Baptism
Baptism-dead to sin - Alive to Christ
Baptism-dead to sin - Alive to Christ
Baptism-dead to sin - Alive to Christ
Baptism is an important step of obedience and public declaration of faith.
Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.
Find Hope and Healing
Baptism-dead to sin - Alive to Christ
Baptism-dead to sin - Alive to Christ
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
Jeremiah 17:14
Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
Importance of Baptism
Identification with Christ
- Symbolizes Death and Resurrection: Baptism represents a believer's identification with Christ’s death and resurrection. Going under the water symbolizes dying to one's old life, while emerging from the water signifies being reborn in Christ.
Public Commitment
- Declaration of Faith: It acts as a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ. By being baptized, individuals express their commitment to follow Christ and live according to His teachings.
Belonging to the Church
- Membership in the Christian Community: Baptism signifies entry into the Church, marking the individual as a member of the Christian community. It is a way to publicly affirm one's belonging to the body of Christ.
Baptized into Christ
Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? -Romans 6:3
My baptism was an iconic moment in my journey with Jesus. But what was joy, freedom, and hope for me would have been a nightmare of bondage and hopelessness for slaves in Virginia in 1667.
The beautiful icon of baptism was sullied by an evil decision. Slave owners feared slaves would recognize their faith in Christ and baptism would reveal their equality to their supposed superiors. The Virginia Assembly passed a law that Christian baptism would not free enslaved persons in the colonies, a mockery to the hope of Christian baptism that Paul highlighted in Romans 6.
Christ’s death and burial were followed by His resurrection. Believers’ death and burial to the old way of life is followed by being raised to the hope and freedom to live a new life (Romans 6:4). Believing the gospel and being baptized are not supposed to lead to continued bondage. Baptism symbolizes being united to the Son, who sets us free indeed (John 8:36). It’s also a symbol of the new life we have with the family of God that ought to be characterized by freedom.
Christ exercises full authority to liberate us from the tyranny of personal and systemic sin and to offer us hope of new life in Him. Christian baptism remains one of the most powerful symbols of being clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27) with all the benefits of joy, freedom, and hope.
Marvin Williams
In what ways does baptism symbolize new life to you?
Thank You, Lord, for the freedom from all bondage that we experience because of Your death and resurrection.
**COURTESY OF: Our Daily Bread Ministries** To see MORE like this go to https://www.odbm.org/en
Scripture on Baptism
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? MATTHEW 3:7
The Baptism of Jesus
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.
MATTHEW 3:13
The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ MATTHEW 21:25
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. MARK 1:4
John 7:7-8
7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.”