Looking for a Better Connection: Baptism

Romans 6:1-11 

In churches that are part of the Protestant traditions, we celebrate two sacraments.  Other traditions recognize other things as sacraments, and while we might think those things, like ordination and marriage, are really important, we stop short of calling them sacraments.  For us it’s just the Lord’s Supper and baptism.  We talked about the Lord’s Supper last week, and today we are talking about baptism. 

While a person could take the Lord’s Supper regularly, baptism typically only happens once.  Some traditions do “re-baptisms,” but we do not.  And even in those traditions many folks are still only baptized once.  Does that mean that baptism is a “one and done” event?  Do it and then forget about it?  No, and we’ll talk about why it is not.  

Baptism is a sign of our regeneration in Christ.  Regeneration is the fancy theological word for “new life.”  And our new life in Christ is not a “one and done” thing.  It is a daily reality.   

Paul talks here in Romans 6 about baptism and being “dead to sin.”  When we were baptized, we became one with Christ.  We were united to him.   

What does it mean to be united?  Well, when people are united they share common goals, values, ideals, and aspirations.  We use the language of union in relationship to marriage.  “The two become one.”  And ideally in marriage, we come to think of ourselves as inseparable.  We can’t see making decisions or going about life without thinking of the other person.  When we live in unity with someone, we feel as if we are seen for who we truly are, known, and understood by that person, and they by us.   

The Greek word for “becoming one” in this passage is SYMPHYTOS.  The literal meaning is “growing together.”  The most natural use would be to describe two plants or trees that grow together, become intertwined with each other.  In marriage, our lives become intertwined.  Likewise, we are intertwined with Christ.  Baptism points to our identification with Christ in his death and our participation with him in his life.  Dan Wilt, who is one of the authors that writes for Seedbed Ministries, describes it this way:  “Baptism is the sacred enactment of us dying in union with the suffering Christ and rising in union with the resurrected Christ…  It is more than a symbol, a sacramental sign of a new reality unfolding in the life of a believer.”   

That language of “sign” is important in our understanding of baptism.  In Wesleyan theology, the sacraments are signs.  They point beyond themselves to something deeper and greater that God is doing.  A sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.”  What we can see points to something we can’t see.  In this case, baptism points to a new life, free from the dominion, the rule, of sin.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  And it points to our new identity.  We are joined to Christ in his death and resurrection.  And we are now identified with the people of the New Covenant. 

When we think about how to understand baptism, we should think about the rite of circumcision that happened in the Old Testament.  Circumcision also pointed to one’s part in the community of the covenant.  There are two obvious differences.  First, not everyone could be circumcised, but everyone can be baptized.  And second, there is no need for shedding blood in baptism.  And it would not be appropriate for the sign of the New Covenant to require the spilling of blood.  The blood of Christ is the one and only sacrifice necessary for the New Covenant.   

Now, the Hebrew people did practice baptism, as well, in the first century.  And their practice of baptism should also inform our understanding of it because baptism in the early Church was very similar in several ways to Jewish baptism.  The Hebrew people used baptism as a rite of Gentile conversion (the men had to get circumcised, too, of course).  They did baptism by full immersion.  In fact, they were very strict that it had to be done with at least 110 gallons of water, by our measurements, to be sure there was enough water to completely submerge the convert.  

Once it was done, the baptized person was understood to be a completely new person.  Their old identity was just gone.  They were even referred to as a “newborn baby.”  And Jewish law of the first century said that if a Gentile slave converted to the Jewish faith and was baptized, they could not be returned to slavery.  The slave no longer existed.  There was a new person.   

Paul also tells us in 1 Corinthians 10 that Israel, as a whole, was baptized in the story of the Exodus.  They were baptized in the cloud of God’s glory, and in the Red Sea.  They were no longer slaves.  Now they had a new identity; they were God’s own people.   

All of these things should help to inform our understanding of baptism.  We are no longer slaves to sin.  We are set free and called to live into our new identity, as God’s own people.   

One thing that’s pretty obvious about baptism is that it uses water.  And when we think water, we think of cleansing.  Water is used to remove dirt and stains and make things clean, both literally and “ceremonially.”  Baptism points to God cleansing us from the guilt or stain of sin.  We are not just free from the guilt of sin, but also from the dominion of it.  In Christ, we are not slaves but are set free to serve God.   

Let’s conclude with a few questions about baptism that are often asked.   

First, should we baptize infants and young children?  Some argue that the only biblical baptism is “believer baptism.”  Well, that’s not true.  There were children baptized in the New Testament.  We’re told that in at least two situations.  The book of Acts tells us that both Cornelius, the Roman centurion, and the unnamed Philippian jailer were both baptized, along with their entire households.  By the customs of Roman culture, the father was the master of the whole household.  Whatever he did, everyone else in the household followed suit.  So if the father was baptized, his wife, his children, his slaves, and the children of his slaves were also baptized.   

We should think here of the connection to circumcision.  Hebrew boys were circumcised on the 8th day of life.  They did not wait till they “were old enough to make their own decision about it.”  Because circumcision was a sign of being part of the covenant community.  And so is baptism.   

But, we should always understand baptism to be incomplete without confirmation.  Until that baptized person comes to an age to learn about the faith and confess it for themselves, the baptism is not really finished.   

Next question, does the mode of baptism matter?  Again, some Christian traditions say that only baptism by immersion is legitimate.   

The biblical basis for other modes of baptism is from Ezekiel 36:  “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols.  And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.” 

I think that baptism by immersion is a wonderful visual of death and resurrection and new life in Christ.  But is it necessary?  No.  The water is a sign.  It is pointing to what God is doing.  And God can bring about new life whether it’s 110 gallons of water or one teaspoon of water, because he’s God.   

So, is baptism “one and done?”  No.  Our baptism puts a claim of God on our lives.  We are God’s people.  We are freed from slavery to sin and brought to new life in Christ.  We may only be baptized once, but we can and should remember that baptism and live into its calling on our lives every day.