June 29 – LD 26, Day 5: The Meaning of Our Baptism
by Rev Arie den Hartog
Read: Acts 22: 1 to 16
The simple but wonderful
meaning of our baptism is that it signifies and seals unto us the washing away
of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. The expression ‘blood of Jesus’ does
not mean that we must be literally washed by the blood of Jesus. Rather, the
blood of Jesus signifies the suffering and atonement of Christ by His precious
sacrifice on the cross. It calls to mind the obedience and love of this
sacrifice and all the shame, agony and suffering involved in this sacrifice of
Jesus for us. As earthly water washes away the filth of the body, so the blood
of Jesus washes away the guilt and corruption of our sins.
When Jesus gave us the
sacraments, He gave very simple and plain signs, easy to understand. No one,
not even the church, should add to the simple sacraments, any ritual or
ceremony of their own devising. Such additions to the sacrament which Christ
gave us simply obscure its simple and beautiful meaning.
The
The simple meaning of
baptism is that it signifies and seals to us that all our sins have been washed
away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Our sins have two aspects.
The guilt of our sins that make us worthy of condemnation has been atoned for
by the satisfaction of Christ. Also, the corruption or spiritual defilement
of our sins is washed way by the Spirit of Christ. We are made holy before God.
All our sins are washed
away by the blood of Jesus Christ, both our original sin which we inherited
from our fallen parents, and sins which we commit personally every day. Every
sin that we commit all our life long is washed away by the blood and Spirit of
Jesus Christ. The church of Rome teaches that only
original sin and sins committed before baptism are washed away by baptism. The church of Rome has a very wrong understanding of baptism.
Because of what she believes, she had to invent other sacraments which the Lord
Himself never instituted in the church, to deal with sins committed after
baptism. Because of this false idea, the church of
Rome teaches her members that they still have to satisfy for sins not washed
away by the blood of Christ. After death, they will be tormented for a time in
purgatory before they can go to heaven. By this doctrine, the church of Rome held the saints of God captive in terror and
at the same time compelled them to give money to the church to escape the
torments of purgatory.
The Reformed Church
restored the gospel truth concerning the meaning of baptism. This truth is that
baptism signifies that all our sins are forever washed away by
the blood of Jesus Christ. We therefore have peace with God and can die in
great and blessed comfort. No additional sacrament is needed as a sign of
atonement for sins committed after our baptism, for baptism is the sign of
Christ that He has washed away all our sins.