About Baptism

I am a dead man. Romans 6:5-11.

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. Romans 6:5-6 (NKJV)

Baptism is not a method to save ones soul from hell; however, the concept is and that is why we practice baptizing people once they have committed their life to Jesus Christ. Just as Christ died, was buried, and rose from the grave, the person who has turned their life over to Christ must think themselves as doing the same, yet they are dying to their old lifestyle.

The urges to be my former self still haunt me until this day. Though I grew up being taught to know God and had asked him into my heart at a young age, the grasp and temptation to sin was too strong for me to overcome and still at times will cause me to err. Yet I have made the decision to die to those former ways and this decision I will carry into eternity.

I used to look at my children, who were wonderful and honest, thinking to myself that one day, they too would learn to be bad. I knew that if they did not know sin, they would never know what it is to need a savior and therefore, when they made their choices, I prayed for them and acted as a voice of reason.

Sin is an obstruction to life and causes death. If something does not happen to a person, leading to their need to be saved from sin, sin will take them to the grave in an unmerciful way. Therefore, the scriptures call us to die to sin now, before sin can kill us.

One thing that Christ faced, that you and I will never face, is that before the grave, He had the power to defeat the enemy. He used that power to abstain from sin, teach and preach leading people back to the ways of the Father. Yet because of the sin in our life, He had to be willing to die in our place. What happened after is where we see His power.

Defeating the enemy was never just saying no to sin. To Christ, defeating the enemy was to deliver a blow that would sentence them to certain destruction. When Christ rose from the grave, God had granted the power over sin, death, the devil, and the entities that follow him.

So powerful is Christ, that at any time He could speak the word and time would stop; all of those who oppose God, godliness, and God's people, would be instantly erased from existence. Yet He patiently waits as the Kingdom of Christian people are being saved from sin.

Knowing this, Paul, writes that we can be united together with Christ in the power of His resurrection. This takes a commitment to consider yourself dead to your old sinful ways and this is possible if we realize that in Christ, we have power over 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. Romans 6:7-9 (NKJV)

As a parent, I found it very important to teach my children that they can live godly lives after repentance. I allowed them to see me fail and I allowed letting them see me repent and they will follow my example the rest of their life.

Christ did the same, yet He shows us that death has no hold on us and teaches us that if the effects of sin are removed from us then we can resist sin, thus living godly even though we live in a world of sin. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to every Christian.

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 6:10-11 (NKJV)

It is a struggle of the mind to keep this in perspective. This is one of the reasons we are to draw close to Him in His word; for His word can keep us from sin, be a light to our path, and keep us from falling.

Knowing this, the enemy has made every attempt to ensure your mind is elsewhere and busy with a jumble of temptations. He is like the great town baker, and his baked goods look tempting; yet we are the Bride of Christ and baked goods are not on our diet.

This concept of dying to your old life and being raised into a new life needs to be cemented into our minds; this is why Christ not only told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but baptize people also.

As can be expected, the enemy has involved himself in Baptism too, as Christians are divided on how to baptize and when to baptize.

Some baptize babies, which will not have a lasting reminder to the child that they are dead to sin. This becomes very ineffective and seems to be more of a action to make peace with God; yet Christ is our peace with God.

Others say it is a necessary part of the conversion process; however, Christ never intended baptism to replace the power of His shed blood.

Some sprinkle, some immerse, some baptize at the beach. Others baptize in church or at swimming pools, leaving people clouded as to "What is right?"

To this I offer that baptism needs to be an event that helps a person remember their commitment to God, their death to their old ways, and the power they have to live a new life.

Each baptism must have a dynamic impression on people and a clear message that will not be easily manipulated by the enemy. In baptism, we proclaim our commitment to God that we desire to be dead to sin and alive to holiness through our Lord, Jesus Christ.

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