Baptism signifies a believer's death and resurrection with Christ, marking a transition to a new life focused on heavenly things rather than earthly desires. This new life, hidden with Christ in God, calls for putting off the old sinful nature and putting on the new nature characterized by mercy, kindness, love, and forgiveness. Living according to Christ's teachings, seeking God's kingdom first, and doing all things in His name are essential applications of this transformed identity, leading to peace and a glorious future appearance with Christ.
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tonight in Colossians, Colossians. I announced this morning that our message tonight would be after baptism, after baptism. And really I can see a number of messages we could give on this subject. We look to the Lord, he may possibly lead us that way as the evenings go by, but Tonight let's read this one. Colossians. Read in chapter two. Colossians chapter two, verse twelve.
Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Chapter three. No, chapter three. verse twenty. Wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as though living in the world are ye subject to ordinances? Chapter three, verse one. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead. And your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify, that means put to death. That's verse five. Put to death, therefore, your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanliness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience, into which ye also walked some time when he lived in them, But now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, but Christ is all and in all. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your heart. to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives. Submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger lest they be discouraged. Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with thy service as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart-fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.
Chapter four. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just an equal. knowing that ye also have a master in heaven. Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving, with all, praying also for us, that God would open unto us the door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. May God bless to us the reading of his precious words. Shall we seek his face? Blessed Lord, again we come before thee and ask thee that thou make these very precious words we have been reading, that thou make them live to us tonight.
O God, by the Holy Spirit, take these precious truths of Christ and reveal them to our hearts and make them part of these lives of ours. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Now, I've been exercised for the last... A few days. Very much about this baptism. I prayed for a long time. It's over four years ago that Vera and I came here four years ago last August. And all the time I've been waiting for today when we have a baptism. I feel that when you have a baptism you kind of declare something.
You come out in the open and you say, now this is what we are. And we are... new creatures in Christ Jesus, and we're declaring it. Now baptism plays a big part in the New Testament. Some people brush it by and say, oh, it doesn't matter. It does matter. It does matter. Every one that, as far as I can read, every one in the Acts of the Apostle, that believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and was saved was also baptized. It does matter. It's very important. It's an act of obedience. But it's a significant act and it means a lot.
And we've been talking about it quite a bit the last week or two. I was turning over in my mind tonight whether I would talk not on this chapter but on another chapter. Go back a moment to Acts chapter two. And I think we'll probably come to this some of these nights and talk about this. Acts chapter two and verse forty-one. They that gladly received his word were baptized. Verse forty-two. And they, those that were baptized, and they continued steadfastly In the Apostles' Doctrine, that's one thing.
Fellowship, two. Breaking of bread, three. Prayers, four. There are four things there that follow after baptism. I'm saying after baptism, that's our subject. Here are four things that come after baptism. Fellowship, no, the Apostles' Doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, Now we have to have our hearts exercised about this. We have obeyed the Lord now in baptism. Now are we going to obey the Lord in the other things? The Apostles' doctrine, the teachings of the New Testament.
Is this going to be part of our lives? Fellowship. Are we going to be bound together here in one fellowship in Christ? The fellowship of Christians is the most wonderful thing in the world. There's nothing in all the world that can beat it. You know, when I was leaving England to go for the first time in my life to leave home and go abroad, not home, but to leave my own country and go abroad, I was going to go to Greece. And I was working with a man and he said to me, you know, Bob, I would like to help you. He said, you're going to a foreign country and you don't know anyone there.
I said, no, I don't know anyone. He said, now, if you'd let me, I could help you. I am in a society, a fellowship, a wonderful fellowship of brothers together. And we help one another. And anywhere you go in the world, you can find somebody in this society that will help you. And that's just what you need. And when you land out there in Athens, you need somebody to help you. Now, if you like, he said, I think I could get you in or help you to get into this society. I said, let me tell you something. I'm in a better society than the one you're in.
