Have you ever thought about getting baptized but have too many questions still unanswered?
In order to understand the reason for being water baptized, it is important to carefully consider what the Bible says about it… Jesus himself was baptized. He was not a sinner, yet he humbled himself in obedience to identify with us and give us an example to follow.
“AN ACT OF OBEDIENCE”
Water baptism is an act of faith and obedience to the commands of Christ.
Baptism declares that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession of your faith in, and commitment to, Jesus Christ. It is the next step after salvation through repentance and faith and is an important foundation for the Christian life.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF BAPTISM?”
A MOVE FROM DEATH TO LIFE:
Baptism is a symbol of Christ’s burial and resurrection. Our entrance into the water during baptism identifies us with Christ’s death on the cross, His burial in the tomb, and His resurrection from the dead.
“Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross.” (COLOSSIANS 2:12-14)
“A BRAND NEW LIFE”
It is a symbol of your new life as a Christian. We bury the “OLD LIFE” and we rise to walk in a “NEW LIFE”. Baptism is like a wedding ring, it is the outward symbol of the commitment you made in your heart, a commitment that has to be followed through and lived out on a daily basis.
(MATTHEW 28:18—19) And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
It is true that baptizing is the Lord’s command. But how about those for example: I have witnessed to a patient dying with aids whom I have witnessed because I was working in the hospital in San Francisco Medical Center. At 2:00 AM I have him received Jesus. At 4:00 AM he died. If his confession was by heart he was saved. There was no baptism of water.
I have been holding a church and have baptized members but now I focus on teaching home bible studies and on individual or preaching on different churches but no longer baptized people on water. Just as Paul did.
(1 CORINTHIANS 1:14—17) I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
