When asked to explain what it means to be a Baptist there are usually a number of different answers. One common belief is that a Baptist is someone who is baptized by immersion. Another response is that it has something to do with John the Baptist. This is because John baptized many people, including Jesus. Although these answers are found in the New Testament, they do not adequately explain what it means to be a Baptist.
The very heart of the Gospel is the fact that Jesus Christ bled and died on the cross and that after three days he rose from the grave. Throughout his teaching ministry he made it clear that he had come to earth for this reason.
"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die." John 12:32-33 "He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." Mark 9:31 Clearly, Jesus' death and resurrection is at the very center of his earthly ministry.
For the Christian the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just an event which happened two centuries ago. For the believer it is a spiritual event which occurs each time a person becomes a true follower of Christ. It is the very essence of what it means to become a Christian.
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Becoming a Christian is dying with Christ and being raised to new life. Where once someone was without God in their life, when they trust Christ as their Savior, they die with him and are spiritually resurrected to new life. In Scripture this is called the new birth. The Apostle Peter wrote: "
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1:3-4 This is the reality of what it means to be a Christian and is the basis of why someone identifies themselves as a Baptist.
When someone identifies themselves as a Baptist they are referring to the very core of what it means to be a Christian. The primary component of being a Christian is being saved by grace through faith. This is also referred to as salvation. Baptism by immersion, although important, is secondary to the experience of salvation. The most important baptism is receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Baptism in water follows receiving the Spirit and is an outward physical symbol. It is testifying to the fact that a deeper spiritual reality has occurred in the life of the person who is trusting in Jesus Christ. When someone calls themselves a Baptist, it is this spiritual reality to which they are referring.
Because the term baptist is so intimately tied to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is possible to use the terms Baptist and Christian interchangeably. Often when someone mentions they are a Baptist they are expressing the fact they are a Christian. This is based in part on baptism which is the way believers make their declaration of faith to the world. Because baptism is so important in this regard, Baptist and Christian are sometimes used interchangeably.
