THE BLESSING OF BAPTISM
Galatians 3:27
Many churches, like Calvary Chapel Palos Verdes, will be holding baptisms around Easter. As we celebrate the reality of the resurrection of our Lord, it is a marvelous time to baptize those who have come into the family, but have not yet taken this step of faith.
For many it is an act of faith without clear understanding.
What is baptism and why do Christians get baptized?
Do I need to be baptized to be saved?
The clear answer to the last question is no. Baptism does not save us and is not necessary for salvation. Paul makes this clear in the book of 1 Corinthians, when he disclaims not having baptized many in Corinth, but that he was not sent to baptize but to preach.
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Our salvation is in the cross of Christ and the faith we put in His sacrifice for redemption. By grace alone we are saved, through faith, and this is a gift from God. No act on our part, including being baptized will save us.
And yet, it was Jesus himself who commanded us to baptize.
In Matthew 28:18-20 we read:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
So what is baptism and why do we do it?
While baptism does not save us, it is a wonderful declaration and reminder that we have been saved. Baptism is an opportunity to make a public proclamation of our faith while simultaneously engaging in a physical act which commemorates our salvation -- providing a wonderful symbolic reminder to ourselves and hopefully assisting us in identifying ourselves with Christ.
Galatians 3:27 tells us:
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
This is the point. When we are baptized we are encouraged to see ourselves participating in the death, burial and most importantly the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Colossians 2:12 tells us:
…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.
Like Easter, the day of our baptism becomes a testimony to our resurrected Lord and the reality that He lives in us. It allows us to identify with Jesus, who has identified Himself with us by taking on human form; living as a man with all the weaknesses and temptations that entails; and then, having lived the perfect sinless life, nonetheless becoming sin and enduring the cross to take upon Himself the judgment that was due to all of us.
Having paid the price for sin, He invites all who have accepted His sacrifice and confessed Him as Lord, to symbolically partake in His death, so that we might see ourselves as enrobed in His righteousness as we arise from the baptismal water.
So for all those who may get baptized in this Easter season
I congratulate your for your obedience to Christ, your public declaration of faith, and your identification with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
As arise anew and have enrobed yourself in Christ, take comfort not only that you are a new creature alive with God, renewed in spirit and cleansed by His blood. But take particular comfort from Jesus’ promise and let your baptism, in which you have enrobed yourself with Christ, be a reminder that He is with you always even to the very end of the age.