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Sermon #4106

One Baptism

A Sermon on Ephesians 4:5

Scripture

Ephesians 4:5 ESV
one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (ESV)

Sermon Description

How important is baptism and what connection does it have to the unity within the church? At a first glance, it might seem odd that Paul would include it as a point of unity. Why is this? In this sermon on Ephesians 4:5 titled “One Baptism,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones argues that a shared view of baptism is a result of unity around Christ. He presents various views of baptism and demonstrates from Scripture why Christians must view baptism as a representation of something, not as an act that accomplishes salvation in and of itself. The danger that many people throughout the centuries have run into is that they take acts like baptism and teach that they are necessary for salvation. However, Scripture clearly teaches that this is not the case. It is a representation and Dr. Lloyd-Jones says that it brings unity, because biblically-correct baptism is into the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to be “baptized into Christ,” as Paul writes elsewhere? Importantly, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, it signifies and proclaims that Christians no longer identify with the world— instead, they are one with Christ. This is what brings unity to the church, and it does so because all who have been baptized according to Scripture are the Lord’s people.

The Book of Ephesians

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.