Dr. Paul Manuel—1999
The ceremony we witness today is a familiar one to us, something every member of the church has experienced, yet its significance is not always clear, even for those who have been members for many years. We know that Jesus commanded it of his followers, and that alone is sufficient reason to obey.1 We also know that baptism is not necessary for salvation, a status God grants by His grace in response to our faith. Yet, are there other reasons, pertaining to something baptism signifies that enhances its value. Indeed, there are two other reasons, and by understanding them, we can appreciate the importance of this act.
What does baptism signify? The answer lies first in its original setting within the context of Judaism. God is holy, and He expects His worshipers to be holy as well. To that end, He gave instructions about maintaining purity and remedying impurity. The treatment for the most serious causes of defilement included immersion. God commanded that anyone who recovered from an infectious skin condition or who came in contact with a dead body must undergo immersion as part of the cleansing process.2 These are not moral issues, but disease and death are results of the Fall, and they remind us that God is concerned about everything which renders man unacceptable to Him. The same requirement applied to gentile converts, whose likely contact with idols made them unclean.3 Upon repentance and faith in the true God, they underwent immersion to cleanse themselves of their pagan past. Although many of these directions are foreign to us, in part, because they concerned temple worship, this third application of immersion has continued even in the absence of a temple and is the origin of baptism in Christianity. It also identifies the first significance of baptism, which is purification.4
When the temple still stood, baptism rendered a person ceremonially fit to enter God's presence there. This is "not the removal of dirt from the body" (1 Pet 3:21)—you will notice we do not do any soaping or scrubbing here. This is also not the cleansing of one's conscience—no amount of water can penetrate sufficiently to affect that.5 This is, rather, an act marking what God has already done in response to the candidate's repentance and faith. It is an external demonstration of the internal work of God in a person's heart and mind. Baptism signifies purification from a sinful past.6
There is another significance that looks to the future. The apostle Paul saw in baptism a metaphor of the believer's union with Christ. Writing to the church in Rome, Paul offers the symbolism that most Christians associate with this act.7
From this passage, some would say that baptism signifies identification with Jesus. Although Paul is surely identifying the believer's experience with Jesus' experience, that is not the point he is making. Paul is adapting the common rabbinic dictum that...
This baptism in obedience to Jesus' command is a public declaration of what God has done, the purification from a sinful past. Moreover, it is a public declaration of what the candidate will do for God, in pursuit of this initiation to a new life. It is also an opportunity for you to recall your own declaration. Are you maintaining the purification your baptism signified, or are you defiling yourself with old habits? Are you pursuing your initiation to a new life, or have you never really gotten off the mark? Baptism is not something we should enter lightly, for it is not the just the act of immersion that Jesus commands. We must also recognize the significance of what we are doing, for our past and for our future.
What does baptism signify? The answer lies first in its original setting within the context of Judaism. God is holy, and He expects His worshipers to be holy as well. To that end, He gave instructions about maintaining purity and remedying impurity. The treatment for the most serious causes of defilement included immersion. God commanded that anyone who recovered from an infectious skin condition or who came in contact with a dead body must undergo immersion as part of the cleansing process.2 These are not moral issues, but disease and death are results of the Fall, and they remind us that God is concerned about everything which renders man unacceptable to Him. The same requirement applied to gentile converts, whose likely contact with idols made them unclean.3 Upon repentance and faith in the true God, they underwent immersion to cleanse themselves of their pagan past. Although many of these directions are foreign to us, in part, because they concerned temple worship, this third application of immersion has continued even in the absence of a temple and is the origin of baptism in Christianity. It also identifies the first significance of baptism, which is purification.4
When the temple still stood, baptism rendered a person ceremonially fit to enter God's presence there. This is "not the removal of dirt from the body" (1 Pet 3:21)—you will notice we do not do any soaping or scrubbing here. This is also not the cleansing of one's conscience—no amount of water can penetrate sufficiently to affect that.5 This is, rather, an act marking what God has already done in response to the candidate's repentance and faith. It is an external demonstration of the internal work of God in a person's heart and mind. Baptism signifies purification from a sinful past.6
There is another significance that looks to the future. The apostle Paul saw in baptism a metaphor of the believer's union with Christ. Writing to the church in Rome, Paul offers the symbolism that most Christians associate with this act.7
Rom 6:4 We were...buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.Paul superimposes a picture of Jesus' passion on the believer's experience. As these Christians in Rome undergo their own baptism and then witness the baptism of others, he wants them to imagine that they are following the example of Jesus. By going under the water, they are entering the grave, as Jesus did, and leaving behind their former way of life. By coming up from the water, they are rising from the dead, as Jesus did, and embarking on a new way of life.
From this passage, some would say that baptism signifies identification with Jesus. Although Paul is surely identifying the believer's experience with Jesus' experience, that is not the point he is making. Paul is adapting the common rabbinic dictum that...
b Yeb 48b One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.This is the second significance of baptism. It marks initiation to "a new life." Having been freed from slavery to sin, the believer can now live in devotion to God!8
This baptism in obedience to Jesus' command is a public declaration of what God has done, the purification from a sinful past. Moreover, it is a public declaration of what the candidate will do for God, in pursuit of this initiation to a new life. It is also an opportunity for you to recall your own declaration. Are you maintaining the purification your baptism signified, or are you defiling yourself with old habits? Are you pursuing your initiation to a new life, or have you never really gotten off the mark? Baptism is not something we should enter lightly, for it is not the just the act of immersion that Jesus commands. We must also recognize the significance of what we are doing, for our past and for our future.
For the Endnotes, see the pdf here.
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Jim Skaggs