The Vision (12.28.18): But be of good cheer

Note: Devotion take from last Sunday's sermon on John 16:29-33.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33).

In the upper room Christ prophesied that when he went to the cross the disciples would be “scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone” (John 16:32). He explains: “These things I have spoken to you, that ye might have peace” (v. 33; cf. John 14:27).

The Christian concept of peace has two vital aspects:

First, there is the foundational peace of salvation: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God” (Rom 5:1).

Second, there is the peace of sanctification: “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7).

Finally, Christ says, “In the world ye shall have tribulation….” (v. 33b). This is what Christ’s disciples will experience in this present evil world. They are not exempt from suffering, but, quite the opposite, they will be prone to it, because they will elicit the world’s hostility (15:19).

In the face of this reality, Christ exhorts, “but be of good cheer.” The verb rendered here as “be of good cheer” has the sense of “to have courage,” “to have confidence,” “to take heart.”

And what is the ground of this “cheer”? Is it confidence in self? In effort? In others? No, it is confidence in Christ and his finished work: “I have overcome [nikao] the world.”

Calvin observes: “When, therefore, Christ calls us to the contest, he arms us with assured confidence of victory, though still we must toil hard.”

Word art is popular at this time of year. My guess is that you could go into more than one craft or home furnishings store and find a plaque that says, “Believe” or “Peace” or “Cheer.” But what do any of these things mean apart from Christ? What content do they have apart from Christ? They are empty of meaning and vain utterances unless they speak of Christ.

Believers can indeed be of good cheer, whatever our circumstances, because we know that Christ has overcome the world.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (12.21.18): And your joy no man taketh from you

Image: CRBC Outreach at Epworth Manor Apartments, Louisa (12.19.18)

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 16:17-28.

And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you (John 16:22).

Ponder that opening statement: “And ye now therefore have sorrow.” Sorrow in this age is part and parcel of the Christian life, and it was so from the beginning. Compare Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

Alongside this sober reality, there is also a promise: “but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh away from you.” The original disciples would indeed be filled with joy when they saw the risen Jesus, and contemporary disciples continue to experience joy (deep gladness in Christ despite whatever external circumstances) through Christ.

It has sometimes been said that no one can rob a Christian of his joy. That comes from this verse. No one robbed Paul of his joy when he was cast into prison (Phil 4:4). The joy of the believer is here deeply connected with the assurance of his salvation. Just as no man can ever pluck the believer from the Father’s hand (John 10:29) and just as nothing can separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, whether death, life, angels, principalities, powers, things present or things to come (Romans 8:38-39), so no one or no thing or no circumstance can rob the believer of the joy of his salvation.

Calvin observed on v. 22:

The value of the joy is greatly enhanced by its perpetuity; for it follows that the afflictions are light, and ought to be patiently endured, because they are of short duration. By these words Christ reminds us of what is the nature of true joy.

May the Lord continue to give his saints perseverance in sorrows and enduring joy.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (12.14.18): The Work of the Holy Spirit

Image: Snow on cedar trees, North Garden, Virginia, December 2018

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 16:1-16.

And when he [the Comforter] is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8).

Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13a).

He shall glorify me (John 16:14a).

In the upper room before he went to the cross, Christ promised to send to his disciples the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and he explained what the ministry of the Holy Spirit would be during the time between his ascension and his glorious coming.

He describes three basic works of the Holy Spirit:

First, the Holy Spirit will reprove the world (unbelievers) of sin, righteousness, and judgement (vv. 8-12):

Christ says that the Spirit will reprove the world in three ways:

First, the Spirit will reprove the world of sin (v. 9). Notice how sin is defined. No vice list is given: lust, excessive anger, envy, stealing, murder, etc. The prevailing sin, the King Sin, is unbelief.

Second, the Spirit will reprove the world of righteousness (v. 10). Righteousness here refers to the righteousness of Christ. The Spirit will show that the Lord Jesus Christ was an altogether righteous, just, and upright man. Correspondingly, it declares the unrighteousness of the world and makes plain their need for Christ.

Third, the Spirit will reprove the world of judgment (v. 11). I think Christ is here saying that the Spirit will bring unbelievers to understand that apart from Christ they are held under the sway or judgment of the prince of this world, blind in unbelief (John 14:30; 2 Cor 4:4).

Second, the Holy Spirit will guide believers into all truth (v. 13):

We turn from the Spirit’s work among those in the world (evangelism) to his work among the apostles and all believers (edification and sanctification).

The first application is to the Spirit’s guiding of the apostles, especially in writing the Scriptures. Secondly, it is applied to the Spirit’s guiding of all believers.

