Baptism: Conclusion

“There is such simplicity, such absence of display, or of any novel elaboration, in fact an absence of any costly trappings, when a man is plunged and dipped in water to the accompaniment of a few words, and then rises again not much cleaner, if at all; just because of this it seems to men incredible that eternal life should be won in this manner…We also marvel; but we marvel because we believe.” - Tertullian

Well, I think I have come to the end of my series on baptism. I certainly haven’t exhausted the topic. I haven’t even hit the real hot question on the topic. (Babies or believers?) But, I think I’ve covered a good bit, and hopefully stirred up some thinking on the topic. For so long, baptism has been one of the central acts of the Christian faith. It is not peripheral. It is not a nice side-topic. It is at the heart the wonder of the Christian faith. It is the way we all got into it.

I was talking with a friend the other day. He had mentioned that he thought people ought to be buried on church grounds. I wondered why he would say this, as it is an unusual conviction these days. He said that his main impulse for this was because the church is the place where you first died and rose again (in baptism), so it seems fitting that it be the place where it happens again (at the resurrection). Interesting thought. I don’t know that I have grown up accustomed to thinking of my baptism as an event as significant as being born or dying. I am beginning to think of it that way, now.

I hope that by thinking about baptism, you will begin to have some wonder. I hope that you marvel at the gift God has given us. We can experience the death Christ died for our sin, and it gives us faith. We can participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it gives us hope. We can be united with Christ and his people, and so we know love. This is the Christian faith. All of it is contained in the simple, unremarkable act of baptism. What a gift we have been given.

Baptism: Bringing Us into God’s Story

A few more baptism thoughts…

The ceremony of baptism is loaded with imagery from the Old Testament. For the early Christians, it was natural to think of baptism (and all of life) in terms of the story/stories of the Hebrew Scriptures. Baptism gathers up much of the narrative of the story of Israel, and, as someone receives baptism, they are caught up into this story. The story of what God is doing in history becomes their story. It is the narrative of their lives, in contrast with the plot-lines that the rest of the world demands we live in. Baptism is a ceremony that symbolically initiates you into God’s Story.

This became more clear to me this year during Easter. I attended the Easter Vigil at my sister’s Anglican church, which is a traditional time for baptisms. The liturgy included a reading of huge sweeps of Scripture from creation to Christ, hitting all the high points of redemptive history on the way. At the end of this reading, the baptisms occurred. The presentation of the Scripture was artfully done, and the effect of the liturgy was stunning. Baptism became more than a personal act by the time the readings were done. It was truly a part of God’s running narrative of salvation.

Here are some of the key points of the OT story that baptism symbolizes.

Creation

Go and read Genesis 1 again. Notice how the scene is set at the start:

The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

The primeval chaos that existed before God brought order to the world is depicted as a churning ocean. Before God speaks, all is death, disorder, and purposelessness. When other parts of the OT, such as Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and the Prophets depict creation, they often use the imagery of water being restrained. Creation is pictured as God calling new life out of watery death. Baptism takes up this theme and the new Christian becomes part of God’s New Creation in Jesus.

The Flood

Genesis 6-9 tells the tale of Noah’s flood. The flood was a consequence of the intense evil of the humans at that time. They were wicked and full of violence. God was anguished by what humanity had become and the mess they had made of the world. So, God decided to wipe the slate clean, to purge the world of evil. In an act that was as much a cleansing as a judgment, the world was overwhelmed by the waters of chaos, returning to the state it was in just before God formed the world. But, as the waters of death purged the land of evil, new life came out of the destruction. Noah’s family was spared through the waters of judgment, and they lived to begin creation anew, with the blessing of God upon them. This story is mentioned in connection with baptism in the New Testament. In one of his letters, Peter says that just as Noah’s family was saved “through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 3:18-22)

Circumcision

When God first initiated his plan of salvation for the whole world, he approached Abraham. He called Abraham out of his old life, promised him a great land and a large family. Through this family, blessing would come to the whole world. God confirmed his promises by making a covenant with Abraham. As a sign of this covenant, Abraham and his sons underwent the act of circumcision. For the Jews, this served as seal, marking out who participated in the covenant with God and who did not. Any who joined in with the Jews in pledging themselves to God and trusting in God to fulfill his promises took on this mark. In the New Testament, circumcision is fulfilled in baptism. Baptism is now the symbol that marks off who is in and who is out of God’s people. Those who claim the promises of God in Christ undergo baptism, just as those before Christ underwent circumcision.

