Dead to the World, Alive to Christ....

 Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending my best friend's baptism. It was a special time, as I watched my friend declare her unwavering allegiance to Christ, making a public declaration of her faith in Christ; that she is set-apart unto Him.

I've been thinking a bit about the symbolism of baptism and what it means, and the statement it makes. When you are being put under the water, it symbolizes your dying to self and to the world, and being brought back up symbolizes your being made alive in Christ. It is, as my friend did last night, a public declaration of your faith.

As I think about it baptism is a symbol of our lives and what they should look like: Dead to the world and the flesh and its desires, and alive to Christ, living for Him, being set apart for Him. We should live our lives as a declaration of what baptism symbolizes: That we are set-apart to Him. The world no longer has a grip on us. Unfortunately, in our modern church, we are very much in the grip of the world. This should not be. We need to be dead to the world.

John says this in 1 John 2:15-17: "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (NIV)

We are called to a life of being dead to the world and alive to Christ. I know I've used this verse a lot, but I really like the depth of what it says: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, NIV)

My friend's baptism is a great picture and symbol of this verse, and it is a great example of how we should all live. We need to be dead to the world and alive to Christ. When people see us, they should see that the world does not have a hold on us, but instead, that Christ lives in us. That is what baptism symbolizes, and that is what we should live. I challenge you (and myself as well!) to live a life that is a declaration that you are dead to the world and alive to Christ!

For Christ's Glory!