The Sacred Significance of Baptism | Galatian 3:27

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. — Galatians 3:27

CALL OUT: I want to give a shout-out to all the staff who follow me at Dekalb Mechanical in Illinois. This is for you today.

If you read this text without reading the preceding and succeeding text, you will miss something so important.

In the preceding text, Paul has established salvation by faith alone. In the succeeding text, he establishes that through faith, we are born as heirs into a family. Sandwiched right between faith and family is the event of baptism.

Do you see it now?

Baptism stands at the crossroads between our faith and our family. It's the event that conjoins the two.

Baptism means "to immerse." It's a spiritual practice done publicly in which a believer is immersed in water. Jesus was baptized. He was immersed in the waters of the Jordan River, by John the Baptist. In the same way, we are commanded to be baptized.

Baptism is an important marker. It's a public profession that proclaims our personal faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. It's a pronouncement of our surrender to a new way. It's a symbolic ceremony that others in the family witness. It's a symbolic burial of our old life in the water and a resurrection into new life from the water. Church, we need these markers of faith in our spiritual journey, and we need the family who goes with it, too.

If you have not been baptized and you are new or old to the faith, I want to implore you to be baptized and take this step. Go to a friend who is a believer, tell a family member who is a believer, or speak to your church leader and express your desire to take this step in your faith. And then tell me after you have done this and I want to celebrate this with you.

Don't wait too long to respond to my exhortation today. Some of you have waited too long. Be a little more like the Ethiopian Eunuch who proclaimed to Paul, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 8:36)

#Baptism #FaithAndFamily #ClothedInChrist #SpiritualMilestone #NewLifeInChrist

ASK THIS:

1. How does understanding the significance of baptism impact your daily walk with Christ and your relationships within your spiritual family?
2. What steps can you take today to embrace baptism as a public declaration of your faith and commitment to living a new life in Christ?

DO THIS: Take action and pursue baptism.

PRAY THIS: Lord, I thank you for the gift of baptism, which symbolizes my union with Christ and my commitment to a life transformed by your grace. Help me to continually live out this reality, embracing faith and family as integral parts of my journey with you. Amen.

PLAY THIS: Never Be The Same.