Will you please turn to the book of Romans, Chapter 6? Romans, the sixth chapter. We will read three verses: verses 3, 4, and 5.
What we will do is give the message in English, and then I will summarize it at the end in Chinese.
Romans 6, beginning with verse 3:
Are you ignorant that we, as many as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus, have been baptized unto His death?
We have been buried, therefore, with Him by baptism unto death, in order that, even as Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also shall walk in newness of life.
For if we are become identified with Him in the likeness of His death, so also we shall be of His resurrection.
Let me read it once more:
Are you ignorant that we, as many as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus, have been baptized unto His death?
We have been buried, therefore, with Him by baptism unto death, in order that, even as Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also shall walk in newness of life.
For if we are become identified with Him in the likeness of His death, so also we shall be of His resurrection.
Baptism is not a ritual or a ceremony, even though it does have an outward form. Yet it has an inward reality.
It is therefore good for us to know the meaning of baptism, because, knowing what it means, we get into the spiritual reality of it instead of just seeing the outward form.
Now, in Romans we are told, “Are you ignorant that, as many as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus, have been baptized unto His death?” So here we find at least two spiritual meanings of baptism—the reality of baptism.
That is, we are identified with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection.
I think probably it will help us to understand these two points by using illustrations from the Old Testament. You know, when we see a picture, it helps us to read the Word.
Now, in the Old Testament, you find that there are two illustrations, two incidents, that speak of baptism. One is the crossing of the Red Sea, and the other is the crossing of the River Jordan.
You know, the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. They were not even allowed to live. They were put into slave labor. They were under the oppression of Pharaoh, the king of the Egyptians. They cried to the Lord, and the Lord delivered them.
The Lord delivered them through the Passover lamb. The Lord said that, on that certain night, the angel of destruction would pass through the whole land of Egypt and smite to death all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
Now, to escape that death, God commanded the children of Israel to provide a lamb for each family. Every family provided a lamb, and that lamb was to be slaughtered. The blood of the lamb was to be put on the doorposts and the lintel. Then the whole family would gather in the house to eat the flesh of the lamb.
At midnight, when the angel of destruction passed through the whole land, when he saw that there was blood already on the door, he passed over. But if there was no blood on the door, then he would enter into the house and shed the blood of the firstborn.
So, in this way, God delivered the children of Israel from death by the blood of the lamb and the flesh of the lamb.
Now, of course, we know that in the Old Testament this story is a type of the story of salvation for us today, because the lamb is a type of Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. He is the Lamb of God that came into this world.
Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God, His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. It is therefore important that we see the blood sprinkled, applied on the doorpost.
That means that everyone who wants to escape eternal death—there is a way for you to escape: through the Lamb of God, through Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago, on Calvary’s cross, He already shed His blood. But today, you need to apply that blood to your heart, to the door of your heart.
Now, if you put the blood on the door of your heart—that is, you believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for your sins—then the angel of destruction will pass over you. In other words, Someone has already shed His blood for you, and you have accepted Him. Therefore, your blood will not be shed. You are passed out of death into life.
But this is only part of it. The other part is that the children of Israel stayed in the house and ate the flesh of the lamb in order to give them strength to walk out of Egypt into the promised land.
So that speaks of how we believe in the blood of the Lord Jesus to cleanse us from our sins and deliver us from eternal death. At the same time, we receive Him into us. As we eat the flesh of the lamb, we receive Him into us as our life.
So the Bible says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish. The angel of destruction will pass over because the blood is already there. Not only shall he not perish, but he has eternal life.
So whoever believes in the Lord Jesus has the life of the Lord Jesus in him or in her. That will give us the strength to walk the heavenly way.
So you find that the children of Israel actually were delivered from destruction, from death, by the Paschal Lamb. But after that night, God commanded the children of Israel to march out of Egypt.
In other words, they were delivered that night from death, but they were not to stay in Egypt. Why? Because if they continued to stay in Egypt, even though they were delivered from death, they were still under the oppression of Pharaoh. Pharaoh would still have power over them and would still oppress them.
So God said they must march out of Egypt. God led them out of Egypt. But the strange thing was that He did not lead them out of Egypt by land; He led them out by sea—not by boat, but by opening the Red Sea and letting them walk through the Red Sea as on dry ground.
When Pharaoh and his army pursued them, the water came back and drowned the enemy. So the children of Israel came out of Egypt by crossing the Red Sea.
Now, the Bible tells us that this is a type of baptism. Why? Because in 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 it is said that the children of Israel passed through the cloud and the water, and they were baptized unto Moses.
Before they crossed the Red Sea, they were in Egypt. They were under the rule of Pharaoh. In other words, they belonged to Pharaoh; they belonged to the world, to Egypt.
But after they crossed the Red Sea, Egypt was on the other side, behind them, and Pharaoh had no more dominion or power over them. They were delivered out of Egypt, out of Pharaoh, by the Red Sea. Now, on the other side of the Red Sea, they belonged to somebody else. They belonged to Moses. They were baptized unto Moses.
