August 2, 2024
It is August at the United Church of Colchester. That means that it will soon be time for our annual Baptismal service in Lake Champlain at the Sand Bar State Park. And as such, discussions begin to crop up about the meaning and significance of baptism. For many of us, we first encounter baptism in the Bible in connection with John the Baptist.
Luke 3: 1-3 In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar - when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitus, and Lysanian tetrarch of Abilene - during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
In lesson 3 of our online Bible study of the Gospel of John, we saw that John adapted a part of the process by which a Gentile became a Jew and said that it applied to everyone. All needed to repent of their sins and be washed clean, so to speak..
Mark 1: 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him (John The Baptist). Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
Our next encounter with baptism in the Bible is when Jesus, himself, is baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan.
Matthew 3: 13-17; 4: 1 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. 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." Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert ...
As we saw in the fourth lesson of our online Bible study of the Gospel of John, Jesus used this event to begin his formal ministry on earth. It was where God the Father identified Jesus as His Son, and thereby where He was publicly identified as the Messiah. It was after this event that John the Baptist would redirect his followers to follow Jesus instead.
John 1: 29 The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
From these verses we see that baptism is associated with repentance, forgiveness (taking away sins), and public alignment with God's plan for Jesus' ministry. Because these themes are so integral to what it means to be Christian, it is not surprising that Jesus instructed the disciples just before His ascension:
Matthew 28: 19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
The rich symbolism in baptism of the cleansing of the water, the going under and rising up again, and newness of life sensation as you rise back up out of the water have made it the way most Christian churches initiate new believers into the body of the church.
At its most basic, BAPTISM is an outward (public) DECLARATION by a believer that they have undergone a three step internal process of:
1. REPENTANCE from sins
2. ACCEPTANCE of God's grace and forgiveness, and
3. SUBMISSION to the Lordship of Jesus Christ (obey what He has commanded)
Baptism marks the personal identification with Christ. When we come to believe in Jesus' saving grace and accept His Lordship over our personal lives, our lives become united with that of Christ. We begin a journey of faith, united with Christ. We renounce sin and give our loyalty and service to Christ. Through the symbolism of baptism we identify with Christ's death and resurrection. As Paul put it:
Romans 6: 3-7, 11 Or 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. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin . . . . In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Baptism also marks the entrance into the Christian family. Believers in Christ need a spiritual family - a family of faith in Jesus. We are brothers and sisters in Christ and we need each other to grow in this faith. Being baptized marks a beginning of a journey of faith together with the family of Christian believers. Baptism in a sense seals the Christian union of brotherly love in service to God. Paul named our baptism as one of the things that unifies the body of Christian believers:
Ephesians 4: 4-6 There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to one hope when you were called - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Lastly, baptism is a public confession of faith. The nature of baptism is that it is a public act. When a believer is baptized, he or she is giving a public testimony of his or her faith in Jesus, as others are witnessing this public identification with Christ and the Christian church. Jesus taught His disciples the importance of living their faith in public as well as in private. Jesus challenged His disciples to confess their faith before others and to walk before others as His disciples.
Matthew 16: 15 "But what about you?" he (Jesus) asked. "Who do you say that I am?" (Click here to also see the sermon on this verse from Oct 16, 2022)
Amen.
Please feel free to share this DeacoNote with a friend, or post a related thought in the Comments below.
Your Brother in Christ,
Warren
Warren J. Ayer, Jr.
Chairperson, Board of Deacons
United Church of Colchester
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