Teams in this world, like soldiers, wear different uniforms for some very good reasons. A player needs to know who is on his team and who is not on his team. For he does not want to mistakenly pass the ball on to his opponent. A coach needs to know which players are his. For he does not want to mistakenly give signals and instructions about his strategy or winning game plan to anyone on the opposing team. A referee or judge needs to know the difference between two teams. For he does not want to mistakenly give a penalty to the wrong team when a player does not play by the rules. The crowd does not want to be confused about which team a player is on. For the crowd does not want to cheer for the wrong team. Therefore it is obvious that every battle or every competition automatically requires opponents to look different from each other or else there would be chaos. Opposing teams must not, cannot, and should not blend in with each other by wearing the same uniform. They must wear different uniforms. Likewise, members of God’s team must wear a different uniform than the opposing team. Put on the uniform that God wants you to wear.
(A) WEAR CHRIST AS YOUR UNIFORM
First and foremost, our holy uniform is Christ. Wearing Him, being Christ-like makes us look different than our opponent. This is the main thing to keep in mind when we talk about our uniform. Consider how we begin to wear Christ.1. We Were Clothed with Christ in Baptism
“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” (Ga 3:27)In baptism, we change our clothes. We change our uniform. We change teams. We change who we are into. We no longer wish to wear the opposing teams uniform. We no longer want to be on Satan’s team. We no longer want to be into the Devil. We want to be in Christ. Putting on Christ requires such a total change of life that it is likened to a death, burial, and resurrection into a new life.
(a) Baptism Is a Death, Burial and Resurrection
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue
in sin so that grace may increase? May it
never be! How shall we who died to sin still
live in it? Or do you not know that all of us
who have been baptized into Christ Jesus
have been baptized into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, so that as Christ
was raised from the dead through the glory
of the Father, so we too might walk in
newness of life.” (Ro 6:1-4)
To be buried with Christ in baptism means
that we are dis-continuing our life of sin; we
end it and start a new life to be Christ-like.