He said, it couldn't be. This is the greatest thing in the world. I've been in this for years and I've made advances in it. I said, what is your society? He said, it's called the Freemasons. Indeed, I said. I'm in something far, far better. Yeah, but he said, if I could get you into this, You'll find a brother wherever you go." I said, I got brothers there. And they're waiting for me now. They don't know yet that I'm coming, but God is preparing their hearts and I'll meet them when I get there. A fellowship. They continued steadfastly in the fellowship. Nothing like it in all the world. Wherever I go, I find Christians, men and women who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I said to him, thank you, I appreciate, I know what you're saying. And I know that if you could get me into that, it would be a great difficulty. I appreciate what you're trying to do and you'd like to help me, but I'm in something far, far better. Thank you very much. This is what he's referring to. They continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, fellowship. And we want to see every one of you that's baptized in fellowship here with us. But I'm going to leave this second chapter of the Acts. We'll probably come back to it and look at these four things, the Apostles' Doctrine, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayers. Perhaps tonight, the subject we're talking about, will be, in effect, in a sense, the Apostles' Doctrine.
So I've turned over to Colossians where we get something else about baptism. In Colossians chapter two, we read the verse, verse twelve, verse twelve, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God. When I went to live in the city of Wilmington, Delaware, in the year nineteen fifty-one, I looked around to see if I could find people like-minded, and it would meet to remember the Lord in the way I do, and they were not there.
and I realized God sent me to that city with one specific purpose to see that there would be established in that city a meeting like we've got here, a New Testament church. And I bowed before the Lord and asked him to lead me. And we had a few Bible readings in the house and one by one came more and more And I went to Wilmington, Delaware to live on the second of July, nineteen fifty-one. It was not until the first Sunday in April, nineteen fifty-two that we broke bread together, remember the Lord Jesus together, together in the city of Wilmington, Delaware.
I wrote a little circular letter, I have a copy of it now, and I sent it round to all the people whom I thought would be interesting. And we gathered together on the first day of the week to remember the Lord. Years have passed by since nineteen fifty-two. I was up there not long ago, perhaps eighteen months ago, and I went up to speak at the dedication of our beautiful chapel. That work has gone on and on and on, and now they bought five acres of land and built our beautiful chapel. But I remember one night in those early days, there were some young ladies who came to our meeting.
They were secretaries in the great DuPont organization, the center of which is at Wilmington, Delaware. And these girls had good jobs. And they were very, very interested in the scripture and very interested in the study of the scripture. And at that time we were studying verse by verse, On a Wednesday night, I think it was, verse by verse, in Colossians. At that time, our brother, Mr. Robert Little, whom we love, who has been the radio pastor at Moody, you know, at that time he hadn't started his job at Moody.
Bible Institute, and Mr. Robert Little was ministering the word around the various assemblies around Philadelphia, and he heard that we'd started this meeting, and you know he used to come down every Wednesday night to help me, how much I appreciated it. And I remember one night, we got to this twelve verse, buried with him in baptism, and probably I did there what I've done here, which may be wrong, I probably hadn't talked much about baptism. if at all. I haven't here. I think I only gave one talk on baptism in the four years we've been here. Perhaps that's wrong because, and I was saying to Brother John Meyer last night, the command going into all the world to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that command is not given to the converts.
The command is given to the disciples who preached. The Lord didn't command the disciples. He didn't command those that were saved to be baptized. He commanded those that brought them to Christ to baptize them. That's how the command is written as I read it. And we read about baptism and these three of these young ladies came to me. They said, Mr. Willie, we've learned something tonight. We didn't know about baptism. We didn't know we had to be baptized. Will you baptize us? Will you baptize us? And I explained to them that night the meaning of baptism they never knew.
I remember so well. I remember when we did baptize them. And I remember on another occasion, as that work developed, we had no place to baptize them in Wilmington. We went up to Collingdale Gospel Chapel in In Philadelphia and one night I baptized twenty-five, all from our little meeting up there. Had a wonderful time, a wonderful time. And this twelve verses, the verse, Buried with him in baptism, wherein also year risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who have raised him from the dead. Now, this is the basic thing that's happened today.
