Hello, My Dear Friends,
During Vacation Bible School, a few of the children raised questions about baptism, and I did my best to try and answer them. I thought back to a scene from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou when Delmar wades into the river to get baptized. When he came out of the water, he said to his friends, “The preacher said all my sins have been washed away — including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.” Pete responded, “I thought you said you were innocent of those charges?” Delmar thought for a second then said, “Well, I was lying. But the preacher said that was washed away, too!”
When you discover what baptism really is, and what it signifies in the life of a believer, you will feel forever different about the baptisms we perform here at Imagine Church, and even about your own baptism. This might be disillusioning, but the water we use for baptism doesn’t come from the Jordan River. There is no intrinsic value in the type of water (it’s symbolic) or the amount of water we use in baptism. We will use any of the modes of baptism (immersion, sprinkling, or pouring) as we believe that the mode of baptism is not nearly as important as the meaning attached to the sacrament. It means far more than just getting wet! Baptism signifies three really important things.
The first is, baptism is always a sign of identification — identification with someone. Baptism means that you are publicly identifying with Jesus Christ, and with his followers, the church. It’s a way of saying, “I am not ashamed of the gospel; I want the whole world to know that I am a Christian.” The central message of baptism is coming out and going public with your faith.
The second thing that’s central to baptism is a symbolic death and resurrection. When someone is baptized, one is saying, “I have died to my old life; I have come alive to new life in Jesus Christ.” It’s symbolic of a change that has already taken place.
The third thing is that it represents a cleansing, a washing away of sin. It’s a public symbol of the fact that, since I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, and because my sins have been forgiven, as Delmar said in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, my sins have been washed away. In baptism, that is symbolized by going down into the water and then coming back up again, or feeling the water trickle down your head and neck.
Baptism, by itself, doesn’t make you a Christian; it’s not a part of the process of salvation, of becoming a believer. Baptism is a symbol on the outside of what has already happened on the inside. Nor is it about joining a church. Baptism isn’t about reaching a certain age in life. Baptism is about someone who has trusted Jesus Christ as his or her Savior, and who is willing to go public with that declaration.
That’s why one of my favorite things to do as a pastor is to baptize children, young people, adults — Christians of any age! When you hear their stories and listen to people describe the decision they have made to follow Jesus Christ, it is just so exciting. There is something so real in what they’re saying, and what they’re doing.
If you’re not a Christian, we would love to help you take the next step. And when you’re ready to go public and be baptized, the entire Imagine Church family, and even the angels in heaven, will celebrate with you!
We’re all about new beginnings,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
