10:52 par. Lk 18:42; cf. Lk 8:50; 17:19.

TO BRING A PERSON TO THE BLESSINGS OF SPIRITUAL SALVATION – ‘to save’
Being saved includes the gift of eternal life. When Jesus met the rich young ruler, the phrases “Inherit eternal life” = “enter the kingdom of God” = “to be saved”
Being saved includes forgiveness of sin and rescue from eternal judgment. Jesus is to be given that name because “he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17)
For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. (John 12:47)

Elsewhere in the New Testament the spiritual is the predominant meaning of being saved.
And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:47)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith” (Ephesians 2:8)
If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

So σώζω (sózó) has these three senses which all overlap within “being saved”:-
rescue from physical danger (e.g. storm)
healing from physical illness (Bartimaeus)
spiritual salvation
 rescue from sin (Luke 7:52)
 the gift of all the blessings of eternal life
The gospel we preach promises us all these blessings. Jesus said to Zacchaeus,
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
And we receive these blessings now and into eternity by putting our trust in Jesus.
“Your faith has made you well.
”Your faith has saved you.”

In this message we discussed the Priesthood of All Believers and the different views denominations have about Priests and Laypeople and the significance of ordination.

The video is here. https://www.facebook.com/pbthomas1/videos/10158733738808426/

These were the words on the slides.

Priests and People
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Priests in the Old Testament
Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.
Deuteronomy 18:1 The priests, who are Levites … are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance. 2 They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.
Church of England – “High Church”
“The Church of England has three orders of ministry, Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Only Priests and Bishops may celebrate the Eucharist, and only Bishops may confirm or ordain. Many in the C of E (but not all) hold that ordination is a sacrament which changes something at the deepest level of a persons being and can never be undone. All the people of God however share in Christ’s priesthood through baptism. The ordained priest shares in that priesthood in a particular way, making Christ present to the people above all in the eucharist.”
Church of England – Evangelical
“Ministry is serving the mission of God. Every baptised Christian is called and gifted by God for various ministries. Some are called to the ordained ministry (deacons, priests and bishops); their role is public, representative and enabling of the work of others. Lay and ordained constitute the priesthood of all believers.”
Pentecostal Churches
“ “(He) has made us kings and priests to His God and Father..” (Revelation 1:6). King and Priest were among the highest callings under the old covenant. Under the new covenant all believers share these graces. The ‘laity’ have been abolished and we are all ‘ordained’ for ministry and mission. Our mission is to bring the good news of the Gospel to all people in all places by all means. To that end every believer is equipped by the Holy Spirit.”
Baptist Churches
“Baptists do not see a distinction between clergy and laity. Any member of a Baptist Church can e.g. preach, baptise, preside at communion in their church. Accredited Ministers have a “trans-local” ministry as pastor-teachers. The shared task of (ordained) Ministers and locally-appointed Elders and Deacons is “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:12). Jesus has commissioned all Christians to play their part in the mission of the church. “Go and make disciples of all nations,….” (Matthew 28:19-20)
The Priesthood of All Believers
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Peter 2:9)
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Revelation 1:5-6)
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God and they will reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)
EVERY Christian is a priest before God
So how are ministers any different?
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
(1 Corinthians 12:27-30)
11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Ministers have different gifts and specific responsibilities in the church, but they are certainly not “a different kind of Christian.”
In the New Testament there is NO distinction between “priests” and “lay-people” in the church.
SO what is the significance of ORDINATION?
For Baptists
Ordination is NOT sacramental
Ordination is not “ontological”
“confers an indelible spiritual character” (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
making the priest a different kind of Christian
Ordination is “functional”
equipping the minister to serve and lead
Respect for ministers
Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:12f)
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

What did Jesus mean when he said, “This is my body … this is my blood”? This video discusses the ways different denominations understand Communion, the Lord’s Supper. You can watch the video here.

Here are the words which are displayed in the presentation.

“This is my body” (Matthew 26:26)
How do Christians understand communion?

