Baptism still has its significance

I am reminded that a simple baptism service has a very significant meaning. Baptism is an ordinance or as some denominations call it, a sacrament. It is just full of meaning.

First there's the mode. It's not the most important thing, but the mode does bear significance. Our denomination practices immersion baptism which symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The picture of the person being immersed is that of a person dying and going down into the earth (elements) and back up in a newness of life. The picture is profound.

The Bible teaches us that a person who is a true believer is a person who is identified with Christ's death. That's the picture of baptism! It is Christ who died for us and we "die with Him" when we follow in baptism (see Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4).

The person who is baptized into Jesus Christ is a person who has openly declared his identification with Jesus, claiming Jesus' burial and resurrection to be the substitution for his own. Regardless of the mode (sprinkling or immersion) the open declaration is present in what is referred to as believers baptism. I'm not addressing the issue of infant baptism as there is no possibility of open profession.

I wonder how many believers understand what they are doing when they submit to baptism. Do they think something magical will happen to them when they emerge from the waters? To be sure the moment is a celebrated one but it should be remembered that the real significance of baptism is not merely what it represents, it is also the statement that the person being baptized is making.

Let all those who have been baptized into Jesus Christ be mindful of the declaration that was made. Let us be careful that the declaration to be identified with Jesus Christ is not nullified by lives that are inconsistent with that declaration. And let all those who witnessed the baptism be mindful to pray for the edification (spiritual maturity) of the one who decided to follow Christ. As Paul said, we are one body. We need them and they need us.