Pedagogical Explorations in a Posthuman Age: Essays on Designer Capitalism, Eco-Aestheticism, and Visual and Popular Culture as West-East Meet 1st ed. Edition Jan Jagodzinski
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Steps to Salvation
Ratified in 1776, the United States’ Declaration of Independence states that every human being was created with “certain unalienable Rights,”1 rights which can be neither given nor taken away. Among these, America’s founding document states, are “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”2
However, the document declaring freedom an unalienable right was written when 20% of the entire population in the 13 mainland colonies were enslaved.3 The tide would eventually turn against slavery in the United States, but long before it did, there burned a desire in the hearts of the enslaved to be free. Just as ancient Israel yearned to throw off the shackles of slavery, and just as God’s people wished to throw off the yoke of Roman tyranny approximately 1,500 years later, slaves in the United States and in other places around the world yearned to be free.
1 “Declaration of Independence: A Transcription,” The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, https:// www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript, accessed January 20, 2023.
2 Ibid.
3 “Unit 3 African American Slavery in the Colonial Era, 1619-1775,” New Jersey State Library, https://www. njstatelib.org/research_library/new_jersey_resources/ highlights/african_american_history_curriculum/ unit_3_colonial_era_slavery/, accessed January 20, 2023.
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Many were willing to jeopardize their lives in an attempt to gain freedom. In the United States, a network of routes and safe houses was established by which enslaved African Americans might escape slavery in the American South and flee to free states or Canada. It has been said that as many as 100,000 slaves were guided to freedom via the Underground Railroad.4 After purchasing his freedom from slavery, John Parker joined many others in dedicating his life to freeing those bound by slavery. On one occasion, learning a slave master had placed the infant child of two slaves in his own bedroom in an attempt to keep the infant’s parents from escaping, Parker swung into action. Parker, who operated a successful iron foundry in Ripley, Ohio, was one of the few African Americans to patent an invention before the year 1900. When the sun went down at the end of a workday, Parker helped runaways across the Ohio River to safe houses in free territory.
Learning of the plight of the couple and their baby, Parker crossed the Ohio River in the dead of night. After traveling to the home of the family, Parker
4 Jesse Greenspan, “6 Strategies Harriet Tubman and Others Used to Escape Along the Underground Railroad,” History, https://www.history.com/news/underground-railroad-harriet-tubman-strategies, accessed January 20, 2023.
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crept quietly into the owner’s bedroom, took the baby, and fled! He narrowly avoided being shot when the slave owner awakened. Mother, father, baby, and John Parker all made it safely across the river to Ripley. For the couple and their baby, it was the beginning of a brand-new life, the dawn of a new hope.5
The desire to be free has been imprinted in the DNA of human beings since Creation itself. Though created as free moral agents, Adam and Eve forfeited their freedom when they yielded to temptation in the Garden of Eden. The human family became the subjects of “the prince of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11, KJV). Now sinners, they had forfeited the blessing of God and had chosen instead servitude and bondage. They were lost. There would now be enmity between the world’s first inhabitants and Satan, who had lied in telling Eve that she would “not surely die” (Gen. 3:4, KJV). “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground,” God said, “for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19). Sin had brought death. Sin had robbed Earth’s first inhabitants of their freedom.
5 Monica Drake, “In Ohio, a Warrior Against Slavery,” The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/ travel/ripley-ohio-underground-railroad-john-parker-slavery.html, accessed January 20, 2023.
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Leaves now fell and decayed. Cursed, the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles. Animals began to die (Gen. 3:21). Adam and Eve’s own son murdered his brother (Gen. 4:8).
