40: “Buried With Him In Baptism”

Paul may not use the phrase “born again,” but in Romans 6, he describes a transformation that sounds a lot like rebirth—being “buried with Him in baptism” and rising to “walk in newness of life.” But what exactly is happening in that moment? What role does the Holy Spirit play in our conversion?

In this episode, we explore baptism as both a burial and a resurrection, drawing connections to spiritual circumcision, regeneration, and the washing of renewal by the Spirit. Is Paul intentionally paralleling proselyte conversion? What does it mean for the “body of sin” to be cut away? And how does all of this fit into the larger question of salvation?

Join us as we unpack these questions and examine how baptism, faith, and the work of the Spirit come together in the moment of rebirth.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical
sermons or Bible studies.

(00:20):
My name is Eddie Lawrence.
In Romans chapter 6, what does Paul mean
when he talks about being buried with
Christ through baptism?
Does this have anything to do with being
born again? Let's take a closer look.

(00:42):
Although he doesn't use the phrase "born
again," Paul describes the process of
rebirth when he says that we are "buried
with Him" in baptism.
We know that being born again is somehow
related to the work of the Holy Spirit.
But what is the Spirit doing during a

(01:05):
person's conversion?
What shall we say then? Are we to
continue in sin that grace may abound? By
no means! How can we who die to sin still
live in it? Do you not know that all of
us who have been baptized into Christ
Jesus were baptized into His death? We

(01:25):
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. For if we have been united with
Him in a death like His, we shall
certainly be united with Him in a
resurrection like His. We know that our

(01:46):
old self was crucified with Him in order
that the body of sin might be brought to
nothing, so that we would no longer be
enslaved to sin. For one who has died has
been set free from sin. Romans 6, 1-7.
Is Paul paralleling our conversion to

(02:07):
that of proselyt conversion?
That's certainly possible. Remember, in
embracing Judaism, the proselyt dies to
its pagan ways and undergoes
circumcision and immersion.
The Jewish community considers Him to be
born again and is in every way a Jew.

(02:31):
Paul says that baptism is an immersion
into Christ, that is, a burial into
Christ's death by means of baptism.
Dr. Jack Cottrell wrote this about Romans
6, verses 3 and 4. Romans 6, 3-4 affirms

(02:53):
that baptism is the time when we are
united with Christ in His death and
resurrection, and thus the time when we
experience our own death to sin and
resurrection to new life.
We are buried in order that we may rise
to walk in newness of life.
This imitates Christ's

(03:15):
burial and resurrection.
Paul is using this imagery to describe
the experience of one who is undergoing
the washing of regeneration and the
renewal of the Holy Spirit that Titus 3,
verses 5-7 talk about,
and as Ephesians chapter 5, verses 25-27

(03:38):
says, it's describing one who has been
cleansed by the washing of water. There
are two times in this passage that Paul
uses the phrase "in order that."
The first is when he teaches us that our
burial is "in order
that," or for the purpose of,

(04:02):
we may walk in newness of life. The
second is that our old self was
crucified, "in order that," the body of
sin might be brought to nothing. What is
the crucifixion of the body of sin?
That the body of sin might be brought to

(04:23):
nothing. What does this odd phrase mean?
Paul uses the same
wording in a related passage.
In Him you were also circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, by
putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
buried with Him in baptism, in which you

(04:44):
also were raised with Him through faith
in the working of God, who raised Him
from the dead. And you, being dead in
your trespasses and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, He has made alive together
with Him, having forgiven you all
trespasses. Colossians 2, 11-13.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul

(05:07):
says that they were circumcised without
hands. Without hands is an idiom
referring to the work that God does. In
reference to the C. Daniel 2, verses 34
and 35, as well as Mark 14, verse 58, we

(05:28):
can be sure that this circumcision is
done upon our hearts by the Spirit
because Romans 2, 29 tells us that
circumcision is circumcision
of the heart by the Spirit.
New covenant circumcision
is performed upon the heart.

(05:49):
But what exactly is being cut away? What
is the body of sin, or the
body of the sins of the flesh?
In Romans 8, Paul describes the flesh as
the part of us opposed to
the work of the Holy Spirit.
"For those who live according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of

(06:11):
the flesh, but those who live according
to the Spirit set their minds on the
things of the Spirit.
For to set the mind on the flesh is
death, but to set the mind on the Spirit
is life and peace. For the mind that is
set on the flesh is hostile to God, for
it does not submit to God's law, indeed
it cannot. Those who are in the flesh

(06:33):
cannot please God. You however are not in
the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact
the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone
who does not have the Spirit of Christ
does not belong to
him." Romans 8, 5 through 9.
In the second half of Romans chapter 7,

(06:54):
Paul describes in very practical terms
what it's like to be a Christian.
He says, "For what I
want to do, I do not do."
Though our old inclination still fights
for control, it no longer prevails.
For the child of God, the Spirit is

(07:15):
constantly at work,
circumcising our hearts.
It cuts away the parts of our character
that oppose the sanctification process.
We are slowly, but surely, being
transformed to desire the
things that God desires.

(07:35):
This is why Paul was able to tell the
Philippians, "Yes, it is God who is
working in you. He helps you want to do
what pleases him, and he gives you the
power to do it."
Philippians chapter 2 verse 13.
Our hearts are
circumcised during baptism.

(07:58):
Is it mere coincidence that in discussing
our spiritual circumcision
that Paul brings up baptism?
Paul clearly couples the circumcision of
the heart and the forgiveness of our
trespasses with immersion.
At the same time we are being immersed,

(08:19):
the Spirit is performing a work within us
without hands. Once again, we can't help
but notice that like the proselyte, we
are also circumcised when we become one
who is a Jew inwardly.
So what is the answer to the question of

(08:39):
what does the Spirit do in our
conversion? Well, He
comes and lives within us.
He washes our hearts clean
and we are set free from sin.
He regenerates, renews, and re-births us.

(08:59):
We are born of the Spirit.
He circumcises our hearts and he begins
the process of sanctification.
So does baptism have
anything to do with our salvation?
There is a lot that
happens when we are born again.
It's striking how our immersion in water

(09:22):
and cleansing by the Spirit are bound
together and how neatly they build upon
Jesus' statement that we must
be born of water and Spirit.
By now, some of you are probably thinking
that I am teaching some sort of a
works-based salvation.

(09:43):
Well, I don't think that I am, but please
reserve your judgment. Keep listening
until the end of this series on baptism
before you make that assertion. Given how
the New Testament links immersion,
regeneration, and being born again, on

(10:04):
what basis does one
separate salvation and immersion?
Is it warranted?
For that matter, at what point are our
sins taken away? We'll talk more about
that in the next
episode in the baptism series.

(10:25):
Thanks for listening to the podcast. We
hope this episode has deepened your
understanding of Scripture. If you found
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"ready," the number four, and the word

(10:45):
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See you next time.