“Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 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 6:3-4
Yes it is true, but baptized?! Some of you are wondering, what the heck? And for those of you who are there with me and who understand…thank you, I am grateful to have you in my corner. I have received a huge outpouring of support.
Actually this has been coming on for some time but the opportunity never really presented itself until I put myself in the position for it to come to fruition. Also, I never really realized the significance of baptism or the magnitude of Easter and how the two are related.
Here’s what I learned and how I ended up getting baptized on Easter Sunday.
How I made this decision
Well, it was Palm Sunday (the week before Easter) and I was sitting up in the back row of the balcony of Southeast Christian Church with my wife when I heard the pastor start speaking about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. He spoke of how he had baptized Jesus and how the Holy Spirit appeared and that when we get baptized and accept the Holy Spirit into our lives, He is there for us too!
He suggested that Easter is the perfect time to make this decision. I didn’t understand this but I knew I wanted what he was talking about so I listened intently.
He went on to describe Palm Sunday and how that was the precursor for Easter. I remember celebrating Palm Sunday but never really understood until now.
You see, Palm Sunday was the day Jesus road into Jerusalem on a donkey. People laid palms down for him to enter on. But they didn’t understand the real reason why he was coming… They thought He was coming for what He could do for them, they thought He was going to make their life better and easier by being crowned king.
The truth is is that He was coming to Jerusalem to die. He wasn’t coming for a crown of Jules…but a crown of thorns. He wasn’t coming to take a throne, He was coming to carry a cross. He was coming to die.
And the people really didn’t understand that.
But in order for there to be a resurrection there has to be a burial. In order to be a resurrection there has to be a death. That was true for Jesus and that is true for us as well.
You see, a burial is a prerequisite for a resurrection in your life. And many of us want a resurrected life, a resurrected marriage, resurrected finances, a resurrected situation in our lives, a resurrected hope.
We want something new but that doesn’t come without dying to the old self.
So over Easter we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But I found out it is not just a celebration it is an invitation. It’s not just that we remember something that happened, it’s an opportunity for us to live it in our own lives.
Baptism tells the story of Easter and as I continued to listen I turned to my wife and said, “I’m getting baptized next Sunday on Easter.” She grabbed my hand and said, “you go for it babe.”
What this means to me
We must enter into a spiritual death and recommit our hearts as a follower of Christ.
I came to understand that the people who have the hardest time with their christianity are the ones who don’t understand this concept that before a resurrection there has to be a burial. The people who try to live a life for Jesus without dying to themselves. The people who try to follow Jesus in a way that’s halfway – in a way that is close enough that it benefits them but not so close that it requires anything from them. And…I realized this was me.
The reason why it’s not working out is that we try to say yes to Jesus without saying no to us. We think we have it all handled and that we can just lean on Jesus when we need him. That’s not how it works. We only find life when we die to who we are, and we start living for Him. Baptism captures that.
I now realize that baptism is not a suggestion, it is a command that is given to us in scripture. In the book of Acts, everyone who became a believer of Jesus became baptized.
As I mentioned in my last blog, Why the Bible, Why Me? I was raised in the Catholic Church and I knew the story of Jesus and I did believe…but I never really accepted him into my life the way I had in the past few years.
I was called to make a more definitive commitment to my faith and getting baptized was the way.
But weren’t you already baptized?
Yes, my parents had me baptized as a baby. I’ve never really understood the magnitude of it as I do now and it was not my choice then. As a baby, I couldn’t possibly make a conscious decision to accept the Holy Spirit into my life.
So I’ve been sprinkled but do I really need to be baptized this way? Romans describes that we need to be buried under the water.
The Greek word baptizo was not translated but trans liberated. We made up the word baptize and lost the meeting of the Greek word. But the Greek word was how the Bible was written. So when we are baptized we go under the water. Baptiso means to bury, dip, plunge beneath, or immerse.
Remember that to gain something new, we must die to our old self? There are some things that need to die beneath water and by being immersed in water, old is gone new is come.
Being sprinkled made baptism a little more convenient. However the reason for baptism has never been convenience, that’s not the point. The point is to identify with Jesus and his death. And death is many things but it is never convenient.
My new journey with Christ through Baptism
Baptism represents cleansing. The image of water is for cleaning or washing. So as I was being immersed in the water, I was letting go of my old self and being reborn in Christ through the Holy Spirit.
We all have stains on our souls from our past and we are conditioned to live with our stains. We live in a world where there is so much filth that we don’t recognize our own. But, our judgment and our self righteousness shines a light on these stains. We see others stains and use them to make ourselves feel better about ours.
“if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9
“and that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3:21.
Easter makes baptism effective because the only power is that which is found in Jesus. Baptism doesn’t save you, the water doesn’t cleanse you… It is Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus that saves us and makes us clean. Baptism captures the truth and reality of what only Jesus can do for us. It gives us a clean conscience before God.
So in celebrating Easter we celebrate the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. but we don’t just celebrate it, we enter into it by burying our own stains, our own past and renewing our own soul as we have through baptism.
So no longer can I celebrate Easter without stepping into the death burial and resurrection myself.
In Christ the old is gone and the new has come!
Right here is the perfect blog for anyone who really wants to understand this topic. You know so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I really will need toÖHaHa). You certainly put a new spin on a topic which has been written about for ages. Great stuff, just wonderful!
Thank you so much for the comment. I am really just beginning my journey of faith accepting the Holy Spirit into my life. I will pray for you and hope you will pray for me.
Beautiful description of baptism here Dr. Noonan. I was baptized in my church when I was 16. Our church did a dedication for babies, for the parents to grow up their child knowing God, and did not do a baptism or sprinkle like you we’re talking about. At 16, I was taught and knew that it meant to die to self, but at the time didn’t have much of a self to die to! It feels like like I want to die to myself all over again after hearing your description!! However, I know without a shadow of a doubt that the Holy Spirit lives in me because of that baptism. Thank you for sharing your story! And your video made me tear up just thinking about you burying your old self and becoming NEW!! ❤️
OMGosh Heidi,
Thank you so much for reading and commenting… You are a total inspiration to me on my spiritual journey. We have to keep the Spirit alive within because that old self tries to re-insert into our lives. His Spirit is alive and working through you and it is infectious. Peace and love to you my dear friend.