The Holy Spirit is called here “the Spirit of truth” (cf. 14:17; 15:26). The Spirit points men to Christ who is the way, the truth, and the life (cf. John 14:6).

Have you ever used a guide to take you to explore some natural wonder? Or to show you the hidden sites of some city?

The Holy Spirit is our guide to living the Christian life. He takes us to what is most important. He directs us away from danger and toward that which is holy, good, true, just, and beautiful.

Third, the Holy Spirit will glorify Christ (vv. 14-15):

We have seen the ministry of the Spirit to the world, to believers, and now to Christ (which is also related to the ministry to believers).

The work of the Spirit in believers will lead them to glorify Christ, to give him glory, to give him “worth,” to worship him.

Let us then look to the work of the Holy Spirit to reprove unbelievers, guide believers, and glorify Christ.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (12.7.18): Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you

Image: Ralph's tree farm, Nelson County, Virginia, November 2018

Note: Devotional taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 15:16-27.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain (John 15:16a).

Note first here how Christ speaks to the apostles and tells them that he has chosen them and not they him. We might immediately want to seize upon Christ’s words here to apply to the election to salvation of all disciples. We might want to lay this aside 1 John 4:19: “We love him, because he first loved us,” modifying it to read, “We chose him, because he first chose us.”

We need to acknowledge, however, that Christ was speaking specifically here about his election of the apostles. They were the ones “ordained” or appointed to a special and extra-ordinary office.

To what end had Christ chosen them? That they might “go and bring forth fruit.” Compare the Great Commission Christ gave to them in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go and make disciples of all nations….”.

His aim also was that the fruit would remain. His purpose was that their labors would not be a flash in the pan, a one hit wonder. And they did it. Look at the fruit they produced! We are the evidences of it!

I think we can rightly extend and apply this teaching as well to the present disciples, beyond the apostles. This is Christ’s end or goal for us. That we would produce fruit and that this fruit should remain.

Calvin observed: “But I extend this statement much farther, as meaning that the Church shall last to the very end of the world; for the labor of the apostles yields fruit even to the present day, and our preaching is not for a single age only, but will enlarge the Church, so that the new fruit will be seen to spring up after our death.”

The fruit of the apostles was not seen till long after their deaths. Have you ever considered that the greatest fruit that might be produced for the kingdom from your godly life and ministry and that of our church might be that which happens long after we are gone?

Christ chose the apostles and he has chosen us that we might bear fruit and that this fruit should remain. Let us then be faithful to this end.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.30.18): The Practical Syllogism

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 15:8-15.

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples (John 15:8).

Here is a simple Biblical test of assurance: Am I bearing spiritual fruit so that the Father is glorified in me? If I am bearing this fruit and the Father is glorified in me, then I give evidence that I am truly his disciple.

Some of the Reformation and Puritan Fathers used verses like this in discussions related to assurance of salvation: How do I know that I’m a Christian?

They developed what is known as the syllogismus practicus or “practical syllogism,” based on the logical deduction that a conclusion could be drawn from an action (see Joel R. Beeke, The Quest for Full Assurance [Banner of Truth, 1999]). So, the practical syllogism would go something like this:

Major premise: Only those who do x are saved.

Minor premise: I do x.

Conclusion: Therefore, I am saved.

Alongside this practical syllogism, some also developed what was called the “mystical syllogism”:

Major premise: Those who are saved have an inward confirmation of their salvation by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Minor premise: I have this inward work confirmation of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion: Therefore, I am saved.

We see here in this verse and in some of the other teachings in these upper room discourses the Biblical basis for the practical syllogism. But we need to be careful, because we know that such tests can be wrongly used to convey false assurance (cf. Matt 7:21-23). One can say, I must be a Christian, because I pray, I attend services, I read the Bible, I serve others, etc. And it can all be a load of false assurance and works righteousness.

The thing that cannot be overlooked is the stress on abiding in Christ. How do we know we are truly in Christ? We abide or remain in him, because without him we can do nothing (John 15:5). The Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 24:13: “But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.23.18): The purging of the fruitful branch

Image: Red berries, North Garden, Virginia, November 2108

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 15:1-7.

John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Christ declares himself in v. 1 to be the true vine. In v. 2 there follows both a warning and a promise.

The warning: The branch that does not bear fruit is taken away (v. 2a). It is removed. This relates to the fruitless unbeliever who is removed from Christ. Later, in v. 6 Christ will speak of the man not abiding in him as being “cast forth as a branch,” becoming “withered,” and then being cast into the fire to be burned.

