The Death in Baptism
As we have been going through the series Death of Me, exploring the call of dying to self as it relates to the me-centric culture in which our churches are being formed, it’s appropriate that we will pause on August 28th to celebrate with members of our church as they follow Christ in baptism. I say it’s appropriate because baptism has always been meant to be a declaration to all that I am embracing the death of me. That we are saying not simply that we are following Christ by that we are dying to self. That we are no longer serving selfish wants and desires but being given over completely to Jesus.
What is Baptism?
The most obvious example of baptism that we see in the Bible is that of Jesus Himself (Matt. 3). In that case, baptism served as confirmation from God the Father that Jesus was, in fact, who He claimed to be. But Jesus didn’t stop at merely setting an example of baptism. He went on to command in Matthew 28 that Christians should go into the world, preach the Gospel and baptize believers. Therefore, baptism is not just a recommendation for the believer, but a command for all those who have been saved by the grace of God, put their faith in Him and desire to obediently follow the Lord.