“I came to cast
fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to
be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you
think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather
division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against
two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son
against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law
against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12:49-53).
Wait a minute! I thought Christ came… “to
give peace on earth”. Didn’t the angels proclaimed this truth at His
birth… “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with
whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14). If we search for truth here, the
Spirit shows us that Jesus does indeed bring peace to some. His peace is for “those
with whom He is pleased”. The Holy Spirit confirmed this truth through
the pen of the Apostle Paul… “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased
to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth
or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19-20).
He also affirms what Jesus taught here in today’s text. His peace is made
available to Christ’s disciples through His baptism in blood on the cross. What’s
more, true disciples are divided from the rest of this world by being baptized
with Christ in the baptism that separates us.
Our baptism associates us with Christ.
At the beginning of His ministry Jesus was baptized. It was not for
purification. It was to fulfill righteousness on our behalf… “Then Jesus
came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have
prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’
But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us
to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented” (Matthew 3:13-15). It
was also to give us a commandment and an example to follow… “Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Our baptism is a
testimony that we are disciples of Jesus Christ because it is a clear sign that
we are becoming more like Him… “A disciple is not above his teacher, but
everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).
Our baptism is the step of obedience that associates us with our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Our baptism attaches us to Christ. The
Spirit moved Paul to teach that when we are baptized with Christ we die with
Him… “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3). Our old selfish,
sinful nature was put to death through faith in Jesus Christ and confirmed in
our baptism. Looking to the crucifixion of Christ gives us the faith to be
crucified with Him that we might also be raised to new life with Him… “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). Being joined by faith to Christ
through the testimony of our baptism empowers us to say with the Apostle Paul… “I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who
lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Our
baptism sets us free from the sin nature and attaches us in the spirit
to our Savior Jesus Christ.
Our baptism alienates us from the world.
Those true disciples that have died with Christ and are now living a new life
of faith in Christ are no longer consumed and conquered by the things of the
world… “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that
are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).
We no longer live just for today but we live for the soon coming day when Jesus
shall return and we shall be gathered together to be with Him in glory… “When
Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians
3:4). Our baptism stirs resentment and rejection in the rebellious and
often alienates us from the unbelieving world around us.
As we grow up into Christ, we enjoy new
life in Him since we died and we are raised with Him in…
The Baptism that Separates Us.
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