You people that have been baptized today, this is what's happened. You have been buried with him in baptism. We explained it all last Sunday night. Buried with Christ in baptism. Wherein also ye have been risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who raised him from the dead. God raised His Son from the dead, and I died in Christ. He is my substitute, and so I died in Him. And when He was raised from the dead, I was raised in Him.
The Ephesian epistle has a key word going all the way through it. Do you know what it is? In Him. You read Ephesians, and you'll find in Him, in Him, in Him. Every blessing we ever get is in Christ. Our position today is in Christ. Our future is in Christ. If we're in Him, it's all right. We're not in Him. We're outside. So if there's anyone here tonight that's not in Christ. Well, I'm not talking about you. I can't be. I hope the time will come when I can talk about you.
But you have to be in Him. and I step into him, as I explained last Sunday morning, the moment I step out of Adam into Christ, when I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, I step out of Adam into Christ and I'm in him. So it says then, and Ephesians keeps on saying, and I won't go back, I know the time will slip away if I do, I won't go back talking about Ephesians, but you read it yourself. In him, in him, in him, in him. Every blessing we get is in him. So he says, buried with him. In Colossians it's with him. In Ephesians it's in him.
I died in him, but I'm buried with him. And just come to my mind a wonderful thing I heard one man say once, you know. Two men were talking, two Christian friends of mine, and one was trying to tease the other a little, I think, and he said, tell me, you people that believe in baptism. and think a Christian should be baptized. How about the dying thief? He wasn't baptized. He said he had no chance to be baptized. He was hanging on a cross. And what do you think the clever answer was? The brother that answered, he said, well, is baptism a type of death with Christ?
He said, yes. He said, that fellow didn't have to be baptized, he actually died with Christ, and he's the only one that ever did die with Christ, the only one that ever had to be baptized. Isn't that wonderful? He did die with Christ. None of us have done that. By faith we die with Christ, but the dying thief died by his side. He died with Christ. He said, no need to baptize him. He doesn't want a type to say what he's done. He did it in actual fact. So we have died with him, been risen with him. Now, let's get to verse twenty. Therefore, if ye be dead with Christ, from the rudiments of this world, from the things of this world, we have died.
As I said, I think, last week, a dead man puts in no claims for anything. He don't want to be a millionaire. He's dead. If he had ten million dollars, make no difference. He's dead. He can't do anything with it. He's dead. And we're dead to the rudiments, the things of this world. But I love chapter three, verse one. I call this my new position, my new position. Mark the little word if. Everything depends upon this if. If ye then be risen with Christ. Now are you risen with Christ? Have you accepted Christ as your Savior?
Did you die with him upon the cross? Were you buried with him in the tomb? When he rose from the dead, did you come up with him? If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. My new position. Risen with Christ, and Christ is ascended up into the glory of heaven, and I'm risen with him, and it says, I have to seek the things which are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
You say, yeah, but I've got to have a home to live in. I've got to have my daily food. I've got to have my clothing. I need, of course, God knows all about that. Let me give you a wonderful verse. Matthew chapter six and verse thirty-three, isn't it? Matthew twenty-six. Matthew six. Matthew six, verse thirty-three. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things should be added unto you. We don't seek the things down here.
The beautiful home and the beautiful clothes and the beautiful possessions of this world. We don't seek them. We seek the things which are above, and God in his mercy knows we need these other things, and he adds them unto us. He gives them. I don't think God wants his people to go around looking poor and dowdy and badly dressed and living in shacks and all this. I don't think God wants us to do that. Listen, we're sons and daughters of heaven. We can go around with our chins out. We belong to heaven, you know. But he says, seek those things which are above, and I'll give you all the other things. Don't worry. I proved it in life.
And I know there are many here tonight that have proved that in life. You see, he says here in the sixth chapter of Matthew, if we went back a little bit, he says, Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or where should we be closed. For all these things do the Gentiles seek after. But your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. He knows we need a home. He knows we need food and clothing and all the other things. He knows your Heavenly Father knows ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto thee. The Christian, I've got a care in the world. Do you know that?
