Why Do I Need To Be Baptized? | Romans 6:1-4
What are the moments in your life that changed your life? Getting your driver’s license. Getting your first job. Graduating high school or college. Moving out of your parents’ house. Getting married. Having kids. We all have moments in our lives where everything we knew before has changed. Often, those moments are celebrated as milestones in adulthood. But the reality of those moments is that your life is different from now on. You can’t go back to the way things used to be and if you try to re-enact living at home, it’s not what it used to be and is often traumatic. One of the interesting phenomena of the past few decades is something called “delayed adulthood.” This is where young people postpone traditional markers of adult independence and responsibilities; they wait longer to move out of the house, finish college, get married, have children, or take on long-term financial obligations. One person said, “Adulthood used to mean getting a mortgage, but now it means remember to cancel your free trial on time.” Another said, “Thirty is the new twenty, except with student debt, career anxiety, and no savings.” There is a failure to launch, often out of fear and anxiety for the future. This has found its way among people in the church, and a delayed spiritual obedience. We love the idea of Jesus as our Savior but struggle to follow Him as our Lord. The first step of obedience is baptism.
Paul is writing to the Roman believers who are living in a world of religious pluralism, confused immorality and political instability. He has spent the past few chapters outlining how someone can know that they are right with God. We are right with God by the blood of Jesus and our faith in what He did for us. Then he starts talking about how baptism as believers marks our salvation and right relationship with God. To Paul, baptism is very important, so don’t check out. Baptism is important because it identifies us with Christ, illustrates our salvation, and declares the gospel.