What does it mean to live an immersed life? The writer of the Book of Hebrews is writing to a group of Jewish Christians in Rome before the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD who were facing persecution and were tempted to return to Judaism. He saw a dullness and immaturity in their faith that caused them to not be founded in the basics that produce perseverance, faithfulness, and endurance in following Jesus. Persecution exposed their shallowness, and they were starting to shrink back and fail in their faith – like what we see today in modern American Christianity with just a fraction of their persecution.
Hebrews 6:1-3 NKJV
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.”
Baptism is not an event but rather the Biblical approach to the Christian life. “Baptism” is from the Greek “baptizo,” which means “to immerse, submerge, saturate; to make overwhelmed.” Participating in baptism is a total and transitional experience involving the whole person, and it marks a passing out of one place or stage into another. In the New Testament, there are five baptisms (3 initial, 2 maturing). We will look at three of those, as they build on each other.
Jesus doesn’t just want a piece of us – he wants all of us. He wants us to be immersed. If we are in him and with him, it requires this sense of immersion of self and the idea that we’ve taken all we have and placed it on Jesus Christ and what he has for us – there is no in-between.
Baptism 1 – The Baptism of John the Baptist
This is a baptism of repentance and it must all begin here for every single person who would name the name of Jesus. We cannot skip this step.
Mark 1:4
“John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.”
Just as with cancer, remission means a subsiding or retreating – a going away with a resulting restoration of health. This baptism of repentance produces the same effect for sin in our life. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus to come. He was putting sin into remission in the people’s lives so that their eyes could be ready to see the Kingdom of God as Jesus brought it.
How will we see or understand the Kingdom of God unless our sin goes into remission through repentance first? John the Baptist wasn’t just a warm-up act to get people all excited for Jesus, “for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” (Matthew 11:13). John’s message said this was “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mark 1:1). He came to prepare the way. This is where the Gospel starts.
“Repentance” – Greek “metanoia” which means “a change in the whole personality” where one’s mindset, will, heart, and actions come into agreement with and obedience to God. It is to be fully persuaded at the core of our being that God’s ways and commands must become ours! This means a complete re-orientation of our life as we understand it. “The greatest among you
will be the one who always serves others.” (Matthew 23:11 NKJV).
We are immersed into 100% alignment with our King and Savior. This is a gift that God enables us to do – to have this type of response to him. His is a completely different type of life and kingdom than anything seen anywhere else – and we need to be baptized in it.
1 Corinthians 8:3 AMPC
“But if one loves God truly [with affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, and grateful recognition of His blessing], he is known by God [recognized as worthy of His intimacy and love, and he is owned by Him].”
Jesus gets ownership, control, and authority over every area of life through genuine Biblical repentance. “Savior” occurs thirty three times in the New Testament compared to “Lord” which occurs seven hundred times. Jesus is not just our Savior, he becomes Lord of our whole life.
“Lord” means “Master”. He gets the first and final say in our decisions, actions, and attitudes as we trust his way to be what’s right and best for us. He’s Lord of all or not Lord at all. There’s no in-between when we choose him. When we become fully baptized and immersed, Jesus is not our advisor, genie, or “sky-daddy”.
Acts 2:36 NLT
“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”
A baptism of Repentance is the most amazing, beautiful, and powerful gift God has granted us. It’s the ability to turn from sin and turn towards him in faith with a promise that when we do, he unleashes life-altering grace into our hearts and souls! It’s an invitation to his blessing, not something we do once to get saved, but literally a practice – a baptism – an immersion of our whole life so that whenever we get out of alignment with him, we can repent and immediately get back into alignment so that blessing can flow again.
All day, every day, we are baptized in repentance and constantly re-aligning ourselves to his ways and to his Kingdom. Whenever we become distant from God and feel ashamed because we messed up, we don’t have to stay there because, through our repentance, he welcomes us back into his presence – in a moment – every time without fail.