Matthew 26 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’
27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 11 23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Roman Catholic Church
“In the Roman Catholic Church we use the word Mass when we gather to worship. The Mass (from the Latin mittere which means “being sent”) is made up of two principal parts.
1. The Liturgy of the Word … In this first part of the Mass the community feeds on the living Word of God.
2. The Liturgy of the Eucharist. Bread and wine are brought to the altar. In the Eucharistic prayer we believe that the bread and wine is changed and becomes the Body and the Blood of Christ. In communion we are fed on the Body and Blood of Christ, we share the life of Christ. The Mass ends with the ancient dismissal: in Christ you are one, go out and live that reality in your daily life.”

“High Church” Anglicans
“We believe Christ to be truly present in the bread and wine that have been consecrated, which become his body and blood. We tend to use the names Mass and Eucharist most, although, some use Holy Communion. Mass emphasises the missionary aspect of being sent out into the world; Eucharist emphasises the aspect of thanksgiving. We use the language of sacrifice because we believe the Eucharist unites us in a profound and mysterious way both to the last supper and to Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. The priest acts in the person of Christ to offer this once-and-for-all sacrifice to the Father together with the gathered people who make up the body of Christ in that place.”

Evangelical Anglican Churches
“As a command of Jesus, celebrating Holy Communion has a high priority and significance in Anglican churches. Presiding at communion is reserved to those who have been especially ordained for that role and sharing in communion is usually reserved to those who have made an adult profession of faith. We continue to puzzle over the precise meaning of Christ’s words “this is my body…this is my blood”. Opinions range widely, but it would rarely be seen as ‘just’ a visual aid to remembrance of his self-offering. Most Anglicans would believe that Christ is present with his people in a special way when we receive the bread and wine.”

Methodist Churches
“In Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, the Church responds to Christ’s command, “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25). Thus the Church celebrates the presence of Christ in its midst, recalls his sacrifice and, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is united with him as the Body of Christ. The bread and wine serve as tokens of his dying love, food for our earthly pilgrimage, and a foretaste of the heavenly banquet. We are empowered for mission: apostles, sent out in the power of the Spirit, to live and work to God’s praise and glory.”

What happens to the bread and the wine?
Is what sense is Christ really present in the elements?

Transubstantiation – the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ.
Idea – Early Fathers to Augustine 4th Century. Actual word – 11th Century

Consubstantiation – the body and blood of Christ are present “in and under” the physical elements.
Martin Luther “sacramental union” 16th Century

Tokens or symbols
Ulrich Zwingli – Zurich 16th Century

The role of the priest “consecrating” the elements.
Any Christian is allowed to preside, breaking the bread

The Baptist understanding – a MEMORIAL meal
“Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24f)

Symbolism – the bread and wine are only symbols.
Jesus often used parables and symbolic rather than literal language. e.g. the “I am” sayings

Christ is truly present, but in the fellowship of the Christians who are celebrating, not in the elements.
1 Corinthians 10 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

What do Baptist Christians really believe about baptism?
Are we always saved at the exact moment we are baptised?
Do we have to be baptised to be saved??
What is the difference between “believer’s baptism” and “baptism by immersion”?
All these questions are answered in this video.

These are the notes for the video.

“Repent and be baptised”

Baptism – the external sign of an inward reality

Acts 2 38 Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

God’s side – Forgiveness of sins,
Gift of new birth to eternal life
Gift of the Holy Spirit

Human side – Repentance
Saving faith
Becoming part of the church

Visible Sign – Believer’s baptism

Does new birth happen at the moment of baptism?
“Baptismal regeneration”?

Romans 6:3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 4 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.

Colossians 2:11 Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 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.

BUT – Example of Jesus – unique in history
– Example of Apostles – unique in history
– Samaritans in Acts 8 – unique in history

Example of apostle Paul
Acts 9 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Example of the first Gentile believers –
they received the Spirit before they were baptised.
ACTS 10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, 47 ‘Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptised with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ 48 So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

So new birth may come at baptism, but not always

Is baptism essential for salvation?
Does a person have to be baptized in order to be saved?

