Baptism
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation.
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
Water baptism symbolizes your new life in Jesus. The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo, which means, “to submerge.” Water baptism, therefore, means to fully submerge in water. When a person gets baptized, they are lowered beneath the water to show how they have died to the old way of life without Christ and are buried with Him in His death. They are then raised up out of the water to show how they are united with Jesus in His resurrection and now share His new life under His Lordship. We are not saved because we are baptized; we are baptized because we are saved.
Baptism is an essential part of the new covenant by which a person makes a public profession of faith in Jesus. All who repent and believe in Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized, as seen in the Scriptures (Acts 8:12, 8:36-38, 9:18, 10:48). It’s a declaration to the world that they have died with Christ and are also raised with Him to walk in newness of life. “We are therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection” (Romans 6:4-5).
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward transformation. Water baptism is not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God, who saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is nothing special about the water, and being baptized does not save you … confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is what saves you, and when we place Jesus as Lord as we begin to do what He says.
WHY SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED?
Because Jesus says so. His final instructions to His followers were very clear: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in thename of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus, who was also baptized (Luke 3:21-22), says we must be born again. Disciples of Jesus obey what He says.
AM I READY TO BE BAPTIZED?
Baptism is the, “I’m all in” response to the good news of Jesus Christ. Similar to when someone decides to get married, after counting the costs they willingly forsake all other candidates and put on the ring of matrimony to demonstrate their commitment to their spouse. Does that mean they are going to be the perfect spouse, or know everything about being married? Absolutely not. In the same way, if you are waiting to clean up your act in order to be baptized, then none of us would be able to get baptized, because we all fall short. This is precisely why Jesus came and did what we could never do. He died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the spirit (1 Peter 3:18). If you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Son of God who was raised from the dead, then the appropriate response is:
1. Repent
2. Be baptized
3. Walk in the fullness of life in Christ
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creatiom; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) There is a shift of identity that takes place as children of God when Jesus Christ takes the throne of your heart, your life, your everything.