Redeemed Or Just Wet?

Redeemed our Just Wet?

July 22, 2012

Romans 6:1-14

King James Version (KJV)

6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up 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 planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.

10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

After the christening of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed 

all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three 

times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I want to stay with you guys!"

There is a lot of confusion about Baptism, and what it really means, how we should do it, and even whether it is necessary or not for the Christian. The little story above is obviously meant to generate a chuckle or two, much like my own life story! It also illustrates part of the confusion we generate in Southern Baptist life when we don’t clarify what we mean by baptism.

We have something similar to Christening in our faith, we just call it a dedication service. This is of course a service where we encourage the new parents to commit to raising their children in the church. What this is not, is baptism.

This morning we are going to celebrate the stirring of the baptismal waters for the first time in several years. It is a joyous occasion for our church, and a memorable time for those who are showing obedience to Christ in following Him in believer’s baptism.

Before we make our way out into the ocean I want to share a few thoughts with you on what we believe Baptism is.

Baptism is by Immersion

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

There are several methods used by the Christian church to baptize. Some denominations use immersion as Baptists do, others sprinkle a little water that has been blessed on the recipient, and then some use a method called pouring.

First and foremost Baptism is but a symbol. There is no power of salvation in the water, it’s just water. So Baptism, whether by immersion, sprinkling, dunking, dipping, dropping, or whatever doesn’t affect whether you are redeemed.

However, the word used in verse 3 is “baptizo” which has a specific meaning. The meaning of the word is to immerse or to submerge. That alone is enough to settle me on the notion that it is the proper way to observe this ordinance.

Let’s look to some other evidence. In Matthew 3:13-17 Jesus was baptized through immersion.

Let’s look together at verses 16-17.

16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Other translations use the phrase “Jesus came up out of the water” or other phrases that have the same connotation. These verses give the distinct idea that Jesus was fully in the water, then He came up out of it.

More evidence is found in the book of Acts (Acts 2:41; 8:12,38; 9:18; 10:48; 16:33) that leads us to the idea that baptisms in the early church were by immersion.