Romans 6- Baptized in Christ Part 2

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What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4

Today we are going to continue in Pauls teaching about the meaning of Baptism, if you missed the first part here is the link. Now we are going to dive into why baptism is important and what does it mean for us as Christians. First we went over, baptism is a command by Christ (Matthew 28:19) and Christ was baptized for our example (Matthew 3:13-17) So if Jesus is our Lord (Master) then we are to obey him and get baptized in the Church

So what does Baptism mean? Well lets see what the Apostle Paul teaches us, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “Many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death” So first is the acknowledgement that you are a sinner and Christ died for your sins. As the Apostle Peter states “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38) Repentance is a part of baptism. So the symbol of you being lowered into the water, is a symbol of your old self dying and being buried with Christ 

As the Apostle Paul states “having been buried with Him in baptism” (Colossians 2:12) When you are in Christ, your old self died with Christ. Jesus paid it all for your sins on the cross (Colossians 2:13-14) This is a public profession of your faith, that you have died with Christ and are a New Creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

And then you are raised with Christ, as Paul states “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father” So the symbol of you being raised out of the water during baptism, is symbolic of your new self being raised with Christ from death. As Paul also states “You were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God” (Colossians 2:12)

This is essentially the gospel message being performed , the death, burial , and resurrection of Christ for your salvation. But there is also one last part, as Paul states here “we should also walk in the newness of life” What is this newness of life, its becoming Born Again in Christ (John 3:3) As the Apostle Peter stated “You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) Now some argue when does this happen? This is known as Baptismal Regeneration. 

I’ll just end with the words of the Apostle Paul “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Galatians 3:27) Amen!

Romans 6- Baptized in Christ Part 1

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What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4

If you want to understand the meaning of Baptism in Christianity, this teaching by the Apostle Paul is a great text to learn from. I think it’s surprising but the majority of Christianity has a misunderstanding of Baptism, and I know that seems like a pretentious statement, but if you look at the majority view in Christianity its true. The majority of Christianity today still adhere to Paleo Baptism or better known Infant Baptism. The majority of Christian Churches affirm this position, but why? Is it simply tradition or is it really the understanding of scripture?

I would argue the majority of Churches practice Infant Baptism simply out of tradition, giving no real consideration to the scriptural meaning of Baptism. So what is the purpose of Baptism? Why do we even practice it as the Church? Well The Lord Jesus said “Go therefore make disciples of all the nations , baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19) Baptism is a command from our Lord, not only that, Christ was baptized as a model for us to follow (Matthew 3:13-17) So Baptism is a sacrament and a command of the Church to be a Christian

So what is the meaning of Baptism? Lets take a look at the teaching by the Apostle Paul here , first Paul starts talking about Sin and Grace. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid” So just because we are sinners saved by grace, doesn’t mean we should continue to live in sin. As the Apostle Paul continues “How should we who have died to sin, live any longer in it?” 

Now as you read this text you should start to realize there is an issue then with Infant Baptism. Does an infant have sin? Again the majority of the Church have adopted a teaching by Augustine which is known as “Original Sin”. Now this teaching basically states you were born a sinner therefore if you died an infant you would go to Hell. Now I know this topic has alot to unpack, but to keep it high level, but to believe an innocent infant would go to Hell because they simply were not dunked by their parents, I think is theologically careless. Now again I understand I’m in the minority of opinion here, but I think we need to be honest with that the text really states and not the tradition of men.

The Apostle Peter also states ““Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38) So can an infant also repent of their sins they didn’t even know they committed? Also can an infant profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord? (Romans 10:9) I think the obvious answer to these questions are No, so why would we baptise an infant as standard practice of the Church?

Next part of this article , we would examine Paul’s teaching of what the symbolism of Baptism in Christ mean, pray for the Holy Spirit’s edification as we work through these texts in Jesus name Amen!