Baptism Stories

We had 9 people baptised at Grace Church on Sunday. Part of their preparation was to write out, briefly, their story of why they are getting baptised. I loved reading these stories! They are all so different, yet there was one common thread in them all – God changed me through Jesus and I want to publicly tell others about that! When I asked one of the girls about to be baptised yesterday, if she was happy with Jesus as her Lord and saviour, she shouted, “Yeah man!” and hundreds of people erupted in cheers and applause. It was a great day for me as their pastor; great for those who made this public announcement; and a great celebration of the power of the gospel and glory of God.

As Paul said:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ~ Romans 1:16

Baptism is a step of obedience to Jesus – Matthew 28:19-20, it is a mark of identification with Jesus (Romans 6:3-4) and it is a ceremony of change and transition (Galatians 3:26-27). Each story reflects these important elements. Baptism is an initiatory and symbolic act that marks the start of a life of faith in Christ (Acts 2:38-39). It is the act of a novice not an expert. There is no suggestion in scripture, that prior to baptism, you must undergo some sort of moral purification and “prove yourself worthy”. No-one becomes a Christian through moral reform or changing their behaviour to suit some arbitrary cultural standard. Baptism is a gift from God through his family here on Earth, (the local Church), that says: “Welcome to the family!”

Harvest Bible Church in the USA published the below video of their baptisms from 2 Sunday’s ago. While the scale differs to ours, the stories don’t! It’s all about Jesus!

 

Introducing Mark

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

The first podcast of the new Grace Church series on Mark’s Gospel is available.

¹The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
³“a voice of one calling in the desert,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ “

⁴And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Mark 1:1-4 (NIV)

Related Posts:

What’s the Gospel of Mark all about?

 

Baptism Podcast from Sunday Sept 5

This is the fifth message in the 2010 Series “What’s It All About”.

A series which looks at unpacking and clarifying the essentials of the Christian faith.

The bible reading was from, Hebrews 5:11-6:12

Here is a brief outline of the sermon (including slides & MP3)

1. Introductory Video – The Roman’s Soldier’s “sacramentum” (scene from Universal Pictures “Gladiator”)
2. Baptism is…
3. Baptism Symbolises…
4. Baptism’s Purpose
5. Baptism Candidates?

 

Baptism – Sunday Sept 5

Are you ready to 'take a dip'

 

What is Baptism all about

The New Testament book of Hebrews has multiple warnings teaching how to confirm the veracity of your faith in Christ. Simply, it is followed by and produces faithfulness, shown by maturity, stability and confidence lived out by serving and building up other believers in Christ.

Heb 6:9 mentions things that “belong to salvation”. The KJV translates “belong” as “accompany”. The phrase speaks of things ‘joined with’ salvation. Genuine faith in Christ has a definite, lasting, qualitative depth that will develop or grow contrasted with the inferior imitation of religion that usually accompanies mere intellectual assent or casual agreement.

Jesus said it this way:

“Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” – John 15:5

Paul wrote to Corinth and said:

“if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Becoming a Christian is concurrent with change or rebirth. The change is progressive and pervasive, affecting habits, lifestyle, appetites, desires, goals, behaviour etc. Though some remain secretive or silent about their transition, scripture indicates, that genuine faith, sooner or later declares – I belong to Jesus!

In ancient Rome, legionnaires made the ‘sacramentum‘ oath to their general and emperor, swearing fealty to their lord and giving their life in his service. It was a public demonstration of their change in status and provided the first evidence of their new life of commitment.

For the Christian, water Baptism is our ‘sacramentum‘. It is the public demonstration and proclamation of an inward spiritual reality. It is a declaration of obedience to and ownership by Jesus Christ. It does not “add” to salvation – as though it were somehow incomplete. It does (& should!) go with salvation as is the pattern in Christ’s commission, and the early Church expansion documented in the Book of Acts. It precedes a full participation in the visible Church and partners identification with Christ, his Church and his commission.

Following is a clip from the movie, Gladiator. In the scene where Maximus reveals himself to Commodus, he recites a ‘sacramentum’ to Marcus Aurelius. Many Christians need to step out from behind the mask of secrecy and declare and show fealty to their Lord – Jesus. Baptism provides you the first forum to do this – what are you waiting for?

NB: This is a re-post of a Sept 27, 2008 Post called “Sacramentum” using an alternate You Tube video.

 

Significance of Baptism

A concise explanation of Baptism from Phillip Jensen:

We are not baptized to testify to our belief, though it is a testimony to the fact that we are believers.  We are baptized in repentance that we may find the forgiveness of God in the death of Jesus on our behalf.