Baptism – what’s it all about anyway?
In our March Spiritual Reflection we invited you to share friendship and fellowship with us and finished by saying that a key step in becoming a member of our community is baptism .
You may ask why baptism really matters.
One obvious answer is that it matters to Jesus. At about the age of 30, Jesus himself was baptised “to carry out all that God requires” (NLT Matthew 3:15.) He also instructed his apostles to go into all the world and preach because those who believe and are baptised will be saved. (Mark16:16.)
So we need to understand and believe the gospel message and the desire to be baptised will follow because we want to respond to God’s grace.
Throughout the New Testament we have many accounts of people believing, desiring to change their lives and being baptised.
Because baptism is a full immersion in water, Paul says that in baptism we identify with Christ’s death and resurrection; we ‘bury’ our old self and rise from the water to a new life, wrong doings forgiven. The slate is clean and we make a fresh start, dedicated to following Jesus. You will find this in Romans 6.
So let us come near to God with an honest and true heart. Let us come near with a faith that is sure and strong. Our hearts have been sprinkled. Our minds have been cleansed from a sense of guilt. Our bodies have been washed with pure water. Heb 10:22 NIRV