Bulletin Articles
Baptism’s Reminders
Christians ought to be aware of the significance in Scripture placed upon baptism. That significance is often debated among those professing faith in Christ, but even that controversy demonstrates the fact that baptism is no small matter. If not careful, we may lose sight of what baptism should continually remind all Christians. It is no hollow action, so let’s go back over a few of the basics:
1. Baptism does not mark the end of the plan of salvation, but the beginning of a new life in Christ.
Stating a “five step plan of salvation” with baptism at the end can be misleading if we fail to clarify that baptism is meant to be a new birth process. Paul explains in Romans 6:1-6 that baptism is a burial of the old man of sin, from which we are raised to walk in newness of life. Baptism should constantly remind us that we should not be living in sin because we have died to sin through the death and resurrection of Christ. Baptism is not only a death and a burial, but also a resurrection. The form of baptism is given after the pattern set by Jesus Himself who 1) was baptized to set such a pattern (among other things), and 2) literally died and was raised to set the greater pattern for us. This alone ought to tell us of the importance of being baptized, for how can we be saved if we fail to follow the death, burial, and resurrection pattern? It also tells us that we ought to be constantly reminded of the life we live in Christ. Baptism, then, is not just a one time act to put behind us, but an act with a built-in reminder of who we are from that point on.
2. Baptism is an intelligent decision made by someone who is convicted of the need for Christ.
Disciples are believers. The old question of infant baptism is really more a question of who decides to believe and follow Jesus. One who is not capable of making that decision is not in the position of deciding to follow Jesus. While children are to be trained in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, the decision to follow Jesus is to be intelligently and freely made by each individual. John wrote what he did “that you may believe” (John 20:30-31), and it is the one who believes who is in the position of deciding to be baptized. “What prevents me from being baptized” (Acts 8:36) is a question asked by those who 1) know their sinful situation, and 2) willingly desire to be reconciled with God. Forced baptism is mere ritual. Willing submission in baptism is a commitment that involves the heart, soul, strength, and mind as it demonstrates a love for God and a desire to be with Him.
3. The metaphors surrounding baptism give us vital reminders of its continuing significance in our lives.
For example, all who are baptized into Christ have “clothed” themselves with Christ (Gal. 3:27). We put on Christ in baptism and are now adorned with Him. We know how to take off filthy clothes and put on clean clothes. Now, spiritually, we have taken off the filthy clothes of sin in order to put on the beauty of our Lord. He is our “holy array.”
Further, through baptism, we are said to be “circumcised” by Christ, without hands, in cutting away the sins of the flesh. Through this process, God operates on us, forgiving us of our sins and trespasses (read Col. 2:11-14). In baptism, we are no putting trust in ourselves or our own works for salvation; rather, we are putting ourselves into God’s hands. We are exercising “faith in the working of God” who raised up Christ, and in this operation, “He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions.”
The imagery gives us a clearer concept of the purpose and lingering effects of baptism.
4. Baptism is a calling on the name of the Lord and appealing to Him for a good conscience (Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:20-21).
Without calling on His name, we can never hope for salvation. Without appealing for a good conscience, we can never hope to have our guilt cleared. The importance of a clean conscience should be emphasized. We should also recognize how a clean conscience is connected directly to what Christ did for us: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb. 9:14). As baptism is connected to the death of Jesus (Rom. 6), so appealing to God for a good conscience in baptism is, in fact, appropriating the offering of Jesus on the cross, which makes a clean conscience possible through forgiveness.
Let baptism continue to remind us of how important our relationship with God is and why we do what we do for Him.
Doy Moyer
