by Garrett Glende

Continuing on in Wayne Grudem’s section on ecclesiology, we come to the chapter on baptism, the ever-dividing distinctive between churches. And this is a sad thing – that there is so much strife over this issue – because baptism really should be something for all Christians to celebrate, as it reflects the reality of our great salvation. This article will deal shortly with a few doctrinal issues, mostly because Richard has already written an extensive series on the topic, but also because I want to flesh out more of the practical implications. So please go and read Richard’s articles first and then come back here to get another helping of the Bible’s teaching on baptism.

First, we must establish that the purpose of baptism is for the believer to identify him or herself with Christ. Specifically, we identify with a risen, victorious Savior, who has conquered sin and death. When someone is baptized, they are proclaiming to the world that they have received new life in Christ and that they are now a part of His team, per say. We see these themes played out in Romans 6:3-4 where Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Paul also notes that we have “been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col. 2:12). By taking part in the ordinance of baptism, the church body as a whole is able to celebrate their own newness of life along with the person being baptized.

The division amidst churches over this issue that I mentioned before comes in exactly how this ordinance is observed. At Lighthouse, we teach that baptism by immersion is the biblical model that we should follow. Not only does the Greek word for “baptize” literally mean “to plunge, dip, or immerse,” but the symbolic meaning of the practice is best conveyed by full immersion. Christ’s death and burial is symbolized by being dunked under the water, not being able to get out unless brought back up. Thus, being lifted up out of the water illustrates our identity with Christ’s resurrection. Other methods such as sprinkling do not convey this image to its fullest extent and are not supported by the majority of the Bible’s teaching on baptism. We should additionally note that baptism is only to be administered to those who have professed a saving faith in Jesus Christ. For more on these issues, read Richard’s articles.

Since the purpose of baptism is to reflect an already present spiritual reality, those who have been baptized must live in light of these spiritual truths. Going back to Romans 6, the context of these verses comes right after Paul has explained the abundant grace of God in forgiving us all of our sins. Then in verse one he anticipates that some will ask, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” He sharply denies this assumption and then goes on to explain that we have died to sin and are now raised to newness of life, which is the exact teaching that is reflected in baptism. Therefore, all who have been baptized must live according to the new life that they have received. First of all, this means that we must take sin seriously. Paul condemns all attitudes that treat the grace of God cheaply, calling them to remember their unity with Christ’s death and resurrection. We shouldn’t just assume that we can go on sinning so that God can show us more grace. To the contrary, we must kill the sin in our lives, knowing that it is the very thing that separated us from God in the first place. Additionally, our lives must be lived with an eternal perspective. In baptism, we identify also with the resurrection of Christ, knowing that one day our own bodies will be raised from the dead and we will live for eternity with Him. It’s so easy to get caught up in the things of the world and only live for what we can see. Our culture tells us to pursue material wealth and comfort, but these things will not last. Thus, all Christians must live in light of the fact that their true home is in heaven for eternity. This is where our hope is found. We cannot hold tightly onto things that will ultimately burn, but rather cling to our hope found in the resurrection of Christ.