Easter Baptism Sermon

Buried With Him, Raised With Him, Living For Him

Easter is the hinge on which all of history turns. On that first Sunday morning, when the stone was rolled away and the tomb was found empty, everything changed. Death had been defeated. The grave had been conquered. And the risen Lord Jesus Christ stepped out of the darkness into the light of an entirely new creation. That is what we celebrate today.

And on this Easter morning, something beautiful is happening in our worship. Men and women who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are going to be baptized. These two things belong together. Easter and baptism are not simply scheduled on the same day by coincidence. They belong together because the New Testament itself binds them together. What we are about to witness in the waters of baptism is a living picture of the very resurrection we are celebrating this morning.

Open your Bible to Romans chapter six, beginning at verse three.

The Text Before Us

The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Rome, and he asks a question that cuts right to the heart of the Christian life. He has just finished explaining that where sin increased, grace increased all the more. And then he asks: does that mean we should go on sinning so that grace can multiply? His answer is swift and decisive. Absolutely not. And the reason he gives is baptism.

He writes in Romans 6:3-5, "Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of his resurrection."

Paul is not teaching that the water itself saves anyone. The Baptist tradition has always understood baptism as an ordinance, a commanded act that symbolizes and proclaims a spiritual reality rather than producing it. The saving work has already happened through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. But Paul is saying that baptism is a profound and God-given picture of what has taken place in the life of every believer. When a person goes down into the water, it is a public declaration: I have died with Christ. When they are raised up out of the water, it is a public declaration: I have been raised with Christ.

Paul continues in verses six through eight: "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."

The old life, the life lived in rebellion against God, the life dominated by sin and self, that life has been put to death. Not reformed. Not improved. Put to death. And in its place, a new life has been given, the resurrection life of Jesus Christ himself.

Then Paul reaches his conclusion in verses ten and eleven: "For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."

Consider yourselves. Reckon it to be true. Live from this reality. You are not who you used to be.

The Colossians Companion

Paul returns to this same truth in Colossians 3:1-4, and here he draws out the daily, practical direction that flows from it. He writes: "So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Notice that Paul grounds the entire Christian life in this resurrection reality. He does not say, try harder, or follow a set of rules, or work your way up. He says you have been raised with Christ, therefore seek the things above. The indicative comes before the imperative. What God has done in Christ creates the foundation for how we are to live.

Your life is hidden with Christ in God. That is one of the most secure statements in all of Scripture. The believer's life is not hanging by a thread. It is not dependent on your performance or your feelings or the circumstances of this world. It is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ appears, you will appear with him in glory.

What Baptism Declares

For those who are being baptized today, this is what you are proclaiming before God, before this congregation, and before the watching world. You are saying: I have trusted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have repented of my sin. I have been united with him in his death, and I have been raised with him to walk in newness of life.

Baptism does not save you. Jesus saves you. But baptism is your public, embodied confession of what Christ has done. It is a testimony without words. It is a sermon preached with your whole body. And on Easter Sunday, that sermon echoes with particular power, because the resurrection you are proclaiming in the water is the same resurrection we are celebrating in this room.

A Word To The Congregation

To the rest of us gathered here, do not watch this as spectators. Watch it as participants in the same story. Every one of us who has been baptized made this same declaration. Every one of us has the same calling: to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. To set our minds on things above. To live from the resurrection, not toward it.

And if you are here today and you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, this is the most important morning of the year to hear this: Christ died for your sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day. That is the gospel. And it is offered to you freely. Repentance and faith are the door, and the door is open.

A Charge To Those Being Baptized

To those stepping into these waters today, here is your charge. The life you are entering is not a performance. It is not a perfect record. It is a daily, joyful, sometimes difficult walk with the risen Christ. There will be mornings when you feel his nearness and mornings when faith is a choice. In both, remember what happened today. You went down into the water, and you came up. You were buried with him, and you were raised with him. And that is not a feeling. That is a fact secured by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He is risen. Go and live like it.

Sources Consulted

Douglas J. Moo, The Letter to the Romans, New International Commentary on the New Testament, Eerdmans, 2018.

Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker Academic, 1998.

N. T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, IVP Academic, 1986.

Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, Pillar New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans, 2008.

Thomas R. Schreiner and Shawn D. Wright, editors, Believer's Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, B&H Academic, 2006.