The Importance of Baptism
After Jesus’ resurrection, He sent out His followers with a Mission to go and lead others to follow Him and His ways. An important part of this Mission is that we be baptized in Jesus’ name to identify us as His follower.
When Jesus’ followers preached the Gospel, they told the people to respond to Jesus’ message by repenting of their sin and being baptized in His name.
Baptism has an important symbolic meaning. When we choose to repent and believe in Jesus, we are choosing to die to our old way of living, to turn from sin, and now give our life over to following Jesus. So this baptism is symbolic of our death to our old way and being raised up to live a new life in Christ as Paul teaches in the following passage.
Baptism is also an outward sign that we are aligning ourselves with Christ and His ways. It is like putting on a jersey and saying we are now on Jesus’ team and want to follow Him.
Questions to Think About Before Being Baptized
- Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB95) "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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
When Jesus’ followers preached the Gospel, they told the people to respond to Jesus’ message by repenting of their sin and being baptized in His name.
- Acts 2:38 (NASB95) "38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism has an important symbolic meaning. When we choose to repent and believe in Jesus, we are choosing to die to our old way of living, to turn from sin, and now give our life over to following Jesus. So this baptism is symbolic of our death to our old way and being raised up to live a new life in Christ as Paul teaches in the following passage.
- Romans 6:1–7 (NASB95) "1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.”
Baptism is also an outward sign that we are aligning ourselves with Christ and His ways. It is like putting on a jersey and saying we are now on Jesus’ team and want to follow Him.
- Galatians 3:26–27 (NASB95) "26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”
Questions to Think About Before Being Baptized
- Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that He died on the cross for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead on the third day?
- Do you now desire to repent and turn from your sins and turn to following Jesus and His ways and make Him Lord of your life?
- If you have repented of your sins and are ready to follow Jesus and His ways, you are ready to be baptized.
- It is better to be baptized soon as this is something Jesus commanded us to do and it is a good symbolic reminder of your choice to die to your old ways and now follow Jesus and His ways. In the Bible, they often baptized people the same day they chose to repent (See Acts 2:36-41).
- If you were baptized before but haven’t been following Jesus, it is good to be baptized again as an outward sign that you are choosing now to repent and follow Jesus.