The Earth itself was fundamentally altered. Yet the first promise ever made—made to a broken world—was a promise that spoke of hope for people trapped in sin. God said to Satan, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). Inherent in the promise of a Messiah was the promise that humanity could again experience freedom. Life on Earth today is the quest to be free from sin and free to live eternally. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, an unfathomable amount of people are still enslaved. It is said that more people are enslaved now than at any other time in Earth’s history. Britian’s “The Guardian” reported that there are more than forty million living in some form of modern slavery, “more than three times the figure during the transatlantic slave trade”.6
6 Kate Hodal, “One in 200 people is a slave. Why?” The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/ feb/25/modern-slavery-trafficking-persons-one-in-200, accessed January 20, 2023.
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So how may a person experience freedom from the slavery of sin? As Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “[K]nowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:6).
Those who serve sin are slaves to sin, Paul writes. And because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:21), every person alive is implicated in this desperate situation. Outside of Jesus, there is no real freedom.
Paul quoted the prophet Joel in stating that, “‘[W]hoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved’” (Rom. 10:13). He wrote to the Ephesians explaining that sinners are saved by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8). The message of the Bible is that, through faith in God, sinners may experience freedom.
Paul begins Romans chapter 6 by saying, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). He answers his own question by stating emphatically, “Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (verse 2). And in those words, Paul speaks about the deeply spiritual experience God offers every sinner seeking freedom from sin. Notice, Paul states that the saved have “died to sin.”
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He continues. “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:3–4).
The inspired apostle considered baptism an essential aspect of the salvation experience. Paul does not state that a person is saved by being baptized, but that saved people will be baptized as a response to the love and grace of God. Paul wrote with clarity about the way a person receives salvation. “[B]y grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Eph. 2:8–9). In the same way a wedding ceremony unites two people in marriage, baptism unites the believer with Jesus and His church.
Paul writes of “the church, which is His body” (Eph. 1:22–23), stating that believers in Jesus become part of the church through baptism. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13).
Continuing his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in
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the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Rom. 6:5–6).
In Paul’s mind, baptism was an essential part of becoming free from enslavement to sin. Jesus’ own counsel was consistent with that of Paul. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
But while most people can agree that baptism is important in the Christian belief system, agreement on the correct method of baptism is harder to come by. Through the ages, the question has been at times a matter of life and death.
In early sixteenth century Switzerland, it was not uncommon for people to be executed for what the church deemed “heresy.” But even by the standards of that unenlightened day, one execution in 1527 differed from most that were carried out.
Magistrates in the Swiss city of Zurich opted to execute the accused heretic neither by burning at the stake—a common method of execution at that time—nor by beheading. The punishment considered appropriate for the crime committed was death by drowning.
Felix Manz was a Swiss Anabaptist who believed people should be baptized by immersion. He opposed the practice of infant baptism, then carried
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out by both the established church—the Roman Catholic church—and the Protestant movement. Ordered by the Zurich City Council to have his young children baptized by sprinkling, Manz was forbidden to re-baptize adult believers.
But Felix Manz disobeyed the order of the City Council, and as a consequence was forcibly drowned in the frigid waters of the River Limmat on January 5, 1527. His mother and brother looked on.7
While attitudes have thankfully softened over the years, disagreement on the subject of baptism persists. Yet the Bible is very clear. Paul, writing in Ephesians 4:5, tells us that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
While some today believe baptism is unnecessary, a form of baptism is practiced by the great majority of Christian believers. So, what is the biblical mode of baptism?
The Bible first mentions baptism in Matthew 3:6, saying that the people who flocked to John the Baptist “were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins” (KJV). Seeing unconverted religious leaders in the crowd, John said, “‘Brood of vipers! Who warned you
7 Joshua J. Mark, “Zwingli’s Persecution of the Anabaptists,” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1932/zwinglis-persecution-of-the-anabaptists/, accessed January 26, 2023.
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to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance’” (Matt. 3:7–8).
John understood that baptism was connected to a change of heart and a change of life. Baptism was linked by John to repentance, the dynamic experience by which a believer turns from a life of sin and is renewed by the presence of Christ to live a life of faith. Baptism speaks of a new start, a new experience guided and governed by the Holy Spirit of God.
