Westville - South Africa / www.coptrust.org.za
The objective of this section is to consider how we can participate in God's exciting plan.
Firstly we will consider belief and repentance, the first two steps in our journey to baptism. Next, we look at what the Bible teaches about baptism and what it means for you.
Where do we begin?
As we saw in Section 6, when we considered the path to salvation contained in God's name, there are two parts to our salvation. The first part (Yod and Hey) is what we do. We need to let go of our own knowledge and efforts (yod) and then die to self (hey). This takes a lot of faith to do this, because to stop trying ourselves and rely on someone else requires faith.
The second part is what God does for us. Vav is about Jesus as he is the one who saves us through the powerful work of God's Spirit in our lives (hey). This second part of the name of God is what He does for us; it is called "grace" in the Bible.
So how do we participate in God's plan, and become part of His family? We need to have faith and take hold of God's grace. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God Eph 2:8"
As discussed in Section 6, the steps to salvation, as embedded in God's name can quite simply be seen as Believe (Yod - faith to let go of self and come to God), Repent (Hey - breathe out, die to your old life), be Baptised (Vav - associate with Jesus), and Live (Hey, live a life in God's power and grace).
What is Belief?
Just before ascending into heaven, Jesus spoke these life-changing words to his disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved" Mark 16v15-16. Belief is a word that quite simply means, "to have faith". Our path to participation in God's plan requires belief, or faith, on our part. This belief is extremely important and it is what God sees as righteousness in us Rom 4:5. This is something that would be impossible for us to achieve by our own energy and efforts Gal 3:5-6,14. In fact all the people listed in God's chapter of faithful are said to have had faith, and so God tells us that:
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" Heb 11:6
Belief leads to Repentance
While faith is a start, it is something that must lead to real changes. The most notable of these changes is called "repentance". Repentance is a changed life, a turned around life. When you breathe out yourself, you are letting go of everything of yourself, everything of your old life. It is dead, as a new life can't be built on the foundation of our old life John 12:24.
Repentance means turning our backs and closing the door on our old way of life and beginning a new life following the teachings and way of life of Jesus Christ. "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death" 2 Corinthians 7v10. Repentance requires us to confess our sins 1 John 1v9, for in this process God can begin to draw us to himself.
Entering God's grace through Baptism
We're dead. We've believed, and we breathed out our life, and so we are dead to our old life. Now there is only one way to come alive, and that is through Jesus. The Bible uses the act of baptism as a symbol of the death of our old life and the resurrection of our new life through Jesus. This is why Jesus says, "whoever believes and is baptised will be saved" Mark 16:16. Our faith must lead to this next step, baptism. We see this in the early church - "When they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women" Acts 8v12. See also 8v26-38, 16v31-33.
So what is baptism? If we could read Greek, we would discover that the English word "baptism" is derived from the Greek word "baptizo". A few thousand years ago, "baptizo" was an everyday, household word - a man dipping cloth in a bath of dye was baptising it. A ship that sunk in a storm was referred to as having been baptized. Not surprisingly then, all of the baptisms we read of in the New Testament refer to a full immersion in water. In Acts 8 we read of the apostle Philip preaching to an Ethiopian eunuch while they were both riding in a chariot. Once the man understood Philip's preaching about Jesus Christ, he gave a testimony of his faith, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" and then was baptised by full immersion in water: "Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him" Acts 8v38.
Full immersion is important because baptism is likened to a burial. Like we have seen, we are breathing out, we are dying, we are being buried. Our old life is dead and gone. Baptism is an important symbol of this. As the believer goes beneath the water for a moment they are no longer breathing. This is a powerful symbol of us dying to our old life. "Don't you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? 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" Romans 6v3-4. Jesus died a physical death and was literally buried; in baptism, we die a symbolic death, we bury ourselves in water.
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" Rom 6v3-4
Why be Baptised?