If we trust God, we haven't got a care in the world. What you want, you ask Him for. It says, whatsoever you shall ask in my name, I will do it. So you need something. Ask God for it. He gives it to you. Do you know I've lived that way for years and God has answered my prayers. It's so simple. What you need, you ask God for in the name of the Lord Jesus and He gives it to you. This is the Christian life. We are now risen from the dead with Christ. We're living a new life, the life He lived. And our affections are up there, not on the earth. We have nothing down here that's attracting us.
What is there? Except the souls of lost men and women. We want to live to Christ. That lead to Christ. What else is there? Our affection is up there. And you know, it goes further than that. In Philippians chapter three, verse twenty, it says in chapter three, verse twenty, our conversation is in heaven. But the Greek word for conversation is politima, politima. And it means politics. You know that? Our politics. Our politics are in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So our politics are up there. Everything we've got is up there with Christ. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. How wonderful. I say again, we can go around with our chins up. We belong to heaven. We're sons and daughters of a king. And we can go around through this world, happy in the knowledge that God looks after us and our affection and our love is all centered on him and not on this poor old changing, shifting, fading world. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are dead. When it comes to the things of the earth, we're dead. And your life is hid.
Look at that little word. Your life is hid. Now where is our life hidden? In some cave in this earth? Oh no. Our life is hid with Christ in God. Could anything be more secure? With Christ in God. That's where our life is hid. And that's where our center is, where our politics are, where our affections must be set, and we seek those things which are above where Christ is at the right hand of God. What a different life that makes. Now all this comes out of baptism. You see, he said, we were buried by him in baptism, wherein he had been risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, if he had been risen with Christ.
Seek those things which are above. Our new position. My new position. My glorious future. Look at it. Verse four. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall he also appear with him in glory. Could anything be more grand or glorious? The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back. He's coming out in glory. He's coming out as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He's coming out to rule and reign in this world. He's going to destroy these warring nations. He's going to cause sin to cease. and murder and wickedness to be blotted out. And he's coming out to set up a kingdom of righteousness, and he's going to reign over this world.
And it says, When he shall appear, you will appear with him in glory. I can't think of anything better. I think I've seen, sometimes over there in London, see the gates ring open at Buckingham Palace and see the Queen come out and all that wonderful procession of those fellows with their red coats and the horse guards and all that wonderful thing when the Creed appears. But one day the King of Kings is going to appear. And I won't be in the little crowd sitting down there waving a flag as they go by. What do you think? I'll be in the procession. in the procession. When Christ with our life shall appear, then shall he also appear with him in glory. This is what God has done for us.
When the Lord Jesus died for us at Calvary's cross, all these things were included in what he gave us when he died at the cross of Christ. And all this comes out of baptism and obeying him when he says, be baptized. It all flows out of him. We're risen with Christ. And when He's going to appear, we're going to appear with Him in glory. My new position, my glorious future. Now we've got to turn the page a little bit, verse five, and see something else. I've called it my old nature. You see, for many years, some of us went on many years in the paths of sin.
Some of us went our own way. The things I'm talking about tonight, we would have laughed at them. We'd say what nonsense. And we would have had no room for Christ, and no room for eternity, and no room for heaven. We'd say, let us enjoy this life now. I'm going to live to the full. Have all the pleasure I can. Make all the money I can. Get the great name I can. This is what I live for. But now I'm dead with Christ and all that's ended. The great name, the great position, the money. What does that matter? Doesn't matter to who. I'm ready. I'm going into the glory of heaven. And God's going to look after me all the way around and supply all my needs.
And if I only ask Him and seek the things about, He'll add all these other things to me. Verse five. Put to death. Well, I've been put to death, it says. That's what baptism means. I've been put to death. Now he says, I have to put to death the old members of my body. Mortify. Put to death, therefore, your members which are upon the earth. My affection is set up in heaven. I'm living with Christ in glory, but my feet are actually on the earth, you know. And I'm walking down in this old sin-cursed earth. And I've got an old nature.
