Standing up to peer pressure

SERMONS FROM GENESIS: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF PEER PRESSURE (Gen 6:5-6, 8-9) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—Scout Sabbath—2007

Because we have several additional young people here this morning, I thought it would be a good opportunity for the rest of you to impress them with your biblical knowledge, so that they could see what you have learned in your many years of study. To that end, I am going to give the adults here a brief quiz, just nine questions. You can jot the answers on the back of the sermon outline.

Q: What was Noah's occupation? ...Was he a farmer, a bricklayer, or something else?
A: He was an arkitecht.

Q. Why was Noah the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.

Q: What was the name of Noah's wife? (This is really trivia.)
A: Joan of Ark

Q: While Noah was on the ark, why did he not spend time fishing?
A: He only had two worms.

Q: Why did those two worms not get on the ark in an apple?
A: Because everyone had to go on in pairs (pears)

Q: Where did Noah keep the bees?
A: In an ark-hive

Q: How did Noah keep track of the animals at night?
A: He used floodlights.

Q: What is the one tool Noah wished he had during the construction?
A: An ark-welder.

Q: What was Noah's theme song?
A: "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head"

However difficult you may have found the questions of that quiz, it was nothing to what Noah faced, even before the flood, as he encountered the Problems and Prospects of Peer Pressure.

After God created the world, people did what most people do, and the Bible records some of what that entailed. They had jobs, got married, and raised families, but life was not always smooth.¹

• Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden for their disobedience.
• Cain, angry that God rejected his offering but accepted his brother's offering, murdered his brother Abel.
• Lamach, one of Cain's descendants, was an even more violent man and boasted about having killed many people.

To be sure, there were some bright spots in man's early history.²

• Seth and his son Enosh seem to have started a trend as "men began to call on the name of the LORD" (Gen 4:26b).
• Their descendant Enoch is recorded to have had an especially close relationship to God for "300 years" (Gen 5:22a).

The general direction of society, though, is downward, away from God, as people grow more completely sinful. After several generations, man's wickedness hits bottom. Please turn to Gen 6, where we read that by then...

Trust and obey

SERMONS FROM GENESIS:THE SECRET OF SUCCESS (Gen 24) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2006

To be successful, you must be properly motivated, willing to give whatever challenge you face your best effort.

A mother was telling a friend about her six-year-old son, who was playing in his first ball game. The boy went up to bat, and on his second swing he connected with a two-base hit. Whether there was a lack in his coaching or a lapse in his concentration, the boy took off for the pitcher's mound and tackled the pitcher. Then he turned around with a big grin and threw a "thumbs up" sign at his surprised father in the stands. The mother's friend asked how the boy's father responded. "Why, he stood up and clapped, of course."

To be successful, you must be willing to give your best to whatever challenge you face. It also helps to receive positive reinforcement along the way, assurance that someone recognizes your efforts.

While Abraham is living in Canaan,¹ he decides to arrange a marriage for his son Isaac, he sends a servant to the other branch of his family in order to find a suitable mate. It is a venture fraught with uncertainty but one that demonstrates The Secret of Success.² Please turn to Gen 24, where, in the opening verses...

I. The servant wonders about success.

Gen 24:1 Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way. 2 He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. 3 I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 4 but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."

For whatever reason, Isaac, who is forty years old,³ is still a bachelor, and it falls to this trusted servant to find a wife for his master's son.⁴ The task will not be easy. Abraham is adamant about Isaac's not marrying a Canaanite woman, insisting upon finding a wife from among his brother's clan, perhaps because the family ties will be stronger or because he does not want to establish any ties to a people God will eventually destroy.⁵

Origins

THE QUESTION OF ORIGINS: How Do the Various Models Compare or Who's Been Monkeying with the Family Tree?

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2000

Until the twentieth century, most of Christianity, indeed, most of western civilization attributed the world in which we live to the creative act of God. The popularization of Darwin's theory of evolution and its adoption by scientific and academic communities radically changed that perception. The prevailing opinion in society today is that all higher life forms developed from lower life forms without any involvement from God. This fundamental shift in our collective view of how it all began presents a dilemma for Christians.

