- Before baptism can occur, sin must be discontinued, replaced by righteousness and grace.
- Baptism symbolizes Christ's death. We are buried (in the water) with Him, that we may rise up from the dead (spiritually) and "walk in newness of life."
- Someone couldn't be baptized by sprinkling because they aren't being "buried"! Christ didn't just die here and there -maybe a finger and a toe, or a few hairs on his head -his whole body died and was risen.
- We can maintain "newness of life" by believing that we live in Christ, and knowing that He has power over all things. Being alive in Christ makes us dead unto sin, so we must not allow sin to reign in our bodies, but be instruments of righteousness. We must also thank Heavenly Father for the sacrifice of His Son and the opportunity we have to be freed from sin.
- According to Mosiah 3:19, the natural man should ideally die at baptism. However, as the verse explains, it takes a lot of effort and there are a lot of qualities we must seek to gain and work on in order to become a saint.
Romans 6:14-23
We know whose servants we are based on who we choose to obey! It all depends on ourselves and how we use our agency. We can be servants to sin or servants to righteousness and God. We can only be servants to God as we make use of the Atonement and which frees us from sin and puts us on the path to eternal life. This is the true source of freedom. Sin is death and captivity, but righteousness leads to life and everlasting freedom.
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