The ordinance of baptism illustrates our freedom and new life in Jesus Christ. It’s an outward picture of what has taken place in our hearts when we surrendered to the Lordship of Christ.

Baptism is very important. The New Testament urges every one of us to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of sin that He won for us on the cross. We’re going to see why it’s so important, what it pictures, and why Christ calls us to be baptized.

Baptism Identifies You as a Follower of Jesus

Every year, the NFL holds a draft where each team announces whom they have chosen, and you see the athlete stand up with joy and excitement on his face. He goes on to the stage and poses there with the commissioner and holds up the jersey with the team’s name on it. Everyone cheers and congratulates him. It’s significant because from then on, you begin to think of that athlete not just as their own name, but as a Cowboy or a 49er or a Seahawk. In some sense, the team they have joined has now become part of their identity.

The significance of identifying with Christ is infinitely more important, but that is a picture of what it means to be baptized. 

It’s a very public statement. It’s a way of demonstrating to all those who are witnesses that you are not the same person you once were. You have switched teams on the cosmic scale. You are no longer living for the world, the devil, or the flesh. You are living for Christ.

You’re telling everyone, “I’m with Jesus. He’s my Lord. He’s my Savior. And I’m committing totally to His leadership in my life.” And you’re not just committing for the time being – as long as things go well. You’re committing to Team Jesus as a lifetime member.

Before ascending into the clouds above, Jesus told His followers how to begin reaching the world with the good news of His salvation. This is often called “The Great Commission.”

Jesus said:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20, NIV)

Teaching them the Lord’s commands is what we do every time we gather for worship on Sunday and every time we study Scripture. But the first step in making disciples, Jesus says, is “baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” That’s the launching point for discipleship. It’s the first step showing your commitment to Christ.

Baptism Doesn’t Save you, but Christ Calls Every BELIEVER to be Baptized.

Some people ask, “Now, is baptism necessary for salvation?” Many of you even grew up in a religious tradition teaching that you need to be baptized in order for your sins to wash away. And to that I say, “What about the thief on the cross?” He repented at the very last minute possible. 

See, that thief had just been hurling insults at Jesus an hour before. But when it came down to it, and he saw the love Jesus had for even His enemies, and the way that Jesus was so clearly the Son of God, he believed. He repented and believed. And he showed that faith by saying, “Jesus remember me when you’re reigning on high.” And Jesus didn’t turn to him and say, “Sorry, pal. You didn’t get baptized.” No, He gave him all the assurance he needed that he was forgiven: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). 

The message of salvation is:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)

Salvation is a gift. It cannot be earned. 

So does baptism save you? Absolutely not, otherwise the thief on the cross would be damned, not in paradise. But that doesn’t mean baptism isn’t important. It’s so important that Jesus included in the final words before His ascension.

Baptism is an Outward Expression of Our Union with Christ

Several years ago, I spoke with a woman about the gospel. I told her that forgiveness is a gift of God. It’s something we can’t earn. Salvation is all by grace, and all we have to do is repent and believe.

She tilted her head and said, “But see I have a problem with that.” I said, “What’s the problem?” And she said, “If people are told they don’t have to do anything to be saved, they’ll just go on living for themselves and hurting others like so many Christians throughout history have.”

And I said, “You know, you’re right that Christians haven’t been perfect throughout history. And many who have claimed to be Christians aren’t true Christians. But here’s what I know… when you come to Christ, you become a new creation. Not yet perfect in your daily life, but your life has a new direction because you are now united to Christ by His Holy Spirit.”

This woman’s objection to the gospel of grace has been around for 2,000 years, because here Paul addressed that very topic:

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Romans 6:1-2, NIV)

Paul is answering that very objection. Won’t grace mean we can just sin all we want? No! Paul uses the strongest negative here. It literally can be translated: “May it never be!”

Okay, but why, Paul? What’s to keep us from going on a sinning spree, then celebrate God’s grace?

Answer: “We are those who have died to sin… How can we possibly live that way anymore?” Paul says we died to sin. Death is a pretty extreme word, and Paul uses it for that reason. He says, “We died (past tense, it already happened) to sin.” Okay, when did that happen?

At the cross. Paul’s going to say that when Christ died on Calvary, I—in some sense—died, too! In God’s eyes, our old sin-loving selves were staked to the cross with Jesus. His death becomes our death. Our souls are now knit together in unity by faith.

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized 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. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3-5, NIV)

What’s all this saying? Union with Christ is what the gospel is all about. His death becomes our death. His resurrection life will be our resurrection life. It’s as though, by the awesome power of the Holy Spirit, we have been welded together with an unbreakable bond. What is true of Jesus is now true of us. If Jesus has defeated sin and death, then we too have victory over sin and death.

This is what baptism pictures. It’s all about our union with Christ.

When we go down into the water, we are identifying with His death. As we’re under the water, we are identifying with His burial. And as we come up out of the water, we are identifying with His glorious resurrection from the dead. Baptism is an outward symbol of our victory in Christ.

Water is often a picture of life in Scripture. But being baptized in water also helps us visibly understand the total immersion in Christ and the way He totally cleans us. The Greek word baptizo, where we get “baptized” and “baptism” simply means “immersion.”

So, Paul is saying our union with Christ is our “immersion into Christ Jesus.” That’s conversion. This is why I don’t believe sprinkling water on a baby’s head is what Jesus and the Apostles had in mind. It doesn’t capture the sense of total immersion and cleansing in Christ. And it emphasizes the act of baptism ahead of the true confession of belonging to Christ. A baby can’t proclaim the salvation God has already worked in their hearts, so I think in many ways, it undercuts the purpose of baptism.

When we first come to Christ, we become so united to Him that you can even say we are “immersed in Him”— immersed in His grace, His love, and His goodness. All that He is fills us spiritually. That’s what it means to be baptized in the Spirit.

And once you are in Christ, you’re no longer in Adam. You are justified, no longer condemned. The power of sin is broken in your life. That’s what it means to be dead to sin. When you get baptized, you’re boldly expressing, “Sin has no claim on me. I no longer belong to the world; I belong to Jesus!”

Are you interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and what He’s done for you? I’d love to hear from you!