“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into Christ’s body by one Spirit, and we have all received the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13
We begin discussion on our second purpose, which according to Rick Warren is to be formed for God’s family.
Are you baptized? If you believe in Christ and God, Warren tells us you should be already. Without delay, you should have been baptized. He says, “Like a wedding ring, it is a visible reminder of an inward commitment made in your heart. It is an act of initiation, not something to put off until you are spiritually mature. The only biblical condition is that you believe.”
I was baptized as an infant and we baptized our son as an infant as well. There was no delay. As most of my regular readers know, I worked for our church for several years. When I started working there, I was highly surprised to find out (and you might be too) that many people attending church every Sunday and some even during the week, are not baptized. And since Warren brings up wedding rings, you might find it interesting to know that many people are not married either, even though all would think that they are.
People put things off. They start living together and pretty soon there are children. People just assume they are married. They are good people. They go to church. They participate in the church. They volunteer for the church. They donate money to the church. They go through all the motions, but they never got around to getting married. And when it comes time to baptizing the children, they never get around to it either.
Now of course this is not everybody. But it is a far greater number than you realize. Some young couples have even come to our church to get married and they themselves assumed they had been baptized because they had attended church their entire lives, but later came to find out from their parents, after the pastor asked, that, no, no one had ever actually taken the time to baptize them over the years — over the decades.
Does any of this surprise you? I was greatly surprised. At first I thought it would be one or two isolated cases, but as I continued working, I came to realize that it was far more prevalent than it should be, especially for people who are attending church. I’m not talking about people who don’t believe in God here. I’m not talking about people who only occasionally attend church, whenever it’s convenient or once or twice a year for Easter or Christmas. I’m talking about church regulars.
People don’t realize this is often the case because of course this is confidential information. The pastor, the staff are not going to blab or gossip about the people who attend their church.
If this describes you, there should be no shame and as you can see, you are far from being alone. There is no need to postpone any longer because you are afraid of telling your pastor. It’s OK. He’s unfortunately all too used to it and will rejoice in baptizing you. So postpone no longer if you truly believe in your heart in Jesus and in God. Go get baptized.
And if you are and you baptized your children too, thank God. Thank Him and praise Him for having led you to Him through His church.
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