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baptism
BAPTISM IS ONE’S PUBLIC DECLARATION
BAPTISM
The significance, meaning, and purpose of baptism
Baptism is a Public Declaration:
Baptism declares that you are a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession of your Obedience, Submission, and Commitment to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior. It symbolizes your new life as a Christian as one buries the “old life” and rises 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, which must be followed through and lived out daily.
Following Christ in Baptism:
It is essential to consider what the Bible says about Water Baptism. First, Jesus was not a sinner, yet He humbled himself in Obedience by following God’s will of purification by walking a considerable distance to be baptized by John. (Mark 1:1-11).
Mark 1:1-11 “This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It began as the prophet Isaiah had written: God said, ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ Someone is shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel! So, John appeared in the desert, baptizing and preaching. Turn away from your sins and be baptized,” he told the people, and God will forgive your sins. Many people from the province of Judea and the city of Jerusalem went out to hear John. They confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River. John wore clothes made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. He announced to the people, The man who will come after me is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to bend down and untie his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Not long afterward Jesus came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, he saw heaven opening and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you.”
The meaning of baptism in the New Testament:
The Bible compares baptism to burial. (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12) Water baptism symbolizes a person’s dying in his past course of life and beginning a new one as a Christian dedicated to Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:4 “By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.”
Colossians 2:12 “For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism, you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death.”
Does water baptism wash away sin?
No. The Bible teaches that we can be cleansed from sin only through Christ Jesus’ shed blood. (Romans 5:8-10; 1 John 1:7.”
Romans 5:8-10 “But God has shown us how much he loves us—it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! By his blood, we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger! We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life!”
1 John 1:7 “But if we live in the light—just as he is in the light—then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin.”
Baptism is the public announcement of receiving and accepting the free gift of Christ Jesus:
To benefit from Christ Jesus’ sacrifice, an individual must heed the drawing of God and accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life, thus changing the course of life to live in harmony with Christ Jesus’ teachings, examples, and commands. Being baptized is the public declaration of that acceptance. (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20).
Act 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 28:18-20 “Jesus drew near and said to them, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.”
A new family:
Baptism also connects us to the “body of Christ,” his people on the earth. In baptism, there is a real sense of being joined with other believers in Christ Jesus and not just participating in an individual act of our spiritual journey (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).
1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ” Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink. For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were all only one part! As it is, there are many parts but one body. So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don’t need you!” On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; and those parts that we think aren’t worth very much are the ones which we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don’t look very nice are treated with special modesty, which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it.” And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness. All of you are Christ’s body, and each one is a part of it.