Baptism is a picture of the Christian’s union with Christ in His death and His resurrection.
If you are a Christian you have died with Christ, so die to sin. If you are a Christian you have been raised with Christ, and so, you will rise again.
We die because we live in a fallen world. Martha’s physical body died. Martha did not die.
It is Not Death to Die – Author: César Malan (1832);
It is not death to die,
To leave this weary road,
And ‘midst the brotherhood on high
To be at home with God.
It is not death to close
The eye long dimmed by tears,
And wake in glorious repose
To spend eternal years.
It is not death to bear
The wrench that sets us free
From dungeon chain, to breathe the air
Of boundless liberty.
It is not death to fling
Aside this sinful dust,
And rise, on strong, exulting wing,
To live among the just.
Jesus, Thou Prince of life!
Thy chosen cannot die:
Like Thee, they conquer in the strife,
To reign with Thee on high.
Notes from a sermon preached by David Cantine at First Baptist Church of Northumberland December 2021