What are the similarities between baptism and circumcision? BIB 534-1-05-7

So what do baptism and circumcision have in common? Both are rituals that in part witness obedience to God's word; Circumcision for the Jew and baptism for the Gentile. For the Jew circumcision is an outward manifestation of his covenant with God. For the born-again Christian, immersion baptism signifies being buried and resurrected with Jesus.

Several years ago I was attending a Bible study when Peter was quoted, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” Acts 2:38. Having been baptized as a baby in a conservative Protestant church this was an epiphany for me. I'd heard the expression before but it never really sunk in so I asked how a baby can repent. Even with my early exposure to the Baptist Church via my best friend, I still hadn't quite understood the why of total immersion baptism. The balance of the class was spent on this very topic. The fact that I had not been baptized as an adult just ate at me for about another year. Finally the opportunity presented itself at the Baptist Church that I had started attending the year before. I opted for a baptism done in obedience to God’s Word as well as to publicly acknowledge my faith in Jesus.

While circumcision also is a ritual, it also has medical benefits. In CM’s commentary “Technology & the Bible” circumcision on the eighth day of life is only one of the many “technological advances” implied in the Bible.

We are saved by faith and not rituals/ works. Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” While rituals don’t provide salvation, they may have value in helping the practitioner to keep his/her mind stayed on God.

As an aside, one of my mother's friends just picked mom for Saturday service at the local Catholic Church. So mom is off to listen to their very popular priest repeat the church’s liturgy and parrot back the canned responses. As for me, I would rather dive deeply into the Word. I often remind mom that her salvation is a gift granted through faith in the completed work of Jesus on the cross and does not require repeated masses, etc. to maintain it.