Baptism and Identification

BAPTISM AND IDENTIFICATION
Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus came to John to be baptized and John was reluctant to do it. "I need to be baptized by you," he said. "And you are coming to me?"

I understand John’s hesitation. John baptized for repentance and the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). Of what sins did Jesus have to repent? What sins did he have to wash away? None. So why be baptized?

John felt confused and unworthy. "I need to be baptized by you!" John is a great guy! He proclaims the Word. He is the forerunner of Jesus. But is he worthy to baptize Jesus? He didn’t think so.

Jesus said: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (V.15). "It is proper" means God wants it. It is to "fulfill all righteousness" means it is doing God’s will. But why, if Jesus has no sin? In his baptism Jesus is doing something important in relation to his Father and to us.


Jesus is identifying with God and his purpose for life.

God always calls for his people to declare their allegiance to him. "Chose you this day whom you will serve ..." (Joshua 24:15). God gives his people numerous ways to identify with him - the moral laws, ceremonial laws and cleanliness laws. All of these were for his people to tell the culture around them, "We belong to God." Anyone in the gentile nations could look at a faithful Hebrew and say, "They don’t live like us. They live for their God." That is identification.

Jesus’ baptism did that. Jesus was saying, "I belong to God. I humble myself to his will and his ministry for me." It was bold commitment and humble obedience. God responded with lavish praise to his son’s baptism:

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (16-17).

Humble obedience pleases God whether it is rendered by Jesus or by us.


Jesus is identifying with his people.

In baptism Jesus identified with everyone else who was baptized. "Jesus thereby shows his solidarity with his people in their need."3

Jesus’ ministry was one of humble obedience. He walked among people and bore their struggles. He wept with them, struggled against the religious establishment with them and listened to them. Jesus healed people. He bore their sin on the cross. Jesus also took on the humble, obedient nature of a servant in baptism. He had no sin and no rebellion but he identified with sinners and rebellious people.

To fulfill all righteousness Jesus was baptized. Jesus was the unique son of God, born of a virgin. He was a powerful worker of miracles and the triumphant king. Jesus was also a humble, obedient servant. Jesus’ humility and obedience beckons us. Jesus calls us, even today. "Follow me. I obey the Father. You, too, can obey the Father."


Our baptism.

John baptized people for repentance and remission of sins. Later, Jesus’ baptism would be for this but would include the dispensing of the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:16). Today in baptism we receive the forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit. In baptism we experience what Jesus did.

Like Jesus, when we are baptized we identify with God. When Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon him. When we are baptized the Holy Spirit comes upon us (Acts 2:38). When Jesus was baptized he was identified as the son of God. When we are baptized we are identified as sons of God (Gal. 3:26,27).

Secondly, when we are baptized we identify ourselves with other followers of God (Acts 2:41; 1 Cor. 12:13). We don’t live the Christian life alone. We identify with other followers and live in community with them.

The Optimist, Rotary and Kiwanis clubs all have initiation rites for new members. The ceremony welcoming new members has nothing to do with the cleansing of sin or recognizing passage from rebellion to humble submission to God. But their initiation ceremony does offer a chance for the new member to identify himself to and with the group. After learning about the club a person may decide, "I want to be a part of this group." The initiation ceremony becomes his or her opportunity to officially identify themselves as a club member.

Members in these clubs receive a pin and new member packet recognizing their status in the club. Jesus’ baptism accomplished that ... and more. Jesus received the accolades of heaven: heaven was torn open, God manifested himself in the form of a dove that descended upon Jesus, and the voice of God spoke affirmingly. Now, all who so desire can have fulfilled in their hearts what Isaiah prayed for years ago: "Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down ..." God has torn open the heavens and he has come down in the form of Jesus, the dove, and the spoken word. The dynamic for this revelation of God is the baptism of Jesus.

I’ve never performed a baptism where the heavens opened, a dove descended, and the authoritative voice of God spoke from on high. But I know from scripture that any baptism today performed as scripture teaches is no less significant in what it offers to our lives: identification with Jesus and his people.

