1. It pictures Jesus dying on the cross, being
buried, and then coming back to life.
2. It pictures what we did when we accepted Jesus.
We died to our old ways of doing things, and decided to live
for Jesus Christ.
Who should be baptized?
People who have accepted Christ should be
baptized. Baptism is not for people who have not accepted Him.
Jesus not only told us to be baptized, but He set the example
for us in Matthew 3:13, when He was baptized by John the
Baptist.
What if I have already Been
baptized?
Baptism should be done after salvation not before.
Many people are baptized as an infants or prior to accepting
Christ. The problem is they have not begun their personal
relationship with Christ. Baptism is much like a wedding ring.
When two people marry, they place wedding rings on their
fingers to show they have made a commitment to each other.
After accepting Christ, we show others that we have made a
commitment to Jesus by being baptized.
Do I need to be
baptized?
Yes. How would you feel if you were married and
your husband or wife would not wear their wedding ring? A
husband and wife wear rings out of love for one another. In
the same way, we should show our love for Christ by being
baptized.
Does baptism save people?
No. Ephesians 2:8&9 says that we are only
saved because of God’s grace (forgiveness) and that we can not
do anything to earn our way to Heaven. Simply, we do not
deserve to go to Heaven, but Jesus loved us so much that He
paid the price for our sin by dying on the
cross.
We become a Christian when we repent (Luke 13:3)
and believe (John 3:18) on Jesus. Nowhere in the Bible does it
say we are lost if we are not baptized.
Then why be baptized? Because of our love for
Jesus and our desire to follow and obey Him.
It is important to understand that the act of
going down into the water does not cleanse nor forgive us.
