Baptism--What's it all about? Christianity How to become a Christian Guitar Jams Metal Church Adapted from an articel on baptism from the First Church website where Pastor Brad serves (www.first4christ.com) FIRST THINGS FIRST--We are saved by GRACE... wonderful, amazing, undeserved, unearnable GRACE, period. Everything we do as Followers of Jesus Christ (AKA “Christians”) is a RESPONSE to GRACE. The Bible names several ways that we respond to Grace, here are a few of them... Repentance a change of heart... a decision to stop living for self, and receive Jesus as Lord. Acts 3:19 (NIV) “ Repent , then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord..." Belief to entrust yourselt---your life, past, present and future--to Christ. Acts 16:29-31 “The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ 31 They replied, ‘ Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." Confession to agree with God about who HE is (as revealed in Scripture) and also about who we are--sinners in need of forgiveness. Romans 10:9 (NIV) “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved..." Faith belief demonstrated by obedience to God's Word. Romans 1:17 “ For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last..." Baptism the Greek work is "baptizo" - meaning to "dip" or "immerse". I like to say it this way--there had been a donut shop in Jesus' world--they would have called it "Baptized Dunuts" (i.e. "dunkin" donuts)... because that's just what the word means. Jesus chose to use this ceremony to identify his followers. Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." And then, of course, we know that God’s plan for each of us is that we live lives that reflect His Character and His Grace to the world around us. Hopefully the above thoughts will help you set the thoughts that follow about BAPTISM in their proper context. Remember—it’s all about Grace… Baptism is simply one of the ways that God calls those who believe to respond to His Grace. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF BAPTISM? 1. It illustrates Christ´s burial and resurrection. " Christ died for our sins... He was buried... and He rose again." --I Cor. 15:3-4 "For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ." --Col. 2:12 2. It illustrates my new life as a Christian. " When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun!" --2 Cor. 5:17 "By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead... so also we may live a new life!" --Rom. 6:4 WHY BE BAPTIZED BY IMMERSION? 1. Because Jesus was baptized that way. "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water." --Matt. 3:16 2. Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion. (Example) "...then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him... they came up out of the water..." --Acts 8:38-39 The Greek word "baptizo" from which we get our English word Baptize means to "dip" or "immerse". In the New Testament--every new beleiver was "baptizo"ed in water. It best symbolizes a burial and resurrection! WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED? 1. Every person who has believed in Christ. " Those who believe and accepted His message were baptized..." --Acts 2:41 "Simon himself believed and was baptized..." --Acts 8:13 "But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News... they were baptized, both men and women." --Acts 8:12 2. At First Church, we wait until our children are old enough to believe and understand the meaning of baptism before we baptize them. We call this "Believer's Baptism" -- it's in response to an individual's personal choice to place their faith in Christ and become His Follower. Some churches practice a "baptism of confirmation" for children. This ceremony is intended to be a covenant between the parents and God on behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his own personal confession of Christ. This custom began about 300 years after the Bible was completed. This is different from the baptism talked about in the Bible which was only for those old enough to believe. The purpose is to publicly confess your personal commitment to Christ. At First Church, it is a membership requirement that every member must have been baptized the way Jesus was, even though some of us were "confirmed" as children. WHEN SHOULD I BE BAPTIZED? As soon as you have believed. "Those who believe...were baptized...that day!" --Acts 2:41 "Then Philip began with the scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the man said, ´Look, here is water! Why shouldn´t I be baptized right now?´ Philip said, ´If you believe with all your heart, you may.´ The man answered, ´I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.´ So they went down into the water and Philip baptized him." --Acts 8:35-38 There is no reason to delay. As soon as you have decided to receive Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized. If you wait until you are "perfect", you´ll never feel "good enough"! * Special note regarding young children. Children should never be pressured to be baptized. They should simply be taught and encouraged to love and trust Jesus. A Christian is one who loves, trusts and obeys Jesus to the best of their ability and that's all children need to focus on. When they reach the age of accounability (every child reaches that point on their own time-table) and they fully understand what baptism is about--then they are ready to follow Jesus in this beautiful step of faith and obedience. BACK TO THE TOP |