• They want to believe the biblical account of creation but do not know how to square what scripture says with what science teaches.
• They want to communicate their faith but do not know how to answer the objection that, right from the beginning, science disproves the Bible.

How should we answer The Question of Origins, and does science contradict the Bible on this issue? We will examine four models, each of which appears at a different place on a continuum of Options for the Question of Origins, views that treat the biblical account of Genesis in various ways. Let us begin by reading that account (Gen 1:1-2:3).

Options for the Question of Origins

Fiat Creationism	Progressive Creationism	Theistic Evolution	Secular Evolution
Gen 1 is actual.	Gen 1 is abridged.	Gen 1 is mythical.	Gen 1 is false.

At one end of the continuum, is the biblical model familiar to most people...

I. Fiat (young earth) creationism¹

A. Presuppositions

1. System: We live in an open universe that includes natural and supernatural forces.
2. God: The supreme being is author and sustainer of all things.
3. Bible: The scripture is a fully reliable source of information about the origins of life.
4. Origins: The biblical account of the beginning is actual (in real time).²

B. Premises

1. Cause: God created everything in six literal and consecutive days.
2. Process: Each species is distinct and separate (reproducing "after its own kind").
3. Fall: Adam's sin introduced physical death for all.
4. Flood: The deluge was global and accounts for most of the fossil record.

C. Problems

1. Astronomical: It fails to explain why the light from distant stars (e.g., Andromeda galaxy) required millions of years to reach earth (Newman in Moreland 1999:108).
2. Geological: It fails to explain why the fossil record shows different types of sedimentary layers (e.g., from shells, from soil, from evaporation) deposited under different conditions (Bradley in Moreland 1999:77) and during different periods (Newman in ibid., P. 111).³
3. Methodological: It justifies the universe's extreme antiquity by asserting that it merely has the appearance of age.

The way Fiat Creationists deal with the extreme antiquity of the universe, which abundant scientific evidence seems to support, is by asserting that God created the universe with the appearance of age. Adam, for example, would have had a naval despite the fact that he was not born (and, therefore, had no umbilical cord). Unfortunately, while this "solution" may resolve one problem, it raises more difficult ones, not the least of which is why God would use such a deceptive or, at least, misleading method (see Moreland 1999:86-87).⁴

At the opposite end of the continuum, is the secular model familiar to most people and its religious counterpart. Because these appeal almost exclusively to the findings of science, it will be helpful to review the task of science before we look at those models,. Despite the aura of authority the scientific community projects, the scientific process is not open-ended. There are limits to what we can realistically expect when attempting to answer the question: What can science discover?

Who were "the sons of God" in Genesis?

SERMONS FROM GENESIS: ANGELIC HANKY-PANKY (Gen 6:1-4) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2000

We know so little about the period before the flood that some references are more puzzling than illuminating. For example, there is the obscure mention of intermarriage in...

Gen 6:1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Who are these two parties ("sons of God" and "daughters of men"), and who are the Nephilim? Commentators have generally adopted one of two positions in answering the question...

I. What is the nature of the union?

A. It is inter-species.

1. "Sons of God" are angelic beings.

a. That is their designation.¹

• Job 1:6 [= Job 2:1] One day the angels [lit. sons of God] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.

b. That is their transgression.²

• 2 Pet 2:4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;

• Jude 6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

2. "Daughters of men" are human beings.

• Ps 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.

• Eccl. 3:10 I have seen the burden God has laid on [the sons of] men.

B. It is intra-species.³

Baptism

BAPTISM STUDY: ABLUTION IN BIBICAL AND EXTRA-BIBLICAL SOURCES

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Dr. Paul Manuel—1989

Second Temple Jerusalem Mikvah (Ritual Immersion Pool)

Because of the size of this study (72 pages) I include below the break only the Table of Contents and the Introduction. The entire study is available here as a pdf.

Belief and baptism

A BAPTISMAL DEVOTIONAL: Belief and Baptism (Mark 16:15-16) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2012

We are here to witness the baptism of someone who experienced a variation of this event much earlier in his life, when he was very young. In the New Testament, however, there are no instances of infant baptism. That is because baptism accompanies decisions a child cannot make and his parents cannot make for him, such as confession of sin and repentance from sin.¹ Another personal decision baptism accompanies is belief, which raises two questions.