And what a difference between Pharaoh and Moses. Pharaoh was a despot, a tyrant, a person who put the children of Israel into hard slave labor and would not even allow them to live.
But Moses was sent by God to lead the children of Israel not only out of Egypt, but into the land flowing with milk and honey.
So this is the first instance of baptism. In other words, it tells us the first meaning of baptism: baptism means that you are delivered out of this present world as a system under the rule of Satan, the enemy of God and man, and you are delivered into Christ.
From now on, by baptism, you do not belong to this present evil, wicked generation. God has delivered you from this perverse and wicked generation, this perverse age, this world as a system under the enemy. God has delivered you out. You do not belong to it anymore. You do not belong to Satan anymore. You do not belong to this perverse generation anymore.
Now you are delivered out of it, and you belong to Christ Jesus. You are baptized into Christ Jesus. You belong to Christ Jesus. You are His, and He will lead you into that heavenly Canaan, into all the promises of God and all the blessings of God.
So the first meaning of baptism is this: whoever is baptized is baptized out of this world, out of the control of Satan, and baptized into Christ. From now on, you belong to Christ. You owe your allegiance only to Christ. You are to follow Him, to obey Him, and He will lead you home.
Now that is the first meaning of baptism. The second meaning of baptism is typified by the crossing of the Jordan River.
Now, it is true historically that the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, but it was not until forty years later that they crossed the Jordan River into Canaan. But that is only historically true. Spiritually, this is not the case.
Why? Because spiritually, God’s purpose in delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt was to lead them into Canaan. In other words, crossing the Red Sea is only one aspect, and crossing the River Jordan is the other aspect of baptism. Spiritually, they are together.
In other words, you do not need to wait for forty years to enter into the second meaning of baptism. Spiritually, you find that it is out of Egypt into Canaan, out of the world into Christ, out of sin in the world into the fullness of Christ.
So they should come together. There are not two baptisms; there is just one baptism. But this one baptism has two aspects, two sides. The first is baptism into Christ, and the second is baptism into His death.
Now, what does it mean? If you read how the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea, you know that God gave them a command. God said, “Go forward.”
Then Moses stretched out his arm with the rod of God in his hand. When he stretched the rod over the sea, the sea divided. So the children of Israel went through the sea as on dry ground. In other words, they crossed the Red Sea by the power of God, because the rod in Scripture represents power. By the power of God, the Red Sea was divided, and they crossed it.
But when they crossed the River Jordan, it was very different. The ark of God represented the presence of God, because the glory of God rested upon the ark.
The way they crossed the River Jordan was this: the ark of God went before the children of Israel. The ark of God entered into the River Jordan, and when the ark entered the River Jordan, the River Jordan was divided. The water was held back far up the river, and there was dry ground.
The ark stood in the midst of the bed of the river until all the children of Israel had passed through the River Jordan. Then the ark came up out of the river, and the river came back again.
So here you find a different picture. It was the presence of God with the children of Israel, or, to put it another way, the children of Israel crossed the River Jordan with the ark of God, by the presence of God.
So the Bible tells us that the other aspect of baptism is that we have been identified, united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
The ark there represents our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is the presence of God. He is God. Now He has died. He has died, and He has been buried, and He has been raised from the dead.
But thank God, when He went to death, He took you and me—the old you and the old me. You know, we have that old “I” there, and that is a big problem, the biggest problem in the world.
You have the old you, and I have the old “I” here. Even though we may be delivered out of the world, we need to be delivered from this old self.
And thank God, in baptism, God says that when you go into the water, it represents death. Why? Because when Christ died on the cross, He not only bore your sins in His body and died for your sins, but when Christ died on the cross, He took you and me in Him. Together with Him, we died. We were identified with Him in His death.
Now you say, “How can it be?” Well, the reason is because Christ is more than just an individual person. He is the Head of a federation.
You know, the Bible only recognizes two men on earth—only two men. Oh, we have billions of people today, but the Bible says there are only two men on earth. One is Adam, the first man, and the second man is Christ.
Adam includes all those who are born of Adam: the old creation, the old “I,” the old man. And Christ is the new Man, and all that are in Christ are in Him. So he that is in Christ Jesus is a new creation.
So, brothers and sisters, do remember this: when Christ died on the cross, He not only took your sins away, but He took you away in Him and with Him. When He was buried, you were buried. When He was raised from the dead, you were raised from the dead.
So that is what baptism shows us. It says that we were buried with Christ unto death, and we are raised with Him. Therefore, let us walk in newness of life.
So when you go into the water, you believe that you have died with Christ. When you are under the water, you believe you are buried with Christ, out of sight. When you come out of the water, you believe it is no longer you; it is Christ who lives in you.
Wonderful. This is the work of God, and baptism is to act out by faith what God has already done.
Now remember this: baptism is an act of faith. That is, it acts out by faith what God has already done to you through Christ Jesus.
So here, brothers and sisters, let us remember: after you are baptized, you can look back to the water and say, “Well, on a certain day, in a certain month, in a certain year, I was buried. Therefore, the one who is living here is no longer the old ‘I’; it is Christ who lives in me. From now on, I live by the life of Christ. Therefore, I can walk in newness of life.”
