Baptism and Preparing for Death

Much ink has been spilled about the proper administering of the holy sacrament of baptism.  While this is of utmost importance, being one of the sacraments of the church, I have been meditating and ruminating on the view of baptism as a preparation for death.  The common liturgy for the administering of the baptism is “participating in the death of Christ in baptism, and raised again in the newness of life.” (I don’t have this exactly right, but bear with me or let me know what it actually is in a message).  While baptism as a public confession of faith is very important, I have been ruminating about baptism as a spiritual discipline.

I have been thinking that the attitude of baptism is necessary for all of life.  Let me set this up for you scripturally (because if I don’t, you shouldn’t listen to me).  Baptism was an ancient Hebrew practice of cleansing.  The temple scribes, as I understand it, would go submerge themselves in water before writing the name of the Lord (YHWH).  Then John started baptizing people in the wilderness outside of Jerusalem in a spiritual revival.  Jesus is baptized, and then passes on the sacrament of baptism during the Great Comission.  It becomes the way that believers publicly proclaim their faith.  On the subject of baptism, Paul writes, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3-5, ESV)

In a similar fashion, Jesus commands us "Then If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)  We are called into a discipline of dying continually to ourselves, which means continually being baptized in the Holy Spirit.  When we first become a Christian and then become baptized, we participate in Jesus’ death.  And then every day after that, after we are confirmed in the faith, we pick up our cross, denying ourselves and declaring ourselves functionally dead (I have an earlier post on the subject of taking up your cross), and we follow Christ.  Daily we die to ourselves, being regenerated daily in the flesh.  We bury ourselves daily in a baptism of sorts, and then daily we participate in the Resurrection, walking in the newness of life.  How glorious it is!

Then, finally, when it comes time for us to be called home by the Father in Heaven, we do not fret for our future.  We have been dying every day for years; this is simply the culmination of all of our spiritual discipline.  We approach the door to Heaven, and Death, which used to have so much power which has been neutered by Jesus, opens the door to Heaven.  Our final death is our most glorious, as we suffer with Christ so that we might also be glorified with Christ. (Romans 8:17)  No longer is death the great beyond…it is the normal.  When we continually die to ourselves, our final death should come almost as an afterthought, but with great expectation, since we will finally fulfill the prophecy of our baptism, and “we were buried therefore with him [Jesus] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  Finally our flesh will be thrown off, and in heaven we will participate in a newness of life with the Creator and Source of all Life.  How amazing that day will be, how glorious our Father is, and how wonderful is the Son for mediating for us as our great high priest in order that we might gain access to this grace in which we stand, through faith, so that we might rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)  How deserving of our praise!  Amen.