WATER BAPTISM
The decision to get baptized should be made consciously after you have received salvation and been “born again” by making Jesus Christ the Lord of your life. Also, you don’t have to be perfect to get baptized! Water baptism is not a claim to perfection, nor will it make you perfect. Rather, it is a statement of faith, submission and willingness to allow Jesus to perfect us. Sometimes we have experiences that allow us to look back and say, “Ever since then, things have changed.” Can you recall a landmark point in your life? Getting baptized in water can be one of those moments for you, just as it was in Jesus’ life.
We’re so excited about your decision
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re interested in getting baptized; or, at the very least, you’re curious about baptism. Either way, we’re glad you’re here and we’re so excited that you’re considering this important step in your walk with Jesus. We want to make this step an easy one!
origin and meaning
Very early in the Gospels, before Jesus’ ministry began, we read about John the Baptist, who earned his name when he began baptizing other individuals in the Jordan River. While preaching a message of repentance and turning back to God, he invited his followers to be baptized in water to signify and physically demonstrate that they were humbling themselves, washing away their old lifestyle, and accepting the message that John preached.
Then we read that Jesus Himself was baptized by John! Jesus made a public demonstration and declaration of His intent to follow the Father. As He was getting baptized, the Holy Spirit came upon Him, and the Father publicly affirmed Him as His own Son, even expressing His pleasure in His Son’s obedience. It was only after this moment that we began to see Jesus teaching with authority and performing miracles.
In His last moments with His disciples, Jesus encouraged them to continue the practice of baptism (Matthew 28:18-19), which signified the importance of every believer to submit to water baptism. It still stands as a line of demarcation, particularly for the new believer, between the old and the new. As a public demonstration and declaration of an individual’s faith in Jesus and his or her desire to follow Him, baptism is still meaningful and pleasing to the Father today!