Baptism

Water Baptism

Christian baptism has always been associated with new life in Jesus Christ.  Water baptism was practiced in Israel before Jesus came but it was part of the Jewish religion's way of bringing Gentiles (non-Jews) into the Jewish faith system.  No Jewish people were baptized since they believed they were already right with God because of their birth race.  When John the Baptist came, he started baptizing both Jews and Gentiles.  He did this to show that all people need to repent (turn away from our old way of living) and personally believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.  He was saying that it does not make any difference what race or background we come from - every person is born a sinner and needs a Savior.

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What does baptism mean?

  1. It is your testimony (story) that you personally believe in and belong to Jesus Christ through repentance... that you have already received Him into your heart as your personal Savior.
  2. It is God's way of confirming what has happened to you... that you have received new life in Jesus.
  3. It is a declaration of your intention and desire to live a new way of life by God's power.  This is not a promise to be good or perfect but a statement of your desire to depend on the power of God's Spirit to honor God and love others in our day-by-day life.
  4. It is your identification with the Body of Christ, i.e. other Christians.  If we belong to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body, we also are part of and belong to the other members of the Body.

 

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ died for us, was buried for us, and was raised to new life for us.  It also tells us that when we believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we experience our own death, burial and resurrection - death of the old person (who we used to be outside of Jesus Christ) and the "coming forth" of a new creation in Jesus Christ.

 

What does baptism not mean?

  1. Water baptism does not wash away our sins... only the blood of Jesus can do that.
  2. Water baptism does not make us a new person... it shows we already are a new creation.
  3. Water baptism is not a promise to never sin again... we must give ourselves to God each day by trusting the power of God's Spirit to guard and keep us.

If you are interested in more information or would like to attend a Baptism class please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it