Through the Water

Throughout our lives as Christians, we can experience the blessing and freedom of a new heart and a clean conscience. Isaiah 1 says this:
16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool...

Think about that...sins that have been forgiven, washed away by the power of God released in our lives.  That is the story of the born-again Christian, who has experienced putting the old person to death through believing on Jesus, Who died for us, and has been raised up to new life in Him.  Water baptism is an expression of that inward act, communicating powerfully what God has done in the heart of a believer.  We indeed can be made clean and whole through our relationship with Christ.

+++++

We have been born again, transformed by the power of God, and the process is summarized in
Romans chapter 6:
4 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.
5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 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.

The Southern Baptist Convention meets this week in Phoenix, and each year, prior to the start of the event, LifeWay releases the Annual Church Profile - it's essentially a check-up in key areas of ministry by the convention and its churches.

The 2016 report contains some good news and some areas of concern, according to an article on the Profile by Baptist Press.  Seemingly the most notable is the number of churches - there were almost 500 more Southern Baptist churches in 2016 than in the previous year.  There are now over 47,000.

And, while these churches represent 15.2 million members, the overall membership and worship attendance were off slightly - membership down just over half a percent, or almost 78 thousand people.  But weekly attendance was off 6.75 percent, to 5.2 million.

With regard to baptisms, there were almost 281 thousand people who were baptized in 2016, which is almost a 5 percent decline from the previous year.

LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer put it in perspective: "We would be remiss in not giving thanks for every baptism and every new follower of Christ."  He pointed out that there has been a decline in baptisms among Southern Baptists over the past few years, and stated: "It's clear that evangelism and discipleship are waning. I don't believe it is due to the lack of opportunities, though. Instead, there is a lack of engagement."

The story continues:

Rainer said he is thankful for SBC President Steve Gaines' emphasis on prayer for spiritual awakening at this year's annual meeting.

Frank S. Page, SBC Executive Committee president and CEO, noted "virtually everyone who sees these figures will react negatively and lament the poor state of our churches, our lack of evangelistic fervor, and our increasingly irrelevant programs. Indeed, we all should.

"However, the stark reality of these numbers should cause each of us to look inwardly," he said. "Am I sharing the Gospel as I should? Am I developing relationships with family, friends, coworkers and others with whom I can gain an opportunity to share the good news? Am I burdened for the lost and praying for their salvation?"

I believe that baptism is an outward sign or expression of the inward work that Christ has done in our hearts.  It's been characterized as an act of obedience in following the Lord.

A little over a month ago, Baptists were baptizing in Florida in a concerted effort called "Acts 2:41 Sunday."  Baptist Press had an article on the effort.  It stated:

From the sandy white Gulf beaches of Perdido Key in Pensacola to the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean that stretch from Jacksonville to Miami; from the Suwannee River to lakes and state parks in every region, thousands of Florida Baptists and onlookers gathered to celebrate and witness the hundreds of Christians who publicly professed their faith through baptism.

The piece said that 112 churches participated and 1,300 people were baptized in one day.  The story said:

Tommy Green, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention, created Acts 2:41 Sunday and challenged Florida Baptist churches to engage in the effort. "My desire was to celebrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a unified manner across our state," Green said. The idea was sparked after a conversation with David Uth, pastor of First Baptist Church of Orlando, about the church's annual beach baptism celebrations.

One church, Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, performed 82 baptisms. Pastor Willy Rice is quoted as saying that the church "rejoiced over powerful stories of faith," adding, "Specific baptism events like Acts 2:41 help our church focus on intentional evangelism...It makes you focus, ask the question, draw the net, and seek a response. People respond when we directly, lovingly and clearly invite them to respond. Acts 2:41 gave us a great opportunity to call people to respond to the message, and I'm grateful for that."

So, from the numbers, Southern Baptists, and the body of Christ as a whole, can celebrate the hundreds of thousands nationwide who have made a profession of faith in Jesus and followed Him in baptism.  Again, the public nature of the profession of faith of a new believer sends the message to others about what Christ has done in their hearts.  Acts 2:41 did that in a creative way.

We can also remember what baptism communicates.  Romans is very clear that the old person has been crucified with Christ and the new person is raised to new life.  Baptism is a reinforcement of the newness of life which we have in Him.

We can also rejoice that because of what Jesus has done, our sins have been washed away. The Bible says that our sins have been cast from the east to the west.  He has come to forgive us, and we remember that as new creations, our past history has been wiped away - we can start with a clean slate.  His blood has cleansed us, and as the Bible teaches, our sins have now been made white as snow.  It is a blessing and a cause for rejoicing that we have been made clean!