The Sacred Waters

Buried with Him, Raised to New Life: The Power of Baptism

Bible Passage: Romans 6:1-11

Ordinances are those practices prescribed by Jesus Christ to be carried on throughout the years by His faithful followers! As baptists, we acknowledge two primary ordinances: the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. We looked at the Lord’s Supper last week as we were able to participate together. It’s a practice commanded to be carried on regularly as a body of believers until Christ returns.

Today, we turn our attention to Baptism and are excited to again see it practiced today. Unlike the Lord’s Supper, Baptism is intended to be done once in the life of a believer. To be sure, other churches practice baptism in other ways and we don’t fully agree with all of them and so it is important to study what the Bible says about baptism and to do our best to practice it as it was intended. As baptists, we will do our utmost best to practice what is known as Believer’s Baptism by immersion. That is to say that the believer must choose it for themselves and we will fully immerse that person in the water and bring them up again. We won’t go into further details about these matters in today’s message, but I thought it important to put it out there.

The fact of the matter is that baptism is a significant practice intended to be done by the church and it is important that each believer come to understand why they ought to be baptized!

I came across a commentary that puts it this way:

The repetition of the word “know” in Romans 6:1, 6, and 9 indicates that Paul wanted us to understand a basic doctrine. Christian living depends on Christian learning; duty is always founded on doctrine. If Satan can keep a Christian ignorant, he can keep him impotent.

The basic truth Paul was teaching is the believer’s identification with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. Just as we are identified with Adam in sin and condemnation, so we are now identified with Christ in righteousness and justification.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 530.

Baptism is a symbolic act with profound significance. That is what I would love for us to pursue this morning… a deeper understanding of the significance in the practice!

Through baptism, we publicly affirm our death to sin and embrace the new life that Christ offers, urging us to live as transformed individuals reflecting His glory.

1. Challenge of Continuing in Sin

Romans 6:1–3 NIV

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have 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?

As Paul opens in chapter 6, he is addressing a concern that might arise out of teachings about grace. If we are forgiven for our sins, then what stops us from keeping on sinning? In fact, Paul addresses such that if we keep on sinning, doesn’t that mean more grace? And isn’t more grace a good thing?

Paul discourages his readers from thinking along these lines because to continue in sin is the opposite of living in grace. It doesn’t negate the grace, but it doesn’t reflect all that well on the status of our relationship with Jesus. How an those who have died to sin continue to sin?

Baptism is a key discussion point here. The assumption is that all believers have been baptized. We could dive into the distinction between the baptism of the Spirit that occurs when you first come to Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and how that differs from water baptism, but for the sake of our discussion this morning, we will focus on the symbolic nature of water baptism. If you have been baptized as a believer, you have declared to the world that you belong to Jesus! You are declaring that the baptism of the Spirit has happened. You are converted! You are a Christian! Sin says something different. You should not be living out a contradiction.

If I were to say something that contradicts itself, how does it feel? Let’s try it. “This statement is a lie.” How can this statement be true? How can this statement be false? It contradicts itself. If I am lying, then the statement is true… but if I am telling the truth by saying it, then the statement is lying. But I am making the statement. This is just a small brain twister that can lead to small headaches. Paul is declaring that a Christian who is saved by grace living in sin is even more of a contradiction than that!

Baptism symbolizes our union with Christ. We are identifying with Christ as we go through the practice. You are baptized symbolically into the death that Christ died. But what happened to Christ after He died? Was that the end of His story? When you are baptized, you are lowered into the water, as though that water were the tomb in which Jesus was laid. Death severs your ties to sin… that which demanded your death… Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 NIV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. Union with Christ

Romans 6:4–5 NIV

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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Continuing with the notion of identifying with Jesus through baptism, just as Jesus did not remain in the grave, so too do we identify with His resurrection through our rising from the waters. We may be buried with Him symbolically through baptism, but we are also symbolically raised with Him to new life!

This is the transformative power that Christ has in His resurrection! And it is all for God’s glory that we emulate His Son Jesus Christ! There is no doubt in Paul’s mind as he writes to the Romans that the resurrection is a reality and that those who trust in Jesus get to experience it. We may have been dead in our sins, but through Christ’s resurrection, we share in that divine activity and we too are granted eternal life!

