What is baptism? Baptism is three things.
First
An Act of Obedience
First, baptism is an act of obedience. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded. This is one of the last commands Jesus gave His disciples before returning to heaven, and it’s a clear one: baptize people. In fact, the first act of obedience for you and for me as followers of Jesus is to be baptized. When we obey Him in baptism, we show that we really are His followers.
Second
A Demonstration of Reality
Second, baptism is a demonstration of reality. Romans 6:4 tells us that when we are lowered into the water, it symbolizes being buried with Christ in His death. When we come back up out of the water, it symbolizes the resurrection: just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too may live a new life. Baptism shows what has already happened to us as followers of Jesus Christ: we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. It’s a picture of what is really going on in our lives.
Third
An Identifying Moment
Third, baptism is an identifying moment. In Matthew 3:16-17, we read about Jesus’s own baptism, where He models for us what we are to do. As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens open, the Spirit of God comes down like a dove and rests on Him, and a voice from heaven declares, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” It’s an incredible identifying moment, and everything Jesus does from that point on flows out of it.
For you and for me, there is a similar identifying moment when we are baptized. You see, Jesus tells us, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). So when we declare publicly that Jesus is Lord and that He is the one we are following, heaven is making a declaration too: that we belong to God as His children.
Ready to Be Baptized?
So this is what baptism is. It is an act of obedience, it is a demonstration of reality, and it is an identifying moment for you and for me. If you’d like to be baptized, please let us know. We’d love to help you take this step and experience baptism for yourself.