The Exodus

Abraham’s children moved to Egypt and eventually became slaves there. But, God supernaturally rescued them from their slave masters. He triumphed over the powers of death, the rule of a leader who thought he was a god. The final, climactic defeat of the Egyptians came at the Red Sea. God’s people were trapped, caught between the pursuing armies of Pharaoh and the shores of an uncrossable sea. The people were powerless, but God told them to simply be still. Through Moses, God parted the waters of the sea, and the people pass through on dry ground. The Egyptians however, were caught in the waves, and the water brought them down to death. In the New Testament, baptism is symbolically connected to this event. Paul says, “our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” (I Corinthians 10:1-2) Our baptism is just like this crossing of the Red Sea. In it, we are set free from the rule of sin. We are no longer slaves to the forces of death that dominate this world, but we are rescued to live a new life of freedom. We pass through the waters of death, but we emerge on the other side to a new life. The act is not our own, but it is the work of God. He brings us from slavery to freedom. He parts the waters. We only need to be still.

Crossing the Jordan

After Moses leads the people out of Egypt, they go to the promised land. When they arrive, spies enter the land to scout it out. They return, and most of them are too afraid to invade. They lack the faith to take God at his word that he will provide them the new land. This rebellious generation ends up wandering around the desert for 40 years, until nearly all of them are dead. Then, their children end up being the ones to enter into the Promised Land. Joshua replaces Moses as their leader, and he leads the entry into the new land.

The initial point of of entry is at the Jordan river. They approach the river during flood season, which makes the river impossible to cross. The story is quite dramatic, and you can read it yourself in Joshua 3. To sum it up, God tells the people that they are to cross the river while it is flooding, and that the priests were to go first, carrying the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the symbolic throne of God on earth, and the symbol of God’s presence with his people. When the priests’ feet touch the water and the Ark enters the river, the water is miraculously parted, and the river dries up. While the priests stand in the river, the people of Israel pass through it on dry ground. God enters the water, enabling the people to enter the land.

In the New Testament, baptism first occurs with John the Baptist. Where does he do it? The Jordan river, the same place where Israel first entered the land. What does he do? He calls people who are part of a rebellious generation to come and pass through the waters again, to repent, and truly become Israel again. God, he says, is about to fulfill his promises just as he did in Joshua’s day. His baptism is a re-crossing of the Jordan. And of course, like the first crossing, the presence of God on earth shows up. Jesus comes to enter the river, to stand in it with us, and be baptized.

Conclusion

The ceremony of baptism is not a private matter. It is the entry of individuals into a story much bigger than themselves. Baptism initiates you into the story of God’s work in the world. God is restoring creation, using his people. He has been doing it from the start. He has consistently worked to bring people out of death, slavery, and chaos. He does so by bringing them through the flood of death itself, giving them new life on the other side. God’s story is sweeping, covering the span of history. When we enter into this story through baptism, it redifines the narrative of our lives. The story claims us. We no longer live in the competing stories that the world offers us.

There are hundreds of false stories that we are called to believe in. The advertisers tell us that the plot of our life is one of consumption. The government tells us the story of the inevitable advancement of democracy around the world. We are painted a picture of career advancement, self-fulfillment, and status achievement. 20-somethings believe that they are supposed to take a few years to enjoy themselves before they take on responsibilities like family or ministry. Married couples are painted the picture of the happy, healthy family in a single-family home, with children who excel in school, music, and sports. This is the story they are told they are in, and their life is supposed to fit into that plot.

But baptism breaks this pattern. It brings us into the real story of the world. It brings us into God’s story and reveals that the others stories are lies and imitations of the world’s real plot. In baptism, God says, “You’re in my story now.”

