Vince Deagler

hi out there.  i’ve been doing some thinking lately on baptism.  i know this means different things to different peoples and groups, and i’m not trying to be controversial, but i really think the picture of baptism (by immersion, following a personal committment to follow christ) is quite beautiful.  now, the reason i suggest immersion is based in a number of scriptures.  first of all it symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of jesus and the believers participation in that.  sprinkling, pouring, or other non-immersion methods don’t cut it for me.  and then there is that pesky thing called language.  the greek word translated baptism in our english versions means to dip or immerse.  if the authors wanted to describe sprinkling or pouring, there are unique words for that.  then there is history that shows immersion was the mode of choice up until the purity of the church was lost under constantine who declared christianity to be the state religion of rome.  you simply cannot declare someone to be a christian, it is a personal choice.  i’ll spare you the rest.  add it up, i believe in immersion.  and isn’t that a beautiful picture of christs death, burial, and resurrection?  and isn’t that a beautiful picture of each one of us who choose to follow christ?  i believe romans 6 describes the work of the spirit in baptizing us in christ, but i also believe baptism by immersion is a picture of this.  the candidate in baptism demonstrates their union with christ, and with that union comes “newness of life”.  how cool is that.  as the individual is brought up out of the water, they are picturing the life christ has given them and because of that they will never be the same.  it is a reminder we all need, i know i sure do.

and then there is the believer element.  for me, this is important because i’m not sure what the point of any other type of baptism might be.  to be sprinkled, christened, have some water poured on you, etc. prior to a personal relationship with christ simply means you got wet.  nothing else.  their is no picture of an existing spiritual reality, because there is no underlying spiritual reality.  by and large it is being done to an infant who isn’t even cognizent of what is happening.  or it is done at the conclusion of some sort of ritual indoctrination and entrance into the official church.  again, baptism as described in scripture is a picture of our union with christ that results from our unconditional surrender to his rule.  it is not a religion, ritual, or discipline…it is a personal relationship that forever changes our life.  without that life change, there is no picture.  but where there is life change, wow.  what a beautiful picture. 

we in the united states have had a relatively easy christian experience…maybe, probably too easy for our own good.  christ said things like deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.  christ said if you save your life for yourself, you’ll lose it.  but if you lose your life for christ, and the gospel, you’ll find it.  christ called us to give up everything.  to hate even our families (if you are not familiar with this passage, let me know and i’ll be happy to explain it…jesus was not anti-family, he was trying to make a point on the level of committment needed to be a christ follower).  here in america we have a message of god loves you, pray a little prayer, find a church, enjoy!  we avoid repentence, we avoid the hardness, in most cases we have no expectation (zero) that christians should actually be transformed.  if jesus made the kind of disciples the average church makes, well it is doubtful the gospel would have ever made it out of jerusalem, let alone to the uttermost parts of the world.  it is time for the church of jesus christ in the usa to step up and start following as we are called to do.  after committing our lives to christ, the next step would be baptism, followed by a rest of our life experience learning to obey (live, do, apply) everything jesus has commanded.  the good news is, he is with us, he is empowering us, and he will complete his work…if we will just let him.  so why not, take that first step, go for it.  you will never feel a bigger spiritual thrill than stepping outside your comfort zone, trusting christ to do something beyond yourself, and discovering he really can hold you up. 

by the way, july 26, 2009 we are having a baptismal service at our church (the prescott church, modesto, ca).  why not plan on joining us, or at least checking it out.  thanks for reading.  blessings.  vince