The Signifigance Of Baptism

The Significance of Baptism
Carlos Aguilar

We hear religious people express their love and gratitude for our Savior Jesus Christ all the time. And He certainly deserves those affections. It does our hearts good to know there are people in this world that have that sort of affection for the "author of eternal salvation."

When Jesus was on this earth, preaching and teaching he found numerous occasions to be stern with the religious leaders of the day. They had twisted scriptures, they had formed their own doctrines, they had lived how they pleased and still had the gall, the arrogance, to call Jehovah their God. In the book of Hosea it tells us in 4:6 that God's "people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Because they have rejected knowledge --- because they have --- forgotten the law . . . of God. In Matt 23 we see verse after verse condemning the practices of the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus expresses woe upon woe as he enumerates their actions. Their thinking, their actions were skewed and unfortunately their souls were going to suffer.

We find today that many have their own views, their own doctrines they practice, in order to worship God. And all want to claim Jehovah as their God. People express their heartfelt feeling concerning their faith and go on in life expecting to spend eternity with God. Those scribes and Pharisees felt the same way. They were condemned for doing their will and not God's. We, today, must not fall into that same trap. If we do our will, or the will of other men, we will stand guilty of rejecting the word of God. 2 John 9 says, Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. From that passage alone we can see the importance of serving God, not how we want to, but how He wants us too. One doctrine of our Lord, water baptism, has been so twisted and skewed as not to have the significance He intended it to have.

Much has been said about baptism, much of it far from truth. But as always we want to turn to the word of God for our answer. We do not want to be condemned for lack of knowledge. Notice what Matt 28:18-20 says, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "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, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. Before we continue, in light of these verses, we must ask a question is it or is it not a doctrine of Christ to be baptized to become a disciple, a follower, a Christian?

If you answer no, then you might as well close your Bible right now and put it away. If, however, you understand that in order to be in a covenant relationship with God you must abide in the doctrine of Christ and not man, then please,…let us continue our study.

Faith in Jesus as the Son of God

Baptism is for those who have faith in Jesus as the Son of God. For a person to be baptized in a scriptural manner, he must first indicate that he does believe in Christ as God's Son. Baptism is not an act that may be engaged in by those who do not believe. It would be of no benefit to an unbeliever. What does it mean to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Note John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” In this verse, the word HE is italicized, inserted for smoother reading. Jesus actually said, "for if you do not believe that I am,” meaning God in the flesh, One who always was.

To believe carries with it your knowledge of the Christ as God, born of a virgin, not procreated by man, but the creator of all. How can a child, or an untaught adult, comprehend the significance of that? When Philip was instructed to join himself to the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, he preached Jesus to him from Isa 53. Beginning at Acts 8:35-37, we read, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Here is an expression of this man's faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God that enabled Philip to baptize him. When was it that Philip baptized him, it was only after the eunuch expresses his confidence in the Lord, his faith in Him as the Son of God.

Faith in the Gospel

If one desires baptism, it signifies that he has faith in the gospel of Christ. In Mark's version of the Great Commission, our Lord's final instructions to the future apostles before His ascension, it says, “And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes [the gospel-inserted cma] and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe [the gospel-inserted cma] will be condemned” (Mk 16:15-16).

Baptism signifies faith in that gospel, in the saving power of God. When the Lord said, "He that believes and is baptized will be saved," He meant, "He that believes what you have preached---the gospel." Paul, in Romans 1:16, said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.” The gospel is the power used by God to convert people. So, belief in this gospel to save one's soul from the guilt of sin is signified by the act of baptism.

Baptism Signifies the Means of Being "In the Body"

We learn from Eph 1:22-23 that the "body" is the church: “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all”. Note also 1Cor 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-- and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” So baptism signifies this relationship of being a member of His body, the church. Through this teaching (the doctrine of Christ), leading up to his obedience, and his action of submitting to baptism as a means of becoming a part of that relationship, Paul signifies the importance of being in the body in this passage. "By one Spirit" simply means by the instructions given by the Spirit, in obedience to His teachings. When one is baptized into Christ, he becomes a part of that body of which Christ is the head, just as surely as my hand or my arm is a part of my body. The body is important. Please read 1Cor 12:14-27 to find out how Christ regarded it.

Baptism Signifies Being in Christ

This point is almost parallel with being in the body, as we have discussed. But this is a new relationship we have with Jesus Christ, and I think worthy of mention in this category. Paul shows that by the action of baptism we have this new relationship with Christ. In Gal 3:26-27 he says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. The phrase “have put on” is defined as follows by Strong’s Dictionary: 1746 enduo (en-doo'-o); from 1722 and 1416 (in the sense of sinking into a garment); to invest with clothing (literally or figuratively). Therefore, to put on Christ is to put on His thoughts, His actions, His way of life, His doctrine. When you put on certain clothing it is for a certain reason. Painting, garden work, going to work . . . when we put on Christ it is to live and do as He does.

