The Jesus Dunk
Posted By: Zach Hoag
Baptism is serious business.
Wait, one more.
Ok, ok. Those videos are fun - I have to admit it.
And while it is a serious, deep, and meaningful thing, baptism is fun, too - it is meant to be a joyful thing done out of the joy of knowing Jesus, not some dry ritual done out of religious obligation. (Ok, so I guess it's never a "dry" ritual, but you get my meaning.)
Dwell will be doing its second-ever Baptism and BBQ Bash at North Beach on Sunday August 30th. And if you are considering entrance into the waters of baptism, maybe this post will help you to better understand the ordinance.
I have lined up 3 B's to help define baptism for you, and I'll expound on each one. They are Belief, Birth, and Band. I'll explain.
Belief
When it comes to baptism, Christians fall into one of two categories: those who think that belief is necessary before getting baptized, and those that think belief can come after getting baptized. The "belief after" people are called paedobaptists, which means they baptize infants. The "belief before" people are usually just called "baptists", although they used to be called "anabaptists" and academic types call them "credobaptists"; and the word they like to use to distinguish their view is "believer's baptism." Also, infant baptism people usually sprinkle or pour water on the person's head; believer's baptism people usually immerse (dunk) the person underwater in some kind of reservoir (like a tub, pool, lake, or river) - which is clearly more exciting, anyway.
At Dwell, we practice believer's baptism (even though we like our baby-baptizing brethren just fine).
So the first thing that defines baptism in our view is that the person being baptized needs to consciously believe in Jesus. Thus, the person can't be a baby because babies don't believe much at all except that they need to eat or poop.
Q: So just what does it mean to "believe in Jesus"?
(If you are considering baptism, you need to know this.)
A: Believing in Jesus is believing that Jesus is who the Bible says he is. In other words, it's believing that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is One with God the Father and God the Spirit, that he lived a perfect life, that he died on the cross to pay for our sin, that he rose from the dead on the third day, and that he is coming back someday to judge the world and set things right once and for all.
In fact, this is what the ritual of baptism itself expresses - when you go underwater it shows the death of Jesus for your sin, and when you come out of the water it shows the resurrection of Jesus for your new (eternal) life.
Birth
But here is where we need to make a clarification. Because we know that it is possible for a person to say they believe all those things about Jesus but not really believe it down deep, in the heart.
We don't want to discourage anyone from pursuing baptism or scare you into thinking you're not good enough - that's not it at all. Instead, we just want you to make sure that you believe from your heart and not just in a shallow way.
And this is where "birth" comes into play; that is, it's not just about mental belief but about the experience of a whole new life, a life of following Jesus. John's Gospel (in chapter 3) describes it as being "born again." He says we must be born of the water and born of the Spirit. In other words, water baptism is just an outward physical symbol, but the real significance is that the Holy Spirit has changed your heart through believing and trusting in Jesus.
If you believe, and if you have experienced new birth - repenting of your old sins and your old selfish life and beginning a new life in relationship with God through Jesus - then you are most definitely ready for baptism.
Band
So you're thinking, Wow, I didn't realize that having a band playing old bluegrass baptism songs was so necessary for the ordinance!
But that's not what I mean by band.
I'm talking wedding band here because the wedding band is really the most powerful metaphor for what baptism is, and for what it accomplishes.
See, if you are a believer, and if you have experienced new life in relationship with God through Jesus, then you have already been baptized by the Spirit, even if you haven't been baptized in water! The water of baptism doesn't save you, it doesn't transform you, it doesn't do anything magical to you. Instead, the water merely symbolizes and shows to the world what has already occurred in your heart.
In this sense it is like a wedding band. A wedding band is a symbol. It is not your actual marriage. If it was your actual marriage, then you could end your marriage just by taking your wedding band off. You could go date other people, and then come back home, put the ring on, and be married again! But of course, that would be a fake marriage, wouldn't it?
In the same way, it is your relationship with God through Jesus that is the main thing - not the baptism that symbolizes it.
However, we would all agree that a wedding ring is a highly significant symbol, right? In fact, there is something almost beyond symbolic about it, it's just such a meaningful and heavy thing. Most people cry when they put the wedding band on their spouse for the first time; and most people don't ever take it off unless they absolutely have to. It declares to themselves and to the world that they are TAKEN, that they are MARRIED, that their life is different now and the dudes and chicks better BACK OFF.
And this is what you are doing if you decide to pursue the waters of baptism. You are deciding to make a declaration, to make a mark, for yourself and for the world, that says your life is different now. You have a new relationship with God that defines who you are, and things are never going to be the same. He has saved you, and you want everyone to know it.
That's what baptism is all about.
Nacho was right: "Praise the Lord!"
(For encouragement, read the account of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.)
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