Rom 6:3

i'm really growing to love Jimmy Swaggert's Bible Commentaries! He goes into some in depth and lengthy explainations of scripture and creates word pictures with words that really bring out the understanding of scripture. most bible commentators don't expound like Brother Swaggert does. i like these way better than his expositor's bible. I shared a nugget, as i read his commentary and it really brought something to life for me as i read it.

ROM 6:3 "KNOW YE NOT, THAT SO MANY OF US WERE BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?"

J.S. explains the greek words for baptism in this scripture and the differences:
He is clear to state that this baptism is NOT about being baptized in water, which will not save someone...because immersion in water alone is a work that man can do without the help and assistance of God. But rather, the baptism into Christ and his death for us on the cross.

baptizo: is the dip
rantizo: is to sprinkle, which refers to the action of the Levitical priests dipping their finger in the blood of the sacrificed lamb and sprinkling it on the altar...a typology of Christ's blood splattering on the whipping post at Calvary.

the part that i found so tasty, was this:

he says, "All of it refers to the placing of a person or thing into a new environment or into union with something else so as to alter its condition or its relationship to its previous environment or condition."

See, when we come to Christ and are baptized into Jesus (not water), there should be a miraculous change in our lives. we shouldn't desire to do the sinful acts that we once did. thre should be a change in us that is noticable to all that have formally known us. and that is what he is referring to by this example here. he is saying that a new believer is like a finger (symbolizing us, as humans), dipped into the blood of Christ (which is perfection, or putting on Christ), and when the finger is removed from the bowl of blood, it takes on a whole new look. it has become something else. that is how our relationship with Christ is. we should become something that looks like Him, not just on the outside, but most importantly on the inside.

this transformation will take time and most of the changes will actually be progressive as the believer moves on and grows WITH Christ, but this should in fact be the effect of this new-born experience in our lives.