Lesson 4A Man Sent from God

I. HE WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL

•He was not worldly minded – lived modestly in the wilderness•He was a lone voice – he didn’t follow the popular movements•He preached repentance•He preached observable change of life•He made it about Christ and not himself

II. HE WAS “SENT FROM GOD”

Baptismal authority:•Began with John the Baptist•Continued through the Apostles and the churches they founded and•Was passed to those churches planted out of the churches they planted

III. CHRIST AND ALL APOSTLES WERE BAPTIZED BY HIM

Before the day of Pentecost – a fully assembled and functioning church, held a meeting and selected a replacement for Judas Iscariot.

III. CHRIST AND ALL APOSTLES WERE BAPTIZED BY HIM

The authority of baptism •Did not end with John the Baptist•Did not end with the Apostles But continues to this day as it is passed down from church to church.

IV. HIS BAPTISM CONFIRMED OR DENIED A PERSON’S FAITH

The baptism of John is a defining moment•Those who were baptized of John justified God•Those who were not “rejected the counsel of God”