Wet with Water
“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 6:4 NASB)
so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life.”
What makes baptism, the immersion of a person into the water, a pivotal moment in a person’s life?
Mainly: Why should a believer in Jesus be baptized?
When I was a baby, my parents attended a church where babies were sprinkled. I was present, but because I was so small, I do not remember the experience. Maybe I cried; maybe I blinked the water from my eyes.
Why did my parents ask the pastor to sprinkle me when I was a baby?
- It was a dedication to the Lord.
Nothing more, nothing less.
- I was not saved by the power of God’s amazing grace.
- I did not suddenly know Jesus as my Savior.
- I was not suddenly a believer, a Christian, or a child of God.
Truly, when I was sprinkled as a newborn baby—
- My parents dedicated me to God &
- They began the path as godly parents leading me to know God.
Thus, when I was sprinkled as a newborn baby, I was ‘dedicated’ to God, but it was not spiritual baptism—I merely got my head wet.
Wet with Water is just that—Wet!
When I was fifteen, when I surrendered my heart to Jesus during a fall revival, I was “buried with Him through baptism into death.” This was totally different since this decision marks the beginning step of a believer’s life. To the watching world, a believer’s baptism reveals so much.
To the watching believers, baptism declares a public identification—I am a child of God & I identify with other Christians around the world. My public baptism declared—I am a sister-in-Christ. I belonged to the family of God.
To those in the congregation who are watching non-believers, baptism declares a change—I have died to sin and raised to new life. I am by the power of God a changed person. My public baptism declared—My behaviors, actions, conversations are to reflect the Lord I am committed to serve.
Baptism shouts volumes to the watching world!
Therefore, if a person is baptized without conversion, then the person merely gets wet.
However, if a person is baptized after conversion, then the person is “buried with Him through baptism into death”.
“Therefore[WHEN] we have been buried with Him through baptism into death,
(The Letter of Paul to the Romans 6:4 NASB)
[WE SAY SO MUCH TO THOSE PEOPLE WATCHING]
so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,
so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Public baptism reveals so much to those watching—who we are in Christ Jesus. Just as Jesus resurrected from the dead, we too will resurrect from the dead, but until that day, we are to walk forward in this earthly body, FULLY ALIVE PHYSICALLY & SPIRITUALLY.
- Our Life Becomes His!
- Our Focus Becomes Him!
- Our Will Becomes His Will!
When we give our heart to Jesus & when we choose to be baptized in Christ, we are NOT JUST—wet with water.
”we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, . . .”
So much changes!
This life-change comes through our spiritual conversion—from once walking as an unbeliever to now living as a believer because of Jesus’ work on the cross and in the tomb.
The apostle Paul helps us understand this better in The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. I encourage us to read this next passage slowly, fully understanding the implication of JUST WHAT JESUS HAS DONE FOR US ON THE CROSS & IN THE TOMB!
“So also is the resurrection of the dead.
(The 1st Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 15: 42-49 NASB)
It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;
it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.”
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
The first man is from the earth, earthy;
the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy;
and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”