Depth represented by baptism

The Bible is rich with imagery, figures of speech and symbols. Each of these teaches and represents deep truths that are either difficult to explain in words, or needs a short version to remind us of the longer explanation. Baptism is one of these.

Being baptized is not to be taken lightly. When Jesus left this earth, one of the last commands He gave included making disciples and baptizing them. His intention is that every person who believes in Him experiences it.

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, (Matthew 28:19)

Yet getting dunked (or sprinkled) by itself has no value for the human soul. A little grime might come off the skin, but the deeper issue is the grime of sin. Sin can only be cleansed by a mighty work of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. God washes away sin, not water, and He uses blood. In a passage comparing the sacrifices made in the Old Testament to the sacrifice made by Christ, Hebrews 9:14 says, “. . . how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Christians know this power. It comes to us by grace. When I was a new Christian, the thought came to mind that this grace of having my sin forgiven so freely meant it did not matter much when I sinned again. After all, Jesus died for it all and all was forgiven. However, just being clean is an incredible motivation to stay that way.

The action of water baptism symbolizes even deeper reasons to be clean. Part of the truth that it signifies comes from Romans 6. It says:

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)

The word “baptism” as used here means to be immersed or submerged, but this isn’t talking about water baptism. Instead, because grace immersed me “in Christ,” whatever happens to Jesus also happens to me. I died with Him; I was buried with Him, and I walk in newness of life with Him. Water baptism doesn’t make this happen but it does symbolize this remarkable and life-changing union with my Lord and Savior. Because of Him, I am clean, and my sin is washed away. I was baptized in water to declare my faith and my union with Christ and to declare that He washed my sins away. I am clean.

However, the New Testament is filled with verses that tell me to keep myself clean. I still sin and even though future sin is covered by grace also, I’m not to take that for granted. Instead, I’m to remember that I died with Him and am set free from sin. Why go again into its bondage? While the benefits of purity are explained over and over, I do get grime in my life, and God offers the way to renew that cleansing.

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9)

God will forgive my sin, but I must confess my sin. Then He can go to work to wash it out of my life. I don’t need to be dunked in a baptism again, but I do need to confess it to Him.

In fact, the way to receive cleansing from sin is the same for those who do not know Jesus as it is for those who do. Doing it the first time was extremely difficult, but the experience of knowing Christ and His grace, and the reality of what baptism symbolizes make confession and cleansing a vital part of living for Him every day.