THE MEANINGS OF BAPTISM

– Baptism is one of most important rituals in Christianity and it is usually performed in front of the whole church.

– Many of us already know about the main meaning of baptism, the meaning of being completely submerged under the water and rising up from it. Today, we are going to talk about other meanings of baptism as well.

– According to the Bible, Christians who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ should receive the baptism as a declaration of self repentance and a vow to live a better life for Christ.

ACTS 2: 38 – Peter replied: Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

CÔNG VỤ 2: 38 – Phi-e-rơ trả lời rằng: Hãy hối cải, ai nấy phải nhân danh Đức Chúa Jêsus chịu phép báp-têm, để được tha tội mình, rồi sẽ được lãnh sự ban cho Đức Thánh Linh.

GALATIANS 3: 27 – For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ

GA-LA-TI 3: 27 – Vả, anh em thảy đều chịu phép báp-têm trong Đấng Christ, đều mặc lấy Đấng Christ vậy.

– When the Bible uses the words, “Clothe yourselves with Christ” it means we Christians should actively put the clothes of righteousness on ourselves, not waiting for someone else to do it for us. That is why the baptism is seen as our vow before God and the church to be a better person from now on.

– We would not try to live a better life according to our own ideas or the world’s expectation, but we will follow Christ’s example in trying to be a better person, even following God’s example to live a holy life:

1CORINTHIANS 11: 1 – Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

1CÔ-RINH-TÔ 11: 1 – Hãy bắt chước tôi, cũng như chính mình tôi bắt chước Đấng Christ vậy.

EPHESIANS 5: 1 – Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ê-PHÊ-SÔ 5: 1 – Vậy anh em hãy trở nên kẻ bắt chước Đức Chúa Trời như con cái rất yêu dấu của Ngài.

DECLARATION OF REPENTANCE

– As we know, except babies and young children, everyone of us adults has sinned in all aspects of our lives, big or small, therefore baptism is a needed act to express our wishes to change to be a better person.

– Babies and young children do not need baptism because they are still innocent in their minds, and the Lord Jesus Christ had declared that the heavenly kingdom belongs to all of them:

MATTHEW 19: 14 – Jesus said: Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

MA-THI-Ơ 19: 14 – Song Đức Chúa Jêsus phán rằng: Hãy để con trẻ đến cùng ta, đừng ngăn trở; vì nước thiên đàng thuộc về những kẻ giống như con trẻ ấy.

– So, according to what Jesus had said, we can understand that when babies or young children die, they will certainly be with Abraham in Paradise, waiting for the day Jesus comes to get them all into His heavenly kingdom. That is why we do not perform baptism on babies and young children.

– At this point, we would like to remind you that, according to Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John, Paradise and the heavenly kingdom, where God reigns on His throne, are two different realms (one is temporary as a waiting place for those who will be saved and one is eternal where they will live with God forever):

JOHN 20: 17 – Jesus said: Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.

GIĂNG 20: 17 – Đức Chúa Jêsus phán rằng: Chớ rờ đến ta; vì ta chưa lên cùng Cha! Nhưng hãy đi đến cùng anh em ta, nói rằng ta lên cùng Cha ta và Cha các ngươi, cùng Đức Chúa Trời ta và Đức Chúa Trời các ngươi.

(more at PARADISE AND THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM)

– Also according to the Bible, only when children are able to distinguish between good and bad, especially when they are starting to lie for their own benefit, that is when we encourage them to have the baptism.

ISAIAH 7: 15 – He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.

Ê-SAI 7: 15 – Con trẻ ấy sẽ ăn mỡ sữa và mật, cho đến chừng nào biết bỏ điều dữ và chọn điều lành.

– Receiving the baptism is a way to make a confession in front of God that we are sinners. We confess that we are not as perfect as God wants us to be and we are not worthy to be admitted to the heavenly kingdom after this life.

– But because we really want to be there, so we take the baptism as a way to say sorry to God for whatever we did against the good standards that God has set forth for humankind in the Bible.

– When we declare that we have sinned by taking the baptism, it also means that from now on, we will try our best to not commit sins again. That is the first change after the baptism. From now on, we will fight temptations non-stop for the rest of our lives, not surrendering to them like before.

– Many Christians have not remembered it and they have gone back to their sins after receiving baptism. That is why many, who considered themselves Christians, still have committed crimes against God’s law and human’s, and tarnished Christ’s name and Christianity’s reputations among unbelievers. And that is why many Christians still live in misery all of their lives.

– We should remember that in order to be able to withstand temptations and win over Satan, Christians should always, always, ask for God’s help and power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot win over temptations by our own abilities alone and we should not ever try to do that in our fight with Satan.

VOW TO BE A BETTER PERSON

– Secondly, baptism also means a vow to be a better person from now on.

– This vow is natural like the necessity of water and air in human’s life, because we want to be and everyone expects others to be. We want to be a better son or daughter for our parents, a better sibling for our brothers and sisters, a better friend for our peers and colleagues, a better husband or wife for our spouses, a better student for our schools, a better worker for our companies, a better citizen for our countries, a better individual for humanity and a better Christian for our God.

– No one in this life really wants to be a bad person. Only when a person allows circumstances or allow others take control of his life then he could be bad. Otherwise, goodness is always a goal for everyone, except Satan’s descendants who Jesus called weeds (or tares).

– Let’s look at some examples like these: When a person goes to work, he wants to be a good one in order to get the pay check and later on, maybe a promotion. If it was really his goal, he could make a vow to himself to be a good worker or a better one to achieve that goal.

– When a student goes to school, he wants to get knowledge and a profession later on. If it was really his goal, he could make a vow to himself that he would study hard, to be better than others in order to finish school and to win a scholarship, too.

– It is the same with Christians, because we truly love God and want to be with Him in heaven for eternity, we should make a vow to be a better person according to the standards in the Bible in order to please God and get His eternal rewards after finishing this life.

– Thus the baptism is a natural thing for us Christians to take because we love God and want to be a better person for Him, for the church, for our families, for society and for humanity.

– So, for those who are going to take the baptism today, please remember your vow to fight temptations in all your lives and try to be a better person from now on for the Lord Jesus Christ. When you actually commit yourselves to do that, you will be surely blessed by God and will experience a fuller life in Christ from now on and forever.

– May God listen to your vow and bless you, give you strength to win your spiritual battles in this life. Amen.