Being Baptized Daily

     38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the
     forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
     Acts 2:38

In this scripture, Peter is talking to the crowd gathered on the day we call Pentecost. And it is safe to say that this command to be baptized was the first ritual act of Christianity.

In the majority of our Christian denominations, baptism happens once. We have the ceremonial washing away of sins either by full immersion or the sprinkling of water as we make our confession of following Jesus Christ. There are those times when some come forward for a “recommitment”, but generally speaking, baptism happens once. Note here what Peter says, “be baptized” and “you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. If, as we practice, it is a one and done deal, doesn’t that mean all Christians who are baptized are walking around in the Holy Spirit? Not quite.

To be baptized is a first step toward a meaningful and deeper relationship with our God, through Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead. But to say that every person ever baptized is practicing Christianity with the gift of the Holy Spirit working through them is not accurate. If it were so there would be no divide in our culture. We would all be pursuing the Will of God completely daily and there would be no room for division.

No, what Peter is telling the people of that day and what his words bring to us are two different things. On that day in first century Judea something very special was happening and the very fire of God was falling down upon the people so that the Word of God would spread throughout the Roman Empire. What Peter is saying to us today is that in baptism we are prepared to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

To clarify further in Galatians Paul says this:

     27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
     Galatians 3:27

When we are baptized, we are to put on the clothing of Christ. Or we are to become more Christ like in all we do. The symbolism of the one and done dunking is not the end of it, but only the beginning. When we confess our commitment to Jesus Christ, we are announcing to the world our intent to work to become more like Him. Far from being a once in a moment attitude, we must renew ourselves daily and every morning refresh ourselves in the washing away of sin.

It begins with prayer. It begins with a relationship with God that is uninterrupted. Putting on Christ is a daily, indeed moment by moment endeavor that we must practice in order to run the race of perseverance. This life is full of attacks that leave us vulnerable to fall away from God’s Will for our lives.

Baptism is the symbolic change. The real change comes from constant connection with our Lord. It is time spent in the scripture. Time spent in prayer. Time spent truly loving one another. And time seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As the song implores,

Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me,
fill me, use me.
Spirit of the living God,
fall afresh on me.
© 1938, renewal © 1963 Birdwing Music
WORDS: Daniel Iverson, 1926 (Acts 11:15)

We must be baptized daily; we must reach out to God every moment and ask that the Spirit fall fresh on us. It is in this way that we receive the Holy Spirit continuously. Without the Holy Spirit, our walk becomes one of discouragement, frustration and possibly even failure. Jesus prepared His disciples and told them:

     5For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
    Acts 1:5

In this same way we are to wait on the Lord and trust that the Holy Spirit will descend on us and we must do so on a moment-by-moment basis in order to be fully clothed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is so much more than a one and done deal. Living for Jesus and bringing His love to this world is a moment-by-moment endeavor that takes us from our will to the Will of God.

Kathy Hendrix