THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER BAPTISM

Water Baptism is not a Christian ritual or religious exercise. It was intended by God to be an essential part of the spiritual foundation of all new Christians. As a believer is baptized in water, they are outwardly affirming the inward commitment they have made to Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life.

FOR ALL CHRISTIANS

Jesus emphasized the importance of Water Baptism when he commanded His disciples to baptize every one who became a Christian. He said: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19

To really understand the reason for bein g Water Baptized we must carefully consider what the Scriptures say about it. All Christians are admonished to be Water Baptized. Jesus emphasized the importance when He said:

"He who believes and is baptized will be saved....." Mark 16:16

Peter, obeying Christ, preached: Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..." Acts 2:38

Peter in the book of Acts: And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord....Acts 10:48

We are not trying to say that a person must be Water Baptized to be saved. The Bible says: For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Eph 2:8-9

Though we are not saved by Water Baptism, we are commanded by Scripture to obey God and partake of this holy act.

PRIOR TO WATER BAPTISM

We should be Water Baptized after experiencing true repentance and believing the Gospel. Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

To repent is to turn away from sin to follow Jesus. To believe is to completely trust in Christ's death and resurrection for your salvation.

IDENTIFYING WITH HIS DEATH

Water Baptism is to follow repentance and faith toward God, first as an act of obedience to God. Secondly, since Jesus did away with all ritual, to experience what God has for us in identifying with the burial of Jesus Christ. Water Baptism is part of the process of identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. See Salvation for more understanding.

Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. Rom 6:3-5

Because Jesus shed His blood on the cross for us we are forgiven of our sins. When someone repents, believes the gospel, and is baptized, they are forgiven and remitted (separated) from their sins.

Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

OUR OLD MAN IS CRUCIFIED

Water Baptism acknowledges the fact that our old man (or old sin nature) has been crucified (destroyed) and we have received a new godly nature. The Scriptures declare: Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Rom 6:6-7

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Gal 2:20

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:11

A CIRCUMCISION OF HEART

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Col 2:11-12

WATER BAPTISM AND THE BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

There is a difference between Water Baptism and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. WATER BAPTISM. In obedience to Christ's command a new Christian is immersed in water in the name of the Lord. He is thus separated from his old sin nature and makes a commitment to serve Jesus. SPIRIT BAPTISM. This occurs when someone is immersed or filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. For more about this click the HOLY SPIRIT icon on the Home Page.

EXPERIENCING WATER BAPTISM

It is permissible for any Christian to baptize another Christian. The common practice is for the leadership of a local church to conduct a water baptism service. A baptism service allows other members of the new Christian's spiritual family to be present for this exciting event.

THE METHOD OF BAPTISM

The word baptism comes from a root word which means the process of immersion, submersion, or to make whelmed (i.e. fully wet).

Jesus was immersed: When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. Matt 3:16

The Ethiopian eunuch was immersed by Philip: So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way. Acts 8:38-39

It is clear then that the tradition of sprinkling people or pouring water on them is true neither to the clearly understood meaning of the Greek Word, nor to the symbolism of burial. Only immersion in water shows a burial. Christian baptism is a dedication to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and to be His disciple. (Mathew 28.19).

You must humble yourself in Christian baptism and identify yourself with Jesus Christ. As He dedicated himself "thus to fulfil all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15) so must you when you are baptized in water. You make a covenant with God to submit yourself to obey the Spirit of God to the point of death, dying to the deeds and lusts of the body. Let the past be buried and rise up to live and fulfill all righteousness - not through your old life but in the new life given by God.

BAPTIZED INTO HIS NAME

Jesus commanded that disciples be baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). All things we do are to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, however (Colossians 3:17). The early church baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:48), in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5).

How do we reconcile this? Not once is the same wording of the name used in these passages! The answer is simple. All these names have one and the same significance. It shows we are baptized in the name of Jesus, not simply in the "name of God". Jesus, or the Son, must be recognized in the wording of our baptism. The Scriptures confound any attempt to impose a formula of wording for baptism. This is because water baptism was never intended to be something merely formal , but rather a real identification INTO a person - Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION

For the genuine Christian, baptism is a glorious event that witnesses to the world and to the church that they are no longer in the Kingdom of darkness but in the Kingdom of God. It declares that the believer has died to their old nature and is alive to their new nature in Christ. It makes a bold declaration to all that they now BELONG TO JESUS.