And I've got a mind that only thinks evil. And I've got a heart that only wants to do wrong. I've got a nature that is contrary to God. And I've still got it, although I've been baptized. And although I've accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I've still got that old nature. When I accept his Christ, he gave me a new nature. And I've got two inside, fighting all the time. One fighting the other. The one wants to get on top. And we've got to keep the other on top. So what do I do? I take that old Adam that we talked about last week, that old nature, and I say, I'm going to put you to death. Put to death your old members which are upon the earth.
And what are they? Now what are the things that flow out of the old members? Listen to this dreadful list. And I don't know, oh, I examine my own heart and my own thoughts and some of these things apply to us, you know. Look at it. Put to death your members which are upon the earth. Fornication, uncleanliness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, that means evil lusts, evil desires. And covetousness. Which of us is not covetous? We see a fellow going along in a beautiful car and think, well, mine's not like that.
Why can't I have one like that? That's covetousness. He says, put all this to death. Put it to death. Covetousness, which is idolatry. Now look at this solemn verse. Tremendous verse. Verse six. For which things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience? Men are sinning today. We're living in an age of rebellion and riot. People will not submit to authority at all. Whether it be children at school, young people in the college, people in the factory or the workshop, or even people in the civil service or in some of the armies, it's all rebellion, riot.
We're going to do what we want. We're not going to submit to anybody. I'll do my thing. That's what I'm going to do. And God says, for this thing's sake, the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. As sure as I'm standing here, I'm convinced that the wrath of God is about to fall upon this Christ-rejecting age. As sure as I'm standing here, I'm sure that these people that today are rebelling against God, for that's what they're going to do. They're going to perish in the great tribulation that's coming. The wrath of God is going to be poured out. upon this Christ-rejecting, rebellious age, these people amongst whom we live today. And what are the things that are bringing about the wrath of God?
Look at them. Fornication. Was there ever such an age of adultery and wickedness? Permissiveness, they call it. Was there ever such an age? God destroyed the world in the days of Noah for this very thing. because of their immorality. God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the way they acted. And their great sin was a sin that is talked about today on the television every day. Nobody thinks anybody. Do you think God has changed?
I know he's not changed. And the wrath of God is going to fall upon this age because of fornication, uncleanliness, inordinate affection, evil desires, covetousness, idolatry, for the which things take the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. Well, I'm on this just a moment. Turn back to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter five, verse one, verse two, walk in love as Christ also has loved us. and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among you as become a saint, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know that no whoremonger nor unclean person, nor covetous man who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. And he says, Be not ye therefore partakers with them. We live in an awful age.
We live in an age just before the judgment of God is going to fall upon this scene. And he's called us to live different lives, to be separated. And all those old feelings and thoughts, oh, how easy it is to get carried away with these people of this world. It's so easy to be deceived and carried away. He says, crucified, mortified, bury it. Put to death that old nature. You're baptized now. You've got a new nature. Put to death that old nature. My old nature. But he gives us a new nature. Now let's look at it. It's a little bit there, verse eight, about the old nature.
He said, put off. And here he's using a word in the Greek which is like dressing oneself and undressing oneself. It's just like putting on your clothes and taking off your clothes. The very word means to dress and undress. And he says, undress, take off. Verse eight. put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of the mouth. See, he's not once suggesting that these Colossian Christians were even engaged in these other things, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, but he does say that they do this, that they can be angry, Raffle.
It could be malice and blasphemy and filthy communication. He says, Now mortify these deeds. And put off, like taking off a suit of clothes, put off all these. Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, evil, communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds. Like taking off one's clothes. When you go to bed at night, take off the old man and all these things. So we're not good at, we've been baptized now. And we're not going to hear any more of these things. Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of our mouth. Lie not to one another. Then he gives us the other side.
