0402 BEING BAPTIZED

WHAT HAPPENS IN BAPTISM (WHY BE BAPTIZED?)

When asked what his listeners should do, Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The word for baptize means to plunge, to dip or to immerse in water. So Peter is telling the people to be plunged under the water and then brought back up again, symbolically joining Christ in his death and also his resurrection. 

I understand that when the King James Version was being written, the church was practicing infant baptism, in which a baby was sprinkled with water, not immersed in it. So when they came to this verse, they knew it would be awkward to say “repent and be immersed,” if that was not their practice. Instead, they transliterated the Greek word baptizo and thus invented a new word that had no inherent meaning: baptize. 

Peter’s Jewish audience that day were well familiar with the practice of dunking in water. There were multiple baptistries in Jerusalem, in which people would dunk themselves in water as a means of purifying themselves before they would enter the Temple grounds. Some of those in-ground tiny pools are still there, having been uncovered in recent years. Baptism for them was a ceremonial washing to purify the worshiper, and it was done by baptizing yourself, you might say. 

John the Baptist had taken baptism to another level when he offered a baptism of repentance. And this is subtle: baptism was presented in passive voice: Be baptized. You don’t immerse yourself. You allow someone else to do that. It was also not a big step to modify the meaning of baptism from a purifying of the body and soul, to a baptism of repentance. But John said, “I indeed baptize you in water, but one is coming after me who will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.” So John predicted that Jesus would come and provide the ultimate meaning for the practice of baptism: a baptism that is more than physical. It is a spiritual immersion. So this is what Peter means when he tells his listeners to repent and be baptized . . . And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Peter and the other apostles, as well as the 120 who were together, knew well the experience of a spiritual new birth through being baptized in the spirit. It had just happened to them. In fact, the reason the crowd had gathered in the first place was because there had been a sound of a mighty rushing wind, and they had come running to see what it was. (The word for “spirit” is the same as the word for wind.) What they saw when they got there was all of these believers in Jesus speaking in their own language, and all were speaking of the great things of God. Likely the miracle of these Galileans (with a reputation for being backwards and uneducated) speaking in their own language was intriguing at the very least.  For those who had ears to hear, it was the first of many signs and wonders from the Lord to confirm the message of the story of Jesus.

We, too, are told to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. This is the familiar baptism of John. You might say that John was the last of the Old Testament prophets, for the resurrection of Jesus had not yet happened, and the new spiritual layer of meaning for your individual baptism had not been fulfilled. Until this day. And now, there it was. And they who were baptized received the Holy Spirit. As Peter said, “This promise is for you and for your children, as well as those who are far away, as many as the Lord calls.” And so here I am, a Gentile half a world away, almost 21 centuries later, receiving that same promise at my baptism as they had. The Holy Spirit.

It would be wise to clarify the role of baptism in salvation. We are told that we are saved by grace through faith, or by faith through grace. Our faith and God’s grace combine to offer forgiveness. But to enter into this new relationship with God requires a bigger commitment to life change than Israel had known. This was more than a washing. More than a statement about repentance. It was the moment of the gift of the Holy Spirit. When we die, are buried with Christ in baptism, we are then raised to walk in the newness of life. It is a gift which had been unknown to this point in history.

Let me clarify: Baptism might be the moment of salvation and forgiveness, as we join him on he cross. It may be the MOMENT of salvation, but it is  not the MEANS of salvation. We declare in baptism that the burial of Jesus is also the burial of my own sinful self. So it seems that faith comes first, which we solidify when we confess it. Then comes repentance, which is usually accompanied by the outward expression of baptism. Two attitudes: believe and repent. Two actions: confess and be baptized.

May you know the experience of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit, this day and always. Amen.