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Whole Zone:
  1. Starting out
  2. More about Jesus
  3. Experiencing God
  4. The Bible
  5. Prayer
  6. Serving God
  7. Sharing Faith
  8. Going deeper into God

Starting out
- Believers' Baptism

All churches baptise, but some baptise babies, others keep it for later. As a Baptist Church we do not baptise babies.

This thread (Starting out):
  1. Jesus is Saviour
  2. Baptism
  3. Jesus is Lord
  4. Knowing God better
  5. Knowing other Christians better

Who is baptism for?

Matthew 28:18-20 - Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in£ the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
This is the last thing Jesus told his disciples to do. Who, according to these verses, do you think is to be baptised? Jesus said we were to baptise disciples (i.e. people who are following and learning about Jesus)

Acts 2:38 - Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Who are to be baptised here?
Repent means to have a change of mind and turn away from wrong things (and includes being sorry for those wrong things). People who repent are to be baptised.

Acts 2:41 - Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
Who were baptised here?
Accepting the message is the same as believing.

So, disciples of Jesus who believe in him, and who repent of their lifestyle that excluded him, are to be baptised.

 

Being ready

Acts 8:36-38: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Believing in Jesus is crucial. We also need to repent (see above). If there is something in our life which we know is sin, and we are not willing or able yet to change that, it may mean we have to wait until that is put right. We do not have to be perfect: baptism is a beginning, and there may well be all sorts of things we are struggling with, both in faith and in our behaviour. We may still be baptised. If, however, we are deliberatley holding onto something which we ought to let go of, then we are not truly repenting of it, and we need to sort this out.

 

How?

We baptise by 'full immersion' (that means going right under the water). We believe this was the way it happened in bible times. The word 'baptise' means literally to be dipped right under water.

This is a symbol, (a way of showing) that we have been washed clean inside from our sin
1 Corinthians 6:11: But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God

It is a symbol also of our inclusion in the benefits of Jesus' death and resurrection. Paul says in baptism we are buried with Christ and rise with him
Romans 6:3-4: Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

Any questions?

If you have any queries, or comments, then e-mail us and we'll get back to you

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