• First, what must a person believe?

• Is there a prescribed subject for this faith, or can he believe anything he wishes?

• Second, when must a person believe it?

• Is there a proper sequence to these steps, or can he do them in any order he wishes?

Jesus answers both questions with the final instructions he gives the disciples before his ascension.²

Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Jesus says here that it matters what a person believes, that it is not enough to believe in...

• Magic or miracles,
• Aliens or angels,
• Flying pigs or fairy tales,
• Santa Claus or even yourself.

For baptism to mean what God intended, a person must believe the gospel, "the good news" about Jesus—that his sacrifice redeemed you from paying the penalty your sin required. That is the message his disciples carry "to all creation," because it matters what a person believes.

Jesus also says here that it matters when a person believes the gospel, that his belief must precede his baptism, and he cannot reverse the order without potentially ruining the outcome. According to this passage, life ends in one of two ways: salvation or condemnation. According to Jesus, "whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." Does that mean a person cannot be saved unless he is baptized? ...No. At Calvary, Jesus promised salvation to a condemned man who expressed faith in Jesus yet could not be baptized.³ Jesus includes baptism in these final instructions to indicate what is expected of disciples not what is essential for them. This distinction become clear when Jesus says, "whoever does not believe will be condemned." Baptism without belief accomplishes nothing. What matters is when a person believes the gospel, because belief must precede baptism, and belief is the requisite to salvation.

As you witness this baptism, it presents a duel opportunity, a chance to rejoice with the candidate in this expression of faith and to review with him the essentials of faith. Belief is the beginning of knowing God. As you become more aware of His will for your life, you realize the need to revise your thinking, your speaking, your doing, in countless ways. When that task seems overwhelming, and you wonder at the complexity of what is expected for your sanctification, adopting the character of God, remember the simplicity of what is essential for your salvation: only having faith in God because of His gracious provision through Jesus of pardon for sin.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.

On baptism and rebaptism

A BAPTISMAL DEVOTIONAL: On Baptism and Rebaptism

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2006

In Judaism, where the practice of baptism originated, it was (and still is) a form of ritual purification, cleansing the participant from the external defilement of life in a fallen world. Gentile converts to Judaism underwent immersion to remove the impurity of an idolatrous past. It was a ceremonial act that followed repentance and faith. Hence, baptism was for those capable of making a commitment to God. The early church, beginning as a reform movement within Judaism, employed baptism similarly, immersing those who repented and expressed their faith in Jesus as the messiah. There, too, baptism served both as a form of ritual purification and as a public testimony of a person's commitment to the Lord.

After the first century, as gentiles began to outnumber Jews in the early church, the practice of baptism began to change. Some Christians regarded it as a counterpart to the Jewish practice of circumcision or as a necessary requisite for salvation. These attitudes led to the practice of infant baptism (paedobaptism), which, in turn, led to alternative modes of application: pouring (affusion) and sprinkling (aspersion), instead of immersion (submersion).¹

The problem with such views is that they run counter to the teaching of scripture and to the tradition in Judaism, whence baptism derives. They also complicate matters for those who were baptized as infants and come to faith as adults. Does their earlier experience count, or should they repeat the procedure?²

Baptism is not necessary for salvation, otherwise the thief on the cross could not have gone to "be with [Jesus] in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). Rather, baptism demonstrates outwardly the transformation God has already accomplished inwardly. The ceremonially cleansing effect of baptism also means it was not necessarily a one-time event. While every Christian should be baptized after he believes and repents, there are other occasions in life when it might be suitable to purify oneself anew as an act of consecration to God.³

For some of the candidates today, baptism signifies a renewed dedication to Him, and that is certainly a good reason. Understanding this background helps us to answer the question: Should a person who was baptized as an infant repeat the procedure as an adult? Given that baptism presupposes a commitment to God, which an infant cannot make, the answer is "Yes." Without such a commitment from the candidate, baptism has no meaning, at least, none the Bible recognizes. Therefore, it is appropriate for an individual to express his devotion in this way, whatever his experience as a child.⁴

While all Baptists hold to believer's baptism (credobaptism) by immersion, there are some differences among them on this subject. Judaism and the early church practiced single immersion, but some later groups of Christians used trine immersion, appealing to Jesus' command before his ascension.⁵

Matt 28:19 ...make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Most Seventh Day Baptists use single immersion, but the tradition of the German Seventh Day Baptist church has been trine immersion, and the candidates have decided to follow that practice today. Because Jesus commanded baptism, it is a requirement for church membership, but it is not—I repeat—not a requirement for salvation. That God accomplishes "by grace...through faith" (Eph 2:8).

