Rev. Mike Browder

Baptism Rev. Mike Browder May 1, 2011 In today’s sermon I want to do some teaching about baptism: What the Bible says and what the United Methodist Church teaches. Baptism is a sacrament. Do you know what that means – sacrament? One very ancient definition is that a sacrament is “an outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” We also speak of sacraments as two of the “means of grace.” In other words, they are earthly things that focus God’s grace on us. Sacraments remind us of what God has done for us that we cannot do for ourselves. How many sacraments are there in the Protestant church? That’s right: Two. (In the Roman Catholic Church there are 7.) What are the 2 we recognize? Baptism and Communion. {Catholics add: confirmation, marriage, penance, orders, extreme unction} So, how do we settle on these 2 rituals to be sacraments? First, each one is something that Jesus himself experienced. Second, each one is something Jesus commands us to do. Baptism is a sacrament because Jesus himself was baptized, and because he commands us to baptize others (in Mt. 28). Remember the Great Commission? “Go into all the world and baptize.” United Methodists use 3 methods of baptism: 1) sprinkling, which is used most often; 2) immersion; and 3) pouring, which involves pouring water, out of a pitcher, over a candidates head. The story of baptism actually begins in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament law of Leviticus, it was very important for the Israelites to maintain ritual purity. When they were contaminated, they were asked to wash, partially or completely, to restore their purity. No one could worship who was in a state of impurity. The contemporaries of Jesus, who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, (a group called the Essenes), were very concerned with ritual washing. Archeologists have found, ritual bathtubs carved in the stone, used for this purpose. This is what Jews call a mikvah. The general washing away of sin is a powerful image in the Old Testament. Do you remember Psalm 51? The psalmist says to God, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin.” And he says, “Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” By the time Jesus was born, Jews had begun baptizing converts to Judaism as a symbol of the washing away the old life. Sometimes Jews were baptized as a symbol of repentance. This brings us to the story of John the Baptist in scripture. Matthew 3 says: In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" … 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' Notice that this is about preparation and repentance. These two things go together. The way to prepare ourselves to worship and serve God is through repentance. Luke 3:3 reminds us that this repentance is what brings God’s forgiveness and the remission of our sins. In Matt. 4(: 17, 1:15), Jesus himself preaches this same message of repentance. We can understand John the Baptist’s hesitance to baptize Jesus. He knew that his cousin was the Messiah, and that Christ had no sin. Why would Jesus need to be baptized? This brings us to another purpose for baptism, and that is anointing. The word Messiah means, “the anointed one.” Do you remember that, in the Old Testament, the prophet would anoint the one who was going to be king? In this case, John the Baptist is the last of the Old Testament prophets, who is anointing Jesus, the King of Kings. By the way, this process of baptism, as anointing, is one way of understanding infant baptism. David did not become king at the moment Samuel baptized him. David had to later make a decision to accept the responsibilities for which he had been anointed. We baptized babies to anoint and consecrate them, but they must later accept the relationship with Christ for which they have been consecrated. In Acts 2:38, the first sermon after Pentecost, Peter calls on the listeners to “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.” [This reference to Acts 2:38 reminds me of the famous Acts 2:38 story.] Back to Peter, who preached in Acts. He also talks about baptism in the first epistle which he wrote: (I Peter 3:21) “There is also a [symbol] which now saves us – baptism. (Not the removal of filth from the body, but the response of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Look what else it says: The outward washing with the water is not as important as the inward cleaning of the heart that goes with it. You can be baptized all you want to, but if your heart has never been made clean, you are lost! Acts 22:16 says, “What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized… and wash away your sins… calling on the name of the Lord. In Mark 16:16, Jesus himself says, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” Colossians 2:11-12 talks about both baptism and circumcision: “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith, in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” In the early church, infant baptism, including infant baptism, replaced circumcision as a sign of being a part of God’s community. This is one reason why United Methodists do not believe in re-baptizing people. It would be like re-circumcising. We do honor the baptism of other churches. In this, we agree with the Presbyterian, the Episcopal, the Lutheran and even the Roman Catholic church. We accept their baptism and they accept ours. For example, if a Methodist goes to get married in the Catholic Church, their priest sends me a letter asking me to certify that they have been baptized. We also accept the baptism of Baptist churches. However, most Baptist churches do not accept ours. Baptists do not accept infant baptism. They believe that a person must be old enough to repent, and that baptism is a sign of repentance and conversion. Baptists only use immersion for baptism, that is, placing the person completely under the water. For Baptists, baptism is usually administered at the time of joining the church. Many Baptist churches will only allow someone to be a member after they have been baptized in that particular congregation. Returning again to Colossians, the Bible says that, through baptism, we participate in the work of Christ. This fact is underscored in our lesson from Romans 6(: 3-4): “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.” Just as Christ died for us, so we die to sin. Just as he was raised from the dead, he gives us everlasting life. These facts are reflected in our baptism. Baptism by immersion is a vivid reminder of how Christ was put into the tomb. Jesus states that his ultimate “baptism” is his crucifixion. In Luke 12(: 50) Jesus says that he is distressed at this “baptism,” which he knows lies ahead. In Mark 10:38-39: Jesus said to them, "…Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" This is what it means to be a follower of Christ – to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. Thus we are baptized into his death. And the disciples said to Jesus, "We are able." That’s where we get the words for that great hymn. Are ye able, said the Master to be crucified with me? [And we] answer, “Lord we are able, to the death we follow thee.” So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized!” These are serious words to ponder. Gal. 3:27says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Those who experience Christ’s crucifixion also experience the power of the risen Savior. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Have you ever thought of this verse in terms of baptism? You should. The power of the risen Savior comes to us through the Holy Spirit. That’s why the Holy Spirit is associated with Baptism. As John the Baptist said, “I baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Every preacher ought to say that to the person he or she baptizes: “I baptized you with water, but Christ will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." John 4:2 reminds us that Jesus himself never baptized anyone. But he counts on us, who are his disciples, to do it. That’s what he says in the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and baptize. Notice that, besides baptism, there are two other parts of the Great Commission. One is to take the message of Christ’s salvation into all the world. The other is to teach people about faith after they have been baptized. Finally, I Corinthians 12 (: 13) reminds us that, as Christ’s people, we are baptized into a special relationship with each other: “By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.” That’s one reason why Baptism is so special. It reminds us of our relationship with each other in Christ. We have all been baptized into the one body of Christ. We are part of each other. And baptism is a sign of our love for one another. There is a popular phrase among pastors and theologians today: “Remember your baptism!” In other words, remember the grace of God that was celebrated and acknowledged at your baptism. I would put it another way: “Live your baptism!” Live with an awareness of God’s grace. Live with repentance. Live with forgiveness. Live with holiness. Live a life that shares in the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Live a life that is anointed by the Holy Spirit. In all these things, you will be living your baptism.

Prayer: Lord, let us remember our baptism. That we have been anointed into your family. May our sins be washed away and buried with Christ. And, as we are raised from the water, may we be born again to live for him. Amen.