Baptism in a Box…or Maybe Not

Friends,

*This post is a follow up to the post from June 16th, "The Need for Christian Baptism".

I wanted to comment on a teaching concerning a passage a Scripture that I referenced some weeks ago.  Acts 8 and 10 are confusing chapters for many believers, including myself.  This is, in part, because…as we often have done with Acts 2:38-39, John 3:1-8, people try to discern and understand passages that are spiritual (involving the Spirit) in nature with a certain set of glasses on.  As I shared concerning Acts 19, it is very difficult to sort out passages from a strictly legal perspective, if the Holy Spirit is the primary force and motivator involved.  I tried to sort out such passages “legally” for a long time…and none of the above passages every made any genuine sense to me.  There are just some Scriptures (such as Romans 8, for example) that require different lenses in order to see them as they should be understood. And so, it is with this in mind, that I want to delve into this subject simply as a student of the Word of God.

As I have mentioned previously, if baptism is an entirely “legal” event, then we are forced to see it through one set of lenses, and one set of lenses only.  The result is often a misunderstanding, and a misinterpretation of certain passages, such as Acts 2:38-39, where the Spirit of God is not only theologically, but practically, diminished…if not dismissed from the conversation altogether.  I think it is easy to try to sort out Acts 8 and Acts 10 with the same type of understanding.  An easy way to dismiss what is taking place in Acts 8 is to say that Paul is somehow conferring “some sort of spiritual gift” upon the Samaritan believers, rather than the loosing of the Holy Spirit Himself.  It is certainly somewhat complicated that the Samaritan believers had already received “a baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”…which would still necessarily distinguish it from the baptism of John. But, one of the purposes concerning what is taking place in this section of Acts is in order for some who were disbelieving (in this case, Simon), might come to faith in Jesus Christ. Some would say that (and call) this some sort of “Holy Spirit Baptism”, but I believe such a concept runs in contradiction to the purpose and practice of Christian baptism under the New Covenant. I also believe that such language is confusing for people, as they try to understand what Christian baptism is and what it is not.  As related in previous messages, Christian baptism is “a water and Spirit birth” (John 3, Acts 19, etc.) where there are elements of water and Spirit involved.  The Spirit is the agent who brings cleansing through the blood of Jesus and new life to the believer who has made such a commitment. Seeing this through one set of lenses would indicate that the only explanation that can be provided for a person becoming a believer is that water and Spirit necessarily have to engage at the precise same moment in order for cleaning and salvation to become complete. This is to put conversion/baptism “in a box”…or as one friend of mine calls it, it is -- a “sacramental view” of baptism. Now, it is certainly very true that what I have described above can and does take place…but, to say that this is the only way that conversion to Christ can take place, might very well limit what is genuinely taking place (that it is often, more so, a process) when a person comes to and is converted to Christ.  As I mentioned previously, it seemed entirely normal for those in the first century to come to Christ in a manner that was not entirely consistent with what we would discern from Acts 2:38-39. But, we have no “rest of the story” episodes where believers who might have received the Holy Spirit after baptism (in the case of the Samaritan believers in Acts 8), or before baptism (in the case of the Gentile believers in Acts 10) being “rebaptized” because somehow Philip or Peter “got it all wrong.” In fact, Peter indicates that the “common believers” were receiving the Holy Spirit “just as they did” (Acts 10:44-48).  There is no indication, whatsoever, that the Samaritan believers or the Gentile believers were somehow being ordained with some special gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It simply states that they “receive the Holy Spirit.”  That should suffice, in my opinion.  To say otherwise is to add words where there are not any.

Now, this is a different experience than what takes place with the Ephesian believers in Acts 19.  There, it is apparent that the believers have not received a Christian baptism, and Paul administers that to them, whereby they receive the Holy Spirit when they believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (19:2-5). What takes place in verse 6 is indeed unique in that the believers there do receive some special spiritual gifts (tongues and ability to prophesy, in this case) via the laying on of hands by the Apostle Paul. I believe it is important to make the distinction between what these believers experienced, and what is taking place in Acts 8 and Acts 10.  There are instances where certain disciples do receive a special dispensation of power via the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. (See Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:14, for example). In fact, the disciples themselves receive a special dispensation of power from the Holy Spirit (John 20:22-23) in order to perform the tasks that were about to come.  We also see evidence of this on Pentecost in Acts (1:5, 8; 2:1ff).  The question that comes to mind with some regularity is – why do we have no record of the disciples become apostles being baptized with Christian baptism (water and Spirit birth) that we have discussed?  And the answer is – we don’t know.  There are many spiritual events that apparently take place in the Scriptures, concerning which, there is no record.  In fact, in that same John 20 passage (vs. 30-31), John tells us that much more could have been written concerning Jesus' mission and work, but it is what is written that matters – it is primarily for people to come to believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ.