Baptism: God’s Tender Violence towards Us

There are just a few more biblical images I want to highlight about baptism. The first I have discussed already. It is found in Romans 6:

We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?…For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Romans 6:2b-3, 6-7)

The image Paul associates with baptism is dying. More than that, it is being crucified. These are such common terms in religious circles that sometimes we fail to see the violent force of these images. Baptism is a crucifixion of our old selves. It is a lynching, a bloody, brutal murder of our old selves. When we are baptized, our old self is killed. In the violence done to Jesus on the cross, we also are killed, that is, our old lives. Baptism enacts this death on us. Down into the water we go. We are buried. We die.

We see the image again in Colossians:

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having 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. (Colossians 2:11-12)

This time the image of death and burial is connected with another bloody image, that of circumcision. The significance of this image, primarily, is in how circumcision functioned in the Old Testament. The ritual of circumcision is the way someone entered into the covenant with God in the Old Testament. It was the ceremony that made you a part of the Jewish community. So now, baptism does the same thing. In baptism, not circumcision, we are brought into covenant with God and union with God’s people. The image of circumcision is a violent, painful one. In circumcision, one is marked by the cutting of flesh.

Together, the images of crucifixion, burial, and circumcision show the harshness of baptism. The break between our old life and our new life is so sharp that it can be compared to death. Our old selves must be murdered. They must be cut off. We must make a very painful break with our old ways of thinking, living, and relating to God and the world. In baptism, God kills us. This is the only way that we can live a new life. It is a violent image.

But there is another image used for baptism. It is found in Paul’s instructions to husbands about how to treat their wives. Paul says that a marriage is to reflect the relationship that Christ has with his Church. Husbands are to love their wives self-sacrificially in the way that Jesus loved his people. In describing this, Paul elaborates on the way Jesus loves the Church:

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

That image of washing with water is an allusion to baptism. First of all, note that it is connected to the word, that is the message of the Gospel. Baptism cannot be an empty ritual, it must be connected with the proclamation and belief in the Gospel. Otherwise, it is just a bath, not a baptism. Secondly and primarily, I want to highlight that the image of baptism is of Jesus washing his wife. Think about that. It is an incredibly intimate picture. It is a groom on his wedding night, gently and tenderly bathing his bride. Pay attention to the care, love and closeness in that. It is an act of supreme intimacy. In baptism, Jesus tenderly and lovingly washes us. He prepares us for himself, so that we can be presented in splendor, without blemish, holy and beautiful.

This is the love of Jesus! His touch murders me and cleanses me. I drown. I bathe. A burial and a wedding happen all at once. Oh, how he loves us. So tenderly, so violently.

Baptism: Excuses for Not Getting Baptized

Why do some Christians not get baptized? Here are some of the reasons I have heard.

“I don’t see the big deal. It isn’t that significant.”

Some Christians haven’t been baptized simply because they have never been taught about it. They go to a church that does not have a high view of baptism or a rich understanding of it. Because the community marginalizes baptism, the individual does too. The fault here, I think, is more on the church for failing to instruct someone about the importance of baptism. The solution? Explain a rich, deep understanding of baptism to them and encourage them to do it.

“I’m waiting until I’m more mature in my faith so that I know what I am doing more.”

I hear this all the time, especially among students, but also in adults. I can understand, at least, the motive for this. For someone who wants to understand and value baptism rightly, it makes sense that they might want to have a little more time growing and learning before doing it. Baptism is not a light thing, it is a big deal. I wouldn’t want someone to rush into it without taking it seriously.

And yet, at the same time, I think this thinking really misunderstands baptism. It is the same reasoning that people use to justify living with their boyfriend or girlfriend but waiting to get married. They want to grow, see how it will work, make sure they really mean it, have a more mature relationship, etc…and then they’ll get married. But this is not how it works. Getting married is the foundation and the commitment that forms the context for a lifelong relationship to grow. The same thing is true of getting baptized. When you first get married, the truth is, you don’t know your spouse as well you think you do. You spend your whole life getting to know them better and getting closer to them, just ask someone who has been happily married after 25 or 30 years. Your relationship can always get close and richer and deeper. Getting married is what makes this growing, deepening relationship possible. This is even more true with God. You will always have a growing understanding of who he is and what it means to be in relationship with him. Your baptism is the supposed to be the start of this growing relationship. It is the foundational commitment that creates the context for your relationship to God.