The promise: Next he addresses the fruitful branch. We might have preferred for Christ to have said that this branch was simply left alone. Instead, Christ says that the branch that bears fruit is purged (kathairo: cleansed or pruned), so that it becomes even more fruitful. This refers to the believer. He is not removed from Christ, but he goes through a process of cultivation. This refers to the process of progressive sanctification. It often involves things that are painful for a season: pruning, taking away, cleansing.

Calvin says this shows that believers need “incessant culture, that they may be prevented from degenerating; and that they produce nothing good, unless God continually apply his hand; for it will not be enough to have been once made partakers of adoption, if God does not continue the work of his grace in us.”

May the Lord be pleased to continue his work of sanctification in us that we might bear fruit for him.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.16.18): Martin Luther on the Psalms as "a little Bible"

At the end of October, we marked the five hundred and first anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door at Wittenberg (October 31, 1517), thus igniting the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s rediscovery of the Biblical doctrine of salvation came not only from his study of New Testament books like Romans and Galatians, but also from his study of the Psalms. Luther described the book of Psalms (the Psalter) as “a little Bible.” He saw what previous generations of Christians stretching back to the apostles has also discovered: The Psalms speak of Christ. Luther wrote:

The Psalter ought to be a precious and beloved book, if for no other reason than this: it promises Christ’s death and resurrection so clearly—and pictures his kingdom and the condition and nature of all Christendom—that it might well be called a little Bible. In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible. It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook. I fact, I have a notion that the Holy Spirit wanted to take the trouble himself to compile a short Bible and book of examples of all Christendom or all saints, so that anyone who could not read the whole Bible [could] have here anyway almost an entire summary of it, comprised in one little book (as cited in Timothy George, Reading Scripture with the Reformers, p. 186).

May we continue to read, pray, preach, and sing this “little Bible” of the Psalter so that we might learn more of Christ.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.9.18): Calvin on the Comforter as "not a builder of new revelations"

Image: Morning worship at the Lynchburg Reformed Baptist Mission (11.4.18)

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26).

Christ told his disciples that one of the works of the Holy Spirit would be to bring his words to the remembrance of his disciples. Indeed, the Spirit inspired the apostles and evangelists to write not only the Gospels but also the other NT writings, infallibly recording the words of Christ, and completing the canon of the Christian Scriptures. We now have the word written and need not crave or expect the continuation of extra-ordinary experiences. Scripture is sufficient.

Here is what Calvin had to say about the cessation of extra-ordinary experiences and the work of the Spirit in this age:

Hence it follows that he [the Comforter] will not be a builder of new revelations. By this single word we may refute all the inventions which Satan has brought into the Church from the beginning, under the pretense of the Spirit. Mahomet and the Pope agree in holding this as a principle of their religion, that Scripture does not contain a perfection of doctrine, but that something loftier has been revealed by the Spirit. From the same point the Anabaptists and Libertines, in our time, have drawn their absurd notions. But the spirit that introduces any doctrine of invention apart from the Gospel is a deceiving spirit, and not the Spirit of Christ.

Let us trust and be content with the work of the Spirit through the Word in this age.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (11.2.18): The Ministry of the Comforter

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 14:22-27.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you (John 14:26).

Christ promises his disciples that the Spirit will be sent by the Father in his name (v. 26). Christians in East and West have differed over whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (the East) or from the Father and the Son (West).

This verse is very important for teaching us about the ministry of the Holy Spirit in “this present evil world” (as Paul names it in Gal 1:4) and also about the inspiration of the Scriptures.

First, Christ promises the apostles that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things.

The Spirit is the primary Teacher of the church. The Spirit is the primary Preacher of the church. He is the great Instructor, Exhorter, Proclaimer, who stands behind every ordinary officer.

Calvin calls the Spirit “the inward Teacher,” noting that “outward preaching will be vain and useless, if it be not accompanied by the teaching of the Spirit.” He explains:

God has therefore two ways of teaching; for first, he sounds in our ears by the mouth of men; and secondly, he addresses us inwardly by his Spirit; and he does this either at the same moment, or at different times, as he thinks fit.

Second, Christ promises the apostles that the Spirit will bring to their remembrance all the things that Christ had said unto them.

This is key to understanding the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture. The apostles would be the men entrusted with the writing down of the Gospels (cf. “the apostles’ doctrine” in Acts 2:42). They recorded the commandments of Jesus, which we must obey. Paul says that all scripture is given “by inspiration of God” (1 Tim 3:16). Peter says that the “holy men of God” who wrote the Scriptures were “moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21).

