Have you been baptized?

Have you been baptized?

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Mark 1:4-5

Have you been baptized?  Baptism is a wonderful sacrament of the church.  It has also been a contention for division in which whole denominations have been started because of disagreement about mode or purpose.  There are 3 modes observed by churches.  Immersion is going under the water completely, symbolizing going into the grave and immersing in out of the water as in the resurrection. (Romans 6:3-5).  Affusion is a pouring of the water reflecting a pouring out of the Holy Spirit.  Aspersion is sprinkling of water with the symbolism of being sprinkled by the blood of Christ for purification.  Those holding to believer’s baptism (only baptized after committing one’s life to Christ) usually hold to immersion baptism.  Traditions of infant baptism would be aligned to pouring and sprinkling.  There are some good articles expressing the scriptures defending each of these modes for further reading.

For our text, what is important is the ACT of being baptized in connection with response to preaching or revelation of what God expects from us.  John’s preaching caused dividing line in their lives.  They were going to have to change and follow God’s ways.  Or reject John and what he was preaching and continue to live life on their own standards.  The anticipated response to following God’s ways was to be baptized.  It was an outward expression to all those watching what was occurring on the inside of their hearts.

The overwhelming characteristic of John’s baptizing was the confessing of sins.  Most sin brings shame.  Shame dictates silence through embarrassment.  “What would people think, if they knew “this” about me”?  So we keep silent.  But preaching the word of and from God shatters the wall of shame around our conscious.  In brokenness we are ready to share in agreement (confess) the most sinfully ugly actions and thoughts that we have participated in.  There is a washing and cleansing that occurs when we confess to God the error of our ways.  God responds to our brokenness and removes the bondage of sin from our lives.

It is one of the reasons that sharing of testimony at a baptism is so important.  It is powerful to witness the transforming work of Christ in person who is telling the story about themselves.  The strength to overcoming fear of others knowing our junk is found in the loving acceptance that we gain from our new found relationship with God.

Have you confessed your sins to another person? There is healing awaiting you.  I encourage you to be baptized.  It seals the door of doubt that is left open about your identity in Christ.  When we openly confess our relationship with God through the mode of Baptism, Jesus is confessing our relationship to Him before God.

Father, help us to listen to preaching and your word that it may penetrate into the hardness of our hearts.  Let it break up the fallow ground.  Help us to respond appropriately.  Let’s get baptized, if necessary.  Help us to pursue you in a broken and contrite heart. Help us to understand the strength of confessing as a path toward freedom.  In Jesus Name, Amen.