Baptism--What Does it Mean??

Steven! You took it out too early! And you forgot the basil!

Hello, and welcome to the Snowball Effect, where I insert a generic and uninteresting comment about the aforementioned blog and then proceed to tell you something!

How's THAT for originality?

So today I'm going to church again this evening to take pictures of some people getting baptized, and this has brought up the question in my mind--what does baptism mean as far as our relationship with Christ goes? Ever since the Roman Catholic Church started requiring infant baptism back in the olden days, our perception of the symbolism has been screwed up. Is baptism really something Christians have to go through? Can you be saved without baptism?

First, let's clarify what I mean when I say "baptism": baptism is the physical, symbolic representation of the spiritual baptism that takes place when one accepts the Holy Spirit into their life. It is an affirmation of one's faith, a public way of saying, "This is what I believe".

Second, let's clarify what many people, both in the church and outside of it, seem to think about baptism: it's kind of a ceremonial initiation for Christians, like where you graduate from Kids Sunday School to sitting in the service and pondering the meaning of the sermonized passage deeply; a sort of the "becoming a man" ritual prevalent in many South American tribal units, if you will, albeit with decidedly less whipping and fighting of large jungle predators.

Okay, I might have exaggerated a teensy bit there, but you see what I mean--we tend to think of baptism as a landmark in our walk with Christ, like we've overcome some great feat of faith. This is especially prevalent in churches that require you to be baptized before you are a "member" of the church.

Third, let's look at the Bible--what does it say about baptism? At what point does being baptized become a badge of honor?

It's inherently obvious from the start of the New Testament that Jesus views baptism as important. I mean, one of the first things He does in His ministry is go up to John the Baptist and say, "Hey, would you do me a favor and baptize me real quick?" And of course John is like, "No way, man, it should totally be the other way around!" But Jesus says, "No, you need to do it, to fulfill all righteousness." And then John's like, "Okay." (For the non-heretical version of that passage of dialogue, please read Matthew 3:13-17)

So baptism is obviously important. But why did Jesus do it? If He's perfect, and baptism cleanses your sins, then why did he need to be baptized? The answer to that question is actually another question--does baptism cleanse you of your sins? Yes, but not the baptism you're thinking of!

Jesus was physically baptized by John the Baptist to show everybody His commitment to the ultimate goal--glorifying God, even (and especially) unto death. But the physical baptism was only a symbolic representation of the spiritual baptism that took place while He fasted in the wilderness and was tempted by the devil. There's a big difference. "Spiritual baptism" is when the Holy Spirit comes into your life and begins influencing you because you ask for it. In other words, when you're saved, you are "baptized by the Holy Spirit"--the old is made new, the dead is made living.

The spiritual baptism is in NO WAY affected by physical baptism. I could live my whole life not baptized by a pastor and still go to heaven. People do it all the time, surprisingly enough, and I doubt God has any problem with it. This does not in any way, however, reduce the importance of baptism. Baptism is an important, and in some cases, necessary, process as a confirmation of faith. Regardless of location, monetary income, social standing, denomination, or any other factor, baptism should be your way of saying, "I'd just like everyone to know, I have the Holy Spirit in me. Just clearing that up."

Now, you might be saying, "But Snowball, lots of churches need you to be baptized by their pastor before you can be a member there. Is that right?" I'd answer that by saying first off, I don't much like the whole "member" system in churches. It kind of sickens me. As a Christian, I'm a member of THE Church, the body of Jesus Christ. I can worship wherever I dang well please, thank you very much! Also, I don't much care for the whole "baptized in one church or another" deal--WHO CARES? It's not like the place matters! But I can understand some cases--like if you're going to be a teacher at a Christian school, or if you're applying for a seminary or Christian college. Chances are in that line of work your spiritual awareness is going to be a key factor, and whoever's hiring/recruiting you probably wants to know that you've made a public statement of your faith. But as far as churches go, my general principle remains the same.

Oh, that's right, I haven't stated my principle about churches. Well, here it is: "In general, most churches are entirely too concerned with upholding and emphasizing things that either are not important enough to warrant said attention or are not entirely relevant to faith." (Copyright CommanderSnowball, WhoGivesACrap Publishing. All and any misdemeanors punishable by the Internet Police.)

So, in summary--baptism is important, but overemphasized and misconstrued in modern churches, unfortunately.

Until next time,

--CommanderSnowball