Acts 2 38 Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Mark 16 16 Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

BUT – general witness of the New Testament –
faith and repentance always expected, baptism is not.

Romans 10:9 if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Paul’s practice
1 Corinthians 1:14 I thank God that I did not baptise any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptised in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptised the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptised anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptise, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
If Paul had believed baptism was essential to salvation he would have baptized everybody he could.

Early church practice vs practice after 1st century.

Baptism is like communion, a “means of grace”.

It is believer’s baptism – not “baptism by immersion”

Baptist Union Declaration of Principle
Article 2 – “That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again the third day’.”

But does baptism need to be by immersion?

Didache –
1st Century summary of Christian teaching permitted affusion
Chapter 7. “And concerning baptism, baptise this way: Having first said all these things, baptise into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptise into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.”

Some early Baptist Christians were baptized by affusion.
Immersion is usual, affusion is still valid.
Faith and repentance are important – the amount of water is not.

Acts 2 38 Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
This is one of the seven “I am” sayings of Jesus which we find in John’s Gospel. We only finished a series in John a couple of years ago, but I am still going to focus on this verse tonight because somehow I neglected to talk about it then. More importantly, it has something very significant to teach us. Or should I say, remind us of, because the central point I am making tonight is found in many places in the New Testament, just in case you think I am making a mountain out of a molehill. These words of Jesus simply illustrate a vital truth. Let me introduce it with a question.
Why did Jesus say, “I am the resurrection and the life” and not “I am the life and the resurrection”? After all Christians experience eternal life here and now, We will only experience the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, when all believers are raised from the dead into glory. Why say resurrection first, and life second?
Let’s just remind ourselves that Jewish hopes of eternal life or everlasting life did not rest on the idea that human beings are born with some part of us called a soul which is immortal and cannot die. The immortal soul is a Greek idea, not a Jewish idea. Nor did the Jews think that that God would give to people some quality of life which would make us “eternal” so that we wouldn’t die. The Jewish hope of life after death expressed in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament is the hope of resurrection. The hope that at the end of time God would bring all people who had died back to life again. Some would receive blessings and others would face judgment but all would only be alive after they had died physically because God raised them to life again. This was the Jewish hope Martha declared.
21 ‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’
23 Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
24 Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’
Like very many Jews and particularly the Pharisees but not the Sadducees, Martha shared the hope of life beyond death through the resurrection of the dead which will take place at the last day.
That is exactly the hope Jesus points to in the words which follow. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” This earthly life will end for all believers. It has for each one so far and will continue to do so until Jesus returns. Our physical bodies will all die. But then we will live again when we are raised back to life. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” This is our hope of resurrection.
This week I came across Benjamin Franklin’s epitaph which he wrote himself. Although we are not sure he was a believer, this is what he wrote.

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer
Like the Cover of an old Book
Its contents torn out,
And stript of its Lettering and Guilding,
Lies here, Food for Worms,
But the Work shall not be wholly lost:
For it will, as he believ’d,
Appear once more
In a new & more perfect Edition,
Corrected and amended by the Author.
There is indeed the Jewish and Christian hope of resurrection. A new and more perfect edition, corrected and amended by the Author of life God Himself. This is our Christian hope, celebrated in so many places in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 15 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Philippians 3 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first,
Exactly as Jesus says, “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” This is our hope of resurrection.
When Jesus returns, Christians who have died will be raised from the dead. Actually Paul goes further and says that even in this life we are already sharing in the death of Christ. We have died with him, waiting until he returns so that we can be raised to life.
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The hope of eternal life we have as Christians is all wrapped up in us sharing in the death and the resurrection of Christ. He is our life. We share his life.
This week in Draw Near To God we were talking about suffering. We said that when we are in the middle of experiencing suffering there are many things which might encourage us. The fact that how we respond to suffering proves that our faith is genuine, or that it helps us to empathise with others, or that suffering teaches us perseverance. But we also said that in the middle of great suffering, especially when a person is suffering opposition or persecution for the name of Jesus, the only thing which helps us get through is the hope of heaven. To look beyond our present sufferings to the hope of the inheritance waiting for us in glory.
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
Beyond this life which can be filled with tears, we have a living hope and we have an inheritance.
This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
We have not fully received our salvation yet. It is waiting for us, being kept safe for us by God himself.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
We rejoice not because of anything the suffering is doing in our lives but because of the hope we have in Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

