A Baptism Story
So what's the big deal with going underwater for a second?
Chuck is a pastor in Southern California. In his congregation is a man named Jimmy from Indonesia. He was living legally in America, but his time was running out, and he was requesting asylum on the grounds of religious persecution. If he went back to Indonesia, he most certainly would suffer for being a Christian, and he would be abused and persecuted. The federal courts of the United States already believed that he would be persecuted. This was not a question for them. The question they were asking was this: "Is Jimmy a genuine Christian?"
So Chuck was asked to testify that he knew Jimmy to be a true Christian. In this setting, only the judge asks questions. He looked to Church and asked, "Do you know Jimmy to be a baptized believer in Jesus Christ?"
Chuck said, "Yes."
Judge: "Did you witness his baptism?"
Chuck: "No"
Judge: "Does your church accept his baptism?"
Chuck: "Yes."
Chuck has a speech ready about the character of this guy, but the judge said, "That's all I need to know." Chuck tried to tell him about how Jimmy read the Bible and prayed, but the judge just said, "No, that's all I need to know."
If Chuck had said he was not a baptized believer, he would have been deported. But the only question the federal courts ask is, "Are you a baptized believer in Jesus Christ?" They do this for two reasons. First, the federal courts of the United States, based on study and research, have it in their policy that entrance into the historic Christian faith is shown tangibly in baptism. The second reason this question is so important is because radical Islamic fundamentalists trying to enter America to do harm will say they are Christians to get in. But they will never say they are baptized. Baptism is too big of a deal. They can't bear to pledge that kind of loyalty to a Jesus they don't really follow. So the screening question for our government on whether you are a Christian or not is, "Are you a baptized believer in Jesus Christ?"
The U.S. government, radical Islam, and Jesus Himself all see baptism as important. the Bible mentions that Jesus went out to the River Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist. For Jesus, this was a walk of about sixty miles. That's how important and significant baptism was to Him.
When we are baptized, we are in effect stating, "I've made my decision, I submit to God. I stand with Jesus Christ. From this moment on, I pledge to put him above everything else - money, achievement, family, pleasure."
