Beloved Church Family,                                               

It is an incredible honor and blessing to say that I have spent many hours this last month talking to many of you about baptism and membership. The culmination of these conversations was the baptism of Daniel Silburn on February 10^th. Paul’s statements in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 have been the focus of many of these discussions, and they have been on my mind a great deal, so I thought it would be fruitful to remind ourselves of the meaning behind baptism and membership.

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all itsparts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.            

There is nothing magical about the waters of baptism. Without faith in Jesus Christ and a genuine desire to follow Him all of the days of our lives, baptism would mean that we just get wet. Neither does baptism save you. Baptism is an outward symbol of that which has already happened inside of us. The moment we trusted in Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we died with Christ to sin and our old way of life. This is what is symbolized when a person is put under the waters of baptism. Likewise, the moment we believed, we rose from the dead with Christ to a newness of life. This is symbolized when a person being baptized is brought out of the water.  Baptism is also a public declaration to our friends, family and other believers of our faith in Jesus. Pastor Jim Fowler commented to me a couple of weeks ago that he believed every baptism should be done in a horse and buggy carriage down on Main Street. There will perhaps be no greater opportunity to declare our allegiance to Christ than the moment we are baptized.   

There is one other thing that is symbolized in baptism that Paul mentions in this passage. Paul declares that we are baptized “into one body.” The moment that we respond to the Spirit’s leading in our lives and surrender to Christ, we become “one Spirit with Him.” (1 Corinthians 6:17) However, it is impossible to be joined to Jesus without being joined to every other believer. Jesus prayed in John 17:20-21 that all that believe in Him “might be one” just as He and the Father were one. Baptism is the moment in which we celebrate and welcome those who have believed into the family of God. The next logical step after baptism is membership in a local church body.  

Have you been baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Have you become a member of a local church? If not, I would strongly encourage you to do so. If Community Baptist Church is the place that you call home, why not take the next step? For those of you who still have questions or are interested in baptism or becoming a member, please feel free to call me anytime. I would be more than happy to talk to you. I would also encourage all who are interested to attend the next Pastor’s Information Class on Saturday, April 12^th from 10am-Noon. I hope to see you there. 

In Christ,

Jason Oakes
Associate Pastor