The True Meaning of Baptism

There was once a woman who didn’t consider baptism to be a mere option. For more than a year, this woman had eagerly studied the Bible. She longed to become a Christian. One night she shared with her husband the things she had learned.

Outraged, he shouted, “I don’t want this kind of religion in my home. If you keep studying I will kill you.” The woman was crushed, but continued to study; she was soon ready to be baptized and knelt respectfully before her husband and told him.

Her husband picked up his large hunting knife. He shouted, threatening to kill her once more. However, she determined to follow her Lord. She left with her husband’s threats resounding in her ears.

Before entering the water, she confessed here sins and dedicated her life to her Saviour, not knowing whether she would lay down her life for her Lord that day, too.

But peace filled her heart as she was baptized. When she returned home, she brought the knife to her husband. “Have you been baptized?” He was angry. “Yes,” the woman replied simply, “Here is the knife.” Amazed at her courage, he could not take her life.

This is a lesson on the true meaning of baptism.

In Matthew 28:18, 19, Christ’s great commission, what were the disciples to make? God did not say, “Go and make church members,” he said, “Go and make disciples.” A disciple is a follow of Christ.

And in Matthew 16:24, there are three things that define a disciple: Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

This is the kind of conversion that we need. Christ must be the center and substance of everything. If we surrender to Jesus, If we open the door of our hearts and invite him in, we will be in safe keeping.

Church, something was done away with at the cross. Romans 6:6, 7 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he is dead is freed from sin.”

The old man was destroyed on the cross. We are either a slave to God of a slave of sin. Romans 6:22 “But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” Now you have become a slave to Christ. A slave doesn’t have any time off. Jesus deliver us from the slavery of sin and makes us free.

In Romans 6:3-5, we read about death, burial, and resurrection. When you belong to Christ, something happened to the desires and passion of the flesh. In Galatians 5:24, it tells us “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:25, 26 tells us, “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

The problem today is that too many people have been buried alive. The power of the cross is that when we have been crucified with Christ we really become a new creature in Him. Brothers and Sisters, it is time to invite Jesus to come into our hearts and take control. The reason Jesus had to die on the cross was to destroy sin in our lives! So you and I can be free right now.

Christ is the spiritual rock. The connection that makes whole, complete sense. I Cor. 10:2-4 “And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

I want you to notice something: the Israelites were baptized in the cloud and in the sea. This is going to be very important as we learn about the true meaning of baptism.

God illustrates the purpose of baptism. According to Ex. 17:5-6, God instructed Moses to take his rod and strike the rock with it. According to I Cor. 10:4, the “Rock” that was struck represented Christ. The striking of the rock pointed forward to Christ’s death and through His death would come rivers of living waters. The instrument that Christ was struck with was the cross. So when we see the rod, we see the cross.

According to Ex. 17:8-12, Israel prevailed when Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands. There was something in Moses’ hands.

I want you to know, Aaron represented the “High Priestly” ministry of Christ in heaven and Hur represented the “Earthly” ministry of Jesus.

Hur was from the tribe of Judah (Ex. 31:2) and Jesus was the lion of the tribe of Judah in His “Earthly” ministry. Now notice how both the heavenly and earthly ministries of Christ are to hold up the cross. Remember that the rod (symbolizing the cross) was held in Moses’ hands as Aaron and Hur lifted up his arms.

What does the story of the Red Sea teach us about the purpose of baptism? Ex. 14:10, 16, 21, 25-28. The rod was stretched out over the Red Sea to show the first work of the cross, deliverance from sin.

The second work of the cross is demonstrated when Moses stretched out his rod back over the sea and the Egyptian army, representing the old life of sin, was utterly destroyed.

The Red Sea is symbolic of the blood of Jesus. It is as we go through the cleansing blood of Christ that we experience deliverance from sin and power to move into the future.

The power of the cross not only takes us from death to life…it delivers us from the power of sin. Hallelujah! The old life of sin is entirely destroyed.

Brothers and Sisters, we serve a living Saviour. That old man that Christ crucified on the cross is still dead.

I think it is time to sing! What song? Turn your Bible to Rev. 15:2-4 and sing and sing and sing!

Glory to God!

-Marion Dobbs