Addendum

The following story isn’t about baptism, but it is about identification. I think it captures some of the thought of what it means to identify with Christ and others at a deep level. To identify with us, Jesus not only submitted to baptism, he submitted to emptying himself and leaving heaven to dwell for awhile on earth. He deprived himself and suffered for the sake of those he was seeking to redeem. Some of that is captured in the following story.

John Austin is 13 year old living in Hong Kong. Last week he was in a bike accident and received a corneal scratch. His eye bled and he had to go to a top pediatric ophthalmologist. The doctor told John’s parents that the scratch will heal and the blood clots drain. The blurry vision will go away and John will eventually see clearly again. But there is more to the story.

As John was suffering with his painful eye he received a text message from a Japanese girl and classmate of John’s. She wrote,"I know I am not a Christian, but I want you to know that I have been praying for you."

John Austin was thrilled and told his mother, "You know Mom, as bad as this is for me, it would sure be worth it if my friend came to know Christ because of my pain."

I would say this young man knows something about identification with Jesus and his people. He is willing to suffer for the kingdom, like Jesus, and he is willing to suffer for the redemption of others.

I think the Spirit of God must still be saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased." Anytime we so identify with God’s purposes and God’s people the heart of the Father is pleased.

(You can read about John Austin's story at Everyday Adventures in Faith).

Warren Baldwin

Taking A Pounding

Conversion of Paul
Acts 9:1-19

The Nail

A nail is only useful after it has been pounded on. Before that it is only an item-in-waiting, hidden away in some drawer or a tool box in a garage.

Sometimes we feel like a nail that is being pounded on. Events of life can often beat on us, battering our bodies and emotions. It may be an illness, financial woes, or mistreatment by other people. Why? Why do painful things happen to us?

1) Sometimes it is just life. There is no apparent reason except that "life happens."

2) It may be that we deserve some of the pounding. Some of our own behavior may be coming back to haunt us. Rudeness invites rudeness; lack of saving invites a gaunt retirement; laziness invites hunger.

3) It may be that we are the innocent victim of someone else’s evil. The evil are always looking for opportunities to take and harm. There have always been such people. "Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand." Micah 2:1

4) And it may be that God is pounding us to break our hard and stubborn hearts.

Paul’s Pharisaic Mission Work

When Paul set out on his mission trip he did so with a clear conscience and the full expectation that he was God’s righteous ambassador. But his heart and mouth was full of "murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples" (Acts 9:1). He was going to purge the synagogue of Damascus. If he found any in the synagogue who were Christians, he was going to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. There they would stand trial before the Sanhedrin.

This was not Paul’s first "mission work." When the preacher Stephen was killed with stones by angry Jews who rejected Jesus, Paul was there offering his full assistance. He watched over the clothing of the witnesses to Stephen’s death. These witnesses probably removed their outer robes to be better able to cast the stones. Paul approved of this murder (Acts 8:1).

The next we read of Paul is in chapter 9 when he begins his journey to Damascus to persecute Christians. But, there is a long gap between 8:1 and 9:1. In this gap Paul was on many other missions to harass Christians. That story is told in Acts 26:9-11:

I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

The fuller picture of Paul in Acts is that he was exactly what he describes in Philippians 3: proud, over-confident, self-righteous, and yet, amazingly, very religious.

If anyone thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more; circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. (Phil. 3:4a-6)


Religion vs. Relationship

One of the scariest things about religion is that it often serves to make us
feel righteous, even when we shouldn’t and
feel justified, even when aren’t.

As a Pharisee in good standing Paul saw it as his duty to uphold the tradition of the elders of Israel. This didn’t mean he preached and supported the Old Testament; it meant he stood for the very traditions Jesus condemned in Matthew 15:8-9. A host of traditions grew up in Israel. These traditions included issues of cleanliness, righteousness, who was in and who was outside of Israel, and fellowship.

In time, these traditions became even more important than scripture in dictating terms of faithfulness to Israel and standing with God. If a story from the Bible didn’t fit with their new traditions, Israel neglected them. So, Israel forgot some of the beautiful stories of God’s grace and compassion, like his care for the Gentile widow from Sidon (1 Kings 17:8-16) and the Gentile warrior, Naaman of Syria (2 Kings 5:1-14). God’s love extended to all people everywhere.

