The pastor met the five-year-old Vacation Bible School class to take them on a tour of the church and to describe the functions of each place.
He took them to the kitchen and told them this was where the meals were prepared for the Wednesday night suppers. In the office, he introduced them to the secretarial staff and explained their duties.
‘Beautiful symbol’
On to the baptistry they went. The teacher overheard one boy telling his friend, “There are dead people in there.” She was momentarily puzzled by his remark, and then she remembered the phrase the pastor often used when baptizing someone — “Dead unto sin and buried with Christ in baptism.”
Baptism is a beautiful symbol. When we are baptized, we are saying that we die to ourselves as our Lord and are raised to give the lordship of our lives to Christ. Perhaps the child had it right. If we mean what our baptism represents, there are many “dead” people in there.
Public proclamation
Although different denominations baptize in different ways — some sprinkle, some pour. There are also many different customs or beliefs regarding baptism. Southern Baptists baptize believe in immersion just as John baptized Jesus. We also believe that through baptism, we are publicly proclaiming Christ as our Lord after we are saved. The actual water doesn’t wash away our sins, but it reminds us that Christ died for them, and when we accept him, we are as clean as a freshly washed baby. That’s when our new life truly begins.
Paul writes his philosophy of life and death in the book of Philippians: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
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