*Editor’s Note: The following series on Baptism was originally delivered sermonically by Pastor Ron Miller to Covenant Baptist Church in Clarksville, TN. Click on the following numbers to access each installment of this four-part series. 1, 2, 3, 4.
The Uses of Baptism | Ron Miller
God has designed baptism to visibly display aspects of the gospel and benefit his church. How does it do this? I want to show you from Scripture that it does this in three main ways.
I. Baptism Visibly Proclaims God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment
1 Peter 3:20-21. In this series, we’ve looked at these verses several times. I hope you recall that there is in them a comparison between Noah’s salvation in the ark through water and New Covenant baptism which saves as an appeal or pledge to God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God was glorified in Noah’s salvation through the waters of judgment. Baptism, our text says, is the anti-type or fulfillment of this. Baptism similarly saves through the waters of judgment.
So, baptism displays the sovereign grace and power of God in saving men. They are plunged by their sins into fearful judgment. They are spiritually dead and buried in the waters. But God intervenes. In the picture of baptism, he rescues them from judgment and brings them to new life. By the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are raised from the dead. So, baptism puts God’s work on visible display, and it boasts in his power. Baptism doesn’t exalt the supposed free will or wise choice of the one being baptized. No, it is the sovereign grace of God that is dramatically reenacted in baptism.
This is, in part, why baptism can rightly be considered a part of New Covenant worship. It publicly praises God for his salvation. It does not have to be done in the congregation, but it is proper and ordinarily done there because baptism visibly proclaims God’s glory in salvation through judgment.
The other two uses of baptism grow out of it being a visible word or sacrament. And they can be summed up this way: Baptism is (secondly) a sign and (thirdly) a seal of the New Covenant or the Covenant of Grace. Sacraments are visible and tangible ways of participating in the promises of God. They are displayed and you engage with God in them. And as we will see this accomplishes certain things.
II. Baptism is a Sign of New Covenant Membership
Baptism visibly proclaims God’s New Covenant promises of forgiveness and salvation by our union with Jesus Christ and the believer’s acceptance of those promises. Faith is what unites us to Christ and makes us members of the New Covenant. Adam is no longer our representative covenant head; Jesus Christ is. We are no longer under the curse of the covenant of works but are now in the Covenant of Grace.
Other biblical covenants had signs which when accepted showed membership in the covenant. So, the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants had circumcision as a sign of the covenant. To be circumcised in that context was to become a Jew; it was to join the covenant people of God; it was to under the covenant of God. So too, in the New Covenant, baptism is the way a person becomes recognizable as a Christian. Baptism formalizes and publicizes salvation. It makes what is spiritual and inward, visible and outward. As one man has said, “Baptism is the body of which faith is the soul”. Baptism is the outward mark of a Christian disciple. Baptism declares, “this man is a follower of Christ.”
More than this, Baptism completes the outward conversion process. Conversion is often thought of as only an internal or spiritual process. It includes the conviction of sin, repentance, the coming of faith and its exercise toward Christ and more. But Scripturally-speaking, a person’s conversion from death to life, from the Devil to Christ, from self to God, from sin to righteousness also includes some outward or visible changes and actions. Repentance is an inward grace but if it is real, it has outward effects. If faith is real, it publicly names Christ as Lord. And baptism is part of the conversion process in the New Testament historical accounts. The apostles commanded more than inward belief. They did command “repent and believe” but they also said in Acts 2, “repent and be baptized”. That was how they were to save themselves from their crooked generation. Ananias said to Paul, “Rise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name”. Calling on the name of Christ is vital, but it is not all that is demanded. Baptism is the outward sign of conversion, of union with Christ, of membership in the New Covenant.
So, baptism is necessary for a person to be Scripturally considered a Christian. There are no unbaptized Christians in the New Testament. And there ought not to be any among us. If you claim Christ and want to be his follower, then you need to follow! You need to obey his command to be baptized. You may say, but I’m a Christian. Let me gently ask you something: Where in Scripture does it teach that you declare yourself a Christian? American individualism might teach that, but I don’t believe Scripture does. You must profess. Yes. But do you hold the keys of the kingdom or does the church? Do you hold the keys to the entrance to God’s church or do they? Did Paul announce his Christianity or did the church need to accept him as a brother? Does a person decide to be baptized on their own or does the church have a say in it? The Scriptural pattern is that when the church and its administrator agree to baptize you, that baptism places the name “brother” on you publicly. And you keep that name until the church removes it, for it is the church that judges those inside the church. (1 Cor. 5:11-12).
A word about testimonies. You have one if you are to be baptized. But ultimately the church is not joining you, you are joining them. So, you must believe what they believe, the apostolic message.
Being immersed into Christ in baptism means you have put him on. (Gal 3:27.) You are part of Christ’s body and so baptism also functions as the initiation into church membership. Surely all who are in Christ should join with a local manifestation of that body, the local church! There may be exceptions. The Ethiopian eunuch had no church to join in the wilderness. The initial converts in any place won’t join a church by their baptism, but these are temporary situations that do not allow the regular pattern to be ignored. What is the regular pattern? When a person is baptized, they are added to the church. Acts 2:41, “so those who received his word were baptized and there were added that day about three thousand souls”. There are many different understandings about the mechanics and subjects of baptism. But virtually all churches throughout church history have agreed that baptism is the door of entrance to the church. Since it fundamentally portrays union with Christ, how can it not also symbolize union with his body. Can Christ be divided from himself? Of course not.
III. Baptism is a Seal of the New Covenant
By this we mean God confirms and assures us of our salvation through baptism. Ultimately, God himself in the person of the Holy Spirit is the seal of our New Covenant salvation. Twice in Ephesians, the Holy Spirit is said to seal believers. And while that is true, the Holy Spirit uses means to seal salvation to us. Primarily, he uses the Word and the sacraments to assure us, convince us, comfort us, that we are his; that our sins are forgiven; that his promises to us are yes and amen in Christ; that we have power to obey him better; that we are indeed true Christians. So, these ordinances function as means of grace. God is speaking in them and saying, “I am for you; you are in Christ; your sins are washed away; it was my power that did this, do not doubt; you have new life, I love you and I have fellowship with you.” And when we participate in these sacraments, we are saying to God, “I accept; you are my God and Lord; I believe, help my unbelief, I give myself to you.” God is not saying in this visible Gospel that he rejects you. Baptism proclaims his acceptance of you in Christ.
This should convince and strengthen you in your Christian profession. Remember your baptism and with greater understanding may God grant greater grace.
Ron has been pastor of Covenant Baptist Church since July of 2017. Pastor Ron is thankful for being raised in a Christian home where God called him to salvation at an early age. He loves his wife, public worship, and pastoring this local church. He has a special interest in aiding theological education in North and South America and in teaching Baptist history. Ron is the host of the weekly podcast Particular Pilgrims.
