Baptism doesn't make you a Christian. It's just an outward symbol of an inward commitment. It is your commitment to Christ that saves you. Baptism just says to the world, "I'm not ashamed to tell the whole world what's happened to me. I've given my life to Christ." A little boy asked one time, "Pastor, when can I get advertised?" That's what baptism is. Baptism is an advertisement for Jesus. It's saying, "I'm not ashamed of Jesus Christ." Jesus once said, "If you're ashamed of Me in front of the world then I'll be ashamed of you in front of My Father in heaven." Some people who won't get baptized because they don't want to get their hair wet. Are you that ashamed of Jesus Christ? The Bible says, "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands." How do you prove you're a Christian? You obey His commands. One of His first commands is, Be baptized.
Baptism does two things.
It Illustrates Christ's Burial And Resurrection. "Christ died for our sins. He was buried and He rose again." the Bible says "For when you were baptized you were buried with Christ and in baptism you were also raised with Christ." We baptize the way they did in the Bible -- putting people all the way under the water. It is a symbol of a burial and resurrection. Just like Jesus Christ died and was buried in the ground for three days and then rose again.
Baptism Illustrates My New Life As A Christian. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "When anyone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun." In the Bible, there was no such thing as a person claiming to be a Christian and not be baptized. It was automatic. You were baptized as soon as you gave your life to Christ.
"By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead so we also may live a new life." It doesn't make you a Christian, it shows you already believe.
There are lots of ways. There are some churches that sprinkle a little water on your forehead. Some pour a little water. Some dip a little bit. Other churches put you all the way under the water. Why do we believe and practice that you should be baptized by immersion? Four reasons.
Because Jesus Was Baptized That Way. We want to do it the way they did it in the Bible. It says "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water." He went down to the Jordan river. John the Baptist baptized Him in the river. He set the example.
Every Baptism In The Bible Was By Immersion. Example "Then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Then they came up out of the water."
That's What The Word Means. "Baptize" literally means "dip under water." The Greek word baptize means to dip under water.
It Best Symbolizes A Burial And Resurrection. The founders of denominations agree about this.
Martin Luther (Lutherans) said, "I would have those who are to be baptized to be entirely immersed as the word imports and the mystery signifies."
John Calvin (Presbyterians) "The word `baptize' signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church."
John Wesley (Methodists) "Buried with Him, alludes to baptizing by immersion according to the custom of the first church."
They all agree, whether they do it or not, that this is the way they did it in the Bible. A newspaper article talks about how Catholics are now going back to baptizing by immersion. It says, "Many Catholics are returning to full immersion baptism of church history and its greater symbolism." It says since 1988 every Catholic church in Orange County has been built with a baptism pool so they can immerse. As an example they said on this particular day the archbishop was baptizing 839 people by immersion. Why? It says, "Catholic churches have realized `This brings out far more clearly the true meaning of baptism of being buried with Christ and entering into a new life.'" Even the Catholics who, for centuries, just sprinkled are saying, we're going back to baptism by immersion.
Many people in this area claim to have a Catholic upbringing. When those of you who were baptized as children or babies, I'm sure that was very significant for your parents, but you don't even remember it. So it didn't mean anything to you. We've had many people say, when they got older and they accepted Christ, "I want to be baptized the way Jesus commanded, the way Jesus talked about." We're not talking about the baptism of confirmation but a baptism of confession. "I want the world to know I'm a follower of Christ." You can't do that until after you are a follower of Christ.
Every person who's believed in Christ should be baptized. "Those who believed and accepted His message were baptized." Acts 8:13, "Simon himself believed and was baptized." Acts 8:12, "But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."
We wait until our children are old enough to believe and understand the true meaning of baptism before we baptize them. There is only one qualification in the Bible to be baptized. You've got to believe in Christ. Obviously you've got to be old enough to understand what that's all about. There are many churches that practice the baptism of confirmation. This ceremony is intended to be a covenant between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. The parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his own confession of faith. This custom only began about 300 years after the Bible was finished. It's not in the Bible. It's just a tradition. This is different than the baptism talked about in the Bible, which was only for those old enough to believe. The purpose is to publicly confess your personal commitment to Christ. Baptism is a membership requirement at this church. Every member must have been baptized the way Jesus demonstrated, even though many of us were confirmed as children.
Jesus Commanded The Church To Do It. He said, "Go baptize."
It's A Symbol That Your Body Is A Member Of The Body Of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13.
Whatever you feel comfortable in. If you're a woman, maybe a swim suit with a t-shirt over the top simply for modesty. The men, usually just wear a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Something you don't mind getting wet in.
As soon as you become a believer. Or as soon as you realize its importance. Maybe you've been a believer for a while but you didn't realize how important it was. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." In Acts it says those who believed were baptized that day.
"Philip began with the scripture and told him the good news about Jesus and as they traveled along the road they came to some water and the man said, "Look! Here's water. Why shouldn't I be baptized right now?" Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." The man answered, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." So he went down into the water and Philip baptized him."
There's nothing special about the water. The water in the pool is not holy. What is holy is the faith of the people. It's not where you're baptized. It's why you're baptized -- to publicly say, "I am a consenting follower of Christ." There's no reason to delay. After you've decided to receive Christ you ought to be baptized.
Yes! If each family member understands the full meaning of baptism and has become a Christian, we encourage families to be baptized at once.
Younger
children who wish to be baptized are asked to have a meeting with our minister
of children for a pre baptism conversation. If your whole family knows Christ
and want to be baptized together, you need to call and arrange a baptism
conference with our children's minister. They will sit down with you and your
child and, in simple terms, explain what it's all about so they can understand
the meaning of baptism.
No! At the beginning of the service, we will briefly explain the meaning of baptism. You will wait at the edge of the pool for your turn to be baptized then someone will introduce you, briefly lower you under the water, then you can leave the pool, dry off and watch the others. Later you will be mailed a certificate of your baptism. We take your picture and it has your certificate with your name on it. This is to help you remember your baptism.
We also encourage you to invite as many friends and relatives to your baptism.
In the Bible there's no such thing as a Christian who hasn't been baptized. You may have a special circumstance which needs a private baptism. We would be happy to do that for you. For instance, if you're petrified of water and there are folks that absolutely have phobias about water. We do private baptisms. We are understanding and sympathetic. Perhaps you have had cancer treatments and are wearing a wig or toupee and you’re afraid that's going to fall off, or if you've had a surgery or anything that would cause you to be embarrassed, all you need to do is call the pastors and arrange a private baptism.
There are examples like a wife who was baptized when she gave her life to Christ but now her husband has become a Christian and she wants to be baptized again with him. Sure you can. Do you take communion more than once? There's no law that says you can only be baptized once. If you are in the Holy Land and you want to be baptized in the Jordan river as a reaffirmation of your faith, go ahead. There's nothing wrong with that. It's not like it's a sin to do it again.
That's only one of the two symbols of salvation. The other is the Lord's Supper. It's interesting that Jesus never asked His disciples to remember His birth, but He did instruct them to remember His death and resurrection. He gave the church two visible symbols called ordinances. We do not call Baptism and the Lord's Supper, sacraments. We don't call them that because the word sacrament means it saves you. We don't believe baptism saves you and we don't believe the Lord's Supper saves you. The Bible says they are symbols of your salvation, not things that make you saved. So technically they are not sacraments. We call them ordinances because they were ordained by God for Christians to remember Jesus' death.