Thanks guys for your thoughts.
Baptism certainly is a subject worthy of discussion but could it also have a greater, deeper and more serious meaning than many realize? Could it be connected to Christs death and resurrection, and if so what meaning does that have for us Christians?
Let me share some of my thoughts on the subject and to start with I want to look at a few key points from the Baptism of John:
In many ways Baptism is connected with the preaching of the word and with the repentance of a man or woman who make the life changing decision to "Repent" and follow Christ and to live their lives in obedience to his word. In Luke 3 verses 1-14 we see a connection between "Repentance" and "Baptism" and how John warned the Pharisees who came to be Baptized in the river Jordan by him (full immersion Baptism) that it wasn't to be taken lightly (Luke 3 verses 7-9). The word "Repent" is translated from the original Greek language where it was read as "Metanoia" which translated into English means "To change the mind" or in other words: to think differently from how you used to think and live beforehand. We see in Luke 3 verse 21 that Jesus himself was Baptized, the son of God, with the Baptism of John prior to his ministry even starting so Baptism is associated also with the starting point of a changed person since the connection to repentance is also there. In Luke 3 verse 3 we see that John the Baptist was Baptizing to forgive sin. Now we know that Jesus never sinned in his time on earth so there was nothing he had to "Repent" of as he had to be a blameless and perfect sacrifice without sin and offered up on behalf of the people which he was. So the need for Jesus to be Baptized with a Baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin would seem unnecessary only that he spoke these words to John the Baptist as he approached him for that very purpose "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all Righteousness" (Matthew 3 verse 15).
So we see a few initial things about Baptism in general which don't change as we start to look into the Baptism of Christ: 1. Jesus was baptized laying down the example 2. Baptism is tied in with repentance 3. Baptism from scripture occurred at the starting point of a person turning their life around 4. Baptism was being done in connection to the forgiveness of sins
But the Baptism of John held a different meaning to the Baptism of Christ as Paul explains in the book of Acts 19 verses 1-7 when he explains what Johns Baptism was about. We see that Johns Baptism was to prepare the people and get their minds ready to take in the teaching of Christ making straight the way of the Lord. After Jesus had died and been raised we see the Baptism of John no longer being done and taught by Jesus's disciples but instead the Baptism of Christ was being preached in connection with Repentance and the forgiveness of sin as Jesus himself had instructed them asking the disciples to Baptize all nations in the name of the "Father, the son and the Holy Spirit" prior to him being taken up from the earth (Matthew 28 verses 16-20). Acts 2 verses 37-42, Acts 16 verses 25-34 & Acts 10 verses 44-48 are some examples of the apostles being obedient to the instruction of the Lord and Baptizing the people in this manner during their ministry.
So having established that the instruction of the Lord was to Baptize his newly converted disciples in the name of "The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", having also seen that the Apostles were Baptizing full immersion let us now look into what the Baptism of Christ actually means from scripture and how the early Christian church understood the meaning of what it meant for them in connection to their walk with the Lord and their faith.
First of all we see in 1 Peter 3 verses 18-22 that Peter talk’s a bit about the Baptism of Christ and mentions it as being "not a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ". Peter makes a connection to Baptism and the resurrection of Christ but he also shows that Baptism has nothing to do with an outward appeal or showing of faith to other people, but instead shows that Baptism is a personal thing between God and that individual since it is "an appeal to God for a clear conscience". Baptism is also something that happens only once in a person’s Christian walk initiated by that persons faith and isn't at all a work like the works of the Law that had to be done on a continual basis year after year having a punishment of sin and condemnation over them if they were never achieved. The Apostle Paul goes into further detail in explaining the mechanics of how the Baptism of Christ actually works and what it means for us Christians. In Romans 6 verses 1-11 Paul explains that being Baptized into Christ means that you get Baptized into Christs death, and raised with him as he himself was raised from the dead by God the Father. When a person gets Baptized they go into the water (fully immersed) dying a symbolic death (or burial) with Christ to this world and to their old sinful life so that as they come up out of the water they come up in a symbolic resurrection to the new life of the spirit as a new creation. They have been united with Christ in a death and resurrection like his (Romans 6 verse 5). But still there needs to be understood a bit more about Baptism and what this symbolic death and resurrection means for us Christians and why the symbolic death in the first place. In Colossians 2 verses 8-15 Paul again refers to the Baptism of Christ but adds an important explanation into what Jesus has done for us through his death and resurrection and the door he has opened up to all mankind who are united with him in his death and resurrection through Baptism: Colossians 2 Verse 13-15 shows that through Baptism we have received forgiveness of sin (past) but also God has "cancelled the bond which stood against us with it's legal demands (The Law of Moses) this he set aside nailing it to the cross". If the Law of Moses has been cancelled for those who have been united with Christ in death and resurrection (Baptism) then all future sins or misdeeds will also been cancelled out too and forgiven. It is the Law that brings judgement and it is the Law that condemns a man or woman as a sinner but where there is no Law there is also no sin either. Romans 6 verse 7 shows that a man who has died is freed from sin. Paul explains this principle further in Romans 7 verses 1-6 when he gives an example of the Law binding over a person only during their life but then at death the Law is cancelled out. The cancelling out of the Law only happens to a person through Baptism and for this reason we don't have to worry about condemnation or judgement anymore but we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. For this reason also we can stand against the accusations of Satan who will use past sins that have now been forgiven by God through Jesus Christ our Lord to drawer us back into a life of condemnation, fear and bondage by telling us that God still judges us. In Revelation 12 verse 7-12 we see how he tries to do this and we see how we as Christians are able to conquer these accusations by understanding where we now stand in Christ and also where the Law now stands on the other side of our Baptism. The Law will be used to accuse and condemn those who enter the New Covenant but Jesus has taken away condemnation and has given us a Righteousness by Faith which we receive through him. Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t still have weaknesses and we still don’t fall down and make mistakes. What it means is that when we do fall down and make mistakes as we try to apply and live in the new life of the spirit following the teachings of Christ the Law is not there to condemn us, and we with confidence can get back up again knowing that God stills loves us and considers us Righteous by our faith in him which is something that those under the Law find very hard to do. God has a plan which he foretold through the Prophet Jeremiah when he first spoke of a New and improved Covenant superseding the Old when he say’s in Jeremiah 31 verses 31-34 about writing his Laws upon our hearts and minds, and forgiving our iniquity and remembering our sin no more. These iniquities and sins are taken away through Baptism and our sins are remembered no more because the Law for the Christian is no longer there to hold against us. The mistakes and weaknesses we know and see within ourselves God will clean up and change and by so doing will write his Laws upon our hearts and minds so that these things become our nature. This is the plan of God in the New Covenant and brought about through Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection but it is poorly understood even in the churches today. We cannot live and worship under the Law, and at the same time try to live a life without condemnation and in the spirit as Paul explains in Romans 7 verse 1-6. The Law is still in existence for everyone who hasn’t entered Christ and for those have no interest in repentance so that God can judge the evil doers of the world and enforce justice (Timothy 1 verses 8-11). However for the Christian this scripture comes into effect Romans 10 verse 4 “Christ is the end of the Law, that everyone who has faith may be justified”.
