A Brief Theology of Baptism
We have some baptisms coming up this week at Hope City Church. That means this is a good time for our church to be reminded of what baptism is. So here is just a brief theology of baptism to refresh your memory.
First of all, the practice of baptism was commanded by the Lord Jesus. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). King Jesus ordained the practice of baptism. That is why it has been traditionally called an ordinance by the church. So the first principle of baptism that I want to lay down is this: All followers of Jesus should be baptized because Jesus said so.
But what is it? Let’s start with the word baptize. The word baptize comes from a Greek word baptizo. It means to immerse in water, to wash, to cleanse. That is why the answer to question number 44 of the New City Catechism, “What is baptism”, says “baptism is the washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
So what are we washing? Well, we might be washing some eyeliner off, or some stank off your body. But that’s not what a Christain baptism is about. If you're physically dirty just go take a shower. You don’t need the church to help you with that. A Christain baptism does not do the washing so much as it demonstrates the washing that’s already happened.
Baptism is primarily a symbol of the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. Baptism demonstrates the spiritual washing of a person's heart. By faith in the gospel of Jesus a person's sin stained heart is washed clean by the power of the Holy Spirit, which makes it possible for a person to be brought into fellowship with a holy and pure God. That is why John the Baptist taught that he only baptized with water but Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit (Mk 1:8). And that is why the Apostle Paul wrote that we are saved by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). And why Paul wrote in Romans that believers in the Gospel have been baptized into Christ Jesus, united to him in his death and his resurrection. That means when Jesus died on the cross our sin died with him. And when he resurrected from the dead, we too have been brought to new life. And so a person who has faith in the gospel, demonstrates their union with Christ by going under water, dramatically portraying their union with Jesus’s death and burial, and emerging out of the water to dramatically portray that they have been spiritually born again, and will one day experience a bodily resurrection like Jesus.
So we baptize because Jesus said so. We baptize to symbolize the washing of the Holy Spirit that makes fellowship with God possible. And the last thing I want to point out is that baptism demonstrates repentance, which is a fruit of the Spirit’s work in the heart of a believer.
The story of the New Testament portrays baptism as a rite of initiation. That means that baptism is typically the first act of public obedience that a new believer engages in. It is a demonstration of loyalty to King Jesus. The story of Jesus’ ministry begins with John the Baptist preparing people to follow Jesus by baptizing them into a baptism of repentance, calling them to turn from their sins and turn to Jesus (Mk 1:4). Jesus announces his ministry by proclaiming that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that in light of that people ought to repent (Mk 1:15). And again, in Romans 6 Paul describes a believer who is united with Christ as someone who actively works to turn from their sin. He says, “present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” And Peter when describing baptism calls it an appeal to God for a good conscience (1 Pt 3:21). So the act of baptism is not only a symbol of the saving work of God, but it is an active demonstration of repentance, that a disciple of Jesus has decided to no longer live in disobedience to God but live in obedience to God.
So we baptize because we want to obey Jesus. We immerse in water to demonstrate union with Jesus. And we do it publicly to demonstrate our loyalty to Jesus.