The Living Dead

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life".

Genuine repentance leads us to unconditionally surrender our will to God. When we come to that point  Peter said the next step is to be baptized for the remission of sins(acts 2:38). Baptism is a reminder of several deep spiritual truths. It represents death, burial, and resurrection, of both Jesus and ourselves. Baptism shows that we accept the shed blood of Christ for our sins and pictures the death of the old man in the baptismal grave. As Jesus was resurrected into a new life, our coming out of the grave, rising out of the baptismal water, symbolizes our new life in Christ. Our understanding of the true meaning of repentance and conversion lifts baptism to much more than just a symbol; it becomes a life changing event which symbolizes a life change. It was so important that Jesus himself was baptized by John at the Jordan.

Baptism is not the conclusion of the conversion process, it marks the beginning for us. Now I am not speaking so much on the act of baptism, the going into the water, no I am speaking more to the definition of baptism, the dying to the old man and being raised to a new life in Christ. Paul tells us in our scripture, that going down into the water symbolizes putting to death the old man, his ways, and his will, so we are no longer servant to sin and the lust there of, and being raised out of the water we come up a new creature in Christ, a new man, walking in the spirit as to no longer fulfill the lust of the flesh. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change of heart and mind. We are no longer like the old man, rebellious, disobedient to the will ,word and way of God. We have taken off the old self with its practices and have  put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.

Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Jesus' sacrifice, which we formally accept when we are baptized, cleanses our conscience from dead works, to serving the living God. Through Christ's sacrifice, the waters of baptism washes away the sin in our lives (acts 22:16), we can go forward with a clear conscience. Until our baptism the bible describes us as enslaved to our self serving human nature. But, once we are baptized and our sins are forgiven, God regards us as servants of righteousness. We are redeemed, bought back from a life of slavery to sin, to be raised to a new life in Christ.