Acts 3:19 NKJV
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”
Baptism 2 – Baptism into the Body of Christ
The moment we received Jesus Christ as our Lord, we became one with him – the body and the head are one! His Body comes with His Headship, and that’s not optional. We will never become what God called us to be apart from his body. It only happens in the context of the community of Christ, with us all working together.
1 Corinthians 12:13,27
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free – and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”
Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
“For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins”
This puts our station in life aside, now having all in common in Christ, not just a personal relationship. Therefore, baptism into the Body of Christ is a total transition from the kingdom of darkness to a full immersion into God’s Kingdom of light. This is a baptism of belonging. Because we now belong to the family of God, we also partake of the family benefits:
- Adoption as sons and daughters into God’s family:
Ephesians 1:5 NLT “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.”
- Citizenship in God’s heavenly kingdom:
Ephesians 2:5 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
- Healing and Provision:
Isaiah 53:5 “He was wounded for our transgressions [acts of sin], He was bruised for our iniquities [stains of guilt, shame, worry that linger]; The chastisement for our peace [no longer enemies of God] was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
1 Peter 2:24 NLT “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed.”
The redemptive work that Jesus accomplished on the cross includes healing and provision – not just for the forgiveness of sins. We are now heirs, and entitled as sons and daughters of God.
Baptism 3 – Water Baptism
When a believer is water baptized, they make a public and outward declaration of an inward transformation of heart that first occurred through repentance and faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We are buried with Christ into a “watery grave” and “born again”. Water baptism is announcing that we are not only turning from sin, but we are also dying to it. We declare that our old life and sinful nature are now dead.
This is an act of public faith or trust that God’s grace is powerful enough to produce the forgiveness and life transformation in us that he describes in the Bible regardless of our habits, addictions, and shame. His grace did not just save us from the penalty of our sin, but from the bondage of sin – from being slaves to those things that we weren’t able to stop doing. His grace sets us free from that. He changes the very nature and desires of our heart – the seat of our personality itself. That happens through baptism at every level.
Water baptism does not save a person – Jesus saves by his grace through our repentance and faith towards him. Water baptism shouts publicly from the rooftops what we now believe and are rooting our life in.
Romans 1:16 NKJV
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes [trusts in, adhere to, relies upon]…”
Conversely, we are also declaring that we are being resurrected and raised into a new way of life in Christ. Being lowered into the water is symbolic of being crucified and buried with Christ. Being lifted out of the water is symbolic of being resurrected with Christ. Water baptism represents the power of Jesus’s death and resurrection.
Romans 6:3,4 NLT
“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined Him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism [all three baptisms]. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Colossians 2:12 NLT
“For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” Sin no longer has dominion over you!
1 Peter 3:21 AMP
“And baptism, which is a figure…does now also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God [because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
What does the immersed life produce in us? We feel clean, free, and have a clear conscience. It literally saves us from the inward fears and questionings that plague us in our mind and spirit – that nagging voice that says, “Are you really saved? Do you really think God loves you? Do you really think you can change?” Baptism saves us from that – it all goes away – and leaves peace in its place. It allows us to endure.
1 Corinthians 10:1,2 MSG
“All our ancestors were led by the providential Cloud and taken miraculously through the Sea. They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life.”
Baptism is likened to the Israelites escaping slavery in Egypt. We, too, were enslaved by sin and have now been delivered, and the old things in our lives chase us down like Pharaoh chased the Israelites. But, as they passed through the Red Sea, God brought the same waters he had parted for the Israelites down, destroying the Egyptians. …and now, whatever was
chasing us gets drowned in baptism!
Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Word concerning baptism! Lord, it’s our desire to immerse ourselves completely in You, and to live a baptized and immersed life every day. We’re ready to dive in – to cannonball into baptism – and to turn our whole selves to You and to all that You are.
Lord, fill us with Your Holy Spirit and drive out any darkness from our hearts and minds. Pull us through the waters, just like You did the Israelites. Cut off anything that’s chasing us, and give us the capacity through Your grace to dedicate all that we are to You in this moment. Your Kingdom come, and Your will be done! In Jesus’ name. Amen
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on The Bridge
Featured Image by congerdesign from Pixabay
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