Which Baptism?

Paul asked some strangers whom he encountered in the course of his missionary journeys, "With which baptism were you baptized?" (Acts 19:3) In the midst of the conversation, Paul discovered that these unfortunate would-be followers had only heard of John's baptism. They knew only a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.

The problem with a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins is that it needs to be repeated, often, in most cases. Those who know only a baptism about one's cleanliness, purity and righteousness are doomed to stand in need of perpetual and frequent baptism. The affects of the spiritual cleansing are impermanent.

I think this is what a young lady meant when she told me recently about her need to be "re-baptized." What she meant, I suppose, was that she was at a point in her life where she was ready again to dedicate herself to God's will for her. In order to get from her recent past to the future, however, she needed to cleanse herself of the past, to rededicate herself, to be made pure again. Unfortunately, or not, I think her intent is all tied up in traditional "shoulds" and "oughts," or more honestly in the traditional "should nots" and "ought nots." Faithfulness, to her, means following the rules and expectations of purity and righteousness.

But there is a different baptism, one of which the Church is shockingly unaware. It is the baptism of spiritual empowerment, of being equipped for doing God's will, of living in the light of Christ. It is not about being cleansed but about being equipped, just like Jesus, for the mission and ministry to which God's will calls us. This baptism is about acceptance and vocation more than it remains, in the traditional sense, about our eternal salvation.

Into which baptism were you baptized. Are you baptized in water or in the Spirit?

We at Shiloh are aware that the Spirit empowers us for ministry and service. It equips each of us, in unique ways, to accomplish God's will in the world. The Spirit breathes from the core of our being in order to bring God's love, forgiveness, compassion, grace, mercy and miraculous acceptance to everyone in every place. Baptism in the Spirit is about our ability and willingness to share the vocation of ministry and service in such powerful and meaningful ways that we change lives.

Perhaps the difference can be expressed best as the baptism for vocation and calling or baptism for righteousness and purity under the law. This Sunday, we will draw some stark lines between the two, and invite each of us to embrace again the baptism of vocation and calling, to accept again the baptism of the Spirit, to recognize again that we are empowered and equipped to represent God's will in, to and for the world in which we live.

If you want to be re-baptized in the baptism of empowerment and vocation, then you can't miss this coming Sunday! We worship at 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome!