Crossroads Community Church: baptisms

July 18, 2013 · 0 Comments

It was a warm sunny morning; Pastor Don welcomed everyone and prayed over the service. After announcements were shared the worship brought us to the throne of God and Bob read the parable of the lost sheep and Psalm 119:105. Pastor then asked,” Have you ever seen an automatic coffee vending machine that brews the coffee into a cup and adds all that your coffee needs with the touch of a button?” Some seem to want their faith to be automatic as well, they don’t really want to do anything to improve it or share it, they want their prayers instant, their devotionals and Bible reading too, but there is no such thing as an automatic Christian, it requires effort and action to live the Christian life, such as coming to church every Sunday. Another action is Baptism; however we must understand that baptism is not what saves us, it is a step towards growing our relationship with God through Jesus. What saves us is our Faith in Jesus, recognizing and receiving Jesus Christ as our deliverance from sin and the penalty for sin, death. Baptism is an outward sign to the world around us of new birth which God brought to our hearts after receiving Christ as Lord of our lives.

Being a Christian means something and baptism proclaims it, it is risking persecution, it is identifying with the sufferings of Jesus, it is showing a commitment before witnesses much like a wedding. At a wedding we exchange vows and as a symbol of commitment to our spouse we exchange rings, baptism is a symbol of commitment and an exchange, an old life for a new one in Christ. Jesus commands that we get baptized and he gave us the example of obedience and surrender to God and acceptance by God by He himself going through baptism, (Matthew 3:13-17.)

So would we say that baptism is an option or an obligation? As believers it is important to prepare for baptism at some point in our journey with God because Jesus commands it, (Matthew 28:18-19.) Baptism unites us with Jesus Christ, it is our sign of submission to His Lordship in our lives, it identifies us with His life and shows we have been accepted by God. As Peter wrote in Acts 2:36-38. An important prerequisite to baptism is repentance; (Romans 6:3,4.) After receiving forgiveness for sin we need to turn away from what made us sin and then make a decision not to do it. Baptism joins us to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we go under the water to represent our dying to our old life and we come out of the water to represent our resurrection into an eternal life with Jesus Christ. The Greek word for baptism is immersion, so we baptize by immersion, however in the case where a person is physically unable to go under water it is given by sprinkling of water.

Why did God choose water for Baptism? It is to symbolize our spiritual cleansing from our past sinful life. God uses symbols to help us understand him in simple terms. He used the bread and the wine at the last supper so we could understand the sacrifice of Jesus body and bloodshed. Through Baptism many feel and immediate exhilarating freedom from their past, for others it is a process that continues long after their baptism, one thing is for sure it is a step towards freedom in Christ. Baptism is not something we do to get something, it is something done to us to show us God’s grace, mercy and to give the means to proclaim our freedom and commitment in Jesus. When we receive baptism it is an act of humble obedience and submission to God and the Holy Spirit helps us by giving us the courage to profess it, (2Timothy 1:8). The Spirit changes us and helps us overcome sin to live our lives to please God not our selfishness, it releases us from the powerful control of sin. Sin uses our bodies as instruments for evil but the Spirit helps us use our bodies to glorify God, (Romans 6:11-13.)

Beloved friends, Baptism does not mark the end of our journey, it is a landmark at the start of our journey with Jesus Christ. Spend time with Him this week, He may just surprise you and encourage you to follow His example of Baptism, For we are buried with Christ when we are baptized. And with him we are raised to new life because we trust the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. Asherey Shalom! To read more visit our website http://www.shelburnecrossroadschurch.ca