Firstly, it is an act of obedience. Jesus told us that "Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" Mark 16v16. By following this simple commandment we are showing our obedience to Jesus as Lord of our life. Jesus left us with his own personal example that we should follow. Jesus himself was baptised, even though he was without any sins that needed to be washed away Matthew 3v13-17.
Secondly, it is a symbol. It is a symbol of dying to our old life and living a new life in a saving relationship with God and Christ. When we are baptised, we are said to be "in Christ" or to have "put on" Christ. "For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ" Galatians 3v27. Being clothed with the righteousness of Christ means that we can now, through faith, share in God's promises. Remember that in the garden of Eden, God clothed Adam and Eve with coats of skin to cover their nakedness after they sinned. "The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them" Genesis 3v21. An animal died to give them a covering but God has given us his Son, who died for us and shed his blood, to give us forgiveness of sins. Under the Old Testament law, the person sacrificing an animal had to associate himself with the offering by laying his hand on its head and confessing his sin. Baptism is the way we associate ourselves with Jesus who provides us continual forgiveness for our sins Heb 9:14-15. Baptism can also be seen as a symbol of washing; after all we are going into water. "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptised and wash your sins away, calling on his name" Acts 22v16. See also Acts 2v37-38, 1 Peter 3v21.
Thirdly, baptism is a public testimony. Just like a wedding is a celebration and testimony before everyone of our commitment to our spouse, so baptism is our pubic testimony of our commitment and relationship to Jesus. Through this simple act we are declaring our marriage to Christ, and it is for this reason that believers are referred to as the bride of Christ Eph 5:25-31, Rev 21:2. And now, as the bride of Christ, we join all believers and become heirs of the promises that were made to Abraham. "For all of you who were baptised into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise" Galatians 3v27-29.
It is interesting to note that the idea of 'being saved by water' is in fact established in the Old Testament. There are two very accounts in the Old Testament where believers were saved by water. Both of these examples are picked up by New Testament writers and related to baptism. The first concerns the children of Israel and their crossing of the Red Sea. You will remember that the water of the sea actually saved them from impending doom. Paul picks up on this story in 1 Corinthians 10v1-2. The second story is that of Noah and the flood. The very same water that destroyed all the other people saved Noah and his family. The water lifted up the ark that was carrying Noah and his family. Peter uses this story, in 1 Peter 3v20-21, to illustrate how in similar fashion we are saved by water through baptism.
Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ ...
1 Peter 3:21The Only Way
Entry into this new life is only through Jesus, there is no other way, but through Jesus. Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6. God gave Jesus as the way to come to him. This was God's ultimate gift of love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17
Entry into this new life is only through Jesus, there is no other way, but through Jesus. Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6. God gave Jesus as the way to come to him. This was God's ultimate gift of love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17
Our attachment to Jesus now makes us attached to God himself, and so we become one, not only with each other, but also with Jesus and God. "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21
The New Life
Having believed, repented and associated with Jesus through this act of baptism, we now rise to a new life. When we go beneath the water we for a moment are not breathing, however for our life to begin anew we need to take a new breathe? This is like when a baby is born, it is born through water, yet it is only alive when it takes its first breath. For us we must now breathe in our new life, the Spirit of God. "Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit" John 3:5
We now enter a new life, a life that is not powered by our energy, our desires, our efforts, but rather one that is powered by God's Spirit. There is no other way to live for God but through God. As Paul so powerfully says, talking about the process we have discussed in this section - "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" Gal 2:20.
And so we enter a new life. It is a life that is as different from our old life as death is from life, as darkness is from light. It is a life where we now no longer live in slavery to our fleshly desires, but under the wonderful power and guidance of God's Spirit.
"And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation-but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." Rom 8:11-13
The following references provide additional support for the issues raised above: Acts 2v37-42, Acts 8v26-40, Acts 9v18, Romans 6, Colossians 2v12-13.
We must have faith in God's Master Plan, repent of our old life, confess our faith in Jesus and the need for His saving grace and be born again of both water and spirit.