Baptism's purpose...

I will speak at the Salvation Army today (on Baptism). Those who know that the Salvation Army does not practice the baptism ritual may wonder where I’m headed and might be anxious about some of these introductory words, but I'm not on a collision course with either the Bible or the teachings of my church.

In the church calendar today celebrates the Feast of Epiphany, where the texts of Jesus' baptism is in focus. If baptism is necessary for salvation, it may seem absurd that Jesus had to be baptized. John the Baptist said so and many others have come down on the same side. But perhaps there is a key to understanding this in the book of Hebrews?

If you've followed my blog over the last couple weeks, have you noticed how Jesus for a brief time was made lower than the angels, and that he truly had to be as 'the children of flesh and blood'. This complete identification with humans was further confirmed further through baptism. Baptism signifies the transition. Jesus is ready to complete the mission: to save the world. His baptism was the gate to the road to Calvary.

Therefore Jesus’ baptism was necessary, not for his own salvation, but for that of the whole world. I think he saw it as a foretaste of death and resurrection. His comments to John: "We need to do to fulfill all righteousness" is a confirmation of that.

For me to be righteous before God, I must also die with Christ and rise with him. It is this that is 'baptism', and that ‘baptism’ is necessary for salvation. The rituals can symbolize this in a good way, but if it does not happen on the inner level, they are external actions only in conjunction with religious ceremonies. Piety concerned Jesus. The ‘inner’ characterizes the ‘external’ and not the opposite. Therefore, the Army opted out of the external rituals without thereby saying that it is wrong to exercise and take full advantage of them.

In order to live a sacramental life, it is necessary to be 'baptized'. How it happens is a mystery, and in the expository lesson later today I will testify to the mighty 'experience' I had when I recognized and became aware of what it meant to be dead with Christ and raised with Him in this life

Today's 'manna':

I'm dead and risen with Christ.






MAJOR JOSTEIN NIELSEN
NORWAY

Translated from Norwegian; Sven Ljungholm


Jostein Nielsen