Yesterday I drove my mother back to New Jersey after her
visit for the Thanksgiving holiday. I must have passed hundreds of road signs
on the way up and on the way back. Each sign was informational in nature. There
were signs telling me the maximum speed I could drive, upcoming exits, rest
stops, construction sites, airports, slippery road surfaces – ad infinitum, ad
nauseam. But at the heart of each sign was a purpose. I am thankful for road
signs. When they are heeded they prevent serious accidents. There is one such
sign on one of the back roads I take to Annapolis. It warns of a sharp “S”
turn. If that sign did not exist I am sure there would be more than a few
vehicles in the South River.
Chapter 29, paragraph 1, of the 1689 Second London
Baptist Confession reads:
Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, ordained by
Jesus Christ, to be unto the party baptized, a sign of his fellowship with him,
in his death and resurrection; of his being engrafted into him; of remission of
sins; and of giving up into God, through Jesus Christ, to live and walk in
newness of life.
The Westminster Confession of Faith uses similar
language:
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by
Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the
visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of
grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, of regeneration, of remission of sins,
and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in the newness of
life. Which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in His
Church until the end of the world.
Baptism is a positive ordinance, meaning that is a
command to be obeyed. It is not inferred or consequential. Both the 1689 LBC
and the WCF rightly describe it as a sign. Most of us that drive travel the
same roads over and over again. We see the same road signs over and over again.
They become a bit redundant, don’t they? Their redundancy is mostly because we
are familiar with our destination and what these signs are saying. It is much
the same way in our lives. While we are in our routine we seldom need daily
instruction. We get up, take care of personal necessities, have breakfast, have
time in the word and prayer (hopefully), go to work, come home, eat dinner,
spend time with the family, and go to bed. The actual sequence and substance of
events may be different, but I think you get the general gist. We do these
things regularly, if not daily. They become second nature to us. We do them
without even thinking. Because they are so routine we seldom heed the signs
around us. But what happens when our routine is upset? If you find yourself in
unfamiliar surroundings, what do you make of signs then? If you were traveling
to an out of town destination would you be thankful for a sign that told you
your exit was coming up? If you never traveled a road before, would it be
valuable information to know that there was a sharp bend up ahead? Your answer
will most likely be an enthusiastic, “Of course!”
What if the routine of our spiritual life is upset? What
if circumstances throw us into a time of crisis or testing? What do we have to
hold onto during times like these? How about the road signs of our baptism?
Let’s look at these signs for a moment:
1. A sign of His fellowship (Phil.
3:10; Rom. 6:5)
Baptism signifies our close union with Christ; our
fellowship with Him. David spoke of His close fellowship with the Father even
during times of great distress.
Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I fear no evil; for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff,
they comfort me.
2. A sign of His death and resurrection
(Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)
Unless the Lord returns during our lifetime, all of us
will feel the bitter sting of death. Because Christ died and rose from the
grave, we have the promise that we, too, will be resurrected.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery;
we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the
dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this
perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
3. A sign of our being engrafted into Christ (Gal.
3:27)
Fifteen times in Ephesians chapter one we read the words,
“in Christ”, “in God”, or “in Him.” Our identity is hidden in Christ, so much
so that we are considered to be part of Him.
Romans 11:17 17 But if some of the branches were broken
off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became
partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
4. A sign of the remission of sins (Mark
1:4; Acts 22:16)
Water is pictured as a purifying agent. Baptism in water
symbolizes the cleansing from sin.
Psalm 51:2-3 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And
cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever
before me.
Psalm 51:7 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
5. A sign of living in newness of life
(Rom. 6:4)
The person who is born from above is a new creature. His
affections have changed, and he is no longer subject to the cruel master he
once served (Eph. 2:2). We are now free, and able, to walk in the Spirt.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 16 Therefore from now on we
recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ
according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore if any
man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new
things have come.
His fellowship, His death and resurrection, engrafted
into Him, remission of sins, and walking in newness of life; baptism is a sign
of these truths. But while baptism is a sign of these things, Christ is the
substance. The road sign is not the destination, it points to the destination.
It is necessary and useful, so is baptism and the signs it provides.
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