The necessity of purity

A BAPTISMAL DEVOTION: The Necessity of Purity 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2002

We are here to witness the baptism of these candidates. Each one came from a different religious tradition but, through God's providence, they have all come to the same decision. They have all realized The Necessity of Purity. Because it is important that they understand the significance of what they will do today, I asked each of them two questions. First...

• Is baptism necessary for salvation?

The answer, of course, is no. Baptism is not required for salvation. If it were, then Jesus' promise would have been for naught when he said to the repentant thief on the cross next to him...

Luke 23:43b I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

According to Jesus, baptism is not necessary for salvation.

The second question I asked them was more difficult. Accepting that baptism is not necessary for salvation...

• Is baptism necessary at all?

If baptism is not a requirement for salvation, and if salvation is the goal we seek to attain, then why should we bother? Why go to this trouble—finding a body of water, assembling the church, making a public spectacle—if baptism is just a quaint custom? While there are several possible answers to this question, perhaps the simplest is that baptism is necessary because Jesus commanded it. In his final instructions before his ascension to heaven, Jesus said...

Matt 28:19 ...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

According to Jesus, baptism is necessary.

As I said, obedience to Jesus' command is not the only reason for baptism. In fact, when I asked them why they wanted to be baptized, they gave another reason, that baptism signifies a cleansing from one's old life apart from God and a fresh start to one's new life with God.

When we come to the Lord, we break from our sinful past and pledge ourselves to live righteously before Him. Baptism is the ceremonial purification marking that decision, the symbolic removal of what once defiled us and made us unfit for God's service. Ananias, a Jewish believer from Damascus, understood the importance of this act and, after Paul's conversion, said to him...

Acts 22:16b ...be baptized and wash your sins away....

Baptism washes away the impurities of the past.

The candidates do not have to list for you the specific sins they are washing away this day. That is not why you are here. Your role is to witness the event, to rejoice in their decision, and to support them. It is also to register your expectation that you will see their commitment to God bear fruit.

There should be one other consequence of your being here: It should remind you of your baptism, of how you broke from your sinful past and pledged to live righteously before the Lord. How have you been doing lately?

As these individuals make their commitment to God this day, I encourage you to renew your commitment. If you have not lived up to the expectation you raised at your baptism, resolve with them to be different. The Necessity of Purity should be an abiding concern for all believers. Thankfully, cleansing is a renewable resource, for...

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Christian ethics

BIBLICALLY CORRECT:
APPLYING RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES IN THE REAL WORLD
—TRAINING CHRISTIANS FOR TOUGH CHOICES—

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2002

The following study was one of the most engaging and entertaining I have taught. Unfortunately, it was also one of the most demanding of student participation. Consequently, I was not able to go as far as I had hoped. ....I was able to cover the practice cases but not move on to current problems. I had hoped to return to it one day, perhaps with a different study group but, alas, that was not to be. What I did manage to complete can stand alone....

(This study is lengthy so I have not reproduced it on this site. It can be downloaded as a pdf here. The Table of Contents is below.)

I.	Introduction
	The Case of the Negligent Neighbor
	Chart: Assessing the Strength of Your Convictions
II.	Practice Cases1
	A. The Case of the Mangled Monkey	12
	Chart: How to Make a Moral Decision
	Chart: Old Artifacts with New Associations
	B. The Case of the Devastated Detective	19
	C. The Case of the Family Feud	23
	D. The Case of the Immodest Model	28
	E. The Case of the Dissenting Deacon	32
	F. The Case of the Filched Final	36
	G. The Case of the Gambling Guardian	40
	H. The Case of the Trusting Trimbles	46
	I. The Case of the Persecuted Pressman	50
	J. The Case of the Dubious Detergent	56
	K. The Case of the Liberated Leader	62
III.	Conclusion	67
	Bibliography	68
	Endnotes	70

For the Complete Study (93 pages), see the pdf here.

