"Christian Baptism: Crucified, Claimed, Clothed"
Gal.3:26-29; 5:16-26 June 27/04 Baptism & Reception of Members
Choosing an Eternal Government
Tomorrow's a big day, but today's a bigger day. Tomorrow there's a federal election. It's been on the news constantly; there's been a record turnout at the advance polls, people are really getting involved, as they should. This is the moment when we decide as Canadians who will have jurisdiction or "say" over national issues - things like health care, the military, international relations, and taxes. Signs for at least 5 different parties try to get our attention and support. Some people declare their support for a candidate publicly by planting a sign on their front lawn. If they're really gung-ho, they may even help with the campaign.
But by next week, the election will be old news. Important as this choice about our government is, we'll be doing it again in 4 years. Prime Ministers and parties in power change over the decades; "death and taxes" stay the same, as the saying goes. There is a far more important election than the one held tomorrow. That decision has to do with who we choose to have ETERNAL jurisdiction or "say" or leadership in our lives. When we die, it's not going to matter what the pollsters or commentators say, or who's in earthly government at the time: what matters then is what God says, HIS decision about our life, whether we're part of His "election". And that depends on what we decide about Jesus, which is reflected in today's happenings right here: declaring our faith in front of others, opting for baptism and becoming an active part of a church family. So today's choices are more important than tomorrow's. Being baptized is putting out a sign (as it were) that "Jesus has my vote", I'm going to live by His "platform". This faith decision is the most important one a person can make. It involves a Crucifixion, and being Claimed and Clothed.
Crucifying the Sinful Self
Our chief Christian symbol is kind of stark, when you think about it: the cross was an instrument of torture and execution. Death is not a pleasant topic, yet it's an inescapable counterpart to life, and deathly words are what Jesus and Paul use to describe the dramatic change in life that conversion brings. There is a finality to death. Sadly and tragically, a young local teenager was suddenly killed in a fluke accident involving canoes and a truck on a bumpy road this past week. It's such a shock for all who knew him. No longer will he be able to play or phone or interact with peers and family; as far as this life is concerned, he's completely gone.
It's very sad when we're grieving the loss of somebody we know and love. But on the other hand, when something deadly is threatening us like a disease, the death of it or the organisms can be a good thing. It all depends on the nature of what dies. At a hospital, we WANT to kill diseases, so in between visits to patients I squirt some alcohol solution on my hands to destroy the germs.
The Bible warns us that sin is deadly - "the wages of sin is death" (Rom.6:23). We have an enemy, the thief or Devil, whom Jesus said seeks only to "steal, kill, and destroy" (Jn.10:10). Unfortunately from our birth we've caught his "bug" and are totally infected with the sin disease. Like an ugly shade of colour tint, sin is so "dyed" into our fabric that the only remedy is for us to die in a spiritual sense and start over. We sense this conflict or struggle between good and evil within us as a constant tug-of-war, v17 "You do not do what you want," Paul writes. Our best intentions are thwarted by our inner desires.
Jesus challenged His audience by insisting, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23) And, "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." (Mark 8:35) Tough talk! Likewise, Paul observes that those who belong to Christ "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Gal.5:24) Living for Jesus is such a dramatic change that he could say in Gal.2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me..."
This death or de-throning of ruling desires happens in two realms, that of the SELF and of the SOCIAL life. About Self, 5:26 says, "Let us not become conceited" - literally "empty glory", thinking you're hot stuff without reason. In the section on the deeds of the flesh (vv19-21), he lists debauchery - "eagerness for lustful pleasure" (NLT); idolatry - worshipping something of your own choosing and possibly your own making, rather than your Creator God; witchcraft - that entices when you decide you don't need God and want maximum power for yourself, regardless of what dark source it may come from; jealousy; selfish ambitions; dissension - "the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group"; envy; and the consequences of yielding unwisely to our appetites -- drunkenness, an orgies or "wild parties". These are the products of selfishness that make us completely unfit to be God's people, and have to go.
There's also sin in the realm of the Social Life. Paul's list in this regard mentions sexual immorality, hatred, discord, rage, and factions - effective roadblocks to getting along in human relationship. Earlier, in 3:28, he referred to the social distinctions that are used to keep people over or under others: differences of race and nationality ("Jew nor Greek"), of social class ("slave or free"), and the politics of gender ("male nor female"). Becoming a Christian entails laying all these distinctions aside, renouncing our "claim" to prominence or privilege on any basis of natural origin or circumstance. Jesus' cross strips away the veneers we'd manufacture to hide our fallenness and tyrannize others.
So baptism, the obedient response of faith, going down into the water, represents this crucifixion of our ourselves, this death to sin that Jesus says is necessary in order to find eternal life. We can't do it on our own; Christianity is not a "do-it-yourself" religion, we have nothing to boast of before God or that could possibly earn our way to heaven. It's not our own strength that overcomes evil and sinful habits, but Jesus' victory on our behalf at the cross. His blood washes us clean by virtue of His sinless perfect life. Romans 6(3f) asks, "...don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Resurrection power to overcome sin's deadliness.