All that said, I think we may very well limit what God the Holy Spirit is seeking to do with disciples because of our limited thinking.  I do believe that it is easy to exercise a view of the Scriptures, have a philosophy or world view, where “there can only be one answer” -- it is either/or.  This is nice and tidy for those of us who have a tendency to want to control.  If there is only one possible way that something can be understood or accomplished, it makes it much easier for us to decide "who is in or out." This was how I was raised and taught to believe. I had to come to grips with this as I began to grow and understand that there were other Spirit-filled believers "out there" who may or may not have crossed all of their "T"'s and dotted all of their "I"s precisely as I did as it related to the subject of conversion.  I believe that the Lord would us rather have a “both/and” view of certain passages, subjects.  Such a perspective, understanding certainly clarifies certain passages of Scriptures that were at one time excused or dismissed as “not fitting the paradigm concerning other matters that I believe.”  Once again, I am certainly not “infallible” and have made plenty of mistakes as it relates to trying to understand life and godliness…but, per normal, I just ask that we prayerfully study. 

Blessings, Don

The Need for Christian Baptism

Friends,

*I have been away from the writing keyboard for a while…time to get back into the saddle with a really important topic.

One of the points of discussion that arose with the 5th grade class that I taught this past Wednesday at camp was, why did Jesus need to be baptized by John the Baptist?  I believe that there are some important reasons for this, one -- Jesus' baptism by John was the beginning of Jesus' ministry.  Mark 1:1 starts out: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God" and then Mark starts telling us about Jesus' baptism by John. Obviously, for some reason, Jesus' ministry began with His baptism.  Here are some things to note -- at this point in Jewish history, water baptism served one of three purposes. First, there was the baptism of repentance. This was what John the Baptist was preaching.  Of course Jesus didn't need to repent, because He hadn't sinned.  The second kind of baptism was for people who desired to convert to Judaism.  It was a baptism of conversion.  If you were a Gentile who wanted to convert to Judaism, they baptized you in water. Once again, Jesus had no need to convert to Judaism. He already was one. He had been born a Jew.  So baptism in those days could be for repentance or conversion... and Jesus did not need to be baptized for those reasons. So, for what other reason would a person be baptized in water back then?  The only other people who experienced baptism - in the Jewish faith in that day were priests. The Law dictated that especially the High Priest was to "be washed with water." And the Temple had pools set aside for just that purpose. Jesus did fulfill this role, as He is our Great High Priest.  But, there are other important reasons for Jesus’ baptism – one, it sets a good example for those who were going to follow Him.  He had no sin, but his disciples did, and we do, as well.  And as one friend has pointed out, “it fulfills all righteousness.”  We need to see in Jesus’ action, an example of obedience. Likewise, we need to be obedient to the Father, a response in faith. Finally, after His baptism, the Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit as it descended on Him in form of a dove. And the Father put His mark of approval on Jesus by loudly declaring: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17)  This signifies something for us as well, as we will discuss…the Holy Spirit comes upon us at our baptism and He helps us in our spiritual walk, ministry.

Jesus’ experience helps us to understand what Paul has to say as it relates to baptism with a certain group of disciples.  In Acts 19:1-7, Paul providentially connects with several disciples at the city of Ephesus. Just as Priscilla and Aquila apparently had discussed Christian baptism with Apollos (Acts 18:24-26), so Paul does here with these men. He asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, that is, were converted, baptized. Paul apparently already expects them to have the Spirit...and would this not be consistent with Acts 2:38-39 and every other Christian baptism in Acts?  But, these believers have received the baptism of John only, and as we discussed, this was “for repentance.” The message concerning baptism is clear here and Paul baptizes them; they receive Christian baptism -- a water and Spirit birth (see Jesus and Nicodemus, John 3:1-8). Paul goes on to give these disciples a special, exceptional dispensation of power from the Spirit for this time. But, the point is this -- these disciples still had the same conversion experience that every Christian has in coming to the Lord. (See 1 Corinthians 12:13).