I have to put off the old nature and I have to put on the new nature. Here it is. Verse ten. Put on the new man. put on the new man, which is renewed. And this renewal is something like the resurrection, you know. It's a new life. It's something new. And you give it a day by day, a renew this new life to us. Which is renewed in knowledge after the images of him who created him. Verse drug, put on therefore as the elect of God. What have I got to put on? Here it is. As the elect of God put on bowels of mercy.
This Greek word is a long word, esplacnia. That's the Greek word that's translated, esplacnia. It means all my inner deep feelings within myself. Bowels, it's translated here. Put on bowels. Put on, he says, the deep, deep feelings of mercy, kindness, humbleness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering. I tell you something, I've searched through the writings of the... of the authors of this world and I never found, I have never found this word in the novels and the writings of this world.
Long suffering. Have you, you ever found it? It means you suffer a long time, you know. And somebody has been so unkind to me maybe for years and years and years. What do I do? Get angry? Oh no, he says, put that off. But what you've got to do, he says, is be long suffering. suffer a long time. This is one of the grand New Testament words. Put on as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering. Verse thirteen, forbearing one another.
You ever see that word in a novel? I never see it. Forbearing. Bearing for a long, long time. Long suffering and forbearing. New Testament words. Forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any. And you know in the Greek it isn't even quarrel. It's if any man have a complaint against it. It hasn't got to a quarrel yet. It's only a complaint. If any man have a complaint against any, even as Christ forgave you, so do he. How easy it makes life does it. Somebody's saying something all wrong against me, what do I do? Go and fight. And we say, just forgive him.
Christ forgave you in just the same way. You forgive him. How easy the Christian life is if we realize what this being risen with Christ means, what this baptism and this new life being raised in newness of life with him, what it means. I have to put into practice all these things. Put off the old one and put on the new one. Forbear one another, forgive one another. If any man ever complained against any, even as Christ forgave you, so do ye. And above all things, what do we do? Look at it. Verse fourteen. Above all these things put on love. And that's the answer to everything.
You know, when dear old Harold Sinjin was dying on his deathbed, if you read that little book on Harold Sinjin written by his daughter Patricia, his life story, it says that when he was on his deathbed, just before he died, he opened his eyes and he said, I found the answer to all our problems. It was love all the time. It was love all the time. The answer to all our problems. Isn't that true? Boy, if we could only love one another, as the Lord intended. So there'd be no problems. There'd be no problems in the assembly, out of the assembly, in the home, in the community. There'd be no problems if we could do this.
Above all things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. Bind us together in perfection in Christ. Then I made another note, my new peace. Let, verse fifteen, let the peace of God rule in your hearts. What the world's looking for today is peace. They're up there, United Nations, trying to thrash it out. They won't find it. They will not find peace. You can't have peace without Christ. Wherefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
If you're not justified by faith, you can't have peace with God. If you don't know Christ, you can't know the peace of Christ. Before he left, he said, John, verse twenty-seven, my peace, I leave with you, not as the world giveth, give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be of faith. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. The peace of Christ, that calm, quiet peace. which he enjoyed amidst all the heartless rejection of this world, that quiet peace he had with God. He said, I'm giving that. That was his parting gift to his church, you know. Peace, I leave you. And he says, let the peace of God, that which speaks of a tranquil atmosphere of heaven.
I remember when World War II broke out. I had to get back to Greece. I was due back in Greece. On the first of September, I was home on vacation. I'd been, spent a week in Germany, six weeks before the war started. I had a week in Berlin because I was building some German aircraft in Athens, and I went to a German aircraft plant, four German aircraft plants there. Then I went over to England, and I was due back in Athens on the first of September in And I booked a sail from Marseille to go down by rail down through France and sail from Marseille. The boat was cancelled because of the ominous war clouds that were coming up.
I went to the travel agent and booked again to sail from Venice in Italy. They gave me the news after two or three days. That's cancelled. I said, can I fly? They said, you can't. Impossible. Everything's taken. When the first of September came, and I wasn't back on the job. And the second came. The third of September was a Sunday, and that's when the late Prime Minister of England at that time made that famous speech. And war came, eleven o'clock on that Sunday morning. Great Britain declared war on Germany.
