Baptism Redux

I realized, after promising in yesterday's blog and vlog to talk about baptism today that I had already written about it thoroughly, back in February of this year, when I was deep into the book of Romans!

You can find that blog post here:

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-good-dunkin.html

It is actually one of my most personal and one of my favorites.  I hope you'll go read it, if you didn't read it a few months ago.

However, I do just want to add that Paul again reiterates what he wrote to the Romans in his letter to the Colossians, in 2:12 - -

12Having been buried with him in baptism, you also have been raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

Paul obviously believed strongly in the symbolism of putting the person "under the water" to symbolize their "dying to self" and their "living unto Christ".

"Raised to walk in newness of life..."  Such beauty!

A Good Dunkin'

Ok, I know that some of you came to read this post because you believed you'd be reading about doughnuts, didn't you?  I admit to some literary subterfuge ... I hope you'll forgive me.  In reality, we are studying Romans 6.  Not a doughnut.  But, Psalm 19:10 says that God's words are "sweeter than honey from the honeycomb".  Better than a doughnut!

There are 3 themes in this chapter:
1.  Should we practice sin with abandon, because the grace of Jesus Christ covers them all?
2.  Should we practice baptism ("dunkin' " in the Baptist church)?
3.  Should we enslave ourselves to righteous living?  Do we have that choice?

I remember my own baptism, at nine years of age.  It was an early August day, hot!  My little church had had a revival a few days before, and I had made my profession of faith in Jesus Christ at the end of one of the services.  I had decided to follow Jesus.  We were baptized in a large, deep creek called Moss's Mill.  At one time, in the late 1800s, a grist mill was powered by the waters swiftly flowing there.

Baptists "dunk" their new believers, after they have chosen Jesus Christ.  In other words, if you've never witnessed it, they literally submerge them briefly in water.  Admittedly, this is intimidating for some new believers.  However, it is critically important.

3Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.

Romans 6:3-4 NET

It is these verses which speak to Baptists about submerging the new believer.  Often, and I love this part, the minister speaks words like these as he baptizes:  "Buried in the likeness of Christ's death, raised to walk in newness of life!"  The first phrase is spoken as the person is dunked, and the second as he or she is brought back up out of the water.  In this way, baptism only follows the life-altering decision to choose to follow Jesus Christ, and it serves as a witness to others about Christ's finished work applied to a believer's life.

Oh, but I didn't finish telling you about my own baptism.  Things went great until I was walking out of the water to encounter my younger brother. He smarted off with some asinine remark and I responded with a biting, cutting retaliation of my own.  Ahhhh, my "flesh" raised its ugly head!

No, after my baptism I did not magically get transformed into a sinless being.  Oh, positionally, God sees me as sinless, because He looks at me through the scrim of Jesus's blood.  But, in my life walk here on earth, I still battle with sin, daily.  All believers do!  We are tempted to just give in to temptation and live as our old, fleshly nature dictates.  Wouldn't that be easy to do?  Paul makes it plain, however, that this is not God's plan for the believer.

15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were entrusted to, 18and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.

Romans 6:15-18 NET

So, it is obvious from this passage that we have a choice as to what we are going to "present ourselves as slaves".  Will we fight (and it IS a battle) to present ourselves as slaves to righteous living that glorifies our God?  Or, will we present ourselves as slaves to immoral, ungodly living, which leads to a quicker physical death?

If we choose the latter, we are either not truly redeemed, or we will reap the consequences of walking habitually in unrighteousness.  For the unbeliever, sin leads to both physical and spiritual death.  For the Christian, spiritual death has been taken out of the equation; however, our sins are certainly "death choices" here in the natural world.  This is the message of Romans 6:21-23 (NET):

21So what benefit did you then reap from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22But now, freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23For the payoff of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I'll give you an example.  One of my areas of continual temptation is in what I choose to eat.  From the moment I awake to the moment I lie down to sleep at night, I fight a sugar addiction.  (Full disclosure, I am about 15 pounds overweight for my height.)  Now, most of the time I do really well, making good choices.  My "witching hour", however, comes after dinner, in the hours before I go to bed.  When I am fresh and rested, in the mornings for example, I easily make great food choices.  I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and occasionally eat some meat.  I avoid dairy usually, because I have a dairy allergy.
Oh, but sugar....sugar calls my name.  And, after dinner, "it's on like donkey kong", as Si Robertson likes to say.  The battle reaches a fever pitch.

