Providence Presbyterian

What is Baptism?

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Lessson 8

You walk into a Christian Church service, & during the service the Minister stands up & starts talking about something called Baptism. He then takes a little baby, & sprinkles or pours water on the baby's head in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit. What has just happened? What does it all mean? These are good questions, & they ought to be asked by all who see this mysterious rite being performed. Let me see if I can address these questions in an understandable fashion.

First, as Christians, we claim to be followers of Christ. In so far that this is true, then we joyfully comply with what He has told us to do. Two things He has told us to do are what we call Baptism & the Lord's Supper. We'll leave the Lord's Supper for another time, & talk here only about Baptism.

Baptism is something that Christ has specifically given us to observe. So, what is it about? Obviously, when you see a baptism, you see one major element - water. Water has rich Biblical meaning, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Much of it focuses around life, cleansing, washing away filth, & in at least one case, specifically refers to God, the Holy Spirit ("Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive;" - John 7.37-39). So the use of water is symbolic, pointing to other things beyond itself.

With this Biblical background in mind, let me break down three aspects of Baptism, & then explain them. This will help us to get it's importance in bite size chunks.

Identity:

When the minister pours out the water on a person, he always does so in the Name of the Father, & the Son & the Holy Spirit ("And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." Matthew 28.18-20). Here He is invoking God the Almighty upon the person he is baptizing. This is important for it shows publicly that this person no longer belongs to the unbelieving world. That this child or adult is not a Muslim, Jehovah's Witness, Hindu, etc. But now this person belongs to Holy God.

Family:

But not only does a person now belong to God, publicly, she also now belongs to God's Church. She has become publicly identified with God's people. You enter into solidarity with the people of God throughout the ages ("For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:26-29). & this solidarity is seen in the local expression of the covenant people of God, the Church. The importance of this is that you now belong. You now have a history & a story. That story you've become a part of is bigger than your little moment (which helps to keep you humble), & it is cosmically significant (which means you have meaning, as you have become intertwined in God's story). You have a family history that goes back for thousands of years - a history that is honest (where the good, the bad & the ugly are all there); but a history that's going somewhere of maximal consequence - into the arms of God!

Union:

One more aspect of Baptism is that it is all about your being united to Christ - in His death, & in His everlasting Life. This is often not thought about in Baptism, but the Holy Scriptures declare it loud & clear. Here is the unambiguous statement of Scripture:

"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:1-11)

This physical act of Baptism, is a declaration of your union with Christ in His death (His death was not for His own sin, but to slaughter yours!); & your union with Him in His Indestructible Life. & this has consequences to the way you live. For Paul tells these Christians to remember that their baptism puts them with Christ, & therefore, there must be a corresponding response in the way they live.

Hopefully this will give you a better idea about this religious rite. There is meaning to it's symbolism, & there's substance in its use. Ultimately, the pinnacle, the high point, is Christ. This is all about who Christ is & what He has done for His people.

If you'd like to know more, Check out this other article: A Simple Study of Infant Baptism. Or feel free to call the church office.

Lesson 9: Infant Baptism Study>>

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