Baptism: The Ultimate Measure of Success

Editor’s note: This article is Part 4 of  a series called “Patterns of Dysfunction.”  Part 1: Building a Crowd, Part 2: Silver Bullet Solutions, Part 3: Fruitless Busyness

You may be wondering why baptism is included in an article on worldly alternatives to a gospel focus. “Baptism isn’t worldly!” you may protest. Correct, but when wrongly understood it reflects the world’s desire for bottom line production numbers instead of biblical conversions. To be fair, much of the last century of Southern Baptist culture has encouraged this model. As a result, many of us have been raised to believe the more people a church baptizes the healthier and more fruitful it is. If they have been done properly this notion should be accurate. Sadly, when baptism becomes your goal your standards may weaken to produce more baptisms.

The Real Goal

It may surprise you to hear that baptism is not our ultimate goal. What is it then? Consider these words from Jesus to His disciples:

You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. – John 15:16

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. – Matthew 7:21

Jesus’ ultimate goal for us is to become disciples that bear lasting fruit, which brings glory to God. He warned that true Christians are identified by their obedience to God, not merely by their professions of faith. While we cannot know with absolute certainly that everyone who claims Christ is a true believer, there are a few things we can do to clarify Christian discipleship.

Baptism Rightly Understood

According to David Bennett, the altar call became commonplace in evangelical churches by the 1820s. Before that era, believer’s baptism was the moment a Christian publicly professed faith in Christ. While I’m not against a proper gospel invitation, the modern separation of profession and baptism has led often to the downplaying of baptism as a box to be checked. It appears that Baptists have been so afraid of being identified with groups who believe that baptism saves you, that they have created a sizeable gap between profession and baptism. In reality, baptism is a BIG DEAL! According to Acts 2:38 it is your first step of obedience as a Christian. It says to the church and the watching world 1) the old me has died and been buried with Christ, 2) I have been raised to live a new life, 3) I am now committing myself to follow Jesus in word and deed, and 4) you are a family of witnesses who can walk with me and hold me accountable.

Proper Distinctives

A couple of metaphors can help us better understand the place of baptism. When compared to a marathon, baptism is the starting line, not the finish line. Again, baptism doesn’t save you, but it’s the first act of obedience you display. We should never lead people to Christ and then turn them out on their own. When compared to having children, baptism signifies a baby has been born. Babies need lots of attention and personal care. We must never treat the newly baptized like graduates who are ready to leave home.

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two church ordinances we observe. Baptism is the initiating ordinance that physically identifies us as part of the body. People sometimes ask whether we are baptized into the Body of Christ or into the local church, and the answer is both. Baptism identifies us with all true believers in Christ, but there has to be a point of connection with the Body. There is no place in the New Testament for free agency, or what I often call “tumbleweed Christianity.” Consequently, we baptize people into the fellowship of a local church where they can receive fellowship, strength, and accountability as they worship, work, and witness in Jesus’ name. To refuse to unite with the local representation of Christ’s Body is an act of rebellion that says His bride is unattractive, and which calls the truthfulness of one’s profession into question. The Lord’s Supper is the fellowship ordinance shared by believers walking in fellowship with Christ and His Church. How many of the people you see observing the initiating ordinance of baptism are regularly observing the fellowship ordinance of the Lord’s Supper? The answer should cause us to take greater pains with how we approach baptism.

Whom should we baptize?

The only baptism I want to discourage is an unbiblical one. New Testament baptism is observed by people who show clear signs of conversion: 1) they understand the finished work of Christ, 2) they display signs of new life in Christ, and 3) they are willing to count the cost and lay down their lives in service to Jesus. That means we don’t baptize people just because they want to be baptized. People wrongly seek baptism for reasons ranging from fire insurance to getting the preacher off their back. If we baptize them while they remain unconverted, we have actually pushed them further from Christ as they think they are now ok and are unwilling to be challenged by a clear gospel presentation. Only a biblical conversion and baptism leads to the production of lasting spiritual fruit to the glory of God. Anything less is hypocrisy.

Where do we start?

Start by sharing the gospel regularly. Don’t be discouraged if you are witnessing to people who have not yet come to Christ. Remember, God is doing the saving, we are just doing the telling. When a person is truly converted fruit will come. That fruit is not as easy to measure numerically as are baptisms, but we know it when we see it. The Spirit brings love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithful, gentleness, and self-control. That fruit strengthens a church; mere numbers may speak against us more than they speak for us.

 

Let’s go and make disciples!

 

With hands to the plow,

Troy Rust