Now, this may not sound like a "big thing" to you.  But, every believer's "sin pothole" is different. We are all tempted by many things.  Whatever our area of strong temptation, we must fight it with all that is in us.  Basically, when I choose that sugary treat (or treats), I am not only being disobedient; I am hastening my own physical death.  That equates to fewer days here to serve Him.  And, for me, it is sin.

Maybe this post was about doughnuts after all....  :)

Father, thank you for the beautiful symbolism you gave us in Christ's baptism, and also for what our own baptism signifies in our lives.  When Satan grips us, it is so hard to "walk in newness of life"! Help us, Holy Spirit! Mold us to be slaves to righteousness, to walking ... resplendent!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Of W.A. Trotman

Good morning,

When you get my age sometimes you really have to stop and think (especially at this time of morning).  So, I was thinking, "Who DID baptize me?"  Then, I remembered!  It was in August of 1967, at Moss's Mill in the Hollingsworth community, after an August revival.  This particular summer revival was preached by my home church pastor, Rev. W.A. Trotman.  I don't know if our little church was too cheap to bring in a visiting pastor or not....Regardless, I distinctly remember both the night I threw my lot in for Jesus and also the hot, hot afternoon I was baptized.  Our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.

10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Paul is beginning to "dig in" here and address the specific issues going on in the church of Corinth. He names as the most fundamental issue that the church had begun to be divided according to who had baptized whom.  And, what, most likely was at the root of that?  Pride.  "Well, I was baptized by Paul!"  "Did you know that Apollos baptized me?"  And so forth.  Stinky, old pride!  It is no accident that we read in Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) - - -

Pride goes before destruction,

And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Bible-believing ministers today do not baptize in their own name, heaven forbid!  (If you are in a church where that is done, you'd better run...and FAST!)  Most often, the minister who is baptizing a new convert says something similar to this:
"Based on your profession of faith, I baptize you, my (brother or sister) in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Buried in the likeness of His death, raised to walk in newness of life."
At least, that is what is spoken in the Baptist denomination.  But, the most key point is that the person is baptized in the Name that most accurately describes our Triune God, Father, Son, Spirit, not in the name of a man, which seems to have been occurring in the Corinthian church.

So, senseless, prideful divisions have been the trend in local congregations since the early church, have they not?  That does not make such behavior Christ-honoring.  It is not hard to see how these prideful divisions led to a fractured gospel and to the people diving off into further sin.

Today, we still tend to have divisions in the local church, and should pray to the Lord that these be minimized, for the glory of God (rather than for the glory of man).  Even worse, we have many Christian denominations, some who have a less-accurate interpretation of the Scriptures than others. For example, whether to "sprinkle" or "pour" in baptism is less an issue than whether we should worship the Virgin Mary and pray to her.

The more opaque the Scriptures are about a teaching, the greater the propensity for divisions and spiritual pride.  An example of this would be "when the Rapture will occur", or even if there will BE a Rapture (some believe that).  I think that is fine to study the Scriptures and form an opinion.  But, remember, the Pharisees completely missed the Savior, and they studied the Scriptures harder than anyone (supposedly).  So, I think that a heaping helping of humility is called for when the Scriptures are not perfectly clear.

One thing we must be clear on is this:  there is one gospel, and that is the saving gospel of God's grace toward us, only through His Son, Jesus Christ.  Grace which leads to us putting our total faith in Jesus Christ's finished work: faith plus....nothing.  Let's all "speak" that and be of one mind (vs. 10).

You know, I was reading the other day and was rather appalled to discover that some Bible teacher was putting forth that Peter preached one gospel of Jesus Christ and that Paul preached another. (SMH - - - which, for the uninitiated means "shaking my head".)  This is not of God, Y'all.  This is the very thing that Paul was warning against in this passage!

Spiritual discernment followed by obedience with humility and brotherly love lead to unity.  Yes!

Father, You and I both know that zeal for my Savior can sometimes be contaminated by pride.  I know it better than most.  Help us to be watchful of that horrible, sinful pit and to recognize when we are about to step (or have stepped) into it.  Lift us out, by Your strong arm, and forgive us for when our pride has harmed our relationship with You and caused division in Your Body, the Church. In Jesus' name, amen.