“The Potency of Baptism in Jesus Christ”

Scripture: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." -Romans 6:4, NIV

Recently, I had the opportunity to facilitate a class to the deacons-in-training at my church and oddly enough, the subject I was given to facilitate or discuss was baptism. Through my preparation of this lesson, God ministered to me several scriptures and today's main scripture was one of them. In this world we live in today, many things have a power of their own. Money carries power as far as being considered important in the realm of the world. Titles carry power in the sense that people revere a person that's a doctor, minister, reverend, pastor, bishop, president, vice president, and other titles. Believe it or not, we carry power as well! We carry the power of the Holy Spirit that was given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, it guides us, it comforts us, it teaches us, it convicts us, and more importantly, it helps us to fend off the wiles and trials of the enemy. In order to receive the power of the Holy Spirit, you had to give your hand and your heart to God and in turn, repent of your ways. Then, you had to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again that you would be saved. After all of that, you then display to the world an inward change through baptism. Within our main scripture, it ministers to us about the potency/power of this ordinance of the church.

The Apostle Paul conveys today's message to the church at Rome. According to John Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament, he iterated that Paul had the task of being the minister to the Gentile nations as Peter was the minister to the Jews. What a tremendous task! Romans is the first book/epistle listed in the New Testament that was written by the Apostle Paul. Within this particular chapter of Romans, Chapter 6, we find Paul dealing with two major subjects: 1) Dead to sin, Alive in Christ (verses 1 - 14) and 2) Slaves to Righteousness (verses 15 - 23). Within subject #1, Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ, is where we obtain understanding the power/potency of baptism.

The text begins with Paul ministering this thought, "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death". In other words, from a spiritual symbolism, as you are/were submerged into the water for baptism, you showed the world that you were dying a "spiritual death". This "spiritual death" you are dying connects you with the burial and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Everyday, my brothers and sisters, we ought to be real with ourselves and appreciate Christ for the death He experienced on Calvary's cross for you and for me. We also, ought to be appreciative of the baptism we did whenever we did it and now understand, more than ever, that it depicts the symbolism of one living in sin, dying in sin, and ready to kill the sin!

Here's the ultimate thing that displays the power/potency of baptism in Jesus Christ. Paul tells us this, "just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Wow! That ought to make you shout wherever you are on this morning! Baptism represents the life, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through our outward example of being baptized, we are telling/showing the world that we are burying the old me. We're burying the me that cussed everyone out! We're burying the me that hurt everyone's feelings at the drop of a dime! We're burying the me that complained about rough times when it came to money being funny and change being strange! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good husband! We're burying the me that does not want to be a good wife! Through this "burial" in baptism, it connects us with Jesus! Through this connection with Jesus, we learned that He rose again on the third day morning, with all power in His hands! Through His rising, the completeness of baptism denotes that we buried our old man, washed ourselves of the old man, and now is clean in Christ! Through this baptism experience, if you were real about it, then you have picked up a new life! A new life to get the blessings God has in store for you! A new life to treat your spouses right! A new life to minister to others the goodness of Jesus! A new life to give God praise! A new life to give God honor! A new life to give God worship! Wherever you are, if you are appreciative of the new life that Christ has given you through baptism, you ought to tell Him Thank You and give Him a little praise!

In closing, baptism is something that all of us, as God-fearing people, ought to do and need to do. Through baptism, you are displaying that though done outwardly, there's a change in you inwardly! With this change, you have died of your old ways and now are focused on living the life God has intended you to live! Family, appreciate your baptism experience! Reflect on it and appreciate the power/potency of the moment!