It is important to realize that God offers everyone a new start. Moses, a murderer, was not only forgiven by God but was called by God to lead His people out of Egyptian slavery and on to freedom in the Promised Land. David was an adulterer, a liar, and a murderer. Solomon wrote an entire book of the Bible describing the futility of a life in sin and the blessedness of a life lived by faith in God. Wicked King Manasseh, who sacrificed his own children to the devil, was forgiven and cleansed by the grace and power of God. The apostle Paul was called to faith in Jesus while actively persecuting the people of God. Weak-willed Peter went on to write two books of the Bible, while John, dubbed one of the Sons of Thunder by Jesus, wrote four. A woman taken in adultery was brought to Jesus so that He might pass judgment upon her. Instead, Jesus said, “‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’” (John 8:11).
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The Bible promises forgiveness to all who will accept God’s offer of pardon. John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Paul wrote, “[I]f anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
The gospel contemplates the sinner’s complete recovery from the power of sin. Baptism functions as the sinner’s assurance of transformation through the power of God, as a pledge given by God that a new life may be received and lived through the grace of heaven.
Filled with deep spiritual meaning, baptism is indispensable for new believers in Jesus. Before a person comes to faith in Christ, that person is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), living “according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (verse 2, KJV). He understood from experience the life of which he wrote, describing himself as chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), having lived a life where he found himself incapable of living according to God’s leading.
After the old Paul had been apprehended by God on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, he was urged by Ananias to “be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). The plan of salvation designs that all who come to faith in Christ and have their sins
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forgiven, should be baptized as a symbol of the cleansing power of God’s grace.
So why bother with a symbol?
God knows that experiencing the rite of baptism is extremely powerful for a person growing in his or her faith in God. Baptism provides a sinner with a new starting point. It functions as a memorial by which a believer may say, “My life has been changed. I have accepted Jesus as my Savior. My sins have been forgiven.” Just as a marriage ceremony unites two lives, baptism unites the life of the sinner with the life of the Savior. From that moment on, a believer in Jesus need never doubt about the reality of what he or she has experienced.
During the time of the early Christian church, an official of the government of Queen Candace of Ethiopia, traveling from Jerusalem to Gaza, had a divinely directed, life-changing encounter.
Instructed by the angel of the Lord, the church deacon Philip traveled into the wilderness to meet with the Ethiopian man. The official had a deep spiritual interest, and Philip was soon sitting alongside the man, reading the writings of the prophet Isaiah.
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Along with his spiritual interest, the Ethiopian had a strong spiritual need. As he read of the sufferings and death of the Christ, he longed to know the identity of the Messiah of prophecy. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35). Philip explained the prophecy of the life and ministry of Christ.
As they traveled, they came to a body of water, and with his heart glowing with love for God, the Ethiopian man asked Philip if he could be baptized. Philip’s answer is instructive.
“‘If you believe with all your heart, you may’” (Acts 8:37). The man answered by saying, “‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’” (Ibid.). And with that, “both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (verse 38).
The example of the Ethiopian eunuch helps us to understand the how of baptism. Consistent with the meaning of the word itself, it is apparent the Ethiopian official was baptized by immersion. He and Philip both “went down into the water,” which would not have been necessary if early Christians baptized by sprinkling. John the Baptist baptized where he did “because there was much water there” (John 3:23). John could have baptized people in the
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desert if “much water” wasn’t necessary for him to carry out his ministry.
The account of Philip and the African man also explains the when of baptism. Genuine in his faith, the man who was baptized had accepted Jesus as his Savior, believed Jesus to be the Son of God, and was a student of the Scripture.
Clearly familiar with the Word of God, he searched the Bible to understand the identity of the Messiah. He no doubt considered himself to be dead to sin (Rom. 6:11), and understanding something of the great privilege of being a child of God and of the great opportunity to be part of the body of Christ, this man of growing faith seized the moment. He didn’t wait for a better day. He was baptized as soon as was appropriate.
