Baptism joins us to Jesus. The washing clean with water (or being immersed in water) is not just symbolic of removing sins, it actually does that. It joins us to Christ, so that his dying on the cross removes our sin, and his resurrection becomes our new life.
Baptism is not something we make up. It is commanded by Jesus. We have clear words from him that this is what we are to do, and that it works. ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.’ (Matthew 28:19-20).
We become part of God’s community, and we receive the promise of eternal joy. The combination of God’s Word with ordinary water has an extraordinary impact. We are set free from sin, death and the power of the devil, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit living and working in us.
Baptism is something we can hold onto – it actually happened. It’s effectiveness didn’t depend on how we felt or how strong our faith was at that moment. As we trust that it was real, and it still works, baptism has ongoing power in our lives. Even when we have got something badly wrong, and our conscience is rightly accusing us, we go back and say, ‘In spite of everything, I have been baptized.’
Baptism sets up the regular pattern for Christian life. It is the daily ‘putting to death’ of the old sinful selfish self which still operates within us, and it is the reset, the fresh beginning, of the new person that we are in Christ. So, we daily bring our sins and wrong actins to Christ, and daily receive forgiveness, and have a go at getting it right the next time (or the one after that).
We never write ourselves off. We always hold on to the promise of Easter and the hope of new life working out in even the worst situations.
Baptism is a wonderful gift that keeps working within us, right up to our very last breath.