So we look beyond our suffering to what awaits us in glory. “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” This is the promise Jesus gives us all. The hope of resurrection.
But surely that is looking beyond this life and our inevitably physical death to the life to come. So why did Jesus say, as he did, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Surely the resurrection Jesus gives to believers will be subsequent to the life he promises here and now. Why did Jesus not say, “I am the life and the resurrection” ?
The significant truth which this saying illustrates, I think, is this. Although in chronological order our experience of eternal life now precedes the experience of resurrection which awaits us all when Jesus returns, our experience of eternal life now comes from our future experience of resurrection. In this life now it is as we share in the experience of Christ’s resurrection, that we have a glimpse, a foretaste of our own resurrection which will we experience when Christ returns. In our lives now we experience the seal and the deposit and the first installment of heaven which is the work of the Holy Spirit, bringing the power of Christ’s resurrection life into our lives now.
Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life” because it is resurrection which is the source of life. Resurrection comes first because new life is the product of resurrection. The resurrection of the dead is not some bonus tagged on to the end of the experience of eternal life we are enjoying here and now. Our future experience of the resurrection of the dead is the source of the eternal life which we are beginning to experience now.
We sometimes miss the fact that many of Jesus’s promises of eternal life actually look forward to the resurrection of the dead.
6 35 Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
We think of Jesus as the bread of life giving life here and now. But actually the promises look forward.
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.’
6 44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Our experience of eternal life now is all tied in to the promise and the happy certainty that we will be raised back to life at the Last Day, when Jesus returns.
6 53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
So eternal life comes to us now, already, here and now, as a foretaste of the resurrection life which is waiting for us when Jesus returns. This is why Jesus’s words are true and inevitable. 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.
The person who experiences eternal life now by putting their trust in Jesus is guaranteed life forever. Even if their physical body has died, their life into eternity is certain. Because their eternal life here and now does not lead on to resurrection. Rather their life here and now flows back from their future experience of resurrection.
That is why Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life,” and doesn’t phrase the saying the other way round. But we mustn’t miss the significance of the first two words. I AM the resurrection. Jesus is saying that all the Old Testament promises and all the Jewish expectations of the resurrection of the dead will be fulfilled IN HIM. HE is the resurrection. And all the promises and the expectations of eternal life, life in all its fulness, come to men and women THROUGH HIM.
I am the resurrection and I am the life.
Do you believe this? Jesus asks Martha. And her reply is significant.
27 ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’

The Jews believed that the Messiah was going to come in the Last Days, and when he came the promised Messiah would bring about the resurrection of the dead. So Mary’s answer declares that she believes Jesus is indeed the Christ, and the Messiah, and truly the Son of God. For anybody who believes these things, and puts their trust in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, these wonderful promises Jesus makes are for us too.
25 Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.

We look in depth at probably the most widely-known verse in the Bible, the gospel in a nutshell, and consider three questions.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

? Did Jesus say those words?

? What does “so loved the world” mean?
“In this way” NOT “so much”

? How did God show his love to the world?
Through the cross vv 14-15 NOT by “gave his Son”

You can watch this message on video at

Some sermons are not online as text, but instead as videos. Here is the first.

This was the Powerpoint of the message

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
(Psalm 119:105)
‘The Word of God?’ Or ‘The Words of God’?
‘The Word of God?’ OR ‘Contains the Word of God’?’
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)
Does quoting the exact words matter?

You can watch the video on Facebook by following this link.