Jesus Himself was baptized by immersion in the Jordan River (Matt. 3:13). The Bible records that when He was baptized, He “came up immediately from the water” (Matt. 3:16). Jesus would not have come up “from the water” if He had not been baptized by immersion.
Just as the Ethiopian government official “went on his way rejoicing” following his baptism (Acts 8:39), the heart of God Himself was filled with joy at the baptism of Jesus. The Father’s voice was heard
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declaring from heaven, “‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matt. 3:17).
Yet the baptism of Jesus raises certain questions. If baptism involves repentance and forgiveness from sin, why would Jesus—“who knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21)—need to be baptized?
Jesus was not baptized as an admission of guilt, nor due to sins He had committed. Jesus was baptized as an example to those who would later choose to accept Him as Lord and Savior. Through His baptism, Jesus identifies with fallen humanity and issues a gracious invitation to follow in His steps.
Jesus made clear that baptism would endure as an integral part of the life of the church, directing His followers to baptize those who come to God in faith. In what has become widely known as the Great Commission, Jesus said to His disciples, “‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you’” (Matt. 28:19–20). Baptism is a public demonstration of a personal acceptance of the deliverance from sin found only in Jesus Christ.
While Jesus plainly said that people are to be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” some are confused by a seemingly
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contradictory statement made by Peter during the feast of Pentecost. When the listening crowd, convicted of their sin, asked a vital question, “‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’” (Acts 2:37), Peter’s response was certain. “‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins’” (verse 38). While Peter emphasized the importance of repentance and forgiveness, he did not, on this occasion, explicitly say people should be baptized in the name of each of the three members of the Godhead.
This has led some to advocate that when people are baptized, the officiating gospel minister should baptize “in the name of Jesus Christ,” without mention of the Father or the Holy Spirit. Yet, in Acts 8:16, believers in Samaria were “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,” giving at least three possible—and biblical—phrases that could be spoken when a person is baptized. Are people to be baptized “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” “in the name of Jesus Christ,” or “in the name of the Lord Jesus”?
Agitation about the precise words which should be spoken at a baptism misses the point altogether. At Pentecost, Peter was speaking to Jewish believers about Jesus, “‘a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs’” (Acts 2:22). He confronted
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his listeners, reminding them they had crucified Jesus. By mention of Jesus’ death and resurrection, and emphasizing Jesus’ messiahship, Peter made abundantly clear that the Jews had not only rejected the Messiah but were responsible for His death. Little wonder that they were “cut to the heart” (verse 37). It was against that background that Peter urged them to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.” Peter’s words were never meant to be taken as the God-ordained formula to be spoken at every baptism. Peter was drawing attention to the fact that Jesus—whose murder just weeks before was likely urged on by many in the crowd listening to him speak—was Savior and Lord. The question of Jesus as Messiah was the point of contention among the people of the day. In urging people to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ,” Peter was essentially saying, “You have rejected the Son of God. Now, be baptized accepting that same Jesus as Messiah.”
The importance of believing as a prerequisite for baptism is emphasized throughout the New Testament. Those who came to John the Baptist to be baptized came “confessing their sins” (Matt. 3:6). This is what Felix Manz, and others who came after him, understood clearly. Only a person with conscious self-awareness can intelligently see his or her
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own sinfulness, experience repentance, then believe in Jesus for salvation from sin and be baptized. Clearly, infants are not capable of repenting of their sins. Very young children have no need of repentance from sin. So, what does the Bible say should be done with reference to children?
Mary and Joseph took baby Jesus to the temple to be dedicated. He wasn’t baptized until He chose to be baptized as an adult. When mothers brought their little ones to Jesus so He could bless them, neither Jesus nor the mothers so much as mention baptism for babies or young children, even though baptism was well-known.
