Every Christian on earth today will say that they love Jesus. And we know that he loves them. But are they only “dating” him, or are they bound to him as their bridegroom in a covenant relationship that will last for eternity?
Most Christians today consider themselves to be part of the “body of Christ”, or that mystical world of believers who have accepted him as their personal Lord and Savior. And the New Testament is replete with references to Christ as the “bridegroom”, and those of his church as his “bride”.
Before we fall in love with someone, we might meet them initially in many different ways and situations, perhaps when we’re in a school class or an office, a hobby or service group, an online dating service, or sometimes involving an introduction to them by a friend or family member.
As we begin the dating process, at first we visit with them socially. We are sometimes seen together in public places. We may spend long hours in private conversations, to learn more about each other.
At a certain point in the relationship, if it continues to develop, we progress to the next level. We make a decision to commit to each other, with a promise to enter into a covenant relationship that we call marriage. We participate in a public joining ceremony or ritual that is prevalent in almost every culture on earth. Even native tribes in the least civilized portions of the world have some sort of wedding tradition.
This ceremony is a public declaration of love, and a commitment willingly entered into by a couple before selected witnesses and other members of their community. It gives them the social and legal right to be in constant companionship with each other night and day, and to join together as “one flesh” in the most intimate aspects of their relationship. In many communities, the bride takes upon herself the surname of her husband.
Most Christians will say that they have a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ”. So let’s explore the nature of that relationship, and compare it to the Biblical allegory of the bride and bridegroom.
A person may be introduced to Jesus in many ways; through a sermon, a radio broadcast or television show, a billboard, an online ad, or an invitation from a friend or family member.
They may begin to learn more about Christ the beloved Son of God, through reading scriptures or other writings about him and his teachings, and through conversations with other believers. At some point they will begin to have private conversations with God the Father, as they pray to him in the name of his son, Jesus Christ.
As they begin to grow stronger in their love for Jesus, they may join with groups of other believers in worship, singing, and scripture study. On these “dates” where they’ve carved out specific times in their calendars to spend time with Jesus, they come to know him better. Through the mysterious workings of his co-eternal member of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit, they may begin to feel their “hearts burn within them” with love for Christ.
So what then? Is that all? For many Christians, sadly it is. They are stuck in a perpetual “dating” phase in their relationship with Christ. Usually it’s not their fault. They’ve been told by Bible teachers and ministers that they’re “saved” when they confess their love for Jesus with their mouths, and that’s all that matters.
But what does God say? What would YOU say if you were in a lovely dating relationship, and you wanted to take it to the “next level”, but your partner doesn’t even realize there’s MORE ? When Jesus sent his apostles out to “all the world” to teach people about him, he specifically instructed them to also take those they taught to the next step beyond belief …. Baptism.
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:15)
Likewise, on the day of Pentecost when Peter was teaching over three thousand people about Jesus, we’re told in the 2nd chapter of Acts that they were “pricked in their hearts” by the Holy Spirit, who bore a supernatural witness to the truth of Peter’s message. They were ready for the next step. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37-38)
There are many pastors and Bible teachers who would have a different answer to the question “what shall we do?” than the one Peter gave at Pentecost. They would say (and they often do) “you don’t have to do anything. Jesus did it all for you on the cross, and now you’re “saved”.
But that wasn’t Peter’s answer. His answer to the query “What shall we do?” was, “repent and be baptized”. And Jesus himself didn’t stop at mere belief in his Great Commission. He told his disciples not only to teach, but also to BAPTIZE those who believed. Many Christians say that today water baptism is just “an outward symbol of the inner belief” they’ve received via the Spirit, but Jesus told Nicodemus that if a man were not baptized “of the water AND the spirit”, he could not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (John 3:3,5)
Let’s go back to the dating analogy. If a couple feels “pricked in their hearts” and they confess their love to each other, what should they do? What does God command them to do? Unfortunately, many people today say, “Let’s move in together.” They feel they don’t need a ceremony or a “piece of paper” (marriage license) to live together as though they were husband and wife. The laws of many nations today do allow that, but God frowns on it. Someday down the line as the expression goes, “there will be hell to pay”.
So, like marriage, baptism is an outward ordinance that demonstrates an inner commitment and covenant, and this time it is with Jesus, the bridegroom. In a very real sense, it is like a wedding ceremony. In it, we take upon ourselves the name of Christ, just as a bride takes the surname of her husband. We promise to “love and obey” Christ. When we renew those baptismal covenants each week as we partake of the Sacrament, we promise to “always remember him”, just as a husband and wife should always remember and keep their vows to each other, and to our Heavenly Father.
But who has the authority to perform this ordinance? Any person recognized by the State can conduct a legal marriage that is recognized by the government, and ministers, priests, rabbis, etc. can join couples in a union that lasts “till death do you part”, or “for the period of our mortal lives.”
But in baptism (and in marriage), do we want to have a covenant that’s in force only until death? What about the Hereafter? What about eternity?
When Jesus gave Peter the “keys of the kingdom”, he told him it was the authority of God to “bind on earth what will be bound in Heaven” (Matt 16:19). That authority pertains both to the covenant of baptism and the covenant of marriage. And where does it come from? The Bible says that “no man taketh that honor unto himself, but he that is ordained of God” (Heb. 5:4) Jesus ordained his disciples saying “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you”. (John 15:16)
After Jesus was resurrected and ascended into heaven, his apostles ordained others, including the Seventy, Bishops, Elders, Deacons, etc. for their callings in local church administration. But these lower priesthood officers did not receive the “keys” to ordain other apostles. So when the last apostle died, those keys were taken from the earth and the authority to act for God was eventually lost.
It was not until 1829 that John the Baptist, and later Peter, James, and John returned to earth as resurrected beings, and restored the keys of authority to act for God as part of the “restitution of all things” promised to occur before Christ’s 2nd Coming. (Acts 3:21)
If we truly love someone, we will want to enter a lasting covenant relationship with them. We will not be content to be a boyfriend or girlfriend, but we’ll desire to publicly and totally give ourselves to each other. Likewise, if we truly love Jesus, we’ll want to be baptized in the way he prescribed, and to take his name upon us. We’ll want to make a public and eternal commitment to him, and to “always remember him” in everything we do.
February is often referred to as the “month of love”. What a wonderful time to express our love not only to those we cherish here on earth, but also to our Heavenly Father who “so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
Robert Starling has been a writer and producer for the NBC Television Network, and has worked at Schick Sunn Classic Pictures, Osmond Productions, and the media production department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has served in various writing and producing capacities on feature films such as: “Jack Weyland’s Charly”, “In Search of Historic Jesus”, “Tears of a King”, “Scout Camp: The Movie”, and “Abandoned Mine”. His book “A Case for Latter-day Christianity” is available in many bookstores, on Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon.com in printed and e-book versions. A free .pdf version is available upon request at [email protected] . He lives in Riverton, Utah with his wife Sharon. They have four adult children and eleven grandchildren.
