Why We Do What We Do: Baptize In Water.

| Spiry Tee

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Mark 16:16 NKJV


We baptize people by immersing them in water because Jesus commanded it. In saint Mark's gospel, the Lord Jesus said faith should be confirmed by baptism for salvation (Mark 16:16). What does immersing someone in water in the name of the Lord do in salvation? The truth is we don't have all the answers yet, but obedience is most beautiful when we do not understand why.

There are things we are told to do like confess that Jesus is Lord and you shall be saved. What's the correlation between, heart, mouth and salvation? Only God has all the answers. Our duty is to obey the gospel. Even laying hands on the sick to heal them seem like something of no spiritual significance but when it is done in faith we see results. What is the connection between believer's hand and healing? Again, you don't need to understand everything before you act.

So baptism in the name of the Lord may seem like a carnal exercise to the "super spiritual" with no significance to our salvation but we should never advance or exalt our own reasoning above the words of Christ.

Saint Mathew captured the instruction by the resurrected Christ, popularly known as the Great Commission in the church today; "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 28:19 NKJV). The Lord commanded His faithful to make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Godhead.

If Jesus spoke about it like this, why do we treat it as unimportant?

In his first sermon after the the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecost day,  apostle Peter responded to those who believed his message, "Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38 NKJV). Here the apostles were now carrying out the instruction they received from Jesus to baptize all who believe. We must follow their example.

We also see the Apostle Paul using baptism a lot in His explanations of many gospel facts. For instance, in Romans 6:3-4 he says "Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 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." (NKJV).

You see how he was assuming that these people who were Christians were baptized into Christ Jesus. He uses baptism that happened to them to teach that they were not just soaked wet but they were baptized into Christ's death. As a Christian you were buried by baptism into death. You died and were buried with Him. And when you got out of the water you were raised to new life in Christ.

This new life is of the God-kind. It is called zoe; meaning, life as God has it. This is the life the Lord Jesus came to give us in abundance by His death burial and resurrection. So when we are baptized we identify with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is your token of faith to the forces of sheol that you have died never to die again. By that action, your faith says you are now ushered into life eternal, immortality or deathlessness.

SPEAK LIFE.
I have been baptized into Christ therefore baptized into His death.  I have died, been buried through baptism and raised again to new life. I have the Godlife in me right here right now. I am not subject to the elements, pain, sickness, disease or death.