God asks parents first to dedicate their children to Him and then to encourage their children to live in connection with Jesus at each stage of their growth. Baptism is only meaningful if a person believes and repents. Absent that, baptism is simply a form. Baptism doesn’t earn salvation but is a sign that a saved person has surrendered their life to Jesus.
The first clear reference to infant baptism was written by an early Christian writer named Tertullian, who wrote against infant baptism in around the year AD 220.8 Not long after, Origen, the famous teach-
8 “What are the historical origins of infant baptism?” Bible. org, https://bible.org/question/what-are-historical-origins-infant-baptism, accessed January 26, 2023.
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er from Alexandria, wrote that infants are baptized for the remission of sins. According to the historian Adolph Harnack, Origen believed that sins could be committed in a former life, necessitating infant baptism for forgiveness of sins.9
The origin of infant baptism is connected to a fear of babies and young children dying and losing eternal life owing to original sin, the erroneous teaching that babies are born guilty of sin.10 Origen also claimed “The Church received from the apostles the tradition of giving baptism even to infants. The apostles, to whom were committed the secrets of the divine sacraments, knew there are in everyone innate strains of [original] sin, which must be washed away through water and the Spirit.”11 It is worth noting that Origen did not appeal to biblical evidence for these claims, for the simple fact that the Bible does not support infant baptism.
There is evidence that infant baptism became common in the region of Carthage in North Africa between
9 “Infant Baptism,” Church Fathers, https://www.churchfathers.org/infant-baptism, accessed January 26, 2023.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
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AD 250 and early in the fifth century.12 Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage from AD 245–258, believed baptism should be carried out as soon as a baby is born.13 The bishop Augustine wrote in favor of infant baptism in about AD 400, appealing more to superstition than Bible doctrine.14 Augustine wrote that original sin “can be remitted in baptism to infants.”15 The Sixteenth Council of Carthage in AD 418 decreed, “If any man says that newborn children need not be baptized … let him be anathema,”16 or damned forever.
12 William Cecil Duncan, “A brief history of the Baptists and their distinctive principles and practices,” https:// quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa&cc=moa&view=text&rgn=main&idno=AJK2012.0001.001, accessed January 26, 2023.
13 Ibid.
14 “St. Augustine of Hippo (about 354-430 A.D.),” Catholic Faith and Reason, https://www.catholicfaithandreason. org/st-augustine-of-hippo-about-354-430-ad.html, accessed January 26, 2023.
15 “Saint Augustine (354-430) Of the Merits and Remission of Sins, and of the Baptism of Infants,” Logos Library, https://www.logoslibrary.org/augustine/merits/134.html, accessed January 26, 2023.
16 Dennis Kastens, “Infant Baptism in Early Church History,” Issues, Etc. Archive, https://www.issuesetcarchive. org/issues_site/resource/journals/kastens.htm, accessed January 26, 2023.
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The writings of early church leaders up to AD 500 make it clear that baptism by immersion was the norm throughout Christendom. Even in the Middle Ages, the renowned Roman Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas, who allowed for sprinkling, wrote in the thirteenth century that “the safer way to baptize” was “by immersion, because that is the most common custom.”17 Baptistries found in ancient churches up until the time of the Reformation testify that baptism was carried out by immersion even as sprinkling was practiced. Although groups such as the Albigenses and the Waldensians faced severe persecution as a result of opposing infant baptism, baptism by immersion once again became popular as the Protestant Reformation took hold.
The late Cardinal Gibbons wrote in his book Faith of our Fathers:
For several centuries after the establishment of Christianity Baptism was usually conferred by immersion; but since the twelfth century the practice of baptising by infusion
17 “How the doctrine of baptism changed,” Ministry Magazine, https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1978/07/how-the-doctrine-of-baptism-changed, accessed January 26, 2023.
