Saturday, August 13, 2022

Isaac Augustine Morales Paul's Theology of Water Baptism in Romans 6

  

Many interpreters take Romans 6:5 as pointing forward to the future resurrection. Paul writes, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” On the surface, a reading of the text as referring to future resurrection is understandable, as the future tense of the verb would seem natural to anticipate a participation in Christ’s glorious resurrection. If we consider the passage more closely, however, a better reading would take Romans 6:5-7 as continuing to speak of present behavior rather than future hope. On this reading, the future-tense verb of verse 5 should be understood as a logical future rather than a temporal future (the technical term for this is the “gnomic” future). The emphasis in these three verses remains on sin, with the added imagery of slavery to and liberation from sin (6:6-7). In verse 6 Paul writes, “We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.” Paul thus focuses on the immediately consequences of liberation from sin rather than on the future resurrection. Moreover, he connects the baptismal death with justification in verse 7, where he writes, “For whoever has died is freed from sin.” The Greek verb translated “freed” comes from the word group relating to justification or righteousness, a major theme throughout Romans. Justification has been the source of much debate since the time of Reformation, and it would be impossible to do the question justice in such a short space. Suffice to say, on a Catholic [RB: I would also add Latter-day Saint] understanding, justification entails, among other things, conversion to God and liberation from sin. The root of this teaching can be found here in Paul’s words to the Romans.

 

With Romans 6:8, Paul shifts his focus from the present life to the future resurrection. A subtle but important difference between verse 5 and verse 8 signals this transition. Whereas in verse 5 Paul says, “We will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his,” in verse 8 he writes, “But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” The use of the verb “believe” in the latter verse suggests that Paul is now speaking about something for which Christians hope, and the verses that follow bear this out. In verse 9 Paul speaks of the indestructibility of Christ’s resurrected body: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.” Paul continues this emphasis on a resurrection to immortality, referring first to the death of Christ died and then to the life he (currently) lives (6:10). In contrast to Romans 6:6-7, which focuses on liberation from sin, verses 9-10 present a future-orientated hope. Paul rounds out this part of his exhortation by reminding the Romans, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (6:11). The baptized ought to think of themselves as presently alive to God, though not in the same way that Christ is alive through the glorification of his body.

 

It is important to note that these two understandings of resurrection—a present life of upright conduct and a future glorious resurrection—are related. This hope for the future undergirds and motivates proper behavior in the present. In fact, walking “in newness of life” anticipates the future glory for which believers hope and prepares them for it. Toward the end of Romans 6, Paul makes the connection explicit: “But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end if eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:22-23). A new life of sanctification, which begins with baptism, leads ultimately to eternal life.

 

In light of the connection between baptism and liberation from sin in Romans 6:6-7, it seems likely that Paul’s comments later in the chapter continue to explicate some of the consequences of baptism, even though the rite is no longer the central focus of his argument. Through baptism, believers have been transferred from the reign of sin to obedience to God. Paul thus exhorts them to lead their lives in light of the implications of their baptism (6:12-14). For Paul, as for many ancient and medieval thinkers, freedom does not mean complete autonomy. Rather, paradoxically, freedom comes about through obedience, and this obedience is made possible by the transfer from death to life that baptism brings about.

 

Paul develops this notion of slavery, contrasting his audience’s former slavery to sin with a new kind of slavery. He describes this new slavery in three different but related ways. Whereas previously the baptized were enslaved to sin, now they have become slaves to obedience (Rom. 6:16), to righteousness (6:18-19), and, ultimately, to God (6:22). Through this “slavery” they will attain to sanctification and, through sanctification, eternal life (6:22-23). (Isaac Augustine Morales, The Bible and Baptism: The Fountain of Salvation [A Catholic Biblical Theology of the Sacraments; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2022], 128-30, comment in square brackets added for clarification)

 

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