Baptism Message  by Tim Parkinson

The two New Testament ordinances instituted by Christ are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The rite of baptism is a physical depiction of a new believer’s old life being buried with the Lord and then raised to walk in newness of life. Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected, and the Christian identifies with Jesus by being fully immersed into the water (symbolizing death) and then being lifted out of the water to live a new life now and, one day, to live in a glorified new body in eternity.

What is a Doctrine?

The basic meaning of the term doctrine is “teaching.” Christian doctrine, accordingly, is the attempt to state in intellectually responsible terms the message of the gospel and belief and faith in it.

Doctrines can produce division, because of the diversity of people’s beliefs

Most denominations are formed from such diversity.

Baptism is a subject of different doctrines.

I believe that as the Bible was translated throughout the centuries, the organized church & government’s used their preferred interpretation to create doctrines (or camps) & their unique beliefs to benefit their own purposes.

For example:

You must be baptized to be saved

You must be baptized in the name of Jesus & You must be baptized in the name of Jesus only

You must be baptized in the name of the father, son, and Holy Ghost. You must be baptized after you’ve come to the age of accountability/ as a child

You must be baptized in the church 

You must be baptized by immersion only

If you are baptized will be saved when you die, no matter what kind of life you have lived.

Each camp believes that they alone know and understand the “truth” and if you don’t agree, then that separates you from them.

Suffice to say, if anyone wants to “discuss baptism” with you, it might mean they just want to get into a religious argument and to prove you wrong.

I read this on the internet:

“Baptism is a command of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is one of the two ordinances of the Christian Church. Unfortunately, it is also a doctrine that is surrounded by disagreement and controversy among believers. While admitting the lack of conformity among believers, we must never consider it a minor issue of doctrine. The sacraments are one of the three marks of a true church of the Reformed tradition. Our Lord did not leave this ordinance to the imagination of men. The purpose of this study is to examine the Biblical doctrine of baptism, including the subjects of baptism as well as the mode and meaning of baptism.”

We’re going to try to jump over all of that.

My Baptism story. How God gently led me into salvation.

Why do people get baptized?

And John the Baptist day, they were baptized as a sign that they were receiving forgiveness for their sins and their sins are washed away by the water. This is a good thing. Although people might not be confessing their sins, they wanted to be free from them. Confession is an important part of our salvation. The Bible says in Rom 10:9, that if we confess… Then we shall be…

Unless you have confessed Jesus is your Lord, being baptized will only make you a wet sinner. 

Jesus said, in the Great Commission in Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

You can’t sneak your way into heaven.

Baptism unites us with Christ by identifying us with His death, burial, and resurrection: 

“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” (Romans 6:3–4). 

So baptism is really about identifying with God and His will for your life.

Mat 3:13  Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

Mat 3:14  But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

Mat 3:15  And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

Mat 3:16  And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:

Mat 3:17  And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Why was Jesus baptized? He never sinned and had nothing to repent of. Repenting means to turn away from one thing and towards something else. He was baptized into his ministry.

Can you or should you be baptized more than once? I believe you should get baptized as many times as you want to and that’s all right.

So, we rejoice with those who are being baptized and with their loved ones, because it’s a sign that there are even greater things to come into their lives, because they are identifying with Jesus.