But the job of the Pharisee became to narrow the scope of God’s grace and mercy to just a few people. First, it was narrowed down to those of Israel. Then, it was narrowed down even finer, where only a chosen few within Israel were right. The Pharisees were able to dismiss many within Israel as a "mob that knows nothing of the law - there is a curse on them!" (John 7:49). How is that for a loving disposition by spiritual shepherds over Israel?

What the Pharisees missed was the relationship God desires to have with people. They were making a connection with God contingent on following the letter of the law perfectly, something no one could do. They reduced truth to formulas, rulings and creeds. They failed to see that at the heart of truth is a man: Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Yes, God calls for our obedience, and Jesus says that we will be his friend if will do what he says (John 14:23; 15:14). And what does Jesus call us to do? "A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).

God wants a relationship with us. He sent Jesus to be the basis and means of that relationship. This relationship would provide for eternal life, abundant life now and everlasting life later.

And Paul, along with many of the other Pharisees, missed that. He saw the Christians not properly following the Pharisaic laws, and he saw them following after this strange Galilean, Jesus, and he wanted to stop them, even punish them. He was full of zeal for the traditions of his fathers and thought he was in the right. Even when he helped kill the Christians.

How do you get the attention of someone like that?

The Hammer

A nail is only useful when it has been pounded and beaten. Prior to that, a nail serves no real purpose. But, pound that nail into a wall and you can hang a hat or picture on it. Pound enough nails into some lumber and you have a house. It is only through beating and pounding that a nail becomes truly useful.

I wonder if that isn’t why we sometimes get beaten and pounded in this life? God is trying to make us into something useful. Even if the observable reasons seem to be that it is just the misfortunes of life, or we deserve it, or we are victims, maybe the real reason is that God is shaping us.

Could that be what happened to Paul?

On the way to his Pharisaic "mission," a bright light flashed from heaven and blinded Paul. The voice that spoke to him said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." (Acts 9:5).

For three days Paul was blind. For three days he didn’t eat or drink. He had to be led around. Paul, the fiery, independent reformer bent on eradicating all signs of Christianity from Judaism, was reduced to a helpless, dependent child. The Bible gives us no indication of what he must have been thinking during those dark three days. Fear? Panic? Self-doubt? "Woe is me!"? We have no idea. But we know that he was helpless. Right now his self-righteous posture was failing him miserably.

Then the preacher came. Ananias laid hands on him. Paul’s eyes were healed and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately he got up and was baptized.

Why baptized? We know from other verses in the Bible that it has to do with sins being remitted (Acts 2:38) and being added to the body (1 Cor. 12:13). These certainly applied to Paul as well (Acts 22:16). And I think the immediate motivation for Paul is that he finally realized his legalistic righteousness availed him nothing. Everything of the flesh that he prided himself in - circumcision, pedigree, legalism and zeal - all failed him. Later, he considered all of these things as rubbish (dung, KJV; Phil. 3:8).

Baptism is a humbling experience. It means we accept that our own efforts to be righteous are not only insufficient, they are wrong. Legalistic righteousness, or self-righteousness, condemns. It keeps us from a saving relationship with Christ. Baptism means that we are no longer lord; Christ is now Lord (Romans 10:9).

In three days of humbling darkness Paul learned righteousness-by-law didn’t work, and he learned he wasn’t lord over his own circumstances anymore. He needed Jesus Christ. And when he received his sight he was baptized. Receiving his sight meant more than just seeing with his eyes; it seems to mean he could also see with his heart.

Paul was pounded on like a nail. And it hurt. But as a result of that pounding Paul became a Christian, and he became one of the greatest evangelists of the first century. The pounding he took made him into a useful instrument for the kingdom.

Useful Today?

Does that same principle of taking a beating work today? Can the things we suffer make us into useful instruments for God and other people?

