1) Why should I be baptized?
- To follow the example set by Christ.
Mark 1:9, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.”
Why was Jesus baptized? In order to save him? No, He did not need to be saved. He was perfect. Baptism does not save you. It is a symbol of obedience, and it is an example that we are to do what He has done.
- Because Jesus has asked us to be.
Christ asks that every Christian be baptized. Matthew 28:18-20, “Jesus said, ‘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.’” These are the three things the church is commanded to do: Make disciples — help people come to know Christ; Baptize them; and Help them grow. Many people think, “I’ll be baptized after I have grown up. After I know about the Christian life, then I will be baptized.” No, it’s right after you make the decision to follow Christ. Notice the order: You make the disciples, then you baptize them, then you spend the rest of your life following and growing as a Christian.
- It demonstrates that I’m really a believer.
Acts 18:8 says, “Many of the people who heard him believed and were baptized.” Baptism does not make you a Christian. It just shows that you are a Christian. A wedding ring does not make you married. It is a symbol of the commitment that you make when you are married. On the wedding day, the bride and groom make a commitment before God and some witnesses. They say “I do,” and they give their lives to each other and for the rest of their lives. That commitment is what makes them married, not the ring. If the ring were lost, they would still be married. Baptism is like a wedding ring. It is an outward symbol of an inward commitment.
2) What does it mean to be baptized?
3) Why should I be baptized by being fully immersed in water?
- Because Jesus was baptized that way. We want to do it the way it was done in the Bible. Matthew 3:16, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.” He went down to the Jordan River. John the Baptist baptized Him in the river, and he set the example.
- Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion. Acts 8:38-39, “Then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Then they came up out of the water.”
- That’s what the word means. “Baptize” literally means “dip under water.” The Greek word baptize means to dip under water.
- It best symbolizes a burial and resurrection. The founders of denominations agree about this.
Martin Luther (Lutherans) – “I would have those who are to be baptized to be entirely immersed as the word imports and the mystery signifies.”
John Calvin (Presbyterians) – “The word ‘baptize’ signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion was the practice of the ancient church.”
John Wesley (Methodists) – “Buried with Him, alludes to baptizing by immersion according to the custom of the first church.”
They all agree, whether they do it or not, that this is the way they did it in the Bible.