I am not sure why, but I have felt like I was supposed to write a meditation on ‘Baptism.’ I would assume that most of our Jubilee family have been baptized, but maybe one or more have not been, since you received Christ.
What is a believer’s baptism? It is an act of obedience whereby the believer publicly identifies through immersion with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Perhaps your parents had you baptized when you were a baby. That is not a believer’s baptism. Listen to what Jesus taught in Matthew 28:18-20, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”
The term ‘baptize’ is not a Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian or Catholic term. It is a Greek term. The Greek word is ‘Baptizo’ and it means to ‘dunk’ or ‘dip,’ ‘plunge,’ submerge,’ or ‘immerse.’
John the Baptist was also known as ‘John the Baptizer’ and he did something that had not been done before. He took people down into the water and immersed them.
In Acts 8:38 we read about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. The eunuch confessed his faith in Jesus Christ. Then he expressed a desire to be baptized and we read “He commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him.”
In Matthew 3:16 we read about Christ’s baptism. “After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on Him.”
Christ’s baptism was a baptism of dedication to the Father’s will. It had nothing to do with conversion because Jesus never sinned. The term ‘Baptize’ speaks of identification and allegiance. When we are baptized, we are identifying with what Jesus taught. It speaks of cleansing from the sin of the old life. It is also a picture of one dying from the old life and being born into a new life. Lastly, believer’s baptism is a sign of commitment to a new Master or new way of life.
Believing in Christ, or conversion comes first. Jesus told Nicodemus “You must be born again.” Believer’s baptism says that you have been ‘born again’ spiritually and that you are going to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.
The most important reason for you to be baptized is because Jesus commands us to do so. He went publicly to the cross for us. He wants us to publicly be baptized, thereby expressing our resolve to follow and serve Him.
If you are reading this meditation on baptism and know that you haven’t been baptized, please call me and we will schedule you for this wonderful testimony of your faith in Jesus.
God bless you,
Pastor Leonard