Claimed to Belong to Jesus
On the farm where I grew up, in Lot 1 Concession 8 Hibbert Township, I knew where I belonged. Several signs told passersby whose place this was. Our red shed boasted letters a foot high, "WN DOW & SONS". [Nowadays there would likely be additional reference to include my mother!] There was a holstein sign attached to a tree by the road that also had the name. And if there was still any doubt, our names were on the mailbox as well. All these signs helped give a feeling of ownership and belonging, that this was "our place" -- home.
Christian baptism also is a sign of belonging, a mark of Jesus' ownership. We get visibly wet - that's different from the onlookers. The ritual itself is pronounced "in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit" -- we are named for and identified with the Trinity. Branded for God (though a lot less painfully than are livestock!). It's the way the Christian church welcomes newcomers into the family.
Paul writes that "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal.3:26). It's through trusting in what Jesus did for us that we are born again spiritually, becoming God's true sons and daughters. Paul speaks of being "baptized into Christ" (3:27) - sunk into Him, made one as a sunken vessel is one with the ocean. "If you belong to Christ," He adds, "then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (3:29) If I call myself a Christian, I no longer have rights over my body or soul; I belong to Jesus my Saviour and Lord. And His Word says that qualifies me as an HEIR: not of the family farm, but something much bigger and better.
What are the two parts of the inheritance that Christians have coming to them, thanks to God's grace? Immediately, there's the gift of the Holy Spirit. Gal.3:14 says, "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." That's how God the Father wanted to bless the nations through Abraham all along, sharing with them His very own mighty Spirit, to lead and empower our human lives. "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts..." (Gal.4:6) So Paul uses a variety of ways to express this new relationship: we are to "live by" the Spirit, be "led by" the Spirit, "keep in step with" the Spirit, and allow Him to bear "fruit" through us. Moment by moment, starting immediately.
But there is also a part of the inheritance that comes eventually to those who God has claimed: that's God's Kingdom. Paul notes those who habitually practice fleshly deeds "will not inherit the Kingdom of God" (5:21). Kingdom has to do with government - who will be your leader, what country will you live in? Even when tragedy strikes, we can be comforted and thankful for the promise of an eternal home -- not in Hibbert but Heaven. Jesus declared, "In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.I am going there to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2) And He promised to come and take us to be with Him there -- that's what will make Heaven so wonderful.
Clothed with Christ
When children are young, they often dress up their dolls or stuffies in different outfits to make them look their best. As we mature, we come to the point where we're dressing our own small children in smart-looking duds. At least the first child or two, until they keep getting their clothes grubby and you give up bothering about it looking nice as long as they're covered! But perhaps grandparents are the most notorious for their "bragging rights" about how sweet their grandkids look. It seems the most recent photo of darling little granddaughter XX is never far away; what they're dressed in doesn't have to be new, just caught at the right angle to frame their progeny's unique adorableness.
Our loving Heavenly Father desires to adorn us for His glory, to "clothe" us in the beauty of Jesus so that everyone may see His mercy. God's ultimate project for our lives is to complete our transformation into the resemblance of His Son; "when He comes, we shall be like Him..." (1Jn.3:2) Baptism at the outset of our Christian journey marks the beginning of this gradual "clothing" process. Paul writes in Gal.3:27, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ." In the early church, when those baptized came up out of the water, they were given a clean white robe to wear as a symbol of this being "clothed" in the goodness of God's own Son.
This adorning is seen best in the fruit of the Spirit in chapter 5. Again, there are two broad categories: qualities to do with the self, and those to do with the social realm. Love, joy, peace, goodness, and self-control relate primarily to our personal state as redeemed children in relationship with our Father. Patience, kindness, faithfulness, and gentleness have to do more with social interaction, how we treat others and get along with our neighbour in considerate fashion. And you don't have to go to Reitman's or the Bay to get it -- just ask our wardrobe manager, the Holy Spirit!
Taking the Plunge
We're very blessed to have the use of an outdoor pool for our baptism service. Most of the time (and possibly later today) pools are used for swimming. But even swimmers demonstrate all kinds of levels of commitment, from those who sit on the side and dabble their toes right through to the half-hour-a-day length swimmers.
Soren Kierkegaard told of a boy in a pool once who was trying to impress his father. This young lad pretended that he knew how to swim when he really didn't. He splashed and kicked the water with one foot and yelled to his father, "Look! Look! I'm swimming!" He splashed with his arms and kicked with one leg, but he wasn't swimming -- because all the time he was holding on to the bottom of the pool with the big toe of his other foot.
Becoming a Christian is a total commitment: you've got to be ready to let go of the world, not just be trying to impress others while holding on to the old self. The boy wasn't swimming because he didn't surrender to the water, and we're only claimed by Jesus when we can fully give ourselves over to Him, crucified to former ways. Let's pray.