And baptism then becomes a living object lesson of God’s work through Christ in us. Baptism itself does not impart anything, but through baptism, we prove to be faithful to the one whose example we follow.

Matthew 3:13–17 NIV

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

This baptism was not done for Jesus’ sake, particularly as John taught about a baptism of repentance from sins… and Jesus had no sins to repent of. Rather, Jesus’ baptism is for our benefit, that as we follow in His footsteps, we literally walk through the waters of baptism on that journey. Jesus declares that His baptism was “fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” This again points to the transformative impact baptism has on us… not that baptism transforms us, but that as we faithfully follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we are transformed!

3. Crucifixion of the Old Self

Romans 6:6–7 NIV

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

Coming back to Romans 6, we are again reminded of the death of our old selves to sin. It was crucified with Jesus! When we talk about our sins being nailed to the cross, this is exactly what it is about. We are dead to sin, but with a purpose. Our old selves need to be dealt with. That old sin nature that tries to swell up and take control time and time again needs to be nailed to the cross and put in the grave. And in so doing, the bonds of slavery to sin are forever broken! We are set free! We now have the capacity to choose a better path. We can choose righteousness!

If sin still reigns in your lives, grace is stronger. Grace doesn’t encourage sin, it negates it. It enables us to live righteously because Christ has declared us righteous! We have freedom in Christ because He provided it through His death and resurrection… the same death and resurrection symbolized in baptism! Sin can still feel confining, as though we are still chained to it… as though it is still in control from time to time. But through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His victory over the grave (as symbolized through baptism), sin’s power has been broken and we can live in the freedom that Christ provides. This is now within our capabilities. And it might just be that we need time to grow in that reality, to more fully realize how set free we truly are. But again, that is where the grace of God comes in. He sets us free and forgives us unconditionally. Even if we keep on sinning, if we repent of those sins and turn from them, He is faithful to forgive.

1 John 1:9 NIV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

4. Confidence in Christ's Triumph

Romans 6:8–11 NIV

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

This is our blessed assurance. This is our ultimate hope cemented in Christ’s accomplishments. This is the confidence we have in grace!! If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him!

Death is done! Death is defeated! And death to sin happened only once. The new life, the resurrected life, is now to be lived to God! That same life that we now partake in, that was symbolized at our baptism (and here is where I encourage those who have not yet been baptized to talk to me after service), we share as we now live it for God’s glory and not our own! The life that we now live, we ought to live for God.

The final verses for our consideration this morning exhort us to again put away our old sinful lives and to embrace the righteousness Christ offers. And it is a righteousness not only for when we are resurrected, but now in our daily lives that we live for Christ! We have the capacity for righteous living because He has gifted it to us the moment of our conversion. And it was publicly declared when we followed Jesus in baptism. And it is for us to live faithfully for Christ to glorify Him in our every action! Amen!

Conclusion

In bringing this message to a close, we are excited to see this practice in action! The baptismal waters are ready and one faithful believer has chosen to do this for herself and we rejoice with her! In watching her get baptized, reflect upon what it would have been like to be present for Jesus’ baptism. Think about what it means to follow in His footsteps, faithfully obedient to His commands. Think about what this might mean for her life as she openly declares her dedication to the Lord!

Perhaps you might be encouraged to think about your own baptism, if you have already done it. Remember what it meant to you and to your family as you followed through with it. Remember what it was like to choose it for yourself and to declares to the world that you belong to Jesus!

Or perhaps you have never been baptized as a believer. Whether you have not been baptized, or perhaps you grew up in a tradition where you might have been baptized as an infant, I encourage you to consider it for yourself. If you are here this morning, it would seem that you are at the least interested in learning more about Jesus, and perhaps more, that you are wanting to actively follow Him. Perhaps it is time for you to choose this practice for yourself. I would love to hear from you and we can talk about it and what it all entails in greater detail than perhaps what we’ve looked at in today’s brief message.

You see, through baptism, we publicly affirm our death to sin and embrace the new life that Christ offers, urging us to live as transformed individuals reflecting His glory. Through baptism, we get to participate in Christ’s redemptive work and declare it to the world!