Tag: Bible

Water Baptism: What It Is, What It Is Not

Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So, he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:36-38 NKJV)


One of the most beautiful and powerful moments in the life of a New Testament Church is the observance of water baptism. But it often becomes a source of confusion for many believers. However, the Bible offers many answers to our questions about baptism.


Water baptism is:


• Identifying with Christ in a way that pictures outwardly our inner spiritual rebirth, the old man having been buried with him and spiritually raised to walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-11)
• Our word “baptize” is not a translation, but a transliteration of the Greek baptizō which means to completely immerse in water. This is because it pictures a death and burial of the old man and the resurrection to new life in Christ.
• An immediate step of obedience after trusting Christ as Lord and Savior. There is nothing in Scripture that indicated a delay among early believers to see if their faith was genuine. In fact, baptism was the first opportunity to demonstrate the genuineness of their faith as we see in the story of the Ethiopian and others in Acts.
• An identification with Christ’s church. Thus, baptism is to be done with the witness of the local church whenever possible (1 Cor. 12:13). The Ethiopian’s case is a rare exception, for he would be launching the church in Africa as a first-generation believer and witness.
• A sign or symbol of the New Covenant. All the biblical covenants seemed to be established with a sign. Examples include the rainbow for God’s covenant with Noah and circumcision for God’s covenant with Abraham. Many argue that the Lord’s Supper, specifically the part of the Passover that Jesus reinterpreted as a foreshadowing his body and blood broken and shed for us, is the ultimate sign of the New Covenant. Perhaps that is true. But when Jesus gave the church its mission statement, it was to go and make disciples “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28)


Water Baptism is not:


• A saving sacrament. It was virtually unheard of for the early believers to not be baptized, so much so that baptism was almost synonymous with conversion (Acts 2:38). However, we must remember that the ritual of baptism is not a work that saves. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Water baptism, as mentioned above, becomes an outward expression of an inward reality. Unfortunately, too many place their trust in religious ritual for salvation, rather than in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
• An often-repeated experience for spiritual renewal. There are many calls for believers to renew their faith and love in the New Testament. None of them call for believers to be baptized again. Instead, they are to let their repentant and victorious life be the evidence and picture of renewal and rededication. Just as “there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism… (Ephesians 4:5) spiritually speaking, the believer only needs to be baptized once after trusting Christ as Savior and Lord.
• A mere emotional “jumpstart” to a new spiritual plateau. We sometimes hit a wall or feel like we’re in the doldrums spiritually. In moments like this we may need to dig deeper into the Word, pray more fervently for breakthrough, or invite counsel and accountability into our lives. But, if you are a born-again believer who has already experienced the biblical baptism described above, we should not view additional baptisms as the key to breakthrough. This could lead to a form of ritualism in your life.


Understanding what baptism is and what it isn’t, let us endeavor to lead people to faith in Christ as we witness in the power of the Holy Spirit. If you have not trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, won’t you do so today? If you have, but have never experienced believer’s baptism, please speak with your pastor today and schedule that as soon as possible!

Independent Thinkers

“There is no new thing under the sun.” -Eccl. 1:9

Independent Thinkers. I love them! I am one of them. I encourage them.

But I also want to speak a word of warning: Embrace the journey of an independent thinker with grace and humility.

“There is no new thing under the sun.” -Eccl. 1:9

What is my concern is for so many of us independent thinkers? It’s that we avoid arrogance! A sacred desire to be different for righteousness sake can sometimes be a disguise for being different for difference sake. The latter can lead to an isolationists mentality robbing an individual of one of their greatest needs, relationships.

To the high school seniors about to enter college: Be an independent thinker. That state university philosophy professor is going to throw a lot at you. As will the science and English departments. And let’s not forget the students and peers who will want you to scrap your moral convictions. You might be tempted to say, “Wow my parents and that country preacher never thought of these enlightened challenges to the faith.”

Truth is our minds have traveled those roads: The generation before you were the first to question everything. Some rationalized away their faith. Others kept digging until they found answers. Just know that there are folks with more education, secular and religious, than that professor you have who do find solid footing in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. And, by the way, you might be shocked to know how many philosophies of this world that country preacher had to grapple with along the way.

Think with grace and humility.

To the young adult millennial who has seen the hypocrisy in the church or assumed a blind and shallow allegiance by the faithful. You might be tempted to think that you’ve discovered a new way of looking at things in order to reject everything about the current structures of our worship, faith and practice.

Truth is our minds have traveled those roads. There is now a generation of midlife believers who didn’t settle for a “well that’s just the way things are supposed to be” answer. We grappled with sources of truth. We explored the various components of religious structures, biblical interpretations, denominations, and various factions of Christianity, and we listened to those who would deconstruct every aspect of our way of thinking. Some slipped into isolationism, others dug deeper until they found answers as to why we still hold fast to the core elements of a biblical corporate faith experience.

Think with grace and humility.

To the midlifer who DID NOT actually grapple with all these challenges: You woke up one morning not knowing why you’ve lived a certain way. Your kids are grown now, and you were “doing church” and holding the marriage together for them. And now your mind is wondering what you’ve missed out on. Do you really assume the godly Christian scholars, pastors, and revivalists of the revolutions, reformations, and awakenings didn’t mentally attack these challenges?

Truth is our minds have traveled these roads. Some, even vocational ministers, walked away from the church (and at times their families) while spiritualizing a midlife crisis. Others dug deeper, and their roots have tapped into the True Vine in ways they never imagined. They have become leaders in the Body, not for political clout but motivated by genuine John 15 love.

May we think with grace and humility.

Finally, to the senior adult who has found more time to think in the fourth quarter of life: You feel that you have served your time, that the church is not so much for you anymore, or that your maturity and experience has brought you to a place of spiritual retirement and permanent retreat. You aren’t even so sure you were right all of those years.

Truth is the Bible is full of examples of those whose best works for God took place in their old age. Their minds had traveled these roads. A few did not finish well. But Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Simeon, and many more saw God’s glory in the most magnificent ways in their latter days. Stay in the fight.

Think with grace and humility.

The good thing about independent thinkers is that we are not satisfied with the status quo, nor are we comfortable just going along for the ride. But if we aren’t careful, we will arrogantly assume that we must be pretty smart since we are thinking of things that no one else (at least no one around us) has ever thought of.

Humility says, “Check your motives.” Perhaps God is illuminating His Word to help us grasp something many have overlooked; in which case it will take grace and humility to engage others that need to be awakened to this truth. But, perhaps our flesh has desires for which our faith has not previously made allowances. In this case, we could be subconsciously using our abilities as an independent thinker to reconstruct (or deconstruct) our faith. All the while we are thinking of ourselves as spiritual revolutionaries going where others have been hesitant to go, we could actually be guilty of a blind iconoclasm making an excuse to neglect what our flesh rejects and embrace what our flesh desires.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Think! But think with grace and humility.