Newness of Life

We have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
–Romans 6:4

Philip the evangelist demonstrated how to be an effective witness for Christ. In Acts 8, he “preached Jesus” to an Ethiopian court official (v. 35). The man believed, and he wanted to be baptized. Here’s the scene: “They both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch . . . went on his way rejoicing” (vv. 38–39). In this passage, I want you to notice three things about baptism:

1. The model of baptism. The Ethiopian man believed, and then he was baptized. Baptism follows belief.

2. The mode of baptism. Philip and the Ethiopian man “went down into the water” and “came up out of the water.” The Greek word baptizo means to immerse. The mode of baptism is immersion. Why is this important? Because of what baptism symbolizes.

3. The meaning of baptism. The water represents the grave. When you come up out of the water, you’re saying, “I have died to my old way of living and been raised to a new way of living.” Romans 6:2–4 explains, “How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11, imagine if Lazarus had said, “Thank You, Jesus, but I’m going to wrap myself back up in these stinky graveclothes and go back inside the tomb.” That makes no more sense than somebody saying, “I’ve trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of my sins, and I’ve been given a whole new quality of life, but I want to go back to my old way of living.” No, when you become a Christian, your desires change. That doesn’t mean you won’t stumble, but you don’t want to keep on sinning. Baptism is a picture of dying to your old way of living and being raised to a new way of living in Christ.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Portrait of an Effective Evangelist,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.