What is baptism?
Baptism is one of very the last things Jesus commanded his disciples to do before He returned to His Father. In baptism, Jesus created the means to enter His Church.
To get technical, baptism is one of the two sacraments Christ gave us for assuring us that we are His. (The other is communion). Baptism has two parts: water and the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Pretty simple stuff on the surface.
Wait, back up: what’s a sacrament?
Think of it this way: a sermon is suppose to tell you that in Christ you are saved, that you have died with Him and been raised to new life in Him, and that you are called to live into that new life. A sacrament like baptism is supposed to show you that. Some people are just more visual, after all.
Show me that? How?
No matter how wet you get – whether you are dunked in the water or sprinkled with water – the imagery is that of being covered, of being buried, even. And that’s the truth being shown to you in baptism: you are being buried with Christ, you are sharing in His death. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Rom 6:3 ESV)
So…I’m dead?
Well, you were dead already. You were a dead man walking (or dead woman walking), because the moment you were born you were on a one-way road to death. “In Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:22 ESV). But in baptism you share in Christ’s death and that changes everything, because that also means you share in His resurrection: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4 ESV)
Newness of life? That’s cool. So I’ll be nicer to my spouse and kids? They’ll like that. Oh, and I’m definitely getting my kids baptized to keep them out of trouble when they’re teenagers.
Well, that’s not exactly how it works, but it wouldn’t hurt to try to be nicer. And I wish you the best of luck with your kids, by the way.
Unfortunately, baptism is not in itself transformative. Boatloads of people get baptized and don’t always show all that much “newness of life.” To paraphrase the British evangelical, J. C. Ryle, the true changing of a person’s heart and character is a work of the Holy Spirit, and that’s an ongoing project in this life.
However, two good things to keep in mind:
(1) in baptism, God has admitted us into the best place to grow into this new identity in Christ – the Church; and
(2) the more we cling to God’s promises to us in baptism – rather than our own schemes for making ourselves happy (that old road towards death) – the more we’ll want to change and the more we will grow into who God wants us to be.
Cling to God’s promises in baptism? Like what?
In baptism, God shows you His rock-solid, iron-clad guarantee to you in Christ:
- that you share in the death and resurrection of His Son
- that you are His
- that new life now and eternal salvation is yours for the having
- and that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38–9 ESV).
When the great 16th-century Reformer, Martin Luther, felt the devil tempting him to doubt his salvation, he would shake his fist at him and declare, “You can’t touch me – I’m baptized!”
That’s pretty cool.
Yes, it is!
But wait, when I look at the baptism service, I see a lot of promises that I have to make. What about those?
Technically, the baptism proper is the water, the words, and the promise of God those two things show you.
You make promises because you are embarking on a new life with a new destination (eternal life, not death). Your promises describe what walking down that road looks like and state your intention and desire to do so.
In truth, your keeping of your baptismal promises will probably be spotty at times, but God’s promises to you in baptism are unwavering. No matter how you are in keeping your promises, you can always lean on and return to God’s promises to you. His promises will never fail.
But what about my kid? The most my kid can intend to do is to yell for food, or a new diaper, or an extra blanket. How is a kid able to do this?
Like a lot of things at this point in their lives, you as parent are going to do it for them. You are going to raise your children walking down that road of life in Christ, away from the road of death, right? You are going to choose this path for them anyway and this path begins with baptism. As parents, this is your choice and your call, and one even more important than what school they will go to, what extracurricular activities they will join, or what hockey team they will cheer for. (That last one might be close, though.)
Plus, you are part of the Church, so why shouldn’t your family be, too. As Joshua put it, “As for me and my household, we will follow the Lord.” (Josh 24:15 ESV)
Ah, so that’s why you said we couldn’t just do this in the bathroom upstairs. My child or I are becoming part of this community, the Church, and they’re all there to witness it, yes?
Exactly! And they’re also there to welcome its newest member, to rejoice and pray over you that day. And, you know what else? It’s also an occasion for all of us to remember our own baptisms, to think about the promises all of us have made, and to cling yet once again to the extravagantly generous promises of our good and gracious God.