Brothers and sisters, this is baptism. Baptism is not just a ritual or a ceremony. You are not baptized into a church or to belong to a certain group—not at all. You are baptized into Christ. You belong to Christ.
You are baptized into His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, from now on, you are to live a new life. God has delivered you out of the old environment and the old self, and God has put you in a new world to live a new life. That is baptism.
So may the Lord help those who will be baptized, that you really know what baptism means. God has delivered you out of the world. You do not belong to it. You belong to Christ. He is your Master and your Lord. You are no longer yourself; it is Christ who lives in you.
We can always look back to baptism and thank God for what He has done for us. So, not only for those who have been baptized this morning, but I hope that even those who have been baptized will review what the Lord has done, that we may not forget.
And for those who have not been baptized, remember: it is very important to our Christian life. The Lord Jesus not only called us to believe in Him, but He commanded us to be baptized.
Go ye into all the world.
Disciple the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Teach them all the things that He has commanded.
And the Lord said, “I will be with you to the end of the age.”
It is the command of the Lord. We thank God that two sisters this morning are obeying God’s command. I think it is but right that those who are redeemed of the Lord obey the Lord’s command.
So, very briefly, we put before you this matter of baptism. Now I will summarize it in Chinese.
The speaker summarized the message in Chinese.
Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to share my testimony here. Since English is not my mother tongue, I am very nervous now. So please pray for me, that the name of the Lord can be glorified.
Before I believed in God, I believed that there must be Someone far beyond human power. He must be the Master of this world, but I did not know Who He was.
I came from a Buddhist family. I tried to learn Buddhism. The way they taught us was that everybody could become God by meditation and contemplation. But how? I did not think that could be done by ourselves without any help. It is impossible.
Last November, I had an opportunity to go to the Chinese Bible study. I did not understand much about the Christian faith. I took a Bible home to read. I read the first chapter of Matthew, and after a few minutes I put it back on the bookshelf.
The following Saturday, my daughter Alice asked me whether I was going to the Chinese Bible study so that she could play with the other children. So I went with her, and I have been going ever since.
I started to read the Bible and tried to understand what Christianity really means and what Jesus Christ had done for us. I borrowed more books from the Bible class, and I was getting to know more about Jesus Christ.
In May, we went to a Christian conference in Lynchburg. Brother Stephen Kong was one of the speakers. I was saved there.
In my mind, I saw a picture which made me decide to accept the Lord as my personal Savior. Jesus Christ died for our sins. We can imagine how much Jesus Christ suffered when He was persecuted.
Jesus said:
For by grace have ye been saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
How great He is, and how much He loves us. And how little we give in return. Sometimes we even try to run away from Him.
Jesus Christ died and suffered. Then He died in vain—for you and for me.
Oh, Lord, I dedicate myself to You. I totally surrender before Jesus Christ.
I want baptism, to bury my old life and let Christ have a new life in me. Thank God. Amen.
I was saved when I was about four. I used to color in Christian coloring books a lot, and one day I was coloring the Jesus book. I came to a picture with Jesus on the cross, and I started coloring Him. But I got really upset and started crying, so Mom had to come talk to me about it.
I asked her what the purpose of Jesus doing this was, and she explained to me that it was because He loved us so much and that He died for our sins so that we might have hope.
That day, Mom and I prayed together, and Jesus was born into my heart. He has been there ever since, and He always will be.
When I was about eight, I really wanted to get baptized, but Daddy thought that I was too young and that I would not understand it very well. It would not mean very much to me when I got older.
So this year, I was really anxious for it, and I really felt the burden. My mom and dad prayed about it, and they thought that this year I would be able to understand it. I really wanted to be baptized because of all the wars and everything going on in Israel, and all the prophecies coming from the Bible. I wanted to get baptized before the Lord came back.
This year they thought that I was old enough. I would just really like to say that it is really great to be a Christian, and I am really glad I am.
I want to tell the public now that I am a person who wants to follow the Lord and live my lifetime for Him. I am really glad that the Lord put the burden on my heart. Thank you.
My name is Andrew Moore, and I was also saved when I was pretty young. When I was really young, I belonged to a Presbyterian church, and I was baptized as a baby. It never really meant anything to me, and I did not know what it meant. So I have always wanted to be baptized again.
Today, it kind of touched me, so I felt that God really wanted me to be baptized.
Lord, they want to openly declare that they want to give their lives to You. They openly declare that they want to leave this world—the world system, the things that pull them down so drastically—and join themselves totally and completely to Christ.
And not only that, Lord, but they are also willing to lay aside their very selves, that it might be the life of Christ.
Oh, Lord, we thank You. We ask that You bless them continually. We ask one more prayer for those who do not know You, Lord.
I pray that their hearts may be drawn in simplicity to You. Lord, we can trust You. I know that if You reveal Yourself to anyone who is asking You, You have never held Yourself back. You have always given and given, even to the point of death.
In Jesus’ name.