Baptism or Baptism?

now ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  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.  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  For he that is dead is freed from sin.  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.  ( Romans 6:3-10 )

The New Testament uses the word "baptize" in several distinct ways.  Most often the word refers to a person's immersion into water, "baptism" as we commonly refer to it in the church ordinance.  Once the word refers to the "immersion" of Old Testament Israel to Moses ( 1 Corinthians 10:2 ).  On occasion New Testament writers use the word of a more personal and immediate act of God, as in First Corinthians 12:13 , in which the person being baptized is wholly passive in the act.  In the Book of Acts the word occasionally refers to the extraordinary outpouring of the Holy Spirit on people as at the Day of Pentecost (second chapter of Acts).

In the case of our study passage I have heard and read explanations of the word that interpret it as either water baptism or as the immediate work of the Holy Spirit immersing a person into a permanent and eternal identity with Christ and the blessings of His redeeming work.  Both explanations have merit and both as typically explained express a Biblical truth.  However, it is my settled belief that the work here described by Paul refers to the work of the Holy Spirit rather than to water baptism.  I will provide some of the reasons for this belief in this chapter.

First the words in our English Bible ( KJV ) are presented in the state of being verb form ("are baptized").  In the underlying Greek syntax the verb is passive, not active.  In the passages that refer to water baptism active voice verbs are rather consistently used, "…be baptized."

Secondly, Paul draws a "like as" corollary between this baptism and the resurrection of Jesus that is too emphatic and certain to refer to water baptism.  In water baptism the person baptized is commanded to repent before baptism (not that it should not equally punctuate their lives after water baptism) and to live as active "apprentices," students and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ after baptism.  However, Scripture as well as personal observation affirms that many who profess faith in Christ and submit to water baptism fail to follow through with active and consistent discipleship after their baptism.  Paul's "like as…even so" comparison of the baptism of which he writes here with Jesus' resurrection seems to express more than a loose analogy.  The word translated likeness in these verses is defined as follows:

…that which has been made after the likeness of something. 1A a figure, image, likeness, representation. 1B likeness i.e. resemblance, such as amounts almost to equality or identity.   (my bold for emphasis)

Further Paul argues that as we have been planted in the likeness of Jesus' death we shall be in resurrection.  This verb identifies future tense, something that has not yet occurred but is certain to occur.  If Paul were writing of water baptism, it seems that he would have spoken of a state of conduct that the Romans had already realized.  It also seems that, if Paul intended water baptism here, he would have used a word that refers to duty or obligation, not to a certain future state.  Notice in this fifth verse that the words in the likeness of his are italicized, meaning that the King James translators added the words.  Effectively without these added words we read that our being planted together with Christ shall surely result in our being like Him in resurrection.  As he was raised from the dead on the third day, we shall also be raised from the dead at the Second Coming (clear indication of a future, literal, bodily resurrection) .  The security of our resurrection depends, not on our personal merit, but on His immersing us into the benefits of Jesus death.

Paul further identifies other changes that God accomplished in this divine act of immersing His elect into a permanent identity with Jesus.

1.         Our old man is crucified with him.  Again, he asserts this result as a certain fact, not as an ethical obligation.  He doesn't say that our old man should be crucified with Him, but that it in fact is crucified with Him.

2.         This crucifixion of our old man results in the destruction of the body of sin in such a way that from this point forward we should not serve sin.  Regeneration which puts us wholly into the merits of Jesus' life and death makes us children of God and frees us from sin so that we should now serve God, not sin.  Paul will expand this thought extensively in the verses following this passage.  Here Paul develops the ethical implications of the new birth.

3.         …he that is dead is freed from sin.  Dead people do not continue sinning!  Paul is not here suggesting sinless perfection in this life, but rather he is developing the profound implications of Jesus' immersion of His elect into identity with Him.  He develops this point further in the next three verses.  Our immersion into the benefits of Jesus' death frees us from the legal consequences of our sins.

