We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
—Romans 6:4
There are many ways you and I can express our faith, but one of the most significant is baptism. And it pictures something far deeper than most people realize.
Interestingly, the word baptism wasn’t originally a religious word at all. It described the everyday act of immersing or submerging something in water, like plunging a garment under the surface to wash it. So, when we think of baptism, that’s the image: a full going-under and a coming-up-out-of. When Jesus was baptized, He was submerged and then raised back up out of the water. That picture is the whole point.
Because here in Romans 6, Paul says baptism dramatizes our union with Christ. Going down into the water pictures our being buried with Him; coming up out of the water pictures our being raised with Him “to walk in newness of life.” It is a public declaration that the old life has been buried, and a new life has begun.
Let me linger on that last phrase, “newness of life,” because it’s the goal of the whole thing. I once had a friend in high school who was in church every time the doors were open. One day we were talking about spiritual things, and I mentioned being born again. “I’ve never heard of that,” he said. “What is it?” Sadly, that’s not rare. Many people grow up in church, sit through service after service, and never hear about the new birth.
But being born again isn’t something the Baptists invented, it’s the reality for everyone who has truly been saved. It means a brand-new way of seeing others, of thinking about sin, of understanding who you really are. When you come to Christ, you are made new, and that newness touches every part of life. You begin to love others and long to see them walk with God. You begin to hate the sin you used to excuse. You begin to see yourself as God’s servant. That’s what “newness of life” looks like, lived out.
Baptism, then, isn’t the thing that saves you, it’s the public sign of the salvation already at work in you. Throughout the New Testament, when a person became identified with Christ, they were baptized. They didn’t just raise a hand or quietly join a group; they went public, declaring before everyone that they now belonged to Jesus.
So let me ask you two questions today. First, have you experienced the new birth, not just church attendance, but a living, transforming relationship with Jesus Christ? And second, have you followed Him in baptism, publicly identifying with His death and resurrection?
If your past has truly been buried with Christ, don’t keep it a secret. Embrace what He’s done, declare it openly, and then get on with the business of walking in newness of life.
YOUR OLD LIFE IS BURIED AND YOU ARE RAISED WITH CHRIST, SO WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE, AND LIVE IT OUT.
