Buried with Him!

A couple of weeks before Easter a nine-year-old little girl, named Savanah, in our Missionettes program, came into the Bible Study class as we were closing to make an announcement. "I received Jesus as my Savior tonight," she boldly proclaimed. Immediately after service she asked, "Pastor, when can I be baptized?" Well, we arranged the timing with her parents, and this Sunday was the big day!

Thoughts of baptism brought me to back to Romans 6:1-4

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or 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.

Depending on the church to which one belongs, baptism may be anything from a very formal service to a very relaxed and casual event. What really grabbed my attenttion this time was the picture of burial. In just about a month I attended three funerals, and all of them related to the same family. When death comes so close, it really brings life into focus. As a pastor, I have both had attended and officiated numerous funerals through the years. One of the most difficult moments is the burial. Why? I believe because it is so final.

In baptism, we are "buried with him." We identify with the burial of Christ. In those three days that Jesus was in the grave, some awesome things happened. One of those is referenced in Revelation 1:18:

I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

Whle Jesus' body was in the grave He was preaching to the "spirits in prison," and we learn that when Jesus rose from the dead not only was he seen but also many dead saints were seen who also were raised, according to Luke 16:19-28.

How does all this relate to baptism? Stay with me. In baptism we make a public declaration that our "old man" is not only dead but buried! But we don't stop there! If we stopped there in the baptism, we would drown our physical body as well. We also identify with His resurrection. We are raised in newness of life! In baptism we celebrate the power of the resurrection! We were buried with him by baptism, but we were raised to new life! Therefore, we no longer have to be slaves to sin. Like the spirits in prison, we have been set free from the bondage of sin and death! So today let me encourage you to live daily in the awesome power of His resurrection!