We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Romans 6:4
Baptism is a sacrament giving witness to one’s personal salvation. Submersion in water symbolizes death to the temptations and lusts of earthly/carnal existence and the burial of your mortal body. Rising out of the water signifies resurrection into eternal life for the one that believes.
In the city of Corinth, Paul penned this letter, Romans, to the church in the capitol of the world. He had not been there but those who had witnessed the work of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, had returned to their hometowns and begun churches, one of which was the predominantly gentile church in Rome. Paul’s objective? To teach the true Nature of Christ……life, eternal and victorious.
There is life and there is death. There is Christlike behavior, and there is sin. There are two different life styles. They do not intersect, they do not merge. In all of the universe they never come together. There is nothing common between the two. Die to this world so that eternal life may begin today!
Love,
Gretchen