Colossians 2:11-12
In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Circumcision is not much of an issue in America—most male newborns are circumcised before they leave the hospital—but in most of the rest of the world it has become uncommon. In the Old Testament period, circumcision was almost unheard of, and so it became an effective symbol or rite of passage for God’s chosen people to truly be set apart from the cultures that surrounded them. Once Jesus came onto the Jewish scene, he did away with most of the outward old covenant practices and replaced them with a more significant inward change via the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.
Are you truly set apart?
One of the problems the new Colossian believers faced was a false teaching that gentiles needed to be circumcised to become “proper” or “real” Christians. That was merely an outward change and as Paul explained, the real change was internal…a setting apart by the power of Christ’s work in redeeming a sinner. Instead of cutting off some flesh (circumcision), Christ allows us to “cut off” our old, sinful selves to become a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Do you have a Christian fish on the back of your car? A WWJD bracelet on your wrist? Do you attend church services on a regular basis? These are all good things in and of themselves, but they are not saving things. You can have all three and still be lost. You can have all three and not really be living a new life.
Have you been buried, yet?
Paul then moves on to emphasize a new way of showing your allegiance to Christ—baptism by immersion. Unlike the “sprinkling” baptism or “dedication” of a young child or baby, baptism by immersion is a powerful and rather obvious association with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. It symbolizes the death and burial of the “old man” followed by the birth of the “new man” in Christ. It ties directly to what Jesus told Nicodemus—you must be born again (Jn 3:3). Baptism by immersion cannot save anyone, but it does show anyone that witnesses it that the person being baptized is “going public” with their faith in Christ.
My wife and I were baptized (by immersion) at the same time, about seven or eight years after we were born again. It was a shockingly profound experience for me (I was in my early 30’s) and a moment in my faith journey I will never forget. I’ve had the honor of baptizing two of our four children, as well. That was also a profound moment, hopefully for all of us. If you have never been baptized by immersion, I have no scriptural basis to tell you that you are doing something deeply sinful, though it is certainly disobedient. It has no effect on your salvation. But I can confidently tell you this: I believe it will have a profound impact on you as you physically re-enact what Christ did on your behalf…as well as what He did within your heart when you were born again!
