Joined by Baptism

Romans 6:3-5 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
 
WE often speak of baptism as being an outward sign of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is also a covenantal act for parents and the church to commit a child to grow up into faith. The parents and the church are to guide the child to one day live in a true baptism of confession as the Holy Spirit indwells him.
   In these verses, Paul relates baptism first to the service of Christ. He wrote of this service commitment when he taught how the Israelites were baptized into Moses in 1 Corinthians 10:2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
   This describes how Israel became a nation set apart – consecrated – from other nations. God also set them apart from their past in Egypt. They were consecrated into the law at Mt. Sinai, as they promised, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” (Exodus 19:8) But we know they didn’t, and they perished in the desert.
   In a like manner, in our Spirit-empowered confession of Jesus Christ, we are baptized into Christ’s service. But we are not consecrated by the law. When the Spirit empowers us to confess, “Jesus is my risen Lord and Savior.” we die to sin and live for Christ. The Spirit sets us apart from our past, from sin’s death into life through Christ’s death and resurrection. Our souls rise to live a faith life for Jesus. Sin, then, violates our Christian confession. There is no place for it in our soul because we are dead to sin.
   We see this power of change in Jesus Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Baptism is not an end but a beginning. It leads to teaching and obeying – service for God. Baptism connects our sin to Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. We die to sin and live for Christ in Christ.
   This is one reason our lifestyle is so important to our faith. From Genesis to Revelation, God tells us he wants our active participation in a holy relationship with him. Set apart from sin, set into a life of faith, we are God’s own. As we await Jesus’ return, let’s be sure we continually strive to live into that baptized life.