Article XVII -
Of Baptism
Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of
difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not
baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be
retained in the Church.
In every wedding I’ve performed, the groom put a ring on the bride’s
finger. But what happens if there’s no
ring? Can you have a wedding without a
ring?
Yep.
Three things are required for a legally binding marriage:
1.
informed, voluntary,
verbal assent from both parties (vows);
2.
the appropriate
number of qualified witnesses; and
3.
a properly signed
and registered marriage certificate.
The wedding ring is a symbol of marriage, not a requirement.
The church is the bride of Christ, and you are the church. Like the ring on a bride’s finger, baptism
tells the world that you have entered into an eternal lifelong relationship
with Jesus, your Divine Bridegroom.
Three things are required to become the bride of Christ:
1.
Confession and
repentance by faith in Jesus as the Son of God (vows)
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:10)
2.
The seal of the
Holy Spirit as witness to genuine change in your spiritual relationship;
…you
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of
His glory. (Ephesians 1: 13, 14)
3.
Official registration
in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into
the lake of fire. (Revelations 20: 15)
On the cross, Jesus told a repentant thief, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)
By faith alone that
thief met all the requirements for salvation, but he was never baptized.
In Acts 10, God sent the Apostle Peter to see Cornelius, an unbaptized,
uncircumcised Gentile and Roman Centurion.
At the conclusion of their talk, Peter said, “Can
anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have?” And
he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. (Acts 10: 47, 48)
Notice that the Gentiles had already received the Holy Spirt
BEFORE they received the sacrament of baptism.
The vows had been made, the marriage certificate had been signed, and
the relationship sealed by the Witness of the Holy Spirit. They were saved before they were baptized.
You don’t go to Hell for missing out on
baptism so don’t let anyone tell you that your salvation depends on a
church’s baptismal schedule. As the Lord said to Peter “What God has cleansed you must
not call unclean.” (Acts 10: 15)
On the Other Hand...
If I was performing a wedding and the bride refused to accept the
groom’s ring--- then I might have to call a timeout. That’d be a strooong indication that they
have potentially irreconcilable differences about the parameters of their
impending relationship.
Jesus did say that He wants His bride to be baptized, and if you don’t want the ring maybe you don’t want the marriage.*
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 (Matthew 28: 19)
The Lord wants to put that ring on your finger. If you don't want to be baptized, then consider exactly what you expect to be the parameters of a
relationship in which Jesus Christ is the head of your life.**
One Ring to Rule Them All, Or Sometimes Two
It’s tradition (a very profitable tradition for the jewelry
industry) for men to purchase a very expensive engagement ring for the women to
whom they will later give a much less expensive wedding ring. Back in the days of arranged marriages, the
engagement, or betrothal, was handled by family and also sealed with a gift.
When parents present a child for baptism, we betroth him/her to
Jesus fully intending that one day they’ll walk down the aisle of somebody’s
church and give Him their hand in salvation.
On behalf of the future bride of Chrst we accept the sacramental gift of baptism
and, in the CME Church ritual, vow to “keep this child under the ministry and
the guidance of the church until such time that this child will, by God’s
grace, personally accept and publicly affirm for self the gift of salvation…”
In the meantime, parents and church family use their gifts to “order
and shape our lives, individually and collectively, that we may be a good example
for this child to follow and emulate.” (Order
for Infants and Small Children, Book of Ritual)
Baptism is Jesus’ ring on the finger of His bride. Our job is to speak and live so that people see us love
Jesus so much,they want to wear His ring--- no matter who or how old they are.
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.Now as they went down the road, they came to some water.
And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8: 35-37)
---Anderson T.
Graves II is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry,
and rural leadership development.
Rev.
Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama; executive
director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO); and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
#Awordtothewise
You can
help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button
on the right-hand sidebar.
Support by
check or money order may be mailed to
Miles
Chapel CME Church
P O Box 132
Fairfield,
Al 35064
*Yeah, I know that a some couples opt for finger tattoos or no
rings at all. That’s cool. I’m not diminishing the depth of their
commitments to one another. But this hypothetical
couple has already agreed to an exchange of rings. It’s a parable, people.
**I understand that many
people go their whole lives without baptism while still thinking that they will
go to Heaven or whatever they call it these days. For this non-hypothetical scenario, I’m
referring to people who actually claim to believe in Jesus and expect to move
in with Him for eternity. It’s
scripture, people.