It is interesting that the baptism of John was not sufficient for them, but why would it be? It was administered by John the Baptist under the Old Law. Christian baptism involves not only repentance, as did John's baptism, but also the receiving of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is primarily what separates the two baptisms. It is awfully difficult to live according to the fruit of the Spirit or experience the gifts of the Spirit if we don't really acknowledge, understand, or trust the source.  I have known many Christians who talk about Acts 2:38, as Peter says "...be baptized for the remission of your sins..." and this is it. But, is it? Is the part concerning the Holy Spirit just an oversight? Is it assumed? Or, is it intentionally omitted? (Is it really even understood?)  Some believers may have received the baptism of John -- at least in language, hopefully not intent. Why take the chance? Is the power of Christian baptism not sufficient for us? It should be so. We need to consider it as Peter shares it right from the text -- there is nothing to lose, but everything to understand and gain as it relates to the Christian walk. I will say this, I wouldn't have an opportunity to walk upright, blameless or spiritually for the Lord without the help of His Spirit to guide me along the way. He is our guide -- not in an arbitrary, controlling sense -- but quietly, indirectly.  We are not robots, but free moral agents with freedom of choice. The Spirit uses the Word to teach us and help us (Ephesians 6:17), and helps us in our prayers (Romans 8:27). He also is our seal so that when the Lord comes again, He will identify those who are His by whether they have His Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14, etc.). There certainly had to be a wonderful transformation for Apollos and the Ephesian disciples as they would continue to grow in knowledge, wisdom and experience with and in the Lord…as it should be for all of us.

As I continue in my own study of this important subject, questions arise. This is a subject where it is easy to propagate answers, but I think we are better off not to be dogmatic (and I certainly used to be)…rather, we should be students, learners. There are indeed so many things that happen when we come to the point of baptism -- many that we do not have the maturity to understand at that point, (including "forgiveness of sins" and "receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit" -- both part of the "formula" described in Acts 2:38-39...and this, not to mention "repentance" and "confession"). At times, some have treated baptism as some sort of “an end of the road” after a disciple has been "taught" everything that he should know. For these, baptism has been a law to fulfill the requirements of certain passages...which is not much different than what we see regarding Old Testament theology and practice. There must be more to it than this. We need to consider Apollos. As much as he already knew about "the Scriptures" and about God, he was surely in for a spiritual rebirth and for a totally new experience when he received Christian baptism (cf. Acts 18).

I believe baptism is much closer to the beginning of our journey. It is truly a spiritual event in every way. La Gard Smith calls it "the believers wedding ceremony" -- a fitting description, I believe. How much can we know at baptism? (How much does a baby know at birth?) We barely understand the elementary things, but certainly not the deep things of God; these are revealed over time by the Holy Spirit. And how do we qualify or quantify His work? We cannot...it is discerned and appropriated by faith. This is a significant part of what comprises the heart of the new covenant. We do grow in our understanding of critical principles as we walk with the Lord. Consider the disciples as they became the apostles sent out with the mission of Jesus (Acts 1-2). The Spirit came and illuminated their minds and their eyes were opened to the experiences they had had with Jesus. He does the same for us as our Helper (John 14-16), if we are open and willing to study as we walk with Christ over the course of our lives.

In many circles of the fellowship I belong to, baptism has been one of the "most legalized" events, experiences, etc. in modern Christian practice.  It is easy to see why it is such, given a lot of people’s propensity to need book, chapter, and verse to explain everything about our faith and practices.  But, if the Holy Spirit is involved in it...then it is a spiritual event...and it no longer becomes something that we can “pigeon hole” as "this is precisely how it is supposed to be,” or “this is exactly what happens every single time." It certainly wasn't that way in the early church, as we discern from Paul's experiences in Acts 8, Acts 10. I respect that there are certain elements involved in it, and a number of Scriptures (some that we have discussed) that indicate what these are...but, at the end of the day, the most important "element" is what the Holy Spirit is doing through the blood of Jesus in the life of believer...however that is to be for each individual.  God’s blessings be with you as you continue on your journey of understanding the Lord’s will and this important subject.

Blessings, Don

The Crucifixion and Burial of the Son of God

Friends,

This is lengthy…but I believe worth the read.  At one point early in Julius Caesar's political career, feelings ran so high against him that he thought it best to leave Rome.  So, he sailed for the Aegean island of Rhodes, but in route the ship was attacked by pirates and Caesar was captured. The pirates demanded a ransom of 12,000 gold pieces, and Caesar's staff was sent away to arrange the payment. Caesar spent almost 40 days with his captors, jokingly telling the pirates on several occasions that…he would someday capture and crucify every one of them to a man.  The kidnappers were greatly amused, but when the ransom was paid and Caesar was freed, the first thing he did was gather a fleet and pursue the pirates.  They were captured and crucified...to a man!  (I guess he wasn’t joking after all).  Such was the Romans' attitude toward crucifixion. It was to be reserved for the worst of criminals, a means of showing extreme contempt for the condemned.  The suffering and humiliation of a Roman crucifixion were unequaled. And so this brings us to the place where we are in the story of Jesus.  He has been betrayed, arrested, subjected to a mockery of a trial, questioned by Pilate and Herod, only to be turned over to be subjected to this most horrible of punishments.  In fact, Roman statesman and philosopher, Cicero, would say concerning crucifixion, “It was the most cruel and shameful of all punishments. Let it never come near the body of a Roman citizen.”  So, let us consider what takes place as Jesus is delivered to be crucified, and what this means for us.

This mode of capital punishment was for the lowest kind of criminals, particularly those who promoted insurrection. Today, many think of the cross as a symbol of glory and victory.  But, in Pilate’s day, the cross stood for the ultimate rejection, shame and suffering. It is with this understanding that Pilate delivers Jesus to the chief priests, and they…with the help of Roman soldiers…take Jesus to be crucified.  It was customary for the criminal to carry his cross, or at least the crossbeam, from the hall of judgment to the place of execution.  Jesus begins the mile long walk carrying His cross, but He receives some relief from Simon of Cyrene, whom the Roman soldiers draft to do the job. We are not given a reason as to why…apparently Jesus is run down, worn out.  One thing is certain – bearing the cross is a mark of guilt, but Jesus is not guilty.  It was also required that the criminal wear a placard over him announcing his crime, such as “thief,” “murderer.” Pilate writes, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”  The chief priests protest the title, but Pilate refuses to change it. He knows that this statement embarrasses them. It is his final statement about the Jewish establishment, wanting it to be clear that this is their decision.  Jesus is crucified outside of the city (Hebrews 13:11-13) between two others, possibly associates of Barabbas. They are notorious criminals, which fulfills Isaiah 53:12, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”

This all takes place at Golgotha, which means “cranium” or “skull.” “Calvary” is the Latin equivalent.  Most executions were carried out in private, but Jesus is nailed to a cross and hung up for everyone to see. It is Passover season at this time, and so, there are thousands of visitors in the city.  There are also soldiers there…it is their job. At most Roman executions, a centurion would be assigned with four soldiers to assist him. Since Jesus is a popular teacher with a large following, there are likely more guards there. It was a privilege for the soldiers to share whatever personal belongings the victims had, so they divide up all that Jesus owns, which would not have been much, but it does fulfill Psalms 22:18.

A group of women, along with the Apostle John, stand near the cross. John says they are – Mary, the mother of Jesus…Salome, his mother’s sister…Mary, the wife of Clopas…and Mary Magdalene.  It takes great courage for these ladies and John to stand there in the midst of the hatred and ridicule that is displayed toward Jesus. But, their presence is certainly an encouragement to Jesus.  Jesus assures His mother of His love for her, and gives John to be her “adopted son” to care for her. We know that he does care for her, and that she is among the believers in the Upper Room as they await Pentecost. (Acts 1:14)  Our Lord understands what is taking place. As we have noted several times, Jesus is fully in control as He obeys His Father’s will.  He refuses to drink the pain deadening wine that is offered to those who are to be crucified (Matthew 27:34), and this is in order to fulfill the Scriptures (Psalms 69:21).  He says, “I thirst”, for He is enduring real, physical suffering, for He has a real human body.  Jesus does take some vinegar offered to him by a soldier who shows Him some pity, but it does enable Him to utter His shout of triumph in a loud voice – “It is finished!”  While it is true that Jesus’ sufferings are now complete, many of the Old Testament types and prophecies are now fulfilled, and the once-for-all sacrifice for sin is now fulfilled.

I thought it would be good to have a telling picture of what took place the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, so I go to the famous artist, Rembrandt.  Rembrandt, the famous Dutch artist, painted his famous “Three Crosses” in 1653. The painting presents a harsh depiction of the Crucifixion of Jesus hanging lifeless between two thieves. At the foot of the cross are soldiers and onlookers. As you scan the crowd gathered at the foot of the cross, you’d notice how the Dutch Artist had captured various facial expressions and actions of the people. Some are laughing, some crying, others are bewildered. What is most fascinating about the painting, is a lone figure standing in the shadows (on the left). It is a representation of Rembrandt himself. This was Rembrandt’s way of saying, “I was there, too. My sins helped nail Jesus to the cross, too.”  And we are there with Rembrandt, because it is also our sin that Jesus took to the cross.  He went to the cross to die for all mankind…for slave and free, young and old, good and bad, and for people of every nationality and social status.