The truth is, when you get baptized, you cannot fully understand the commitment you are making, just like someone can never realize what the commitment of marriage really means until they start living it. For Christians, we learn the meaning of baptism over the course of our lifetime. Every week, when we hear the Word preached and share the Lord’s Supper, we hear again the promises God made to us in our baptism. Every day, when things are difficult or easy, joyful or discouraging, we learn what it means to be committed to Christ for the long haul. The truth is, we won’t really understand baptism until we are raised from the dead and united with Christ for eternity. We must grow in to our baptism.

Part of the symbolism of baptism is that you are being initiated into a mystery bigger than yourself and beyond your understanding. If we wait until we “really understand it” or “really mean it,” we will never get baptized. Plus, if we fully understood what it really meant to be “united with Christ in his death” at the start, we might not do it. The life baptism requires would seem too difficult, and no one would do it.

That is why I tell people, if you know enough to commit your life to Jesus and mean it, you know enough to be baptized.

“I’m afraid of speaking in front of people.”

Baptisms are public. They are for any and all to see. They are a commitment before the world and the Church that we are publicly accountable to. Because of this, a real hindrance for some people is stage fright. This is especially true for school-age children who want to be baptized. It is even harder in my church where people being baptized usually share the story of how they came to faith. This sharing of a “testimony” is not required anymore than a history of a couple’s courtship is necessary at a wedding. However, it can be a good way for someone to express their love and commitment to Christ. All that is needed, though, is a confession of faith in Christ. Baptisms do not require major public speaking. Most churches have some formula (similar to the written wedding vows that people use when getting married) to help people express their trust in God. I think this is good and helpful

There are many who want to have a private baptism. I think this is inappropriate and a misunderstanding of what baptism means. Baptism is a public commitment to God. That is part of the significance. Commitment to Christ is a public stance, not a private one:

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)

Not wanting to be baptized publicly is like not wanting to get married because you don’t want to say your vows publicly. Plus, we have to remember that baptism not only joins us with Christ, but also with the Church. This is an event that community-oriented. It is not a private, one-on-one encounter with God. You are entering into the covenant that God has with his people, not with individual Christians, but with the Church. Baptism makes you a part of God’s covenant people.

“I don’t want to look stupid when I get wet in front of people.”

Not kidding. I have heard this a lot. People don’t want to get baptized because they will look stupid when they come out of the water. They don’t want their hair, make-up, etc. messed up with everyone looking at them. They don’t want to have to wear a white robe or wet clothes or a bathing suit in front of people. They don’t want to sputter and wipe the water from their face when they come back up. Protecting their image is more important than getting baptized.

I think Anne Lamott has a good answer to this. She says:

Christianity is ”about” water: ‘Everyone who thirsteth, come ye to the waters.’ It is about baptism, for God’s sake. It’s about full immersion, about falling into something elemental and ”wet”. Most of what we do in worldly life is geared toward our staying dry, looking good, not going under. But in baptism, in lakes and rain and tanks and fonts, you agree to do something that’s a little sloppy because at the same time it’s also holy, and absurd. It’s about surrender, giving in to all those things we can’t control; it’s a willingness to let go of the balance and decorum and get ”drenched”.

Baptism is not about preserving your image. It is about having your image transfered, so that your reputation and fate is bound up with Christ. Looking foolish and giving up the right to control how you are perceived is part of what it means to be a Christian.

“I’m not ready to make the commitment.”

Frankly, this is the only good answer for why someone shouldn’t get get baptized. If you understand what baptism is, are ready to commit to Jesus for life, what should stop you from doing it? Nothing. When it comes down to it, the question of whether or not to get baptized is the same question as whether or not you want to get married: “Am I ready to make this commitment?” If you are not committed to a lifelong, sacrificial, committed relationship with Christ and his people, baptism is not for you. But, if this is the reason you don’t want to get baptized, you also have to be honest and say, I am not really fully into my relationship with Christ. You can be considering it. You can be approaching it. But if you aren’t ready for the commitment that baptism symbolizes, are you really ready for the commitment that Christ requires? But, if you are ready for this kind of relationship, what is holding you back?

