Baptism

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‘They that gladly- received his word were baptized’, Acts 2. 41.

‘Delayed obedience is disobedience’ was advice I recently heard a friend passing on to children; it is good advice, and my own children may report that it has since been repeated in our home! Looking back on my own experience, it sums up my response to the command of baptism. I trusted the Lord Jesus as my Saviour at a young age, and I remember, at the age of 11, understanding that I needed to be baptized. But I delayed for years — 1 disobeyed.

A command for believers

The Lord Jesus commanded that believers should be baptized, Matt. 28. 19; Mark 16. 15, 16.

Baptism is a basic and essential step for Christians and the Bible teaches that it should follow salvation, ‘they that gladly received his word were baptized’, Acts 2. 41. It is also interesting that the longest recorded period in the New Testament between salvation and baptism is three days, with Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9. 9, 18. This demonstrates that there are no other steps between salvation and baptism; no process of improving lifestyle, or development of understanding in the word of God - just simply: if I have been saved, the next step is for me to be baptized.

A symbol

Baptism is a symbol, explained in Romans chapter 6 verses 1 to 11. It is a symbol of identification with Christ, ‘Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in. newness of life’, Rom. 6. 4. As a believer goes down into the water, they are saying, in symbolic form, ‘when Christ died, I died!’ This is the old ‘me’, v. 6, that was ‘dead in trespasses and sins’, Eph. 2. 1, and far away from God, v. 3. The result of this part of the symbol is that the person ‘that is dead is freed from sin’, Rom. 6. 7. I came into the good of these things the day I was saved, but when I was baptized, I was publicly declaring my irreversible identification with the Lord Jesus.

For the short time a believer is under the water, they are declaring that they ‘are buried with [Christ]’, v. 4. Burial proves that a death has taken place. Because the old ‘me’, v. 6, has died, it has also been buried.

On coming up out of the water, the symbol links with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He has died once to deal with sin and is now alive forever. Having received eternal life, we are linked with Christ in His resurrection, and we are ‘alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord’, v. 11. This is in contrast to being ‘dead … unto sin’, v. 11.

The implication of my baptism is that I should live every day ‘dead… unto sin’ and ‘alive unto God’.

Practical points to note

If you are saved, but have not been baptized, the following points may help you:

  • Commit to God to be serious about obeying His word. Baptism is not a subject that you need to ask for the Lord’s guidance in, as His word is clear! But if you have previously resisted, you can ask the Lord to help you learn obedience. There may even need to be repentance from disobedience.
  • If you belong to a Christian family, first speak to your parents. Often speaking about it for the first time can be the hardest step to take.>
  • If you are the only Christian in your family, speak to another Christian - if you go along to meetings at a local church, there may be someone there who has helped you, or who you look up to in Christian things. Ask their advice, particularly in how best to speak to your family. If you are under the age of 18, parental permission needs to be taken into consideration.
  • If you go along to meetings at a local church, approach the elders to let them know of your desire to be baptized. You could do this with the help of a parent or friend but be prepared to tell them about how you were saved.
  • From that point, elders of a local church should support you. This will include helping you understand baptism, arranging a date and location (baptisms can be held in a variety of places: maybe in a hall with a baptistry, a swimming pool, river, or even the sea; all that is required is water, Acts 8. 36).
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