"What is truth?" (John 18:33-38)

PILATE'S QUESTIONS
(John 18:33-38)
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Dr. Paul Manuel—2014

What is truth? Does it even matter? Is it only what you think it is, or is there some objective standard?

The first mate on a ship decided to celebrate with a bit of stowed-away rum. He was still a little drunk the next morning when he had to report for duty. Later in the day, when the first mate had sobered up, he looked in the ship's log and read the captain's entry: "The first mate was drunk today." "Captain," the mate pleaded, "please don't leave that in the log. This could add months or years to my becoming a captain myself." "Is it true?" asked the captain, knowing full well it was. "Yes, it's true," admitted the mate. "If it's true, it has to stay in the log. That's the rule. If it's true, it goes in the log. End of discussion!" the captain said sternly. Weeks later, it was the first mate's turn to make the log entry. He wrote: "The ship seems to be in good shape.... The captain is sober today."

What is truth? That was one of Pilate's Questions to Jesus when the rabbi appeared at trial.

After Jesus' arrest in the garden, representatives from the Sanhedrin bring him to Pilate, the Roman prefect or governor of Judea.

John 18:29-30 ...Pilate came out to the [Jewish leaders] and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?" 30 "If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

That, of course, does not answer the governor's question, so...

John 18:31 Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." "But we have no right to execute anyone," the [Jewish leaders] objected.¹

At the governor's insistence, the leaders cite charges against Jesus they think will get Pilate's attention.

Luke 23:2c "He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

With this in mind, we continue the narrative in....

John 18:33 Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" 34 "Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

Again, that does not answer the governor's question.

John 18:35 "Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

In other words, "This is not about me; this is about you. Just answer the question, Jesus, because you have obviously done something to make them so angry. Is it because you claim to be someone they cannot accept?" This is the crux in...

I. Pilate's question to Jesus about identity (John 18:33)

• "Are you the king...?"

Jesus' coming of age (Luke 2:42-47)

JESUS' COMING OF AGE (Luke 2:42-47)

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2001

Luke records that Jesus, when he was twelve years old, visited Jerusalem and spent time with teachers in the temple.

Luke 2:42 And when He became twelve, they went up [there] according to the custom of the Feast; 43a and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.... 46 Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

Several commentators have mistakenly identified this experience with a boy's bar-mitzvah,¹ his coming to an age of responsibility according to Jewish law, but that event does not occur until he is thirteen.² Nevertheless, rabbinic sources attest to a boy's preparation during the preceding year.³

m Yoma 8:4 As to children...they educate them a year or two in advance, so that they will be used to doing the religious duties.

It is in this preparatory period that Jesus' visit belongs. The astonishment of the teachers at Jesus' understanding is probably that one just beginning his preparation for adult responsibilities would already know so much.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.

Sermon: A Thief's confession

TENTATIVE ADMISSIONS AND TRUE CONFESSIONS: By a Thief (Luke 23:39-43)

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2014

Several years ago (2004), I preached a sermon series entitled Tentative Admissions and True Confessions, in which we looked at four statements about Jesus by a variety of those who encountered him in the course of his ministry, statements...

• By a Pharisee (Nicodemus in John 3),
• By a Samaritan (the woman at the well in John 4),
• By a Demon (the Gadarene demoniac in Luke 4), and
• By a Disciple (Martha in John 11)

As I was reading recently, I realized that I should have included the statement by a thief, the criminal executed with Jesus in Luke 23.

There are three actors in this scene from the passion account: two actual criminals and one falsely accused.

Luke 23:32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with [Jesus] to be executed.... 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

This man was looking for what many hoped the messiah would bring: deliverance from Rome. He was also hoping for some immediate relief, as is evident in his comment to Jesus: "Save yourself and us!"

Luke 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

The other man being executed with Jesus was looking for what relatively few knew the messiah would bring: deliverance from sin.

I. The second criminal makes a discerning observation (Luke 23:40-41)

...that applies to everyone.

A. We face the same sentence, like Jesus' sentence (i.e., death).

...but...

