This post is all about baptism.
“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 NKJV
In Christianity, the first step to be saved and start your new life with Jesus is to become baptized with water. This act is explained and demonstrated several times in the Bible but it’s true meaning can be confusing for those who are just beginning their walk with God. Why do we need to be baptized? If I just believe in God without getting baptized, am I saved? Why did Jesus himself get baptized? All of these questions are important, and here we will go into what the Bible truly says about baptism.
Why do we need Baptism?
1. Baptism is a symbol of your death to sin
“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, 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.” Romans 6:3-6 NKJV
So, what is baptism? Baptism is the act of a man or woman of God assisting to immerse you in a body of water and help you back up again. The specific area or type of body of water you get baptized in is not very important.
Baptism is used as an analogy for Jesus’ burial and resurrection. When adam and eve sinned in the garden, they doomed the entire human race to be born in sin and automatically need a savior from sin. We need a savior from sin because God has ordained that every man who sins will surely die. At the end of all sin is death. This is reasonably so, seeing that sin encompasses all that is evil and wrong in the world. However, because God does not want us to die in our sin, he sent Himself in the form of man, called Jesus. Jesus as a human would then die in our stead by taking on all of our sins (past, present, and future) and dying for us.
Jesus was the only one who could have done this because Jesus was the only one who never sinned, so he never had to die or pay for his own sin. He then rose from the dead on the third day, signifying that we too will rise again. So, when we die in this world, we won’t die the death of sin (which is going to hell) but only sleep for a while until we are resurrected to heaven to live forever.
Baptism can be compared to this because when we submerge ourselves into the water, we signify laying down in our death to sin, and when we rise from the water, we signify our resurrection from the sin we just buried. Jesus showed the example that as he has died for our sin and rose again, we will die to our sin (figuratively speaking) and rise again to a new life committed and surrendered to him.
2. Baptism is a declaration
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28 NKJV
When you are baptized, it is a declaration to yourself, to God, and to the world that you are saved. Your life is now fully surrendered to Jesus. Baptism is simply a public display of the transformation of what has happened on the inside. You are washed in God’s grace and mercy from sin, and now it is demonstrated by physical water with baptism.
3. Baptism is a new start to your relationship with Christ
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” II Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
The day of your baptism is the stepping stone into a beautifully wonderful future with Jesus and eternal life! Your journey and relationship with Christ has officially started! Congratulations! It is one of the most exciting moments of your Christian life. I remember when I was newly baptized, I felt on top of the world and wanted to just rush fully into living for God.
Yes, there will be a lot of ups and downs, and this is something that you usually don’t hear when you first begin your walk with Christ. As you may know, I like to keep it real and honest with you on this blog and tell you what Christianity is truly about. You will fail and fall. There will be times where you feel burnt out or lazy, or just plain tired. There will be temptation to return back to the life you once lived. You may also experience the grief of losing some friends, family, or even romantic relationships because of your life in Jesus. Not everyone will support your decision to be saved. You will have to give up the sinful places, conversations, and activities you used to engage in to honor God.
However, you will gain so much more than you will ever lose! All the things you lose will be dead weight, and would have only hurt you in the end. You will not only gain eternal life, but in this life you will have peace, joy, and constant protection and provision for all of your days! Everything that happens to you will be for your good and God’s plan for your life. And if you ever need anything, you can just go to God and ask of him. He will never leave you. He will always be with you, comforting you, leading you, providing for you, loving you, supporting you, leveling you up.
In the end, the beauty of it all is the growth. You will learn and grow and fall and get back up again and change for the better. You just have to keep going, place your life in God’s hands, and he will do the rest. The best part about our salvation is we did nothing to earn it, and it is not up to us to keep it. God will keep us. As long as we devote ourselves to him and choose him in every way possible (keeping his commandments and staying away from sin), He will build and perfect us in his perfect time. Isn’t that just incredible?
This post was all about baptism.
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