DIP AND DYE!
by Lemuel Niere
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19
God’s commission to teach others about the Good News is never been more important than it is today. To reach others with the gospel is the clarion call of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. It is never optional for a Christian believer.
Today, I want us to focus on the word “baptism” which is part of the gospel commission. I’m sure you all know what that means. I thought there was anything new to learn from that word, which in Greek means “to dip.” But the word baptidzo in Greek originally meant to dip and to dye. It describes the process of dipping a cloth or garment into a vat of colour to dye it; leaving it there long enough for the material to soak up the new colour. This concept was new to me.
In Second Corinthians 5:17, Paul wrote, “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” A person who comes to Jesus Christ can be likened to an old garment that needs to be dipped into a vat of dye to its colour can be changed. However, the person isn’t dipped into a vat of coloured dye, but into the precious blood of the Lamb! This person is totally transformed by Jesus’ blood that he becomes a new creature. You could say that this new believer has been “dipped and dyed!”
What a new light this shed on baptism! Paul wrote, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life” Romans 6:4.
Water baptism is a symbolic proclamation of the fact that believers have been buried with Christ and raised with Him. When a believer is placed in the baptismal waters, it symbolizes being immersed in one condition and coming out looking brand new. In other words, ti is a picture of what happen to that person when he got saved! This outward symbol represents the fact that he or she has been dipped into the blood of the Lamb, and new his entire life has been newly coloured and transformed to be like Jesus!
Aren’t you thankful that Jesus totally transforms your life. Don’t you see things differently from the way you used to see them? Hasn’t your entire outlook on life been altered? In a certain sense, couldn’t you say that there is a new light and colour since Jesus came into my life? Rejoice in the fact that you have been dipped and dyed in the blood of Jesus and that you’ll never be the same again!
