Reflection paper 6
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Casey Russell
Reflection Paper 6: What is the purpose of Baptism?
I believe baptism has two main purposes. The two passages of scripture that I rely on for definition are Matthew 28:18-20 and Romans 6:1-
Growing up in a southern Baptist church, I had been taught that baptism was very simply a symbol. Baptism is a an important symbol, but only a symbol of what Jesus has done for us through death, burial, and resurrection. This is not wrong, but the more I have studied, the more I lean towards the idea that baptism is more than a symbol but less than salvation. I do not hold to a view such as Church of Christ where it is of utmost importance to be baptized immediately to finalize salvation in your life and have your sins washed. For that, I do believe it is a symbol of Christ cleansing us of sin, as we die to the old man and be raised to walk in newness of life.
So my understanding is that baptism does two things. Both involve targets. The first way is it puts a target on the new Christian’s back. Matthew 28:19 says go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them… At conversion, this new identity as a disciple of Jesus is proclaimed to the world. In some areas of the world, this is really the beginning of persecution. Believers place a target on themselves with baptism. This is taken by others to be the point of no return of leading a new life that has turned its back on its old religion. Families are torn apart when someone gives their life to Christ and makes it official in baptism.
The second purpose is something that I have come to understand more as I studied Romans 6. I call it putting a target on your sin. In baptism, you are not only proclaiming to the world that Jesus is now your king, but that you are also dead to your old sin. You will now live a life of sin-killing. The verse says, “
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.