Nineteenth, thirty-nine. I remember it so well. On Tuesday the fifth, the travel agent phoned me and they said, there's an airplane leaving Southampton tomorrow morning flying to Greece. There's room for you and your wife. Will you go? I said yes. They said you got two hours to get the train. We quickly packed our bags and in two hours were on the way. The war was three days old, two days old. I don't know to this day who we sat with in the train. You couldn't see your hands were so dark. They had a blackout. You couldn't see in the train who you were sitting by. But we got to Southampton that night. They put us in a hotel. To get in, we had to pass through.
I think it was six different black curtains so no light should come out. And we got in there and they said, you'll leave tomorrow morning at eight. Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. There was an air raid warning and we didn't leave at eight o'clock. We left at ten o'clock. And we took off in one of those imperial flying boats that the British Airways used to fly in those days. And you know, we were the only passengers in a great big flying boat. We took off on the water, Southampton Water, and we sailed down over the Channel Isles and came down at St. Nazaire in northern France, refueled, and we flew all down over France at just about five hundred meters height and landed at Marseille that night and I hadn't done much flying and I was very sick and very ill.
Vera was an awful sailor, just enjoyed the trip but I didn't. I was very ill because we were flying so low and bumping so much. We took off next morning and we landed on a lake, Lake Bratseano just north of Road. We were flying in a flying boat. And I said to the pilot, away in the distance there's a chain of mountains runs right down through Italy, you know. I said to the pilot, I see heavy clouds on the mountains. And I knew I'd been sick all the day before. I said, you're going over the clouds? He said, yes, we're going over. I said, thank you. And we went up and up and up.
And we went to thirteen thousand feet. That's the highest I'd ever been at that time. We've been up to thirty-nine thousand feet since then. But thirteen, thirteen, thirteen thousand. And we passed over the clouds. And you know what I did? I looked out of the window. And down below I could see all the puny little things that men had made. The railroads and the cities and the buildings. It just looked like little toys down there. I hadn't done much flying, and it all seemed so wonderful. And there were the clouds. And as you got to a break in the clouds, you could see these little things down there. And I thought, how puny this all looks. Men are just going to war. They just started World War II. And the world is in a tumult.
And everybody's hearts are failing them. And it's all distressed and worried. And you know, I looked up. I never forget the feeling. I never forget. I looked up. The sky was all blue. All blue, perfect calm, perfect peace, perfect tranquility. And I remember the word, a verse. Ye who do believe in God. I said, Lord, it's all right. It's all right. I knew things were bad. I knew we were going back. We didn't know what we were going to. Ultimately we were Taken away from Greece as refugees and lost all we had in the world.
We went through the war and all the trouble down there. But we didn't know. But I knew up there it was all peace and calm and quiet. And he says, Let the peace of God. All that tranquility of him. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Amid all the turmoil and all the worsening, darkening scenes around us. I've got a wonderful peace. And when I was raised with Christ and seated with Christ in the glory, my home is up there, my affection is up there, my politics are up there, my heart is up there, and I dwell amidst the tranquil atmosphere of God in the blue of heaven.
Do you know anything about this? This is something that flows out of baptism, being risen with Christ. amid the blue of heaven. Let the peace of God rule in your heart, to the which you are called in one body, and be ye thankful. If you are baptized and risen with Christ, be thankful. Be thankful. Don't go about grumbling about everything. That was the thing that was meant the undoing of the children of Israel. Because they grumbled. They had to spend forty years in the wilderness until every one of them had died. Because they grumbled. Don't let it be grumbling. Let the peace of God ruin in your hearts, to which you are also called in one body, and be ye thankful.
Now finally, almost finally, my new guide. Look at it. Verse sixteen. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in sounds and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. What a peaceful feeling. We've been baptized, we've buried with Christ, we've been raised, and we're dwelling amidst the atmosphere of heaven. And he says, let the word of Christ dwell in your heart. Take this Bible, beloved, especially all of you being baptized, and read it every day. I have learned, as I've gone through life, one big thing, that I can't get on without this book.
