Baptism Is Symbolic and Ceremonial
Not Mystical
Baptism is an important topic for several reasons.
One, it featured so prominently at the beginning of the New Testament that it became a nickname for the first preacher, John the Baptist (a phrase used no less than fifteen times in the Gospels).
John baptized hundreds and he preached what became known as the baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4).
Although Jesus baptized no one personally, under His leadership, the disciples continued this tradition (Johmn 4:2).
Second, and most importantly, after Jesus rose from the dead and before He ascended into heaven, He clearly commanded His disciples to evangelize everywhere and baptize those who believed. Jesus’ instrucions clearly state:
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 28:19)
All of that is to say we can’t be dismissive about this important issue. We need to understand it as best we can and apply to our ministries.
Symbolism And Ceremony
The first point to make about baptism is that it does not in any way affect eternal salvation. Every baptizee should be saved before getting baptized and once saved, they remain saved whether they get baptized or not.
Yes, we teach people to get baptized but not for salvation. If baptism were necessary for salvation, every Old Testament believer is out of luck including the likes of Abraham, Moses, David and more.
That’s a large number of believers who missed heaven.
It’s also true that the thief on the cross, who Jesus clearly said would be with him in paradise, missed heaven. There’s no doubt the thief believed. He expressed as much while hanging on the cross (Luke 23:42). There’s also no doubt he didn’t get baptized and yet Jesus promised he would be in paradise that same day.
Believing is the issue. “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,” baptized or not (Romans 10:13).
That doesn’t mean baptism isn’t important. It does mean baptism serves a different purpose.
The Two Issues
Baptism is important for at least two reasons:
- Branding
- Use of water
Today we understand these two things one way but the people who lived during Bible times had a completely different perspective.
There’s a problem with the perspective issue that needs to be understood. It’s relevant for interpretive accuracy.
We often stand in the present and project our perspective back into the past. It should be the opposite. We need to see things the way Bible figures saw them.
We must go back to Bible times, stand where they stood, see things the way they saw it and then project forward into the present.
That’s a more meaningful way to interpret the Bible.
If we approach this issue any other way we are going to either miss the point entirely or at least badly misrepresent God’s truth.
If we don’t first understand the issue the way Jesus understood it, then we don’t understand the issue.
Branding
We understand branding one way. It’s an advertising thing and when done well, it really makes a difference.
The Nike logo needs no explanation. We see it and automatically think, “Just Do It!”
And wearing the brand has become a symbol of status and maybe even stature today. There’s nothing cheap about it but it pays to shell out the bucks to display the best possible image to the public.
Ketchup is a brand of tomato sauce but it has become so common that every tomato sauce is referred to as ketchup. The brand, Ketchup, has become the synonym for tomato sauce.
That’s how branding works today.
Unfortunately this kind of branding is very single dimensional.
The only thing it can measure is how much money you had on one particular day.
It says nothing about how much money you make or how well you manage the money when you get it.
It doesn’t verify your ability to commit to anything or anyone other than you image.
Branding In Bible Times
They did have branding in Bible times but it was very different to what we have today.
A person’s appearance could reflect their nationality.
In fact, differences of appearance and dress could distinguish between individuals who lived in neighboring provinces.
The Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:9) knew immediately that Jesus was Jewish just by His appearance.
Samaria was bounded on the north and south borders by Jewish provinces yet they maintained distinct differences which enabled them to identify who was who.
The truth is, the distinctions were even more detailed than that. You could usually tell the difference between people who lived in different villages by the way they dressed.
They didn’t have mass production of clothing. Clothing was hand made and one person could hand make only so much clothing.
So there were probably very few people supplying anyone village and the details of the work they did could have become well known and even entrenched over several generations. They didn’t all make clothes with the same look.
Nationality, Locality, Religion
Here is the truth.
Branding in Bible times determined your nationality or locality or religion, and your status but probably not your taste in style.
How you presented yourself involved very little choice.
No one chose to look Jewish or Roman or Grecian. They just wore what was available to them and it always signaled where they were from.
People in those days didn’t choose what they ate. They ate what could be locally produced and they were glad to have it.
Choices Were Moral not Material
The choices people did make wore moral not material.