B. We face a just sentence, unlike Jesus' sentence.

"We are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

The significance of baptism

A BAPTISMAL DEVOTIONAL: The Significance of Baptism 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—1999

The ceremony we witness today is a familiar one to us, something every member of the church has experienced, yet its significance is not always clear, even for those who have been members for many years. We know that Jesus commanded it of his followers, and that alone is sufficient reason to obey.¹ We also know that baptism is not necessary for salvation, a status God grants by His grace in response to our faith. Yet, are there other reasons, pertaining to something baptism signifies that enhances its value. Indeed, there are two other reasons, and by understanding them, we can appreciate the importance of this act.

What does baptism signify? The answer lies first in its original setting within the context of Judaism. God is holy, and He expects His worshipers to be holy as well. To that end, He gave instructions about maintaining purity and remedying impurity. The treatment for the most serious causes of defilement included immersion. God commanded that anyone who recovered from an infectious skin condition or who came in contact with a dead body must undergo immersion as part of the cleansing process.² These are not moral issues, but disease and death are results of the Fall, and they remind us that God is concerned about everything which renders man unacceptable to Him. The same requirement applied to gentile converts, whose likely contact with idols made them unclean.³ Upon repentance and faith in the true God, they underwent immersion to cleanse themselves of their pagan past. Although many of these directions are foreign to us, in part, because they concerned temple worship, this third application of immersion has continued even in the absence of a temple and is the origin of baptism in Christianity. It also identifies the first significance of baptism, which is purification.⁴

When the temple still stood, baptism rendered a person ceremonially fit to enter God's presence there. This is "not the removal of dirt from the body" (1 Pet 3:21)—you will notice we do not do any soaping or scrubbing here. This is also not the cleansing of one's conscience—no amount of water can penetrate sufficiently to affect that.⁵ This is, rather, an act marking what God has already done in response to the candidate's repentance and faith. It is an external demonstration of the internal work of God in a person's heart and mind. Baptism signifies purification from a sinful past.⁶

There is another significance that looks to the future. The apostle Paul saw in baptism a metaphor of the believer's union with Christ. Writing to the church in Rome, Paul offers the symbolism that most Christians associate with this act.⁷

Rom 6:4 We were...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.

Paul superimposes a picture of Jesus' passion on the believer's experience. As these Christians in Rome undergo their own baptism and then witness the baptism of others, he wants them to imagine that they are following the example of Jesus. By going under the water, they are entering the grave, as Jesus did, and leaving behind their former way of life. By coming up from the water, they are rising from the dead, as Jesus did, and embarking on a new way of life.

From this passage, some would say that baptism signifies identification with Jesus. Although Paul is surely identifying the believer's experience with Jesus' experience, that is not the point he is making. Paul is adapting the common rabbinic dictum that...

b Yeb 48b One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.

This is the second significance of baptism. It marks initiation to "a new life." Having been freed from slavery to sin, the believer can now live in devotion to God!⁸

This baptism in obedience to Jesus' command is a public declaration of what God has done, the purification from a sinful past. Moreover, it is a public declaration of what the candidate will do for God, in pursuit of this initiation to a new life. It is also an opportunity for you to recall your own declaration. Are you maintaining the purification your baptism signified, or are you defiling yourself with old habits? Are you pursuing your initiation to a new life, or have you never really gotten off the mark? Baptism is not something we should enter lightly, for it is not the just the act of immersion that Jesus commands. We must also recognize the significance of what we are doing, for our past and for our future.

For the Endnotes, see the pdf here.

Genesis Series: "A coat of many colors" (Gen 37:3)

THE GENERATIONS OF GENESIS: "A Coat of Many Colors" (Gen 37:3) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2002

Being the oldest in a family comes with several disadvantages that younger siblings do not suffer. If you had the distinction of having entered the world first, then you were the test subject, the one who experienced the trial and error of parents' discovering how to raise children. At some point, you were probably also the babysitter, the one who had the privilege of keeping younger siblings from setting the house on fire or from seeing how well the cat could swim.