Baptism Signifies a Cleansing

All of us need the cleansing power of God. We feel unworthy, we want our sins forgiven, we want to stand justified, pure and holy, before our God. We read in Titus 3:5, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”

What is this "washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit"? The answer is found in Heb 10:22, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” This is not a physical bath for the removing of impurities from our physical bodies. But it is an action performed by our being buried with Him by baptism into death. As further proof, look at Acts 22:16. Paul, on his way to Damascus to persecute and imprison Christians, had an experience that resulted in his obedience to the gospel. Ananias was sent to him by the Lord to tell him what to do. Ananias sought him out, found a man who had acknowledged Christ, as the Lord in the way, was penitent, and to him Ananias said, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Baptism, therefore, signifies a washing, a cleansing process, a cleansing of our spirits, our souls, that we may stand justified in the sight of God.

Baptism Signifies A Death

We wonder sometimes at the omniscience of God. What does He see in baptism that we do not see? Much, I am sure; and He chose this action to signify these things. One of these is it that it signifies death. Romans 6:3-4 says, “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.” In this action of baptism, we contact the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed in His death. John 19:33-34 says, “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” Christ shed His blood in His death. He was already dead when the soldier pierced His side. In the action of baptism, we signify His death.

Baptism Signifies A Burial

The Bible abounds in analogies, like-nesses. We draw pictures from many sources. This is one of them. When a person dies, he is buried. When Christ died, He was buried. When we die to sin, we are buried in baptism. There is a further analogy in this same picture that we will mention later, but for our point at this time we stress the verse again. Romans 6:4, “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.” We die to sin when we, through repentance, determine out future course of action, are buried. The old man of sin is dead. He must be buried. In the watery grave of baptism we see the analogy perfectly portrayed. Notice the picture of Rom 6:5-8. “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.” Picture with me a man who is laying a foundation for a house. He builds a form for that foundation and pours the concrete. When it hardened, he removes the forms, and has the finished product, exactly like the form. So it is with this analogy.

Baptism Signifies A Resurrection

To complete the picture given let us also read verse 3 along with verse 4 of Romans. This will make the picture complete. The whole gospel, the facts of the gospel, is preached in these two verses, namely the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. And we, by submitting to baptism, signify all phases of that gospel. In this portion, the resurrection, we know that by the power of God, and His victory over Satan's power, Christ was raised from that tomb. We signify, in conforming to this analogy by baptism, that we are raised from that watery grave of baptism to walk in newness of life. We become a new creature. This agrees with the idea of our receiving a washing of regeneration, or our being cleansed from the guilt of sins. As Jesus Christ arose from the tomb to die no more, we arise from our grave as new creatures in Christ, cleansed from sin. But these actions are not the whole of being a child of God. This merely begins a life of action. We are now new creatures, and begin our service to God here.

Baptism Signifies Nobler Affections

The action of baptism sets us on higher plane of living. Our affections are now set on better, nobler, more wonderful things than the lower, earthly, degrading things of our past lives. We find that now, since we have become children of God, have been raised from the dead, that we desire to seek better things. In Col 3:1-3 it says, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Our act of baptism, which signified the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, now signifies our new aspirations for serving God faithfully in this life.

Baptism Signifies Being in the Family of God

Being in the church, the family of God is not something that men decide. We do not "join it”, as one would some organization of a worldly nature. In becoming a member of this family, we attain a relationship with God, each of us, by obeying the gospel. It is a relationship by virtue of the fact that you have been taught the truth, and have obeyed it from the heart. Then God performs the action of adding, putting you into this body of people that make up the saved of the universe, the family of God. Man has nothing to do with adding. Though man is active in obedience, and has done that which God has authorized, God is the only One who performs the act of addition. A person will not be voted upon by men to see if you are a candidate for baptism or for church membership. God is the One who decides, with infallible knowledge, if you are deserving of fellowship in this family. We will find our authority for this in Acts 2. After Peter's sermon, 3,000 souls obeyed the gospel. Note Verse 41, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” Now verse 47, “praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.”

Baptism Signifies Salvation

The apostle Peter, in describing baptism in a likeness of Noah and the flood, said, 1 Pet 3:20-21, “who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us-- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Jesus Christ, was buried, and was raised again. When we go through this form of teaching, we are raised to walk in newness of life with Him. So baptism has its part in saving one from the guilt of his sins just as much as any other commandment the Lord has given. Baptism is the beginning of a new life; won’t you join the many others who have given themselves over to Christ?

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