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.
(Romans 6:4 NKJV)

 
Greetings from Israel.

This week I teamed up with Beth and Matt Munson to baptize 32 people from our church in the Jordan River. It was an amazing experience for them and for us. I shared a few thoughts with them about baptism using today's text.

When we are baptized we are publicly declaring that from now on, and forever more, we find our identity in Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus came to the earth and identified with us completely when He humbled himself and became a man. He identified with our temptations, and He conquered them. Then He choose to identify with our sins, and He took them to the cross. He identified with the death that comes from sin, and went to hell on our behalf. But the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that He rose from the dead so that you and I could identify with His resurrected life.

Here are some takeaways from this text:

(1) We were buried with Him.
When we go under the water we're taking our old life of sin and death and we're choosing to leave it there for good. We identify with His death.

(2) We were raised with Him.
When we come out of that water we come out different. We're changed, we're rearranged, we're set free from our past and set up for a new kind of life. We identify with His life.

(3) We are now able to walk in the newness of life with Him.
When we walk out of that water we walk out with purpose. To declare to the world around us that we've been rescued, we've been set free, we've been redeemed to walk in the newness of life. I love how the Message Bible paraphrases Galatians 2:20:

Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

When Jesus became the Lord of our lives, we received new identity, one that opens the door that enables us to walk in the newness of life. So let's start walking.

Prayer: Father, thank You for giving us Your Son, and for allowing us to find our new identity in Him. We're excited to walk in the newness of of life to Your glory and Your honor.  In Jesus' Name. Amen.