The Bible is not a book that can be explained merely on naturalistic terms. How could the evangelists perfectly record all the things that Christ said? Because the Holy Spirit was bringing this into the remembrance of the inspired penmen. The Bible is a supernatural work.

The Lord has not left us comfortless in this age. He has sent to us the Comforter to teach us and to bring to our remembrance the words of Christ.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (10.26.18): If ye love me, keep my commandments

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 14:15-21.

If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15)

Note that this is a conditional statement. It is a “If this…then this…” statement. Usually, such constructions reflect a condition like, If you do this, then this will be the result. Or, if this is a reality in your life, then this will be the outcome.

But here the second part of the sentence is a command: “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”

We can glean at least two things from this:

First, Christ expect that his disciples will have an abiding love, affection, passion for him that will over-rule and overwhelm every other passion in their lives. Second, he expects them to be obedient to his commands.

There is, therefore, no such thing, from Christ’s perspective, as a disciple who loves him but who is unwilling to keep his commandments.

It also striking how in in both parts of this simple command, we see the underlining affirmation of the deity of Christ. By such statements Christ is making himself equal with God.

In the first part, it implies his expectation, even his demand, that his disciples will love him above all. Who can command this kind of devotion but God himself? When the Lord Jesus was asked to identify the greatest commandment (see Mark 12:28-31), he had quoted Deuteronomy 5:6, which reads: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

To whom is love rightly directed? To God alone. To whom does Christ say that love is rightly directed? To himself. The implication: Jesus is Lord.

In the second part, Christ speaks of his commandments. Who has the authority to give commandments? God alone. But now it is Jesus who gives commandments. The implication: Jesus is Lord.

If we love him, then we must keep his commandments.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff

The Vision (10.19.18): The Patient Ministry of Christ to His Disciples

Image: Fall berries, North Garden, Virginia, October 2018

Note: Devotion adapted from last Sunday's sermon on John 14:8-14.

The Gospel of John is unique in numerous ways. Many believe it was the last Gospel written and that John the Apostle assumed that his readers were already familiar with the accounts of the Lord Jesus in the other Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. He was led by the Holy Spirit, therefore, to record things not recorded elsewhere.

One of the unique things that John records is the conversations which our Lord had with his disciples in the Upper Room before his arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Of late in our sermon series through John, we have been looking at the sequence of four conversations which the Lord Jesus had with his followers in response to their questions and requests: Peter (13:36—14:4); Thomas (14:5-7); Philip (14:8-21); and Judas (not Iscariot) (14:22—16:16).

What is striking is the fact that these men had been with Jesus. They had been ear and eye witnesses to his ministry. They had heard his words and seen his signs (miracles). Their questions, however, show that even at this point, they still did not fully understand our Lord. So Thomas asks, “and how can we know the way?” (14:5), and Philip asks, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us [it will be enough for us]” (14:8).

When Calvin reflects on Thomas’ question he observes that “the knowledge possessed by the saints is sometimes confused.”

On Philip’s request that Christ show them the Father, Calvin comments:

It appears to be very absurd that the Apostles should offer so many objections to the Lord; for why did he speak but to inform them on that point about which Philip puts the question? Yet there is not one of their faults that is here described that may not be charged on us as well as them. We profess to be earnest in seeking God; but when he presents himself before our eyes, we are blind.

These questions provide yet another example of discipleship. It shows how that followers of Christ can be “sometimes confused,” but also how that Christ continues patiently to teach and to reveal himself more fully to us.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (10.12.18): In my Father's house are many mansions

Image: Marble Salon, Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire, England

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 14:1-7.

In my Father’s house are many mansions; If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you (John 14:2).

Jesus begins; “In my Father’s house are many mansions [monai pollai].” The word for “mansion” (Greek: mone) means a dwelling place, a room, or an abode.

For us, the contemporary English word “mansion” has the sense of an opulent dwelling. The point here, however, is not to say that in the Father’s house there are many opulent dwellings (thus stressing the greatness of the reward awaiting the saints—though it will be greater than we can imagine) but to stress the expansiveness of God’s grace toward many, many, many people.

The point is to say that heaven will not be sparsely populated, but that there will be an abundance of room for all kinds of men. In John 10:16, Jesus taught, “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

This is an anticipation of the Great Commission (Matt 28:19-20). There will not be just Jews, but Jews and Gentiles in the Father’s house. There will be men and women, those who were slaves and free (Gal 3:28).

