Baptism: Identifying With Christ Series

This morning I’m going to be preaching on baptism and have us look at its symbolism; and I want to begin with an illustration. If you have a wedding ring on right now, then take a look at it. “Baptism is like a wedding ring. Both symbolize transactions. A wedding ring symbolizes marriage, just as baptism symbolizes salvation. However, wearing a wedding ring does not make you married any more than being baptized makes you saved.”(1)

A small child can try on her mother’s wedding ring, and maybe be allowed to wear it for an hour or so, but we know she’s not married. And in a similar way, a person can be baptized without having accepted Christ into his or her heart. Unfortunately, all too often, people are baptized without receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord; and when a person is baptized without knowing Christ, then he or she is not saved; and thus, the baptism was done in vain.

Baptism in itself has no saving power. There is only one thing that saves us; and the apostle Paul told us what that is in Ephesians 2:8-9. He said, “For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Salvation is a free gift that God bestows on those who simply have faith in His Son, Jesus. We are saved through faith in Christ alone, not through baptism or any other work.

Baptism is a symbol of our faith in Christ. Paul Powell, in The New Minister’s Manual, says, “[Baptism] does not wash away any sins. There is no magic in the water that we use. It is the same kind of water that we drink, and the same kind that we bathe in. [The purpose of baptism is that it] identifies us openly and publicly with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.”(2) Commentator Warren Wiersbe says, “It is an outward symbol of an inward experience.”(3) He continues to say, “Immersion was a picture of what the Spirit did. The Holy Spirit identified [believers] with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.”(4)

To extend the illustration of the wedding ring, “If a person, especially a woman, does not wear a wedding ring you can almost always assume that the person is not married. So it was in New Testament times. If a person was not baptized, you could probably assume that he or she was not a believer. On this we must be clear: baptism is a symbol of salvation and only a symbol. But, like a wedding ring, it is such an effective symbol that it should never be taken for granted.”(5)

This morning we’re going to view the symbol of baptism and look at it piece by piece, in order to come to an understanding of exactly what it represents; and I believe that once we realize the symbolism of baptism, that we will gain a fuller picture of how we’re supposed to live our life for Jesus Christ. So, let us now stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word in Romans 6:3-6:

Baptism Is a Symbolic Action (Romans 6:3-6)

3 Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 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. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 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.

Allow me to share a short (but true) story told by a pastor named Bob Beasley. He said, “Our three-year-old daughter, Rena, sat with us during the baptismal service last Sunday night, which was a new experience for her. She exclaimed in surprise, ‘Why did he push that guy in the water? Why, Dad, why?’ My wife tried to explain briefly and quietly, but Rena just wouldn’t be satisfied.”

“Later that night we tried to provide an answer that a child’s mind could comprehend. We talked about sin and told Rena that when people decide to live for Jesus and ‘do good’ they want everyone to know. We then explained that water symbolizes Jesus washing people from sin; [and] when they come out ‘clean,’ they are going to try to be ‘good.’ A moment later, we realized we’d have to work on our explanation a bit. Rena immediately responded, ‘Why didn’t the pastor just spank him?’”(6)