Congratulations on your decision to follow Christ! This post summarizes basic information to help you understand more about your beautiful decision to be baptized as a Christian. Jesus Christ Himself was baptized by John the Baptist, leaving us an example to follow.  When Jesus was baptized, heaven opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon Him as the form of a dove. A voice from above said: “You are my beloved Son in whom I am very pleased.” Luke 3:23

Why Should I Be Baptized?

Baptism is a form of public confession of Who is the Lord of your life. It is the best decision you will ever make. To live a new life in Christ.  The act of baptism itself does not save anyone.  It is a public declaration of faith in Jesus Christ.

According to Christ’s command, it has been the
custom that all of us who believe in Jesus Christ are to be baptized. The early Christians recorded in the book of Acts. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2:38  Obedience has rewards!  So those who received his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people joined the church.” Acts 2:41
The good news of the kingdom of God has been preached ever since. Both men and women were baptized. Acts 8:12

“Look, there is water here. What is there to prevent me from being baptized? Then he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, and
Philip baptized the Eunuch. Acts 8:36-38  Submerged is the old life, baptized, raised  into a new life ‘in Christ’.

ROMANS 5:1 “Since we have been justified through FAITH we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Hallelujah!

JOHN 3:16-17  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that He might give His only Son, that He might be our Savior that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Praise God for His plan of salvation.

Baptism DOES NOT make us CHILDREN of GOD. John 1:12-13 “As many as received Him, to those who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” Galatians 4:7  “So you are no longer a slave, but a son and because you are a son, God has made you also an heir.”

Baptism does NOT make us HEIRS of the glory. 1 Peter. 1:4-5  “Let us receive an inheritance which cannot be destroyed, defiled or withered. Such an  inheritance is reserved in heaven for you.”

It is a public confession of a true desire to FOLLOW CHRIST as LORD and SAVIOR of our life. Baptism is a new IDENTIFICATION for the believer.  By their confession of faith in the Death, Burial and the  Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22

COLOSSIANS 2:12 “You received it by being buried with Him in baptism.
baptism. In Him, you were also raised through faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.

1. Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection-as Christ died and was buried in the tomb, they were also raised through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

2. Christ died and was buried in the tomb, so we by immersion are buried in water, dead to the world, to the old life.

JOHN 5:24 “Truly I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life.”

MATTHEW 6:21-23 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

❤️ Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
❤️ Colossians 3:1″You have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
❤️ Hebrews 3:1 “Holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and High Priest.”
❤️ Colossians 3:12 “As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
❤️ Colossians 3:15 “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Jesus met a rejected woman from Samaria at the well. The town snubbed her because of her past. But Jesus did not reject her.

JOHN 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you LIVING water.” The water that purifies, sustains, and satisfies our thirst for truth.

❤️ Colossians 1:10 “Live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation—”

John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him, all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” Born again in Him, we have new life, and a big new family!  Glory to God!

❤️ Colossians 2:2 “Be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that you may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that you may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” God is present with you in spirit and He delights to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. You have been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with up with Jesus through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Embrace this truth:  Christ living in you is His hope for glory. And your overflowing thankfulness blesses the heart of God. Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Doctor Luke Astonishing

A soul ready to admit they are a sinner without excuse, is a soul glad to be baptized. A soul without guile, is a soul without a cunning skill to achieve acceptance by deceit. Walking worthy.

Stay on Fire for God

1. Daily Word Ps 119:105
2. Guard offense Prov 4:23
3. Holy Spirit leads Heb 3:7
4. Be wise 1 Cor 10:23
5. Pray daily 1 Cor 14:4
6. Fast weekly + fellowship
7. God’s power released through any kind of service.

Hebrews 3:7 “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice.”
   

With a conscious choice to forgive all past offenses, those who confess Jesus as Lord,  continue to seek God with all their mind and heart.  With childlike faith, a sincere soul does not seek to prove their goodness by good works; or to be simply comforted by the kindness of a church group. 

With a desire to know God personally and deeply, they have an honesty of heart and they earnestly love God for His grace extended.  They come humbly to receive a regenerated  heart. Converted soundly, they desire to be truly searched and tested by God and found without guile, for all has been admitted and confessed.  A soul starving and thirsty for truth desires to be washed by God.

They read the Bible to gain understanding by the Holy Spirit.  They pray in order to speak with God and sincerely praise God without pretense. They seek to please God and not man. They confess what they believe, and by the gift of faith from God, they trust that God will finish the work He began in them. They do not accept a slight diversion from morality. They determine to remain on the narrow road. They examine themselves and choose not to deny a single conviction.

They aim to please God, and choose to remain straight. They are resolved to remain faithful and pursue a real relationship with Jesus.  Saved by the grace of God,  the Holy Spirit is closer than any friend. We count on Him to teach, comfort and guide.