I think of a young wife who lost her husband in the current war. He died of complications from his wounds four years after they occurred. During those four years she had the constant companionship of other wives whose husbands were severely wounded and handicapped. Now, she feels a separation from them. Also, her situation isn’t exactly like other wives whose husbands died over there and were brought back as heroes. She feels so alone she wrote an article about her experience. This woman has taken a terrible pounding that is so unfortunate and unfair. But she is finding something useful now. As a result of her writing she has found other widows in a similar situation, and she is building a whole new support system.

I have a friend who took a pounding from drugs. His health suffered. His finances suffered. He was arrested and taken to jail. He went in for rehab. Later he went on to college to get a counseling degree, and today he counsels other addicts.

You may be taking a beating today and think it is terribly unfair. And it may be. But it may also be a summons for you to see what God is trying to do in your life. For Paul it was to be baptized and become an evangelist. For a young widow it was to become a writer. For an addict it was to become a counselor. Instead of worrying and getting angry at the injustices in your life, ask instead, "God, where are you leading me?" And keep your heart open.

Warren Baldwin

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

FOUNTAIN OF LIFE

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

A preacher was in his office one afternoon when the phone rang. He picked it up and said, "Hello." A man’s voice on the other end asked, "Preacher, do you baptize at your church?" The preacher suspected either a prank call or a phone salesman. But he said politely, "Yes, in fact we do baptize." "Okay, well," the man continued, "do you have a problem with pond scum in your baptistery?" "Oh no," the preacher said, "we will baptize anybody."

He was a good preacher. I don’t necessarily mean by the way he handled the phone call. I mean by the theology of his answer. "We will baptize anybody."

This story appears in a popular e-mail. Even though it is meant to be a joke, it prompts the question, "Who may be baptized?"

People often have a sense that they have to be a certain kind of person to be baptized. They have to have a certain level of Bible knowledge, go to church so many years, and be "good" before they are worthy. Those individuals think they have to have the Bible, church, God, and everything else figured out. If they have all these ducks in a row, then they are ready.

I am glad to say that anybody who thinks that is wrong. Anybody who thinks they need to have all these things figured out is putting too much pressure on themselves. Preachers and teachers of the Bible don’t have all these things completely figured out! We are still studying and learning.
Baptism is for anybody at any point in his or her life who realize their need for God. They are ready when they realize the way they have been living is not the right way to live. When they believe Jesus Christ as the only one who has the complex answers to life and confess him as Lord of their life, they are ready to be baptized as an act of obedience to God’s rule over their lives.

Baptism really is for anybody and everybody. Even, as the caller asked the preacher, pond scum? I don’t like designating anybody by that kind of denigrating term. But I do need to tell you that anybody, no matter how badly they have lived their lives, can come to Christ for new life. That new life includes baptism. Romans 6:1–4 says that anyone who has been baptized has left their old life behind and is now living a new life.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, Paul writes that the sexually immoral, the idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, greedy, drunkards, slanderers, and cheaters would not inherit the kingdom of God. They would not see God, and they would not be with Jesus. However, Paul says that this does not have to be the final statement for their lives! They can leave those lifestyles, seek God, and be baptized, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus. Yes, baptism is for anybody. It is for anybody who realizes they are sinners, they are lost, and they need Jesus Christ.

I feel badly for people who get trapped in lifestyles that diminish their self-worth and leave them feeling used and broken. Drugs can do that. Crime. Sexual misbehavior. Disruptions in the family. Lying. These sins diminish us, makes us question our value, and can even make us despair of life. But I have a message for anyone who feels this way: those feelings do not have to be the final statement of your life. God promises you a new life in Jesus, and you can have it today, with God’s fountain of life.

Warren Baldwin

Baptism Part 1

Baptism Part 1

BAPTISM AND SALVATION

Acts 2:32-41

I was six years old when my parents were baptized. I watched them be immersed, completely submerged in water, a function the word itself implies. After the service a number of folks from church came to our home and visited with us. They were congratulating my parents and welcoming us into the family of God. I knew there was something special about baptism.

Baptism has always played a significant role among the people of God. Jesus was baptized and later commissioned his disciples to teach and baptize people (Matthew 28:19,20). The early church taught and baptized (Acts 2, 8 and 10) in the name of Jesus Christ. Today, we still proclaim the Gospel of Christ and baptize in his name. Several important things happen to the life of a person who submits himself to baptism in the name of Jesus.