Spurgeon in his Autobiography wrote:

The Father’s love is not to for a few only, but for an exceeding great company. “A great multitude, which no man can number,” will be found in Heaven. A man can reckon up to very high figures; set to work your Newtons, your mightiest calculators, and they can count great numbers, but God and God alone can tell the multitude of His redeemed. I believe there will be more in Heaven than in hell. If anyone asks me why I think so, I answer, because Christ, in everything, is to “have the preeminence”, and I cannot conceive how he would have the preeminence if there are to be more in the dominions of Satan than in Paradise (Vol. 1, p. 171).

Spurgeon’s reference was to Revelation 7:9: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.”

To say that the Father’s house has many mansions, however, is not, to affirm what is known as “universalism,” the idea that all will be saved whatever their response to Christ. John 3:36 contradicts that when it says that those who believe in him will have “everlasting life,” while those who do not believe will have “the wrath of God” abiding upon them.

Still, the Father’s house has many mansions or rooms. It is greater than we could ever ask or imagine. And this gives us hope as we make our pilgrimage through this life.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision: A New Commandment (10.5.18)

Image: Fall fungi, Charlottesville, Virginia, October 2018

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on John 13:31-38.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another: as I have loved you, that ye also love one another (John 13:34).

Christ gave the new commandment to his original disciples, but it did not apply only to them. It applies to all disciples in all ages. So, Paul writes to believers in Rome: “Owe no man  any thing, but to love one another” (Rom 13:8a). In 2 John the apostle John writes to a church, which he calls “the elect lady” (2 John 1:1), with this admonition: “And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which had from the beginning, that we love one another” (2 John 1:5). Thus, both Paul and John apply Christ’s new command not just to the original disciples but to all disciples, including ordinary believers in this age.

Jesus will later say, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

A sign that we are truly Christ’s disciples is the fact that we desire to keep his commandments, including the new commandment. Christ has given us a commandment (not a suggestion) to love one another in the same way that Christ himself has loved us. How did Christ show his love for the disciples? He laid down his life for them.

How do we obey this commandment today? I do not think one can really do this, unless he is a committed member of a local church, where he will have many opportunities for obedience to this command. It is in the church that we get to know our fellow disciples and love them in more than a hypothetical manner.

Sometimes that love is tested. The original disciples knew each well, and sometimes they had disagreements and conflicts with one another. They argued, for example, as to which of them was the greatest (cf. Mark 9:33-34).

The believers in the churches to whom John wrote also knew each other well, and they also engaged at times in conflicts that rent them asunder. In 3 John the apostle denounces an insolent man named Diotrephes who even had the audacity to expel faithful brethren from the church (see 3 John 1:9-10)!

Our obedience to this commandment is usually not tested when things are going smoothly but when we hit choppy waters.

In Galatians 5 Paul urges the saints: “by love serve one another” (v. 13), lest “ye bite and devour one another” (v. 15).

Dear brethren, let us show our love for Christ by keeping his commandments, including his new commandment to love one another.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

Buried with Christ in baptism

Image: Scene from baptism [at Louisa BC] (9.23.18)

Image: After service fellowship (9.23.18)

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Romans 1:1-4.

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

We do not become a Christian by living a good life (that would be works righteousness), but we aspire to live a good life, because we have become Christians. We have been transformed by Christ.

We might add: We do not become Christians by being baptized, but we are baptized, because we have become Christians.

It should not go without notice that Paul presents here in Romans 6 a beautiful image of what baptism signifies. When a Christian is baptized, he is saying, “I identify with the Lord Jesus Christ. I have died to sin through Christ. My old life is buried. I have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life.”

This inspired description has long been used as a proof for believer’s baptism by immersion.

Who is the right candidate for baptism? A believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

How should this person be baptized? By full immersion in water.

In favor of this mode of baptism, there is the linguistic argument. The verb baptizo means “to immerse, dip, or plunge,” and it is the verb used in every instance to describe the baptism of a believer. There is a verb in Greek for “to pour” echeo, and for “to sprinkle” rhantizo, and for “to wash” nipto, but in every instance when a baptism is described in the NT the verb is baptizo.

There is the argument from the example of Christ’s baptism (cf. Mark 1:10: “coming up out of the water”).

There is the argument from references to abundance of water when baptism is done in the NT (cf. John 3:22: “And John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.”; Acts 8:36).

And there is also the argument from Romans 6 that the only practice of baptism that could possibly match up with what Paul describes here is believer’s baptism by immersion: the believer being plunged beneath the surface of the water into “the watery grave of baptism” and being raised to walk in newness of life.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle