Remember Who You Are: Baptism and the Christian Life

by William H. Willimon, Bruce Sayre (Illustrator)

This book is especially designed for those who search for the meaning of their baptism. Willimon explores the significance of this sacrament in daily living and provides a model for living a Christian life. Each chapter focuses on one historical-biblical dimension of baptism. An Educational Guide for groups is also included. Pastors will find this book especially helpful for guiding new Christians, confirmation classes, and parents of newly baptized children.

Genres: Theology, Religion

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

The Reverend Dr. William H. Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at the Divinity School, Duke University. He served eight years as Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, where he led the 157,000 Methodists and 792 pastors in North Alabama. For twenty years prior to the episcopacy, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Reviews

[William Schrecengost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book on our identity in Christ, especially in relation to our baptisms. Written by a Methodist minister, the usual disagreements, but nothing significant. Read this for family worship
Came highly recommended by Doug Wilson in one of his books.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book. It is about baptism, but really it is about who you are as a Christian. I almost gave it five stars, but I would have liked to see more exegesis. However,the book is very helpful in bringing our modern views of salvation and the church more in line with Scripture. In particular, Willimon presents salavation as lifelong growing in grace instead of a point in time event. He also emphasizes the fact that one enters a community when one is baptized. He also points out that baptism is an act of God, not an act of man. This means baptism, like all the Christian life, is grace. Even a Baptist, who would disagree with his position on infant baptism, could benefit from the pictures Willimon paints of what the Christian life should look like and how God works in a believer.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent resource on the meaning of baptism, perfect for a small group. Published in 1980, so a little dated but Willimon is an engaging writer and he does a great job of unfolding the multifaceted meaning of Baptism.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read on baptism.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willimon's book is an excellent discussion of the meaning of baptism and also of salvation and even of the purpose and place of the church. Baptism is not our individual obedience and a sign that comes after salvation, but instead it is a work initiated by God and embodied in the church (he is strong on the church's commitment to the baptized) which continues all the baptized's life. It is not about the human experience of conversion, but the assurance of God's grace. As Luther said to those wondering about their salvation, remember your baptism. "The church is not saying that someone is not a child of God until he or she is baptized. We are saying that it is difficult for a person to know that he or she is a child of God until he or she is baptized."

Salvation is not something we grasp, but something that comes to us via God's action. "My salvation is always a gift, something which is received from God and from God working through God's people."

"New life in Christ is a gift, offered without price to all. Baptism is both means and sign of that gift. It is not a person's understanding of that gift which brings the gift. If it were, then grace would not be grace. What binds God's saving action to baptism is God's doing.... Churches which do not baptize babies often say they wait 'until the child is old enough to know what it means' or 'until the child is able to decide on his own.' But maturity, insight, knowledge, and feelings are never preconditions for salvation. To make a person's understanding or decision a precondition for God's grace is arbitrarily to add something to what the Bible says about grace. It is to make the person's understanding or decision the alternative source of salvation alongside God's grace. What kind of gift is that?"

"Baptism insures that my whole life, from birth to death, start to finish, will be under the promise and sign of the cross. Baptism is a sign and means of God's ceaseless striving for us, the ceaseless urging of his grace."

Central to all this understanding is that "Baptism is a lifetime process of God's work in us." It is why we are called to remember who we are.

[Terri Milstead · Rating 3 out of 5]

It occurs to me that every book I read about communion invites us to sink into the mystery of how Christ is present in that sacrament. Why do I not feel similarly invited into the mystery of baptism? Why do I, instead, feel more confused about what baptism is and what it isn't with every book I read?

Is it ok to admit this?

[JM · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rev. Willimon presents various approaches to the sacred act of Baptism. He outlines the importance of not only the initial baptismal moment, but the life afterwards.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know all the stuff I didn't know.

[J.T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It explains baptism in a way that is easy to understand.