They didn’t choose their nationality, dress style, house format or political preferences.
- But you could choose what kind of person you would be.
- You could choose to be religious or non-religious.
- You could choose to believe or not believe.
- You could choose to be baptized or not be baptized.
And that brings us to the next issue: WATER.
A Necessity Not A Choice
Water was:
- A valuable resource
- An absolute necessity
- Not readily available
- Treated like a luxury
How you managed water could be a daily determinant of one’s character. Jesus clearly indicated that giving a person a cup of water was a recognizable deed.
I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41,NIV)
When people built their homes in Bible times they were more concerned about the closest well than they were about the closest primary school.
You can live without primary school; you cannot last long without water.
When a person got baptized in those days it was an enormous inconvenience. You couldn’t bring the water to the person you had to take the person to water.
The amount of water necessary for baptism in those days was not readily available.
The Bible plainly says that John baptized in one particular place only because there was plenty of water.
John was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized. (John 3:23, NIV)
It is very difficult for us to get the right perspective on this issue because baptism for us is so easy and readily accessible.
Every church has its own baptistry and water supply. We can baptize anyone on location.
The people who were baptized in Bible days were making moral choices and public statements in spite of the inconvenience.
Everyone involved had to go well out of their way to submit to this exercise.
The Bible states baptism events matter of factly as if everything happened easily and automatically.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. ( Acts 2:41, KJV)
If the Pharisees were put out by the prominence of Jesus, then everyone was probably concerned about having 3000 not so well washed bodies plunged into the local water supply.
It was a public hazard and a public statement.
Adam Clark in his commentary on this particular passage gives us a glimpse of what it meant to be baptized in Bible times.
By receiving baptism in the name of Jesus, (they) renounced Judaism, and all the political advantages connected with it.
Most churches today baptize people in front of believers. We’re making statements in front of people who agree with us and support the effort. In the New Testament, baptisms were out in public. Everyone saw it.
That’s was a true public statement.
Why Baptize By Immersion
Administered by bodily immersion:
The word “baptize” is not really a word at all. It comes from the Greek work “baptidzo” and it literally means to immerse.
And was administered only to those who professed Christianity. Faith in Jesus is the means of salvation, Baptism is not. Faith can only be expressed in the heart but baptism is the outward symbol (logo if you will) of that faith.
Baptism is a way of saying publicly that you made a heart based determination which cannot be seen by the naked eye, but you want it declared publicly.
That’s why we qualify the faith of individuals before we baptize them.
Philip the Evangelist led an Ethiopian man to the Lord as they travelled and when they came to a large body of water the Ethiopian said,
Here is water, what hinders me to be baptized?
Philips response is what drives our approach to baptism today:
If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized. And the Ethiopian said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Ac 8:37)
What Baptism Means To Us
Baptism highlights what I like to call becomeability. Humans have the ability to change and become things that nothing else in creation can become. Salvation, the thing that happens in the heart, gives us a new nature which encourages the becoming process.
Baptism represents the transition step between what and who I used to be and what and who I intend to be from now on.
Getting baptized signals:
- A change in identity
- A change in life style
- A change in character
- And a change in knowledge, skill, capacity, etc
In fact, John the Baptist would not baptize anyone unless they had demonstrated the evidence of change before they got baptized.
His words:
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:8, NIV)
For John the evidence that a person really intended to live a different kind of life after baptism were the changes they had already implemented before baptism.
Change can be an exciting thing and baptism is a public statement expressing our interest in and anticipation of the changes that will occur. It’s a way of saying to the public, “You know me as one person, what I was before, but I’m committed to becoming a different person, and baptism is the means by which I demonstrate that commitment to the broader community.
Baptism opens us up to new possibilities. It enables a new vision. It is the lens that enables us see what how much more we can be and how much more we can do.
Administered as soon after salvation, it becomes the beginning of our public profession, not the end. People who get baptized have started, not arrived.
Baptism is like a foot race. When the gun is fired at the beginning of a foot race you don’t have the luxury of thinking about it. The longer you wait to start your race the further behind you get.
Conclusion:
If you haven ‘t been baptized, make it your next step. It’s the start of a long distance race so determine to enjoy both the pace and the race.
THINK!AboutIt
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