Necessity of Believing and Being Baptized

 Romans 6:1-5; 2/9/2025; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang

 Introduction

Paul’s theology includes argument and application, and entering Chapter 6 begins the stage of faith application.  That is, how the fact of our union with Christ is expressed.  This brings up the issue of our baptism, which is also the core expression of faith.  Let’s look at the first point: 

 The choice of life and death in sin

Elevating the issue of baptism to a matter of life and death is a major contribution of Paul’s theology.  For this reason, Paul also presented his logical chain, making it irrefutable.  First, man’s choice in sin. The discussion that continues from Chapter 5 is that God’s grace abounds in man’s sin.  It seems to be saying, since God’s grace abounds in man’s sins, shouldn’t we sin more in order to make God’s grace abound?    This is the logical boundary between necessary conditions and sufficient conditions.  The two cannot be combined on both sides of the equal sign.  Yes, God’s grace abounds where sin is abundant, and where sin is little, God’s grace abounds.  This is true, but this fact does not provide basis for the motivation of the promoter.  In short, man in his sin has no room for willful sin in order that grace may abound.  The only option for grace is repentance rather than continued display of human pride.      

 Secondly, man’s outcome in sin.  The Bible says that the wages of sin is death,  and death is the only consequence of sin.  However, when a person puts sin to death through Christ, he can no longer live in sin.  This is a bottleneck in the growth of believers.  That is, they still desire to sin.  This feeling is like that of the first ancestors who saw that the fruit on the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes.  Thinking about it, since God has given me the fruit of all the trees in the garden, he would not miss this one tree.  The same goes for observing the rules in the church.  Anyway, I am going on a missionary trip, so I can do whatever I want.  Don’t I even have this bit of freedom?  The greed and pride in the heart activate the rebellious nature and issue challenges from Satan to the kingdom of God.

Finally, man’s way out of sin.  Thank you Lord!  God not only allows people to make choices in sin, but also allows people to see the outcome of sin.  He also gives people a way to repent in sin.  This is the only way to survive, provided that you are dead in sin and cannot still live in sin.  When the thought of sin comes, those who are enlightened by the Holy Spirit must say no to sin!  The essential reason for saying no is because we are dead to sin.  Since you have died to sin, how can you live like sin? What to do when greed comes?  What if pride comes?  When temptation comes?  How to resist the visit of hidden sin?  The Bible says that in everything you do in the name of the Lord, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God!  Let’s look at the second point: 

 Baptismal pattern

 If man’s choice of life and death in sin is justification by faith and the grace of passing from death to life, then being baptized by faith is a testimony of justification by faith.  First, be baptized into His death.  People are both familiar and unfamiliar with death, and often refuse to talk about it.  When Christians look at death, there are at least two kinds of death: one is physical death, which is the death that everyone has;   the other is eternal death, which refers to the final outcome of those who do not believe in the Lord.  In fact, there is another kind of death for Christians, which is called the death of the old self!  Our baptism expresses the death of our old self.  Because of sin, the death of the old self is extremely difficult.  When the Holy Spirit testifies with our hearts that we are children of God, it also means that we should work together with the Holy Spirit, always reminding us to put to death and strangle our old self!  Now that you have been baptized, you should consider that the old self that once sinned has died and is gradually dying!        

Secondly, also included in His burial.  Have you ever wondered why the Lord Jesus was buried in a tomb after he was crucified?  He is demonstrating the path we will follow in imitating Him!  The moment we were baptized, we disappeared on the horizon.  Where are we going?  Dead, buried, and no longer exists!  It is to show the truth that a person who has died and been buried will no longer sin!  So, whenever sinful thoughts come to visit, feel your spiritual pulse and pray to ask God if you are being quiet?  If the old self is not dead, it will be difficult for your heart to be at peace!  As soon as a person is not quiet, sin is lurking at the door.  As soon as you step out of the boundaries of commandments and rules, you will be controlled by sin!  The reason is because the sin that binds you is pretending to be dead, or not dead!        

Finally, there should be a newness of life.  For this reason, we should encourage and remind each other to strangle our old selves!  If the old self is really dead, there will be a newness of life.  What is the newness of life?  It is to imitate the Lord’s likeness, His humility and meekness, His willingness to be a servant, and to lay down His life for the sheep!  It’s not a slogan,  but “we too might walk in newness of life.”  The meaning of every move refers to the changes in our minds that accumulate over time and are renewed every day.  It comes from the heart, lived out through words and deeds, seen through testimonies, from family, from fellowship, from church, from serving, from chance encounters with strangers, etc.  So now it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.   Let’s look at the third point: 

Be united with him in a resurrection like his

From believing in the Lord to being baptized, we can say that we have completed the first step of salvation.  Next, we must be united with the Lord in the shape of His resurrection.  First, be united with the glory of the Father.  Man’s knowledge of God’s glory is limited, because man’s pattern and personality are limited.  The glory in the Garden of Eden is an understatement in the biblical description.  What kind of memory is it to name more than five billion living creatures?  Then there is the sorting and categorization that goes far beyond what we have today, the postmodern way of thinking.  What language is he using and what generation of quantum computer is he using?  How big is the Garden of Eden?  Will it be similar to the New Jerusalem in Revelation?  “The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.  Its length and width and height are equal. (Revelation 21:16)”  Glory refers to God’s honor, wisdom, power, grace, love, etc. in the world,  causing people to worship and praise God!

Secondly, be united with him in a death like his.  Why unite with the Lord in a death like his?  Because the death of the Lord is the highest expression of God’s love.  As the scripture says: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)”  To be united with the form of death, one is to imitate the Lord’s death and imitate His laying down of life for the sheep.  We should also love one another and lay down our lives for one another.  The second is to put the old self to death by relying on the Lord Jesus Christ.  Without experiencing death and resurrection with the Lord, it is impossible to have new life.  Co-death is the foundation of the life experience of co-resurrection, and it is the complete renewal of body, mind and soul!  For example, our character, temperament, personality, spirituality, etc., all need to be changed by the renewal of the mind!

  Finally, be united with him in a resurrection like his.  The shape of resurrection is the appearance of the Lord after His resurrection, and it is the appearance of glory!  What the Bible reveals is not complete, but the Lord’s appearance after his resurrection can also give us some clues.  He was not limited by time and space.  He made an appointment with the disciples in Galilee, as if he had “walked through the wall” and came to the disciples.  The resurrected Lord can also eat, drink, share, fish with his disciples, and also issue the Great Commission.  Finally, welcomed by angels, he gradually ascended to heaven on the Mount of Olives in front of more than five hundred disciples.  The angel said: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. (Acts 1:11)”

Conclusion

Well, thank the Lord!  Being justified by faith, being baptized by faith, and being united with the likeness of His resurrection are the only steps on our heavenly path.  Then, the Lord’s instructions before his ascension are also the goal and hope of our life. That is: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)”

Let us pray……

Romans 6:1-5

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 

2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 

4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.