There are two groups of people involved in Jesus’ burial – the Roman soldiers and the Jewish believers.  It was not unusual for victims to remain on a cross and experience a lingering death, so the Jewish leaders do all that they can to hasten the death of Jesus and the two thieves.  Jesus dismissed His spirit at the ninth hour, which was 3 pm according to how they recognized their days.  It is amazing that the Roman soldiers did not do what they were supposed to do – break all of the victims’ legs – but they did do what they were not supposed to do – pierce Jesus’ side.  But, in both of these matters, they fulfill the Word of God.  The bones of the Passover lamb were not to be broken (Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12), so Jesus’ bones are protected.  However, one of the soldiers pierced His side (fulfilling Zechariah 12:10). John sees some special significance to the blood and water that comes from the wound in His side.  For one thing, it proves that Jesus has a real, genuine body, and that He does experience death.  In his first letter, John deals with evidence that Jesus is God come in the flesh, and He presents three symbolic witnesses -- the Spirit, the water and the blood. (1 John 5:7-8)  The Spirit relates to what is going to take place at Pentecost, the water relates to His baptism by immersion, and the blood to His crucifixion.  In each of these events, God makes it clear that Jesus is who He claimed to be…God come in the flesh. (19:35) 

Once the soldiers are finished with their work, Jesus’ friends take over. God has prepared two high-ranking men to prepare His body for burial and to place it in a proper tomb.  Joseph of Arimathea is an interesting character, for certain…he is rich (Matthew 27:57), a prominent member of the Jewish council (Mark 15:43), a good and righteous man who has not been in agreement with the council (Luke 23:50-51), and he is Jesus’ disciple.  He, along with Nicodemus (whom we first meet back in chapter 3), make preparations for Jesus to have a decent burial. It is apparent that Nicodemus has become a full-fledged follower of Jesus at this point.  It is important that these men follow where the Lord is leading them, because if Joseph and Nicodemus are not there, who knows what happens to the body of Jesus?  Haste is important…it is important to get the body away from the Romans and the Jewish leaders…so, the men work quickly.  Matthew, Luke and John all tell us that Joseph has this new tomb that has just been dug (and who knows for what reason) and it is here that he wants to bury Jesus. The men also assemble the cloths and spices needed for burial.  What is apparent is that these two have done a lot of careful planning…none of this (getting costly spices for the preparation of the body, or securing the tomb) was going to take place at the last minute.  Some of the other women are also there to witness Jesus’ burial.  They are planning to return after the Sabbath and complete the burial procedures.  Joseph and Nicodemus boldly identify with Jesus Christ at a time when it seems like all is a failure and His cause hopelessly defeated.  The Sabbath is now about to dawn, and Jesus has fulfilled His work, the mission for which He came into the world.

The Roman emperor Charlemagne knew this.  An interesting story surrounds the burial of this famous king. Legend has it that he asked to be entombed sitting upright in his throne. He asked that his crown be placed on his head and his scepter in his hand. He requested that the royal cape be draped around his shoulders and an open book be placed in his lap.  That was A.D. 814. Nearly two hundred years later, Emperor Othello determined to see if the burial request had been carried out. He allegedly sent a team of men to open the tomb and make a report. They found the body just as Charlemagne had requested. Only now, nearly two centuries later, the crown was tilted, the mantle moth-eaten, the body disfigured. But open on the skeletal thighs was the book Charlemagne had requested…the Bible. One bony finger pointed to Matthew 16:26 "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?"  You can answer that one.  (From The Applause of Heaven [Word Publishing, 1996] Max Lucado, p. 139-140).

I guess that this is a really good, pertinent question, isn’t it?  Charlemagne seemed to understand it.  It is true that, as the old saying goes, there are two certainties in life – death and taxes…well, make that three, the Cleveland Browns will be terrible. :-)  But seriously, because of what happened with Adam and Eve in the Garden, we all have a meeting with the grave that we are going to make at some point.  And as at all funerals, the question is – what was this person’s life about?  I can honestly say that I have done some funerals where this question was easy to answer…and at other times, it has been much more complicated.  The apostle Paul gives us a great illustration of comparison between Jesus’ experience and our own, when he says in Romans 6:3-4, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”  The point that Paul makes is that…just as Jesus died on the cross for us, we have to die…die to ourselves.  But that we must also be buried in a grave, just as Jesus was buried in a grave.   But, our burial takes place in water, so that when resurrection takes place (which we will discuss next time), this also assures our own resurrection.  But, when we are baptized, we are burying our old self so that our new self can come to life.  This is critical.  I believe Paul captures one of the best arguments for baptism, in that burial is a necessity because it connects us with Jesus.

Blessings, Don