A Celebration of Baptism

We are excited that you have come to the place in your life where you are considering being baptized. Below we have provided for you an overview of what the Scripture teaches about baptism. We pray that after you review this information, you will clearly define baptism, understand its significance in your life, and take the next step to experience it personally.

Define It.

There are five words in the Greek language that relate to baptism. Of those five, the one that is used quite frequently (77 times) - and the one that will serve our purpose on today - is the word baptize (Greek: baptizo). In its proper sense, baptizo means “to dip,” “to immerge,” “to sink,” or “to submerge”. It can also mean “to wash”. Generally, this is the word that is used in the Bible when referring to the act of baptism. Baptism, when it is not used in a metaphorical sense, is always associated with water.

Understand It.

In ancient days, people (religious Jews, Babylonians, Egyptians, etc.) understood the word baptizo to be related to the various ritual purity washings that they would undergo continuously as a part of their cult. So the whole idea of “washing” or “submerging” something or someone in water for a religious purpose was probably common. An example of this can be seen in Mark 7:4, where Mark speaks of the tradition of the Pharisees to wash (Greek: baptistai) their hands, after coming from the Marketplace before eating.

Although baptism might have been common among some ancients, Christian baptism came to mean something totally different from the cultic purity practices of the day.

A Christian baptism is an act of obedience to Jesus. It is normally a step that is taken once. It is not a requirement for salvation but rather an expression of it. Baptism symbolizes:

1. The fact that you have placed your trust in Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord.
    
2. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and your sharing, by faith, in that fact, visualized by you going under the water (dying to your old life of sin) and coming up from the water (being raised to new spiritual life in Jesus).
    
3. That you have been washed clean (forgiven) of your sins because of Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Experience It.

Now that you understand what baptism is it’s time for you to experience it. It is time for you to go public and declare to others that you believe in and belong to Jesus. So, here is your next step.