On Sunday at church, we had a baptism. It is always a special time of celebration when people take this stand for Jesus, and make a public profession of their faith in Him.
Our church practices “believer’s baptism by immersion,” which means the people getting baptized must first believe in Jesus as their personal Saviour. We baptize them by placing them fully under the water, as baptism is a dramatization of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
In my sermon on Sunday, I noted that we Baptists emphasize the “immersion” mode of baptism, but there is something more important than going under the water, and that is coming back up!
How tragic our baptisms would be if going into the water was not immediately followed by coming out of the water. Likewise, how tragic the death of Jesus would have been if His burial was not followed by His resurrection.
The Bible says, “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
Our hope is in our risen Saviour. Because He died, we can be forgiven, and because He lives, we can live forever with the Lord.
To get baptized is to declare to the world, “I now belong to Jesus, who has washed away my sins. My old life has gone; my new life has begun.” Our faith in Jesus is what makes it a beautiful baptism.
Pastor Kent Babbey
Blenheim Baptist Church