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Romans 6:1-4
In Romans 6:1 the Apostle Paul raises the question of (NKJV), “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” in following from his previous statement in Romans 5:21b declaring, “even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He immediately answers this question with a resounding, “Certainly not!” (Romans 6:2a), and then makes a very important statement in Romans 6:2b in the form of a question to all who have put their faith in Christ Jesus; “How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
Paul then explains the meaning of baptism in Romans 6:3-4. He tells us that in being baptized is being attached to Jesus in His death which He died for us – not Him as He died without sin, and as we have learned that Jesus was not deserving of death, death could not hold Him because of His sinless life. But as Jesus died publicly for us, in baptism, we are publicly giving a joining of our lives going under the grave and then being raised up from the grave into a new life in Christ Jesus. This cleansing through the water baptism experience is a representation of being cleansed of sin through Jesus, and in so is a representation of living a life that is changed from a desire to live sinfully to a desire to live in the righteousness of Christ Jesus in respect for Him in providing the way to save us from sin and eternal death. As Paul then states in Romans 6:4 (HCSB), “Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.”
This is our public declaration of being set free from sin through our Savior Jesus and entering into a new life in Christ Jesus.
There are many different ideas and doctrines concerning baptism and I personally believe it is the main topic that separates the Church into the many different denominations that exist today. This is not reflective of the uniformity in Christ Jesus that He teaches us throughout His earthly ministry that we can read/learn about in the New Testament of the Bible, and more specifically in the gospel letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, along with the beginnings of the Church in the book of Acts, and also the, as some refer to the fifth gospel letter as being the letter to the Romans in which we are currently studying.
Separation of the Church is Satan at work in our world today. How do we overcome that? We follow the teaching of our Savior Jesus as He commands us in Matthew 22:37-40 (ESV), “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” None of us have followed this command given by Jesus in its entirety…but it should be our focus for the rest of our lives!
Dear LORD,
You have given us baptism to declare publicly our choice to accept the gift you have given us through Your Son Jesus in saving us from sin as He died for us publicly. You have provided a way for us to live in the righteousness of Christ Jesus and leave the sinful nature far behind as we strive to live a new life in Christ and reflect Your great love for us back to You in bringing You glory through our lives in obedience to You as Your children saved by Your grace as we put our faith in You. Please help us to put You first and to love our neighbor as ourselves – in Christ. In Jesus name I pray, amen.