| Water Baptism | |
| Water Baptism - Many People Ask If It's Required for Salvation | |
| The word “baptise” literally
means “immerse” comes from the cloth-dying industry and refers to the
process of dunking a cloth under the dying liquid so that the cloth comes
out the colour of the liquid dye. In the Christians sense we are
“immersed into Christ”.
Baptism (by full immersion as taught in
the Bible) is an act of obedience that should be an immediate part of
our acceptance of the gift of grace offered by Jesus Christ. But that does
not mean that one who truly gives their heart to Jesus on a death bed,
in the heat of warfare, or in a crashing airplane, will be kept out of
heaven because they failed to be baptized.
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| Water baptism - What is it ? | |
| (Romans 6:3-5 ICB) Did you forget that all of us
became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our
baptism. {4} So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ
and shared his death. We were buried with him so that we could live a
new life, just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful
power of the Father. {5} Christ died, and we have been joined with Christ
by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from death
as he did.
Baptism is a symbolic act by which we share in the death and life of Jesus Christ. Jesus died and was buried for the sake of our sins. The process of being submerged in the water represents the death and burial of our old life. But Jesus was also raised from the dead in order to give us eternal life. As we're raised out of the water, it represents our newfound life in Christ. By being baptized we're essentially saying that we identify with what Jesus went through for us.
In a way, baptism is a funeral and a birthday celebration rolled into one. As we go down, we recognize the death of the old us, and as we come up, we celebrate the birth of the new us. God gave us this rite as a physical reminder of the spiritual decision that we've made. Baptism is also a way for us to practically put our faith into action and demonstrate to the world that we've died to our old selves and desires, and have received a new resurrection life in Christ. It keeps us accountable and mindful that the world is watching us and expects to see some sort of change in our lives.
(2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. With thanks © 2009 Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale
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| Water baptism - what about infant christening ? | |
| Infant christening is often mistakenly referred to as
baptism, but is not the same. Christening is a baby naming and
dedication ceremony common to many cultures. It was adopted by
the church in the middle ages, notably in light of the high
infant mortality rate and a misconception that babies would not enter
heaven without it. There are two clear reasons why christening is not baptism. Firstly Jesus commanded us to repent and be baptised. Clearly a baby can not repent. Secondly christening involves sprinkling water, whereas baptism, ie immersion, is a very different act with very specific imagery and meaning attached to it, which does not correlate with sprinkling. We are happy to pray for babies and their families, or anyone for that matter, as Jesus Himself did.
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| I have not been immersed in baptism... can I be ? | |
| Yes certainly! We would suggest you speak with a member of the church who will take time to discuss this with you and to ensure you understand what is involved in making this confession of faith. We will then arrange a date, time and venue, either in the River Wear, the North Sea or in an inflatable pool at the church building. We would encourage you to invite family and friends to witness the baptism and, with help from your friends in the church, to prepare a short statement of faith to read, or have read for you, along with any songs and readings you might wish to share on this special occasion. Further
thoughts to ponder...
Could it be possible for someone to be baptized without even a knowledge
of Christ? Absolutely.
Some may be baptized out of peer pressure, parent pressure, or even as a good
luck charm. There is the
extreme case of Emperor Constantine marching his troops through a river
and claiming that they were all Christians. There are those who, upon
reflection, decide that they had no idea what they were doing the first
time. But now that they understand what God did for them, they want to say
thank you in baptism. Such a decision is personal, for only you know your
heart. Does baptism, itself, have the power to save people? The answer to
this is a resounding “No!” Scripture is abundantly clear that only Jesus saves.
The work of salvation is a finished work by Christ on the cross. Baptism has no
redemptive powers of its own. There is nothing special about the water.
Nothing holy about the
river or pond or baptistery. Tragically,
some people believe they are going to heaven when they die just because a
few drops of water were sprinkled over their head a few weeks after their
birth. They have no personal faith, have never made a personal decision,
and are banking on a hollow ceremony to save them. How absurd. For further
information follow this link. Conclusion If baptism were
a redemptive work, why did Jesus die on the cross? If we could be
saved by being sprinkled or dunked, do you think Jesus would have died for
our sins? If your faith is in the sacrament and not the Saviour, you are
trusting a powerless ritual. Don't allow
baptism to be something it is not. Apart from the cross it has no
significance. If you are trusting a dunk in the water to save you, you
have missed the message of grace. Beware of dogmatism. No one this side of
heaven can fully understand the majesty of baptism. Watch out for the one
who claims to have a corner on the issue, especially if that person is in
your mirror. Don't prevent
baptism from being what God intended. This is no optional command. This is
no trivial issue. It is a willing plunge into the power and promise of
Christ. Baptism is the first step of a believer. If it was
important enough for Jesus to command, isn’t it important enough for you
to obey? And if it was important enough for Jesus to do, isn’t it
important enough for you to follow? In baptism God
signs and seals our conversion to him. For all we may not understand about
baptism, we can be sure of one thing—it is a holy moment.
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