The Ultimate Baptism
Scripture Reference: Matthew 14:28-31 (KJV)
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
INTRODUCTION
In today’s church one of the most confusing ceremonies seems to be the baptism.
I mean so many of the members wonder if this is what makes you saved or can you be saved without it.
Then it extends into how you are baptized, who, when, where or why should you be baptized?
Should you be submerged or should you be sprinkled?
At what age can a person be baptized and the questions just keep coming?
The word baptism was one of the words that was taken directly from the Greek language with no translation
Baptism, Christian - an ordinance immediately instituted by Christ (Matt. 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.), and designed to be observed in the church, like that of the Supper, "till he come." The words "baptize" and "baptism" are simply Greek words transferred into English. This was necessarily done by the translators of the Scriptures, for no literal translation could properly express all that is implied in them.
Although Jesus gave the perfect example of what a Christian should do and say at all times and assured us that if we had faith then we could do the same things that he did (ie - walk on water) He was concerned with whether or not we are truly able to be baptized with the baptism that He was baptized with. (Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.)
Baptism is an ordinance by which we are joined to the Lord in covenant and communion; and so is suffering for Christ, 48:10 . Baptism is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace; and so is suffering for Christ, for unto us it is given, (Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;). But they knew not what Christ’s cup was, nor what his baptism. Those are commonly most confident, who are least acquainted with the cross. Nothing makes more mischief among brethren, than desire of greatness.
Baptism - A Christian sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth (wordweb)
Even at the baptism of Jesus, John “The Baptist” was not sure of who should be baptizing who (Matthew 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?)
I can not give a clear answer myself to whether or not I felt or had any change after I was baptized (but my dad certainly thought so)
All things considered I have come to the conclusion that the best way to interpret baptism is to analyze the reason or motivation behind why a person goes in the water in the first place
MAIN BODY
This brings us to our passage for today
Here we see Peter preparing to go out to meet Christ while Christ is yet on the water walking
The bible does not say why Peter was going out into that water to meet Christ so the world will never know.
However when I place myself in the place of Peter for this passage. I have several reasons that I would have to go and meet Christ in that water (i.e. marriage, finance, bills, family issues, etc.). Especially since I am sure, like Peter was, that Christ can do all things. Even bid Peter to come out on the water.
Peter was willing to do something that he had never done expecting results that he had never experienced.
No. I am not saying be a daredevil and go out and attempt to walk on water and expect Jesus to immediately stretch forth his hand and save you (at least not literally).
However I am saying that we have to be willing and ready to raise our faith to a level that we have never experienced to reap results that we have never had.
Some are asking why did I call this event “The Ultimate Baptism”
If the definition of baptism that I gave earlier is true then this is a perfect description of what a baptism is
Peter was expressing to the world, especially those that were closest to him (his fellow disciples) exactly what Christ meant to him on the inside.
He was showing them that he was willing to risk his whole life to experience the new birth that Christ has to offer each of us.
Someone sent me an email the other day entitled “Would you run”
Though I don’t have a copy of the email word for word to share I would like to give my version:
It talked about a guy coming in a church with a weapon and telling everybody to get out. All but a few ran and then the guy sat down and said that he was ready to have service now that all of the “hypocrites” were gone.
I am sure that I would probably be in the crowd that ran too because people these days are crazy. Maybe the guy who wrote this was living in a different time and place than me. Maybe he has never heard or seen foreign countries and their true hatred for the Christian religion. I tell you after the experiences that I have had I would probably leave the church too. I pray that this does not make me a hypocrite or lacking faith but I am being honest with you. (John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.)
In this case with Peter as he approached Christ he was completely transparent in his faith.
Any doubt or disbelief would have meant an immediate failure
This is the mindset that we need to have as we approach our baptism
We have to be completely transparent knowing that any disbelief and or doubt in Christ would mean an immediate failure in our approach to receive the total new birth experience to be gained from a baptism.
CONCLUSION
Unfortunately, because of disbelief in the total word of God, some of us are allowing Satan to make us lose some of the value that baptism plays in the life of a Christian. I truly believe that it is essential for a Christian at some point or another to be baptized but I do not believe that this is what signifies whether a person is saved or not. So you can get baptized twenty times but if there is no change on the inside then you are just a wet devil
However if you have experienced a true change on the inside, being baptized is a great way to demonstrate to the world that you have experienced a change and now you want to experience the new birth that can come with that change.
Let’s Pray:
Dear God, thank you for all that you have done and continue to do in my life. I realize that the true essence of the baptism has challenged many saints about what they should do concerning this important life changing event. God even in this we will always be careful to give you all of the glory and honor forever and ever. In your son’s Jesus name we pray.
Thank You. May God continue to bless you and keep you. Amen
Your Friend
Minister Juan D. Lane