In the first gospel sermon Peter makes a bold claim about Jesus. "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:32-36).

Three important affirmations are made about Jesus in these verses: He was raised to life from the dead, he was exalted to the right hand of God where he rules over his enemies and Jesus is Lord and Christ, meaning he is the chosen one of God.

Peter preached that Jesus is the one God sent to be Lord, ruler and savior of all men. In verse 21 Peter said, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." What did the people do with this lord, ruler and savior that God sent to the earth? They killed him. "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Verse 36)

How would you respond if you helped kill a man that you thought was only a common criminal, but he turned out to be the Lord of the universe? Would that shock you a bit? The Bible says, "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’" (Verse 37)

I’m not surprised they were cut to the heart and cried out, "What have we done?! What can we do?!" To be cut to the heart means you experience a searing emotional pain deep in your heart, a pain that is not easily extinguished or forgotten.

A Confederate soldier was engaged with the Union enemy when he heard the approach of horses behind him. Thinking he was being hemmed in by approaching enemy soldiers he turned and shot. His lead found a home and the rider fell from his horse. When the Confederate soldier approached the fallen man he found it wasn’t a Union soldier lying on the ground. No, it was Stonewall Jackson, a Confederate General. Can you imagine the stabbing sensation in the heart of that young soldier? "I didn’t kill an enemy! I killed one of the greatest leaders of my own country! What can I do?! Where can I hide?!"

That might be what the people felt when Peter told them, "You know that itinerant preacher you killed? The guy in common clothes who ate with tax collectors and sinners? Well, he is the Son of God exalted to the right hand of the Father."

When they said, "What can we do," I don’t think they were asking a question of salvation. I think they thought they were doomed. The south never recovered from the loss of Stonewall Jackson. I wonder if these men thought Israel would ever recover from the loss of the leader they killed.

Peter replied to the men, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Verse 38).

Repentance and baptism are not new terms to these people. The Jews practiced baptism in the first century for cleansing from sin.1 They would be familiar with John the Baptist: "He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." (Luke 3:3). John preached that repentance and baptism were for the remission of sins, meaning the forgiveness of sins. Sin is what separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1,2) and condemns us (Romans 6:23). These sins are washed away in repentance and baptism.

Some controversy hinges on the meaning and interpretation of the word, "for." The word here is Eis, meaning "for" or "into," as in, "for the remission of sins" or "into the remission of sins." Our baptism is so that we may receive the remission or forgiveness of sins.

Some people understand baptism to occur after salvation. They translate Eis as "because of," as in "because of the remission of sins." They believe we are saved when we ask Jesus into our hearts and following that "experience" we are baptized as a sign of our salvation, "because of the remission of sins" which is already ours by virtue of the believer’s prayer.

It is interesting to compare Acts 2:38 with Matthew 26:38 where Jesus says, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Would anyone interpret this to say that Jesus was going to offer blood because of the remission of sins?

Here are the two statements side by side from the Greek:
Acts 2:38 - Eis aφεσιν τäν aμαρτιäν ßμäν - for (or into) remission of your sins.
Matt. 26:28 - Eis aφεσιν aμαρτιäν - for (or into) remission of sins.

Matthew 26:28 would not make sense understood as "because of." Why would Jesus shed his blood if we already had remission of sins? "For" makes more sense here, understanding Jesus’ blood as the cleansing agent for sin. Consistency would lead us to translate Eis as "for" or "into" salvation in Acts 2:38.2

There is another perspective in Acts 2:38 to consider. It is the statement, "in the name of Jesus Christ." Repentance and baptism find significance for us only if they are experienced in the name of Jesus Christ. Why is that significant?

John’s baptism lacked something. In Luke 3:16 John said, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." John’s baptism lacked the active agency of the Holy Spirit. John’s baptism was of God. It had efficacy - effectiveness - for remissions of sins. But it lacked the power of the Holy Spirit that the baptism of Jesus would have.