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has prevailed in the Catholic Church, as this manner is attended with less inconvenience than Baptism by immersion.18
One historian wrote:
‘For the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice of baptism was that of which we read in the New Testament, and which is the very meaning of the word ‘baptize,’—that those who were baptized were plunged, submerged, immersed into the water. That practice is still, as we have seen, continued in Eastern churches. In the Western church it still lingers among Roman Catholics in the solitary instance of the Cathedral of Milan.’19
Baptistries carved from huge blocks of marble or built into the floor can be found in basilicas and cathedrals in many places in Europe. In some locations, large baptistries have been filled in, with a
18 James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 93rd ed. (Baltimore, MD: John Murphy Company Publishers, 1917), p. 277.
19 W.A. Spicer, OUR DAY In the Light of Prophecy (Nashville, TN: Southern Publishing Association, 1917), https://www.web-books.com/ON/B0/ E897R0931/20MB897.html, accessed February 2, 2023.
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font for pouring built over the spot where the baptistry used to be.
An interesting adaptation of a baptistry can be found in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. An ornate bronze baptismal font holding a small amount of water stands in a large depression in the floor. That large depression indicates that an earlier form of baptism was once performed. Records reveal its construction was ordered by Benedict XIII, elected Pope in 1724, who was anxious to practice the ancient rite of administering baptism by immersion. Succeeding popes disagreed with Benedict, and the depression in the floor was filled in by the baptismal font that can be seen in St Peter’s today.20
So, does the form of baptism really matter? Those who wish to be surrendered to the will of Jesus for their lives would have to believe it does. Those who maintain a faith in God based on the Bible and desire to have their sins washed away in harmony with Jesus’ example will surely agree. In fact, baptism cannot be baptism if it is not by immersion. The word “baptize” comes from the Greek word “baptizo,” which means to immerse
20 Daniel Keeran, Ancient and Medieval Baptismal Fonts in Rome, https://www.slideshare.net/danielkeeran/ancient-and-medieval-baptismal-fonts-in-rome, accessed February 2, 2023.
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or plunge under. Baptism and immersion are synonymous terms. The person who was not baptized by immersion was not baptized. Occasionally, people confuse baptism with a declaration of spiritual perfection. A lady waiting to be baptized announced just minutes before her scheduled baptism that she felt it should not proceed. She stated she should not be baptized because she felt she was likely to sin again after being baptized. The pastor who spoke to her listened patiently before saying, “I don’t THINK you will sin again after you are baptized. I GUARANTEE you will sin again after being baptized.” He explained that the Christian life is a life of growth in Jesus and that while no one should plan to sin, or accept sin as a way of life, it is undoubtedly so that as one grows in grace, mistakes will inevitably be made. God’s grace provides that we fall short less and less as we grow in faith in Christ in preparation for eternity. Understanding this—that baptism was not a statement of complete spiritual maturity—the dear lady was baptized. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus, he explained to Nicodemus that in order to “enter into the kingdom of God,” he needed to be “born of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5, KJV). Being born of the Spirit is the miracle of conversion, which occurs when the Holy Spirit enters a person’s life and makes that
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person new in Jesus (Rom. 8:1; 2 Cor. 5:17; Ezek. 37:9–10). To be born of water is to be baptized by immersion.
It is important to keep in mind that those who are “born of water” are just that. They are “born” of water. Although perfect in its context, a newborn baby is incomplete and begins to grow as soon as it is born. For a baby not to advance beyond infancy is a tragedy. In the same way, a newborn Christian, though in possession of salvation by faith in Jesus, immediately begins a journey of growth and spiritual development. Neither a newborn baby nor a newly born-again Christian are the finished article. Accepted and loved in spite of their incompleteness, both are nurtured that they might grow to their potential.
Far from claiming spiritual completeness, the person being baptized is, in fact, declaring their great spiritual need. Rightly understood, baptism is a statement that a Christian life can only be successfully lived in union with Jesus. Baptism is the sign that a life has been surrendered to God. It is an appeal for the indwelling presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
At Pentecost, Peter proclaimed, “‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive
