Baptismal Joy

Baptismal Joy (Romans 6:1–11)

I speak to you joyfully in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In a few minutes, we will have the privilege to witness the baptism of three followers of Jesus.

Each one of them has taken part in baptismal preparation and has carefully considered their decision, counting the cost of following Jesus.

And they have decided. They have decided to follow Jesus. They have decided to embrace the One who has embraced them.

And for those interested, before the baptisms, the entire congregation will have the opportunity, if you wish, to reaffirm your baptismal vows—to reaffirm that you stand with Jesus.

So in their lives, as in the lives of all who believe in Jesus, we hold to the promise of Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:53–57:

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus has given us the victory. Jesus has given each of those who are being baptized today—and each of us who will reaffirm our faith—the victory that He Himself won for us on the cross.

It is a remarkable thing, an amazing thing, a miraculous thing that the Spirit of God has accomplished in our lives.

Through no merit of our own, we are given this incredibly precious gift of salvation, of life, of a new future where we are guided and held by the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God.

And of this wonderful thing that God has done in us, baptism stands as a living sign and a sacred symbol—an outward declaration of an inward miracle.

Baptism is not magic,

but it is meaning; it tells the story of grace already at work in us. As C.S. Lewis said,

Christianity is not about making nice people a bit nicer, but about making new creatures.

This is not behaviour modification—it is resurrection participation.

It is an important marker of the life of a follower of Jesus. It is a sign of inclusion in the Body of Christ—the Church, which is the hands and feet of the risen Saviour.

As a wedding ring symbolizes and signifies the reality of holy matrimony between a man and a woman, so baptism symbolizes and signifies the reality of our salvation.

Standing in the water symbolizes faith in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for our sins.

Submersion in the water demonstrates belief in His physical death and burial.

Rising out of the water illustrates belief in the victory of Christ over death by His resurrection.

Walking out of the water signifies our intention to live for Christ daily.

Grace is not a coupon for more sin; it is the power that breaks sin’s grip and rewrites the desires of our hearts.

The grace of God doesn’t excuse us to live unchanged—it empowers us to live transformed. Baptism proclaims that grace has already gone to work in you.

It is important to state that we believe we are not saved in the waters of baptism.

Salvation occurs when we place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ—when we accept Him personally as Lord and Saviour.

That’s when we are born anew—born again, in the language of Jesus and of Scripture.

A seismic shift occurs when this happens. The future, the way, the very trajectory of our life is altered when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Grace doesn’t just pardon us—it partners with us. It trains us to live differently. When we say “yes” to salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we discover what we were looking for all along.

And a mark of belonging to Jesus is that we live our lives with Him as our Lord and our Saviour. He is our King, and we are His people. Amen?

As His people we love Him. We focus our lives on Him.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” So we seek to obey Him in all things as an expression of that love.

The entire Christian life is about following Jesus—it’s about living in a love relationship with Him.

We love Him because He first loved us. Scripture says, “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”

The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 6:

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”