4.         (Verse 8)  Those who are so identified with Jesus in His death shall also live with him.  Here Paul again develops essential results, not duty.  He expresses the outcome of our immersion into and with Christ in terms of certain future results.  …we shall also live with him.

The certain consequences of our being "baptized" into Jesus' death leave no possibility for any other outcome, a point that could not be made in teaching relative to water baptism.  It is altogether possible that a person whom God has not saved might for carnal reasons seek and receive water baptism.  For example, when I was a child growing up in north Mississippi , every time local elections came around the local citizens who wanted to run for political office would start campaigning for the people to vote for them.  On more than one occasion I recall a political candidate attending church and at the close of the service making a brief announcement of his candidacy and asking for the people's vote.  Many of these men never darkened any church door for the next four years!  It is possible that a man of this character might decide that being a member of a local church would be "good politics" for his ambition to political office, so he would join a church and be baptized, though he would never change his lifestyle to reflect New Testament Christianity.  It is sadly the case that on occasion people sincerely join a church and are baptized in water, but subsequently allow the pressures and clutter of life to choke out their spiritual vision so that they do not manifest and live out New Testament Christianity as they should.  Do any of us do so fully?  However, in this passage Paul consistently presents a certain result from the baptism of which he writes.  …shall be refers to more than one's ethical obligation.

In subsequent verses Paul will use this permanent relationship with Christ as the foundation on which to build his exhortation to the Romans to yield themselves to God as servants of God.  Notice in these following verses that Paul uses words of obligation or exhortation, not words of certainty; "Let not sin…" "…yield…" "ye have obeyed…" (active voice, not passive voice) "…ye became…"  The ethical obligations of the second half of the chapter rest on the theological foundation of the first half of the chapter.

Sadly a large segment of professing Christians fails to understand this logical relationship between their theological perspective and their conduct.  They view their conduct as in some way contributing to their eternal security.  Some literally believe that the more good works they perform in this life the more rewards they will have in heaven; consider the hymn with that theme, "Will There be any Stars in my Crown?"  The idea of living a godly and consistent Christian life with no other motive than to obey and to glorify God is beyond their grasp.  Thus a life that, according to Scripture, should be characterized by self-denial is in fact based on self-aggrandizement and self-gain.  All of Scripture categorically rejects such a self-serving motive and attitude.

Excessive topical study of the Bible leads far too many sincere professing Christians to surgically dissect theology from Christian living.  In their mind passage "A" deals with our salvation in Christ while passage "B" deals with our discipleship.  However, they seldom make any attempt to integrate the two so as to understand the relationship between the two passages.  The Biblical model integrates the fact of our salvation with our obligation to serve God.  We do not live the Christian life from the motive of stars in our crown or for other potential self-gain.  We live it with one single objective in mind, to glorify God.  A clear example of this truth appears in First Corinthians 6:20, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

It is altogether possible-if not likely-that the error that Paul confronted (back to the first eight verses of the third chapter of Romans) was quite similar to the error that he and Barnabas confronted in Antioch (Acts fifteenth chapter).  This error, not at all unlike the contemporary "stars in my crown" error, based discipleship on a motive of self gain; only by being circumcised and keeping the law could a person be "saved" in whatever sense advocates of this error viewed the idea of salvation.  The idea of serving God for His glory alone escaped them.

Whether we engage in Christian conduct with the idea that we can thereby gain our salvation or with the idea that we can thereby gain assurance of our salvation (a common motive in contemporary Reformed theological circles), the motive of self-gain is never blessed in New Testament teaching.  Never!  Our obligation to serve God in Scripture always grows out of God's prior work of grace in us and for us, with the motive of glorifying Him, not gaining anything for self.

We have secure standing with Jesus in the eternal benefits of His atoning sacrifice.  How well do our lives manifest profound gratitude to Him for His blessed work for us and in us?