Colossians 3:1-17
Christians, in accepting the ordinance of scriptural baptism, are entering into covenant with God and the local church, “…to rise to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Thus, we are saying we are going to continue to walk with the Lord, in spite of difficulty, opposition, human failure (both our own and that of others), and that we will be steadfast in purpose and persistence, in proving God’s will to be good, acceptable, and perfect for our life.
1 Peter 3:20-21 teaches us that to walk with the Lord, we must have a good conscience in carrying out God’s will for our lives. This necessarily involves loving and serving Him with all our heart and soul.
Baptism pictures that we understand and will do our best in the way we live, to respect the sufferings and death of Christ for us: “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2.
Just as we know it took the authority and power of God, over all things, to bring Christ forth triumphant from the grave, we know it will take our honoring the will, the authority, and the power of God, to produce the victorious Christian life.
Thus, baptism is the pictorial ordinance of a resurrected life. The ultimate reason for resurrection is to live unto the One by whom we are raised up. It is to have our lives live out the Divine plan and purpose, “not my will, thine be done.” Proper maintenance is essential to anything being in good working order. A farmer could go bankrupt with a barn full of equipment in tip top shape, unless he uses them for the purpose for which they are designed. Good, clean living falls short of everything, unless it is coupled with the work God has called us to do.
Baptism preaches that a victorious life comes by walking with Christ, according to the will of the Father. This is done by keeping our eyes on Christ, and off of the world. We may see failure in men, but Jesus never fails. We are to not only look unto Him, but also live our lives by means of waiting upon Him. We are never to grow weary in our devotion to Him.
We must set our affections on things above, not on things in this world. It is not the struggles that defeat us, but when we allow ourselves to lose interest in God’s will and we become indifferent. We don’t serve God due to legal obligation only, but we must have real interests that are fixed on things above. How successful are you in Christianity? Christ defined it this way, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21
SHARING
