The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
October 18, 2009
In
This Issue:
Is
Un-Baptism for You?
by
Steve Klein
Is Un-Baptism forYou?
An acquaintance of mine was telling me that he'd read in the newspaper about a so-called pastor who was performing "un-baptizing" ceremonies. Apparently, you could get un-baptized by having this fellow sprinkle water on your face and then wipe it off. I was not able to verify my friend's account of this, but in a world filled with religious lunacy, it sounds very plausible.
Now un-baptism is plainly unscriptural. But as Paul would say, "bear with me in a little folly" (2 Corinthians 11:1). Just suppose that it was truly possible to get un-baptized. Who would want to do it and why?
We might imagine that a lot of people who were initially baptized in the wrong way would want to be un-baptized. For instance, those who were baptized by sprinkling might want to have that undone once they realize that baptism involves immersion in water. It is a burial (Colossians 2:12). Jesus was baptized IN the Jordan, not WITH DROPLETS from the Jordan (Mark 1:9). Philip and the Ethiopian both went down into the water for Philip to baptize the Ethiopian, and then they both came up out of the water (Acts 8:38-39). That hardly sounds like sprinkling. John the Baptist baptized "in Aenon near Salem because there was much water there" (John 3:23). If baptism were sprinkling, John could have baptized everyone in Judea with a bucket of water. Baptism required "much water" because it is immersion. Realizing this, honest people might want to have their erroneous form of baptism undone.
We might imagine that people who were initially baptized for the wrong reason would also want to get un-baptized. Many were baptized "as an outward sign of an inward grace," or to become a member of a man-made religious organization, or just because it is what they thought they were supposed to do. The Bible teaches that baptism is what puts one "into Christ" (Romans 6:3-4; Galatians 3:26-27). It is "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38) and to "wash away your sins" (Acts 22:16). Like Noah was "saved through water," baptism "now saves us" (1 Peter 3:20-21). Once folks understand the correct reason for baptism, they may wish to have their previous meaningless baptism erased.
But I suspect that the main reason someone would want to be un-baptized is because they no longer want to live up to the commitment that they made when they were baptized. Baptism is a commitment to living a holy life. Even people who don't really understand the Biblical purpose of baptism know that. In Romans 6, the apostle Paul reasons that, since we who have been "baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death," we should see ourselves as "dead to sin" (Romans 6:3, 11). We should "not let sin reign" in our lives (Romans 6:12). And since we were raised like Christ from death out of baptism to "walk in newness of life," we should "present ourselves to God as alive from the dead" and devote our bodies to His service (Romans 6:4, 13).
Sadly, many are not living up to the commitment they made when they were baptized. As a result, their lives are filled with guilt and misery. Un-baptism is not the answer. Rather, a rededication of oneself is what is necessary. This is exactly Paul's point to the Romans in chapter six of that epistle. And it is my point to you today. The world is filled with uncommitted Christians. The solution to their unhappy lives is not in de-committing by being un-baptized, but in recommitting by giving themselves totally to the God of all grace.
-- Steve Klein
It was a warm lazy Sunday afternoon and the first saw her. I was sitting on a pine church bench waiting for services to begin when I looked out the front door and saw her walking across the church yard. She shaded her eyes with a cardboard fan as she passed through sunny patches between huge oaks. Beneath her hat, white hair reflected rays of the sun. Age gave dignity to her slow walk; she bore gracefully the burden of years. She steadied her walk with a knobby cane. At the church doors, she paused, looked briefly across the nearby cotton fields, and then firmly took the steps into the building.
She took in the whole congregation with one look and nodded to all. She put her cane and fan on a pew, removed her hat, walked to the wall and hung her hat on a nail.
I went over and introduced myself. She firmly shook my hand and said, "Well, preacher, I've come a long way to hear some good preaching."
I looked into a pair of young and dancing eyes that lit up a face wise with years, molded firm with character, and said, "Well, I've come a long way to do some good preaching." She turned away chuckling, to find her pew. We were friends from then on.
I preached often at that place, and, many times, I saw her hang her hat on that nail. We often repeated the saying, "She came to hear some good preaching; I came to give it." Years skipped away and I went from there to other fields of labor. Sometime ago, I returned to preach a week's meeting. The building was modernized; new faces filled the room. I sat in an unfamiliar, factory-made pew. I could see the churchyard only partially through a side window. The huge oaks still stood shading the men talking and waiting for the "bell song."
I caught myself looking for a familiar figure. But I knew she was gone. I looked at the new sheetrock wall&ldots;and the nail was pulled. In the chambers of imagery, I could picture the past and see her hang her hat on the nail. I listened to a far away voice&ldots;"I expect to hear some good preaching today," and I caught myself mumbling, "I came to give it."
I thought of her coming to the portals of glory: "Come in," said the Lord. Then, motioning to a jasper wall, He said, "Hang your hat on that golden nail." She nodded and said, Lord, I've come a long way to find peace and rest." "I came a long way to prepare it," He said.
Years have passed, but the power and charm of a simple, warm child of God lingers. And, when I think of people like her, I thank God that He enriched my life, filling it with such "little incidents, dear people, and precious memories." May we all be wise to see the riches God has for His children.