Baptism: A Foundation for Community

People talk a lot about community these days. It is a hot topic in the contemporary church. Everyone is talking about it. How do we get it? What does it look like? What techniques or programs will encourage it? What does Christian community look like? These are great questions and conversations, and I this is an issue I care deeply about. I have read a lot about it and I am working hard to figure out how community functions in my own life. And yet, in all of the conversation and thinking, I think there is one aspect of Christian community which just has not been factored in to the discussion: baptism.

In the Bible, baptism is viewed as one of the foundations for why true Christian community can exist.

It is the reason people of all races, socio-economic statuses, and genders can be united in Christ. Because when we were baptized we were united and “clothed” with Christ, each attaining an identity that transcends our diverse backgrounds, making us all equally children of God:

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28)

For local churches and the worldwide community of Christians, what should motivate us to remain united? It is the fact that if we are all share the same central things:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:3-6)

Why is there only one body? Because all of us share the one faith, the core of Christian theology that we all agree on. We all have the Spirit empowering us and giving hope. We all have Jesus leading us as Lord. We all have the Father, whom we love and worship over all. I think most of us would say that these are strong reasons to maintain unity. But, there is one other thing included here. We should maintain unity because we are all baptized.

Here is another place where it is good to imagine Paul preaching in one of our churches. Imagine he came in and said, “I want to tell you a good reason why the black people, white people, Arabs, Jews, Hispanics, and Asians should root out racism. I want to tell you why men and women need to drop the gender wars. I want to tell you why the rich should start taking care of the poor like their own family. I want to tell you how people with different gifts and viewpoints can cooperate. Here is why you should strive for real, rich, deep unity in your church…drumroll, please…because everyone of you is baptized.”

Huh? Are you talking about my church, Paul? Wait, we’re not all baptized. That reason doesn’t work for us.

Here is an aspect of baptism that does not always jump out at us in our individualistic age: baptism does not simply join you to Jesus, it joins you to Jesus’ people. Baptism unites you with the Church, the body of Christ. If you are a baptized Christian, you have no reason to not be embedded in the community of faith. It is like signing adoption papers. You get a new Father, but you also become siblings with all of your Father’s other kids.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. (I John 5:1)

This is why it is so significant in the book of Acts when the Gentiles are baptized. When the first Gentiles believe, God sends the Holy Spirit on them in power, showing definitively that God had accepted them. When Peter saw this, he realized what this meant. If God had welcomed the Gentiles into fellowship with himself, how could the followers of Jesus deny the Gentiles fellowship with themselves. The logical conclusion for Peter, was baptism:

And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” (Acts 10:45-47)

The following chapters make it clear that this decision to baptize is not just about the Gentiles’ vertical relationship with God, but their horizontal relationship with the other Christians. Chapter 11, and even more chapter 15, show that considerable debate went in to figuring how to allow these Gentile believers into fellowship with the Jewish part of the Church. Baptism compels us to welcome others who have been baptized.

Perhaps a solid theology of baptism could be of help in combating racism, social injustice, economic exploitation, and sexism. Could elevating the significance of the commitment that baptism represents be helpful in promoting church unity? Could baptism be a good starting place for talking across denominational lines? It seems that Paul would make it a factor if he were here.

Even on a personal level, it is worth considering that, if you are baptized, you are joined to your fellow Christians. They are your family. Maybe that is a good enough reason to go and ask for forgiveness or offer forgiveness to them. Maybe it is a good enough reason to start actually being committed to the community of faith.

Baptism: Why should I stop sinning?

In the book of Romans, Paul lays out a sweeping picture of the grace and salvation available in Jesus. It is fantastic. Paul looks at human sin, Christ’s atoning death, our faith, and overwhelming grace and forgiveness available in Jesus. By the end of chapter 5, Paul has painted a pretty amazing picture of God’s grace. It is free and abundant and makes sinners righteous. This grace is so glorious that wherever sin occurs, grace abounds all the more, covering it. Of course, this raises a natural question for someone who is taking the idea of grace seriously:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?(Romans 6:1)

It is a good question. What should stop us from giving ourselves up to sin, since we know that God will forgive it? If Jesus died for my sin and it is taken care of, why should it matter what I do? What is the incentive to live a good life? Let’s do whatever we want! I’ll be forgiven, right?

Paul gives a very direct answer to this question:

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

If someone is a Christian, Paul says, it simply doesn’t make sense to continue pursuing sin. To be a Christian is to have died to sin. A Christian who wants to sin doesn’t really understand what has happened to them. They have been united to Christ. A Christian asking if they can keep on sinning is like a married man asking if he can sleep with other women. Even asking the question shows that you don’t have a clue what you have gotten into. This is why Paul is so strong: “By no means!” The thought is offensive to one who really knows that it means to be united with Christ.

But wait! Paul doesn’t just say that we have been united with Christ. He says how that union occurs. It happened when we were baptized. At my baptism, I was baptized into Christ’s death. His death counts as my death. His burial is my burial. This is the reason I have hope for the resurrection. If we have been united in death with Jesus through baptism, we will be united with him in life when he raises us from the dead. When I was baptized, my old nature, my old loves were killed, and now I am able to live for Christ.

Think about this for a second. Paul is asked: “Why should I stop sinning if Jesus is going to forgive me?” Paul answers: “You were baptized.” Huh? Growing up, I heard hundreds, literally hundreds, of sermons on why you shouldn’t sin. There were lots of good reasons why sin was a bad idea. But never once was I told, “Sin does not make sense for a baptized person.” Baptism was never referred to in the context of my behavior or my character. It wasn’t a factor in the logic of why I ought to grow and mature in Christ and stop sinning, either in my own thoughts or from the pulpit.

And yet, Paul’s instinctive, automatic, emphatic response to the question, “Why shouldn’t I sin?” has baptism at its core. Again, I go back to the wedding analogy. If I ask why I should not date other women, you would say, “Because you are married. You said your vows. You declared your commitment to your wife and accepted her commitment to you. You became spiritually united in that act. How could you betray those vows?” But, if I never made those vows, the argument falls apart. The same goes with Paul. The reason Paul can appeal to someone to not sin is because they have publicly entered into a covenant with Christ, uniting themselves to him. When? In the ceremony of baptism. And notice, Paul assumes this is true of all the Christians he is writing to. Who are the married people? Those who have had a wedding. Who are the Christians? Those who have been baptized.

[ASIDE: I will make the point loud and clear again, so that no one thinks that I am saying that baptism is what saves you…although we may get to I Peter 3:18-20 at some point…I don’t think baptism, in and of itself makes someone a Christian. You can be baptized and not be a Christian, just like two people can act out a wedding, but not mean it and never sign a marriage license, and therefore not be married…like as actors who have a wedding in a movie. You can also, in rare circumstances, be a Christian and not be baptized, just as two people can be stuck on a desert island, make promises to each other, and never have a wedding, but still be married. These are technicalities that are supposed to be abnormalities. Baptism is the normal way one makes their commitment to Christ and the Church.]

Imagine we invited Paul to speak in our church and share some good, compelling reasons we should fight sin and live for Christ. He gets up and says, “Because you have been baptized, it no longer makes sense to sin.” In our church, this message would not be applicable to a good portion of the people present…many of whom have believed in Jesus for a long time, but nevertheless have not bee baptized.

I don’t know about you, but that bothers me.

Baptism: The Great Commission

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

The Great Commission is central to Evangelical Christianity. We preach and teach the Great Commission all the time. Being faithful to this charge that Jesus gave us is a top priority for us. We place high value missions, discipleship, and teaching. For most of us, if our church did not value these things, there would be a major problem. It would concern us deeply and we would, at least, aspire to do better in these areas. Great Commission commands are central to what most of our churches are trying to do.

And yet, many of us don’t think twice if a church marginalizes baptism. In my own church, we have had a problem with this. Many of our adult members are not baptized. Rarely does baptism come up in our teaching. Encouragements to evangelize and obey come up nearly every week, but baptism? Not so much. In the past, we have even had elders and others who were not baptized. Our church has made great strides to change a lot of this, but the truth is, baptism remains somewhat marginalized for a lot of us. It is a secondary, often forgotten aspect of our faith.

I think this should be somewhat disconcerting, considering the prominence baptism has in the Great Commission. In the Great Commission, Jesus describes what it takes to spread the Gospel. The foundation of Jesus’ commission is that he is both God and King over the whole world. (“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me…”) Because of this, we are to call all people to submit to his loving rule (“make disciples”). The process has three steps.

