CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
September 19, 2010
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAYER REQUESTS:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, military and leaders The spread of the good news
THE LORD OF BAPTISM
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).
Almost everyone agrees that baptism is important though the form of it is debated (1). We in churches of Christ, along with a number of others, consider adult baptism by immersion the form to follow based on a number of factors such as the word baptism means immersion, that we see Philip taking the Ethiopian eunuch down into the water and coming up out of the water (Acts 8:38-39), and that baptism is connected to Jesus’ death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5) (2).
We are familiar with the texts that address immersion. We find Jesus being baptized by John the baptizer to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). He spoke of baptism to Nicodemus as one being born again (John 3:3-5). He commissioned His followers to go into all the world baptizing in the Trinity’s name (Matthew 28:18-20). The first Christian sermon drew a response as to what to do and Peter answered that with the command to repent and be baptized with the promise of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Paul, in relating his conversion, stated that he was told to get up and be baptize washing away his sins (Acts 22:16). Paul expands on baptism and its connections to Jesus Christ. We put on Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:27), receive the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13; Titus 3:3-8), and is connected with circumcision figuratively by Christ (Colossians 2:11-12). Peter tells us that it cleanses our conscience (1 Peter 3:21).
All of these are important and you can take a look at them at your leisure. What we have sometimes forgotten in our emphasis on baptism is that of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We should begin with Him and not with baptism. Peter did that in Acts 2. That being said, I like to look at another aspect of baptism that we might not have considered (3).
In our peaceful country, we have no problem immersing someone. There are no threats of violence against us. We pretty much accept what is said concerning baptism and we accept it as a commitment or covenant relationship. We certainly understand that our sins need to be dealt with and Jesus did that at the cross. We connect with Him in immersion (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:11-12). That is our society and we might sometimes be complacent in all of this. Sometimes it appears that we might serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
Not so in the 1st Century world. The book of Acts can be divided into two parts (4). The first twelve chapters shows that Jesus is the Messiah. That was in contrast to the religious leaders who crucified Jesus. By being baptized into the name of Jesus, people were rejecting the views of those leaders. As such, that threatened their position and power. Hence there arose a persecution against the believers led by one Saul or Tarsus (later to become the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul). Those faced with committing themselves to Jesus had to consider the dangers involved in doing so. They might loose family, friends and work. It was a difficult choice that they had to make. “For the Jesus-believing Jew this was a profound challenge to the national leadership and the entire Mosaic system which was used to say the Messiah had not yet come” (5).
The second part of Acts shows that Jesus is Lord. This was a challenge not to religion but to the political power of the day, Rome. The Emperor was Lord and people were to bow down to him. By proclaiming that Jesus is Lord, it brought conflict. When Nero fiddled and Rome burned, he blamed Christians for this. He literally used them as touches to light up his garden parties. By the turn of the century, the Emperors considered Christianity a threat to the Empire and began two centuries of on and off persecution. To be baptized was to reject the power of Rome. “For the Gentile (or a Jew) living in a society swamped by Caesar worship and emperor institutions (like priesthood, shrines, holidays and sacrifices) and sustained by Roman legions, baptism was blasphemy and political treason” (6).
By doing this they were subversives “that denied dominion to all the powers” (7). It was not just the world power of Rome but, in reading Colossians, we see the unseen powers being rejected as well, making them a public spectacle of them (2:13-15). To follow Christ in baptism is to deny the power of both the seen and unseen forces in the universe; angels and demons. Our allegiance is no longer to the Emperor, or for that matter, to no human, but to Jesus as Lord. Baptism proclaims our recognition that Jesus is Lord.
For those of us in the United States, this probably doesn’t have much impact. But in other parts of the world it does. I have read of several Muslims converting to Christianity. They must be careful in their study and when baptized, they had to do it at night secretly. The same can be said of believers in China. By being baptized, they are rejecting Islam or the communists and declaring that Jesus is Lord. Faced with the threat of death, of rejection of family, of the loss of work, this is a challenging decision.
We have been blessed in this country in that we do not have to make such drastic decisions, but it also leads to a more complacent attitude. We might need to think about what others are going through, and consider that our focus needs to be on Jesus as Lord.
George B. Mearns
(1) N.T. Wright, After You Believe, Harper One, 2010, states this on p. 281. He also says this about baptism: “Baptism makes it crystal clear that all Christian life is a matter of being signed with the cross, of sharing in the cross, of taking up the cross and following Jesus.”
(2) A number of theologians are becoming more vocal in the importance of immersion such as some British Baptist (see comments at John Mark Hicks website/blog). In a discussion with a classmate of mine who was a missionary in Africa, he told of a college course he was taking by a visiting theologian who privately stated that he and his wife had been immersed for the forgiveness of sins but that his particular group or tribe would not accept that view.
(3) Thoughts for this come from Jim McGuiggan, A Baptism Worth Talking About, 21st Century Christian, 2010, p. 25-26.
(4) N.T. Wright suggests this in one of his books.
(5) McGuiggan, p. 25).
(6) McGuiggan, p. 25).
(7) McGuiggan, p. 25).