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Baptism is the immersion (dipping) of a believer in water symbolizing the complete renewal and change in the believer’s life and testifying to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation.
The Greek word baptízo = “immerse, dip, submerge” is used metaphorically in Isaiah 21:4 meaning “to go down into.”
Baptism is not a requirement of salvation, but it is a requirement of obedience. Baptism is a first step of discipleship. Although all meanings of baptism are significant, the one that most often comes to mind is water baptism as a picture of having come to know Christ as Lord and Savior. Baptism is never the event but, rather, the picture of the event. So the pattern of obedience is to respond to Christ in Faith and Repentance, and then to be baptized.
Meditate on the following Scriptures & Truths regarding baptism:
How do we show our FAITH and OBEDIENCE to CHRIST? The first step of obedience that Jesus asks us to take is BAPTISM after we are saved.
Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit…
Just as a Wedding Band symbolizes to the world the commitment and love that is in the heart of a man and wife, so Baptism symbolizes to the world our commitment to Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; & behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him…
How Will I Be Baptized?
Remember: The Greek word “baptizo,” from which we get our English word “baptism” means “to immerse, to dip, to submerge.”
Acts 8:38-39 He ordered the chariot to stop; & they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, & he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.
(Read: Acts 8:26-39) |
