Dear Bruce, “Let’s all get dunked!”

11. November 2009 by BruceSmith.

Dear Bruce: what’s the point of getting “dunked”?

Dear Bruce,

I am an avid reader of your stuff, and have appreciated so many of your writings.  I am 35 years old, a fairly new, true believer (though I had some “religious” background), and have seen my life and lifestyle change in big big ways.  God has brought me new focuses, fresh desires, new Jesus’ loving friends, and is helping me deal with so many issues I have had in my life.  I used to live my life for me, lived it up, gave no thought to my spouse, kids, others, …it was just about my fun.  Anyway, I know Jesus has given me a new life, and I am praying that my kids will come to know Him as well soon, and others I care about.  I was never someone who thought about biblical issues, and certainly not someone who ever thought about how my life affected other peoples lives.  He is changing that and so many other things about me.  I hope people can look at me and see the change in my spirit and life.  I pray that is the case.

So, here is the question:  As a new believer I have heard talk about baptism several times, and just need to know the purpose.  What difference does it make if I get “dunked”?  Is this something I have to do?  Does it bring me to a different level of spirituality?  Is it o.k. if it was already done for me as a kid?  I am hoping you can shed some light on this, as I do want to do what God wants on this one.

Thanks,

An Avid Reader

Dear Avid,

Love the question, the story, and the desire to move forward with God’s agenda for your life!  First off, you give some great information that helps me help you on this one.  You point to the change that has taken place in you, on real terms, in real life.  The first thing you need to know about baptism is its purpose and place in the life of the believer in this very regard.  Baptism, essentially, is a spiritual metaphor, and a very powerful one, which points to a death (your old life and manner of living), and a resurrection (your arising to a new life in Christ Jesus).  In baptism we are telling of (a profound purpose of the act itself) this dramatic life change Jesus has brought about in us.  We are telling all onlookers of the washing away and cleansing which has been wrought by God in our souls.  We are celebrating the old life falling away, dying, and embracing the new life at work which has arisen within us.  

As we go through the process of baptism we tell of God’s amazing story of redeeming lives, our lives.  This is vitally important on many levels, and is particularly important as it pertains to your story and your hopes for family and friends.  Baptism, its meaning and significance, offers you a profound tool to use in telling of your new life in Christ.  As God has changed you, He has also called you to be a light to others and to tell of His remarkable love to those around you.  Its a chance, a monument in your life, a marker, whereby you can express to your kids what a difference God is making in you and the  new direction He is charting for you.  You can tell your friends why your lifestyle is changing and how wonderful the changes are, and invite them to your baptism.

I often encourage believers to send out baptism invites in order to celebrate this reality like a bride and groom celebrate marriage.  The baptism then becomes, amidst other moments (just as you share your love of your fiance with others prior to the ceremony) where you have undoubtedly told of your new life to those friends and family you have invited, a public telling and rejoicing of your new journey and relationship with Christ.  It lets all the onlookers in on your great new adventure and passion.  It becomes a ceremony where you publicly acknowledge, “I am not who I used to be…and I am thrilled to be NEW!”  It is a telling of God’s love, grace, and desire to wash us all new.  A chance to submerge the sins and lifestyles of the past.  A chance to rise again fresh and clean, and ready for all God has in front of us.  It is a truly profound metaphor for every believer when rightly understood.  It tells of the work already done in the heart, but its a telling we should long for.

In regard to your other questions let me say a couple of things.  First off,  as with any teaching of the church, we should go into scripture and see what the bible actually has to say about it.  What is the biblical model for baptism?  In the New Testament a few things are very clear and undeniable.  First, new believers were baptized.  Simple.  In that culture, as people came to believe in Christ, they got dunked.  Actually, it happened right on the spot.  “Let’s find a river!” was the approach when someone finally let go and said, “God, amidst all opposition from friends, culture, and family…I am yours!”

We should also note, regarding the biblical model, that people were always baptized, not as infants, but rather, upon reaching an adequate age and an understanding, and accepting Christ as Lord.  The biblical model calls for intellectual and heart felt recognition of sin, repentance (a turning away from sin), awareness of need for a new direction, and a plea for God’s gracious intervention in Christ upon the cross (which is our only hope, as we cannot change or redeem ourselves).

Lastly, we should note that in the New Testament, the model was for a believer to be, as you say, fully “dunked”.  That is to say, they were put totally under the water from head to toe.  It was, then as now, a physical metaphor with spiritual significance, telling of the submerging or death to sin, and the rising to a life of renewed and washed reality, as we said above.  People often ask me, “What about sprinkling, or other methods”.  My typical response is, “If the submersion model was good enough for the first century church, and its the model we clearly see in the New Testament…why change it?”  I say this being aware that in certain times and places, and cultures, etc. sometimes it has been expedient or necessary to go another way.  The absolutely crucial reality is, however, the reality of a truly changed life, and a desire to follow God’s plan in giving an open telling of this amazing change He has brought about.

Remember, Jesus’ last words to the disciples were instructions to go and make disciples (not just converts but fully devoted followers), and to baptize them in the name of the Father… .  Jesus, then, connected the dots for us and answered your question.  When we come to faith in Christ, it just makes sense, we want to follow in obedience, tell of the awesome work of God, experience the metaphor, and please the God who is at work in us.  In the process, God uses this wonderful experience to tell His story to others who may not yet know Him, and He woos them to Himself as they watch the metaphor unfold, and as they watch our transformed lives.

Avid, use this calling of God for the next step to tell your friends and loved ones that you are now different by the grace of God, you are passionately excited about the new life ahead, and you are humbly moved that they might come to experience the same kind of change.  Use it also to share with your kids what God is doing in your life.  Tell them of the old you, how God has brought you away from it, and tell them of the new things He is doing in your life.  Point them to their own need to experience this reality for themselves.  Go through the new waters He is nudging you toward, and take it all in.

Go get yourself dunked!!

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

soulstormsite.com

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