Steven, who often had to watch his younger sister, protested when his mother asked him to take her along fishing. "Do I have to? The last time she came, I didn't catch a single fish." "I'll talk to her," his mother said, "and tell her not to make any noise." "It wasn't the noise, Mom.... She ate all my bait." (Adapted from Streiker 1998:206)

Sometimes younger siblings can be more of a bother than a blessing. That was certainly what Joseph's brothers thought, especially after their father gave him "A coat of many colors."¹

This sermon is the final installment of the series, The Generations of Genesis, which noted that the phrase, "these are the generations of," appears frequently in the first biblical book to mark major sections in the narrative. Please turn to chapter 37, which has the last occurrence of this phrase.

Gen 37:1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. 2 This is the account ["the generations"] of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen.....

Do you notice anything odd? ...Was Joseph Jacob's eldest son? Most genealogical discussions start at the beginning, with the firstborn, not toward the end. Jacob had twelve sons, and Joseph was number eleven, which is pretty far down the line to appear so early in "the generations of Jacob." The biblical author is alerting us to the fact that the most significant son in Jacob's lineage may not be the oldest son,² which raises our expectations about what we will learn. This chapter must recount the great things Joseph does. Perhaps he establishes a mighty city or distinguishes himself as a successful military leader. As the story unfolds, however, we realize that our high expectations of Joseph's exploits may be premature. In fact, he seems anything but a candidate for greatness. Look again at Gen 37:2.

Gen 37:2b Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

Joseph was a snitch, a tattletale, an informer. In a family, someone who rats out his siblings is the lowest life form. This does not bode well for his future. Apparently, his father Jacob, also called Israel, did not discourage this behavior in Joseph. As we read further, we see that Jacob doted on this, his youngest son.³

Gen 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him [KJV "a coat of many colors"].

For most people in the Ancient Near East, clothing was utilitarian. It had to keep them warm and had to be sturdy enough to stand the stresses of work. Fancy clothing was appropriate only for special occasions or for those who led privileged lives. Here...

I. Receiving the robe marked Joseph's favor.

...favor Jacob did not extend to his other sons, as they were well aware.

Gen 37:4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

If you were seventeen years old and you knew that your brothers—your older brothers—felt this way, the wise course would not be to make a big deal about being dad's favorite son.

Genesis Series: "A stairway...reaching to heaven" (Gen 28:12)

THE GENERATIONS OF GENESIS: "A Stairway...Reaching to Heaven" (Gen 28:12) 

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Dr. Paul Manuel—2002

Some things in life we do not understand or appreciate until we have a few years behind us.

A certain man was appointed president of a bank while he was still quite young. He approached the venerable Chairman of the Board and asked for advice. The old man came back with just two words: "Right decisions!" "That's really very helpful," the young man replied, "and I appreciate it, but could you be more specific? How do I make right decisions?" This time the Chairman simply responded: "Experience!" Somewhat frustrated, the new president said, "That's the reason I'm here. I don't have the kind of experience I need. How do I get it?" To which the old man replied, "Wrong decisions!" (Adapted from Hodgin 1994:144)

This is often our dilemma when facing a new set of challenges or an uncertain future, and not just when we are young. We want to make right decisions but often lack the necessary experience. We may look to those older and wiser for guidance, but in the end the choices, right or wrong, are ours to make. In our text this morning, Jacob is facing a new set of challenges and an uncertain future, and he must make a decision, one he seems to have put off until he sees "A stairway...reaching to heaven."¹

The Generations of Genesis begin with the history of the heavens and the earth, then proceed to the history of such notables as Noah and the Patriarchs.² The time between the genealogies are growing shorter, as are the gaps between the people they list. What was several generations and many years following creation and the flood becomes a single generation and only a few years after Abraham, as we see in the brief genealogy of chapter 25 (KJV).

Gen 25:19b Abraham begat Isaac:

Through vision and dream,³ God appeared to the two patriarchs, and accounts of these visitations as well as stories of His deeds became part of the growing oral tradition that parents told their children. Abraham related what he received, coupled with his own experiences, to Isaac, who did the same with Jacob. For at least the first forty years of Jacob's life,⁴ though, there is no indication he had any personal contact with God. All he knew was what his father had told him. Then Isaac sent him to Haran, whence Abram came, to find a wife from among his distant relatives there. In the course of his journey, Jacob has an encounter with God and learns several things about Him that are good for us to remember as well. The meeting takes place in...

I. The Vision of Jacob