What is the Meaning of Baptism?
In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, . . . ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead.(Colossians 2:11-12, ESV)
Baptism can be very confusing to some. On occasion I hear parents whose children are no longer following Christ try to comfort themselves with the fact that their adult child had been baptized at an earlier age. How is it that some have come to think that if either they or their children just get baptized, then they will be right with God?
I am first and foremost a follower of Christ, a Christian. I am also a Baptist by conviction, and I believe the Bible teaches believer’s baptism by immersion. Having said this, I know there are many Presbyterian brethren with whom I share many theological convictions, but they baptize infants. The truth be told, many of my theological heroes, past and present, baptized infants. Baptism should not be a doctrine that divides genuine believers who embrace and defend the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Christians must be able to discuss their differences with integrity and respect, realizing that we all have theological “blind spots.” Nevertheless, I address baptism out of a concern for those who mistakenly place confidence for their eternal security upon baptism. There are those who think that because they’ve been baptized, they can go on living like the world and still go to heaven. One thing that my Presbyterian friends who baptize infants and I agree with, is the fact, borne out by Scripture, that baptism does not save you.
Beginning with John the Baptist, the New Testament teaches the need for repentance before baptism. If baptism accomplished the washing away of sins, then why did John tell those who were coming for baptism to make sure they brought forth fruit in keeping with repentance (Luke 3:8)? The New Testament bears this truth out, recording only the baptisms of those who professed faith in Christ. Remember, Peter said repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38); notice the order of the commands. Beyond this circumstantial evidence, however, is the meaning of baptism. Paul notes that baptism symbolizes our burial with Christ (Colossians 2:12), or to put it another way, it symbolizes that we have died to the old way of living (i.e. sin no longer has power over us, Romans 6:2-4). But not only does baptism represent the believer’s death to sin’s power, baptism symbolizes that we have been raised up with Christ (Colossians 2:12) to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4). What is significant is that Paul says this resurrection happens through faith (Colossians 2:12). Baptism is an outward expression of the faith of the one being baptized. Baptism symbolizes the inner spiritual work which Christ has accomplished in the believer.
So, don’t depend on baptism to get you into heaven; depend on Christ. It is Christ who saves; it is Christ who forgives; it is Christ who empowers us to live a life of obedience. Jesus said, whoever comes to Me I will in no way cast out. If you have come to Christ in faith and repentance, then be baptized as a public testimony of what Christ has accomplished in your life.
Love,
Pastor Juan
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