The Means of Grace: Baptism
IMMERSED INTO THE LIFE OF CHRIST
Our study of the means of grace brings us to the sacraments of the church: Baptism and Communion. Two ordinary activities - immersion in water, sharing a meal - which bring the extraordinary grace of Christ to us in a special way. Visible words of the gospel which not only declare the good news of Christ's saving work but enact it and make it experiential for us. The first of these is baptism: God’s visible confirmation that we are his children. As we pass through the waters, God sets us apart. Bringing us from death to life. Taking us out of slavery and into freedom. Marking an end to our old identity and declaring to our heart, mind, conscience, and the depths of our spirit and to all those bearing witness, that we now belong to Christ. Baptism is the seal which confirms all this to be as really and wonderfully true as we were really submerged under the water and brought back up again. Would we remember our baptism - however long ago it was - and be spurred on to live like the new people we were shown to be. Trusting that God’s grace has come to us. Desiring to see more and more of our neighbors pass through the waters and move from being far from God to members of our family.