I sometimes wonder how Abraham lived. That wonderful man of faith. He hadn't got a Bible, did he not? We were talking about Abram a little bit this morning. How could he look on two thousand years and see the cross when he never had a Bible? He lived so close to God. He was called the friend of God. And he lived in this atmosphere of quiet rest and peace with God, although he hadn't got a Bible. But in my day I got to read this book. And I find when things go wrong, and some days you know you get irritable, and you're hard to live with and you wonder and I always come back and I say I know what's wrong I've been rushing around so much I haven't had time to read the book that's all it needs and you say well what shall I read never mind what you read get it open and read three four five chapters straight off I tell you what it'll calm all the waters and they make you so calm and peaceful and put you back where you used to be he says let the peace of Christ let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching you, teaching and admonishing one another.
We're going to take this book and teach it to one another and admonish one another. And then he says, we should sing together sounds and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord. This is the Christian life. How we enjoy it here at the Father, don't we? Singing together with spiritual songs and hymns. Now finally, I know how that truck goes. Finally, my new life. Here it is. I won't talk about it. I'll read it to you. Whatever ye do, in word, or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
We were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And now he says, whatsoever you do. In word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. If some things we've been doing, we're not going to do anymore, if we're going to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, you can't do it. You can't do it. You can't bring His name into it unless it's something that's consistent with that wonderful name. Whatever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God. And here are the details. Wives submit yourself to your own husbands. Husbands love your wives. Children obey your parents. Fathers provoke not your children to wrath. Servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh.
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. I'd like to spend a long time on this. wives, husbands, children, fathers, servants. How we could talk about this, couldn't we, in all the details of our lives. But now I'm baptized. And now I'm risen with Christ. And he says, in all the details of life, he's got to show some insight. Husbands, wives, fathers, children. And then in the next chapter, the masters as well, they've got to be honest and straight with their servants. And we do it all heartily to the Lord. and not to men. Somebody's saying, hey, all right, you go that way.
You're going to make much money now. If you're going to forgive everybody, if you're going to be so meek and gentle, you don't make money that way. You've got to be pretty tough and hard to make money. Listen, the Lord is going to pay, and you look after it. He puts it down here. I don't think, it may not be on Friday night we get the salary check, I don't know. And we're not working according to any trade union rules, and the trade union, you know what they say, do as little as you can for as much as you can get. But didn't that?
We do all heartily to the Lord. That may mean we got to work nine hours for eight hours, pay, perhaps ten, I don't know, but that's how it's going to go. But listen, knowing that of the Lord, ye should receive the reward of the inheritance. Who's going to pay the wages? Where am I going to get my salary check? Here it is. Of the Lord, we're going to receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Christ. Not the earthly master. We serve the Lord Christ. May not get the wages. May not get the reward here. But I tell you what. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we appear with him in glory. That's when the salary checks are coming out, you know.
And the positions in that glory have to be earned down here. When David came George's death, he called to him the men who'd been in exile with him. I remember Brother Lacey talking about the twenty-second chapter of First Samuel, when David was in the cave of Adelim, and they all came to him. And you know, when David became king, And he wanted to put this man as a minister of finance and this one as a minister of justice and this one and all these jobs. Do you know who he gave the jobs to? The men that came to him in the cave when he was rejected. That's where they earned their positions in the kingdom.
And when the Lord Jesus comes out in glory, those who get the positions in the kingdom are those that are going to go... and be with him in his rejection today. They're going to live this life that he talks about here that is so far into the world around us they can understand it. But this, beloved, in some little measure, to my mind is what baptism means. After baptism. This is a kind of life I should live. I've taken too much time. Shall we ask the Lord to bless the nation? Blessed God, our Father, we thank you for that unchanging word. O God, we pray... that thou make it real in our lives. Take these precious things, write them in our hearts, help us to study them over and over, and help us, blessed God, to put them into practice, as those that are risen with Christ, setting our affection on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.
We seek thy blessing, as we part now in our Savior's precious name. Amen.