• First, we make contact and interact with many different kinds of people (“go”).

• Second, when these people embrace Christ, we initiate them into fellowship with the Triune God (“baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”).

• Finally, we train them in the lifestyle fitting for one who follows Jesus (“teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”).

This is a description of the whole process of disciple-making. Before conversion, we go. After conversion we teach…and at conversion, we baptize. It seems clear to me.

How, in spite of all the teaching, preaching, and studying is done on the Great Commission, can many of us miss one of the more direct and clear commands in it?

Why are we so eager to do all the other things in the Great Commission (go, make disciples, teach, etc.) and not enthusiastic about getting people baptized? After we have gone out to the world and someone has become a disciple of Jesus, we do not hesitate to jump into teaching them how to obey Jesus’ commands. And yet, we are slow to say, “Let’s get you baptized!” People even get the notion that it is something one needs to be a Christian a while to do. Why?

Baptism: The Book of Acts

I am going to slowly post some of my thoughts on baptism over the course of the next week or so. Since Ecclesia has been studying the book of Acts, I’ll start there. Here are some of the things I observed about baptism in Acts.

The Book of Acts presents baptism as the normal, immediate response to the Gospel. For example, when Philip witnesses to the Ethiopian eunuch:

Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. (Acts 8:35-38)

Interestingly, in Acts, baptism is coupled with repentance and belief so closely, that in some ways baptism is seen as the act of conversion. This is just what someone does when they are converted. Curiously, it is even closely connected with the forgiveness of sins. Note Peter’s words after his sermon on Pentecost:

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:37-42)

The same idea is expressed by Ananias. After Paul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus, he is blined. Ananias goes to Paul to heal him, after which hes says:

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” (Acts 22:16)

The best analogy for understanding this is a wedding ceremony. People fall in love with each other well before their wedding day. They have the personal and emotional commitment to the other person in their hearts long before the actual ceremony. They intend to be faithful to that person for their whole lives, even without the rings or the vows. But, the truth is, no matter when the relationship starts, the marriage starts with the wedding eremony. The same is true with Christian faith. Someone falls in love with Jesus before being baptized. They are committed to him prior to being dunked. But, in the Bible, the starting point of someone’s Christian life is their baptism. Likewise, a wedding by itself cannot make a marriage, neither can baptism make genuine faith in Christ. Also, technically, you don’t have to have a wedding to be married. Two people are technically, legally married, not in the ceremony, but when the marriage certificate is signed. You don’t have to have the ceremony, but there is something shallow and weak about just signing the paper. In the same way, I suppose, technically, someone could be a Christian without being baptized. It just is sort of unnatural. It is a false start. It is abnormal. It should be the rare exception (like the thief on the cross).

Also, in Acts, baptism is seen as the definitive sign that someone is included in the Church. When someone believes the Gospel and receives the Holy Spirit, the way the Church shows that that person is welcomed into the community is by permitting them to be baptized. When the Gentiles first believe, the first key sign that the Jews accept them is when Peter orders that they be allowed to be baptized:

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10:44-48)

I wonder if this could be a good theological starting point for discussions of racial reconciliation even today. Could the fact that Christians of all races have been baptized into Christ and his Church could be a place to begin thinking about how we should relate to each other?

Unfortunately, unlike the community of Acts, today, at least in my corner of the Christian world, baptism is an under-valued, poorly understood practice. It is neglected severely, to the point that some of our churches have leaders who have not been baptized. We don’t understand how central this act is to the beginning of Christian life and our incorporation into the Church.

Baptism Lab Videos and Quotes

Tonight in Ecclesia, I taught one of our break-out teaching electives, which we call “Labs.” My topic was baptism. I loved it, because baptism is one of my favorite theological topics at the moment. I know that some of you who read this blog were present tonight, so hopefully you found it helpful and enriching to be there. Let me know if you have any thoughts or questions. I’m sorry that the time got cut short so that I couldn’t cover all that I wanted to. Maybe some other time.

