One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
... Pauline concepts, it has been researched and questioned by religious scholars for many years. Death to Sin, Life Through Christ In Paul’s writings, it is evident that baptism is connected to resurrection and life through Christ. In the book of Romans, Chapter 6, he tells the Romans that they should no longer sin. He states that when they were baptized, their lives ‘died’ to sin and are given an opportunity to be re-born. “…All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized in to his death. We were therefore buried with him though baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”Romans 6:3,4. The Romans were told that through baptism, they became “dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:11). C.E.B. Cranfield, writer of Romans, a Shorter Commentary agues the unlikeness of Paul’s claim that baptism is, essentially, baptism in to Christ’s death. Instead, he states,”…it actually relates the person concerned to Christ’s death, since this relationship is already dead – in God’s sight.”(Page 31). To God, baptism is a sign that Christ’s death for all men has meaning to the individual. In the Human’s sight, Cranfield believes that it is the acknowledgement of faith and response to what God has already done in Christ. In The Water That Divides, Romans 6:3 and Colossians 2:12 are “two of the most important of all New Testament passages on the meaning of baptism.” Entering the water the Christian shares in Christ’s death (‘we were buried… with him by baptism into death”, Romans 6:4; ‘you were buried with him in baptism’, Col. 2:12): leaving the water he shares in his resurrection (’in which you were also raised with him’, Colossians 2:12). The Water That Divides, Page 23 Bridge and Phypers defend the point that the passages are to be interpreted as baptism being a resurrection through Christ. Christian’s sins are forgiven, and a new life begins. “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (6:11). In this verse, he shows that Corinthians have been “washed” in to a new life, and have been cleansed from the sin they committed before, another example of resurrection. The Holy Spirit In the latter part of Romans, Paul uses slavery as a symbol of who the Romans should obey. “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness.” (Romans 6:16). Paul goes on and writes that they were set free from sin, and are now slaves of righteousness. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Verse 23). Paul believed that sin would result in death, but if the Christians led holy lives, they would live eternally. This end part of the chapter also represents the tie of the Holy Spirit with baptism. The symbol of a ‘slave to righteousness’ can be compared to the choice to be baptized. Righteousness, says Paul, leads to holiness, and holiness leads to eternal life. When one chooses to be baptized, they are buried in to baptism and resurrected to a new life, through Christ. Paul makes another baptismal connection to the Holy Spirit. He writes to Titus “… he saved us not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the holy sprit” whom he poured out on us generously.” (Titus 3:5,6). The Holy Spirit, as written by Paul, washes away the past life of sin. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he often refers to how Galatians ‘recognized’ the Spirit. For example, “I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?” (3:2,3). By this, he is asking the Galatians if they are obeying the Law (to receive the Spirit) or if they believe in God only Because others say to do so. Later in Galatians, Paul writes to the Christians “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized in to Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (3:26-28). To be baptized, Paul tells the Galatians that if they have faith in Christ, they become a Son of God, and become one with Christ. In The Theology of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, James D. G. Dunn states that the baptism in this context is used as a metaphor. “… To describe the way in which the acceptance of trusting faith and the Spirit accomplished the identification of the believer with Christ on which Paul’s whole argument hangs.” He goes on to write that faith in the Spirit was the beginning of the personal transformation, to be immersed in Christ, to be baptized. In 1 Corinthians Paul states, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body – whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given one Spirit to drink.”(12:13). This verse shows again that Christians are all baptized in to Christ. He believes the spirit comes from baptism, and baptism creates union between Christians. Baptism of the Dead Another issue Paul writes about it baptism for the d...