Peter says, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." This is the baptism of Christ: "In the name of Jesus Christ." It is in his name that we confess and are baptized. It is in his name we receive the forgiveness of sins. It is in his name that we receive something those baptized by John did not receive: the Holy Spirit.

There is great emphasis in Acts chapter 2 on the Holy Spirit. In ...
- 2:4 the Spirit comes upon those in the house and they began to speak in tongues.
- 2:5-12 Jews who spoke other languages were amazed because they understood what the Apostles were saying.
- 2:17 Peter quotes from the Old Testament about how God will pour out his Spirit on all people.
- 2:33 Peter says Jesus has poured out the Holy Spirit on the worship service at Pentecost.
- 2:38 the Bible says if the people will repent and be baptized, they will receive the forgiveness of their sins and the Holy Spirit.

I think the Holy Spirit is doing two things in this story and in other conversion stories in Acts. One, He is confirming the preaching of the Gospel. The Holy Spirit confirms God’s means of salvation for all. Two, He is empowering the Apostles and other Christians for the life of transformation and preaching they will be called upon to live for Christ.

The apostles were living in difficult days! They were living in days of rebellion, unrest and war. Soon Israel would be in a war against Rome. Men’s emotions would be pulled in two directions: national defense or extending the kingdom. How would they survive the pulls and tugs on their faith that society imposes? The Holy Spirit.

These men had to be saved from two things, just like we do. One, they had to be saved from their sins. Two, they had to be saved from their own corrupt society. Look at verse 40: "With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’" Repentance and baptism usher in the cleansing of God, and the Holy Spirit keeps us in safe territory. It had to be a stirring day.

On the day a soldier found he killed General Stonewall Jackson there could be nothing but frustration and sense of tremendous loss. Cry all day, "What shall I do?!" and there would be no answer. But on the day the men in Acts 2 found out they killed the Christ there was more than frustration and sense of loss. There was salvation. "Those who accepted the message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number." (Verse) 41). Praise God!

On the day we discover we are dying in sin, suffocating by personal choices and a culture that lives in rebellion against God, we feel frustration and loss. But there can be more. "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Warren Baldwin

Notes:
1.See Allen Black, "Mark" in The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press, 1995), pp.42-43.
2.Other verses mentioning baptism for washing away sin and salvation are Acts 22:16 and 1 Peter 3:21. Cf. also 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 and Titus 3:3-5.

Baptism Part 3

Baptism Part 3

BAPTISM AND TRANSFORMATION

A 40 year old friend who lived in open rebellion for years started going to church. He was an alcoholic in the early stages of recovery but his family life was suffering due to his neglect and abuse. He was in a last-ditch attempt to keep his family together. He hoped church would help.

After attending services and studying my friend decided to get baptized. I did a lesson on Jesus’ baptism and temptation, showing how soon after Jesus was baptized the devil assaulted him but Jesus still emerged victoriously. My friend heard the part about the devil assaulting Jesus but not the part about Jesus’ victory. He told me, "If the devil is going to attack me more AFTER I am baptized like he did Jesus, I don’t know if I want to get baptized. The devil has attacked me enough already. I can’t handle any more."

The devil has an established reputation for attacking God’s people. Satan asked God, "Does Job fear God for nothing?" (Job 1:9) and then mounted his attack against the righteous man. If Satan attacked Jesus and Job, we can expect that he will assault us when we follow Jesus.

In Acts 8 the Ethiopian Eunuch is reading Isaiah the prophet and Philip comes to study with him. After some discussion the Eunuch asks, "Look, here is water, why shouldn’t I be baptized?" Philip submerges the Eunuch and he comes up clean and whole. The story ends with the Eunuch going on his way rejoicing ( Acts 8:39).

But does the story does not end here. The Eunuch was happy at that moment because he was washed clean of sin. He felt the euphoria we do at our baptisms. But the story couldn’t have ended here because he goes back home. He would go back to his job. Frustrations would overwhelm him. He would get angry. Unbelievers would mock him. Greed, lust and selfishness would make their presence known. The devil would attack. The Eunuch would discover that even though he was cleansed from sin, sin was not done with him. Sin would find him. There would be a struggle. Sin would not easily give up its hold on the rejoicing Eunuch.

We know that struggle, don’t we? Paul addresses that struggle in Romans 6:1-4. "Shall we continue in sin?" Why would someone even ask that? Because of a misunderstanding of grace.

"Where sin increased, grace increased all the more" (Romans 5:20). Some people think Paul is saying that the more sin there is the more grace there is to cover that sin. So the more we sin, the more grace there is. Since grace is good, let’s go ahead and sin more so we’ll have more of the presence of God! Sounds like a great idea!

Think about cleaning up a mess on your kitchen counter. Tomato sauce, melted chocolate and ice tea have stained the white counter top. You spray a cleaner and wipe. After a little while the counter top is clean again. Imagine when you are finished someone coming in to the kitchen and saying, "Hey, I can’t believe the difference since you have cleaned! That cleaner works! The bigger the mess the more cleaner you need and the greater the cleaning job looks. Let’s spread some more sauce, chocolate and tea around, and even get some on the stove and floor, so you can really clean up. If a little cleaner is good, a lot of cleaner has to be very good." That is what some people are saying about grace in Romans five and six.

But Paul says, "No way! We have died to sin; so how can we live in it any longer!" (6:2) Dying to sin means it no longer dominates us. Sin is no longer an important factor in our lives. We now identify with Christ and live for him so we don’t dream of or live for sinful encounters. Living for fun and pleasure is something we left. We now live for Christ.

Randal is an example of someone who died to sin. Randal was a rock-n-roll musician. His band played in bars. Feeling empty, he started looking at spiritual things and was eventually baptized. Soon after he quit the rock-n-roll band and music. Why? Because he didn’t like music anymore? No. He knew that for him music was a tie in to a lifestyle he died to: the rock music, the bars, the crowd. Today Randal preaches.

How did Randal die to the sin in his life? How do we die to the sin in our lives? Romans 6:3-4 answers that. "Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore 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."
In baptism we share in Christ’s death and in his resurrection. Our old man dies in baptism; we rise to live a new life. That new life will be complete at the final resurrection.

Galatians 6:6-7 makes very clear the relationship we have to sin now that we have been baptized:
- Our old self was crucified.
- The body of sin was done away.
- We are no longer slaves to sin.
- We have died, so we are free from sin.

You may be thinking, "Hey, I still struggle with sin so how can I be free from it?" Even though we are Christians sin isn’t finished with us yet. It wants to find a chink in the spiritual armor and exploit it. Sin wants to win.

But Jesus isn’t finished with us, either. "If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him" (6:8). "Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ" (6:11). There are two opposing wills vying for our attention: sin and Christ. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ.

Notice how Paul brings this to a close in verses 12 to 14:
- "Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires."
- "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God ... and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness."
- For sin will not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

These three verses say that the lust for pleasure no longer rules us. We now have a reason and the strength to say, "No." Whether it is gambling, lying, partying, viewing pornography, cheating, gossiping, harboring anger, nursing resentment, being jealous or envious, all of these sinful attitudes and behaviors are now repulsive to us. There is no way we can engage in any of these attitudes or behaviors and feel good about them. Guilt overwhelms us. Even as we lie or cheat we know it is wrong. Our conscience condemns us.

These three verses also combine to say that we offer our bodies to righteousness. Randal could no longer take his body into a bar where there was entertainment that could endanger his soul or others’. His conscience condemned him so he quit and instead took his body and mind to prayer, Bible study and worship. He dedicated himself to his wife and family. He gave all of his love and energy to serve people in a healthy way. Randal is alive to Christ. He has been and is being transformed from a man of the world to a man of God.

How does this happen? How can we work to keep sin at bay and live faithfully for Christ? One, realize the power of God that is at work in your life and body. You are saved and sustained by grace. Secondly, remember that you live a new life. Jesus died so you no longer have to be a slave to sin. Finally, remember that sin is disgusting and hateful. It will condemn us eternally. We want to be rid of it. So don’t desire in your heart to go back to it.

Our needs are met in Christ. A great part of our victory is found in trusting that truth.

Warren Baldwin