I am going to try and post some of my notes up here later. Until I get to that, I am going to post a couple of things. The first is a funny video that I wanted to use in the lesson, but I didn’t have time to show it. Tonight, I did get to show a clip in which Homer Simpson accidentally get gets baptized by Ned Flanders, but it is no longer posted on YouTube. If you want to find it, track down the Simpsons Season 7, Episode 3. It is a great episode about foster families and religion. Because the Flanders in that episode resemble my family so much, it is one of my favorites.

I am also posting some good quotes about baptism that I did not get to share. Enjoy:

“The biological family, let alone the nation-state, is no longer the primary source of identity, support and growth. Seen in this light, baptism is profoundly subversive. Anytime the church takes baptism seriously, which is to say on its own terms, the surrounding culture cannot help but see it as at least potentially politically threatening.” - Rodney Clapp

“However we might cut up the world, whatever we might see as the most significant categories that define people, each and all are subsumed by baptism into the body of Christ.” - Rodney Clapp

“On the occasion of my baptism, a friend wrote: ‘Try to remember deliberately once a day that you were and are baptized, that your life is underwritten by God and that in a sense this grandest position in life has already been achieved. You can never go higher than simple baptism. In a sense, this is a release from striving. What was sought for long and hard has not been found, it has found you.’ — Ellen Charry, “Sacraments for the Christian Life”

“We bypass the community of Jesus when we cobble together a group of people whom we judge to have more potential for carrying out Jesus’ kingdom work than the merely baptized. - Eugene Peterson

“Christianity is about water: ‘Everyone who thirsteth, come ye to the waters.’ It is about baptism, for God’s sake. It’s about full immersion, about falling into something elemental and wet. Most of what we do in worldly life is geared toward our staying dry, looking good, not going under. But in baptism, in lakes and rain and tanks and fonts, you agree to do something that’s a little sloppy because at the same time it’s also holy, and absurd. It’s about surrender, giving in to all those things we can’t control; it’s a willingness to let go of the balance and decorum and get drenched.” - Anne Lamott

Talking about Homosexuality & Infant Baptism

No, those two topics are not related (at least in this post). But, they are the subjects of two conversations that I am following right now on the web. (Side note: I almost just said, “in the blogosphere” instead of “on the web.” I’m not really saying what I mean when I say “on the web,” but I’m sort of uncomfortable with the term blogosphere. I don’t understand where it came from, and it is sort of dorky…I don’t know. Side note over.)

The first converstation, is centralized, although not limited to the Leadership Journal blog: Out of Ur. It is about homosexuality, and I have commented in the previous two posts about this. There have been two responses of note to Driscoll and other commenters on McLaren’s original post.

The first is a response to Mark Driscoll by some blogger I’ve never read before today that I think is very good, and I think, needed: Some thoughts for Mark Driscoll. Take this and Tall Skinny Kiwi’s response together and see what you think. Personally, the reason this debate about homosexuality is so interesting, is because it brings out what people are thinking about McLaren and Driscoll, two poles of the postmodern/emerging/newkindofchruch thing that is going on. I know what I think about the homosexuality issue, so that conversation is less engaging to me than the quasi-political orienting of different progressive church leaders. That being said, I did find McLaren’s response to all of this interesting, and while I continue to disagree with him, I find his style and attitude commendable. I have always said that I would rather be in a fight with Brian McLaren over any other person I have ever met. I could have the most heated disagreements with McLaren and still enjoy talking with him. I think that is a good quality to have.

Another conversation I am following, is one on another side of the world of Christian perspectives. It is a good, old fashioned discussion about infant baptism on the Reformation21 blog. Because there is one Baptist on the blog, and a whole lot of Presbyterians, the debate could have gotten ugly and one sided. Thankfully, this is a good picture of grace between disagreeing Christians, and as a result, the issues are being laid out very clearly for people to think about. I for one, am a credo-baptist (meaning, I would only baptize children who have expressed a genuine personal faith in Christ). However, not unlike McLaren on homosexuality, I am not ready to quickly and flatly dismiss paedobaptists (those who dunk their kids). I see ligitimate arguments on both sides. If you are interested in the discussion, there are currently four posts about it:

• Babies of Baptists
• Beloved Baptist Babies
• The Lone Ranger Rides Again
• Wet vs. Dry Christian Babies