Baptism (Part 2)

Freedom from Sin

In 1798 Samuel Taylor Coleridge published the poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It speaks in part of the mariner who shot an albatross and as punishment had to wear the dead bird around his neck.

Imagine the burden? An albatross can have a wingspan up to eleven feet (3.4 meters) and weigh up to twenty-two pounds (10 kilograms). How wonderful would it be if someone came along and just took the burden away?

It’s the same with sin. Sin is the “albatross around the neck” of mankind. And in the same way, wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone came and took your sins away?

That’s exactly why Jesus came. He came to take your sins away and to set you free from sin, and we receive this freedom from sin through baptism.

We are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ for the removal of our sin. Through the grace of God by faith, we take on Jesus’ death as our own and we die with Him in baptism. Consider the words of John the Baptist, speaking of Jesus who said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Now, this is important because no sinner will stand in the presence of God. We earn death because we sinned, and when we die that debt is paid. Death is the payment for sin. But through baptism, our death is moved forward, and Jesus takes away our sins and gives us life when we have faith and believe that we have died with Him.

It is possible to have the albatross of sin removed today in Jesus Christ. It happens when we believe we have died with Christ through faith in our water baptism. And there is more that baptism does for us that will be covered in the next lesson.

Consider these questions: 

• What should you call a man who has no sin because God has taken them away? 
• If I call myself a sinner after Jesus took all my sins away, am I calling God a liar? 
• If God REALLY takes our sins away, why do so many Christians still think they are sinners?

A prayer point: 

• Spend some time asking the Lord to give you insight and a full understanding of freedom from sin. It is a hard teaching to understand but will release you from great spiritual and emotional suffering.