Understanding the Significance of Baptism in Faith

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We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the lord by which those who have repented and come to faith express their union with Christ in his death and resurrection by being immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of belonging to the new people of God, the true Israel, and an emblem of burial and cleansing signifying death to the old life of unbelief and purification from the pollution of sin. [00:56:39]

Go therefore and make disciples Jesus said of all nations baptizing them so Jesus told us to do this until he comes back because he keeps going and says baptizing them in the name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and lo I am with you always to the end of the age so as long as this age exists before Jesus comes back again we are to be making disciples for him by teaching what he's taught us and baptizing them in the process. [02:22:00]

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ so you hear the idea of unity there baptized into Christ were baptized into his death we were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we too might walk in newness of life. [03:11:20]

Faith unites us to Christ baptism portrays the union with Christ an analogy would be saying something like this when you're when you're standing before the pastor getting married and you say with this ring I the wed what do you mean when you say that when we say that we we don't mean that the ring putting on the ring creates the marriage makes us married no no no it shows the covenant it symbolizes the covenant but the covenant the actual marriage moment and event and union was the covenant vows that we made to each other in marriage that would be a comparison of the vows being faith in Christ and the putting on the ring being baptism. [04:33:60]

When we trust in Christ his death counts as our death his resurrection counts as our resurrection and then in baptism we dramatically portray what happened spiritually when we received Christ our old self of unbelief and rebellion and idolatry died and our new identity a person of faith and submission and treasuring Christ came into being all of that through faith and that's what we confess and that's what we symbolize when we go down into the water as though we were being buried with Christ and come up out. [05:36:96]

I believe that we should immerse people in water baptism is an immersion as opposed to sprinkling water on the head Romans 6 is my reason for that and there are others it describes the portrayal of death and burial and resurrection through going down into water as into a grave and then coming back up out so we were buried therefore with him by baptism Romans 6 3 in order that as Christ was raised from the dead we might walk in newness of life. [06:38:40]

The word baptizo baptized in Greek means dip or immerse it means that it doesn't mean sprinkle them and most scholars agree that this is the way the early church did practice baptism and and sprinkling came in later maybe because it was hard to find enough water or gather it in a place for it and there are other pointers to the fact that immersion was the way they did it for example the Ethiopian eunuch in acts chapter 8 verse 38 when he became a Christian while he was traveling back and talking with Philip it says they went down into the water to be baptized. [07:28:40]

Baptism means doing this immersing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit Matthew 28 19 go make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit this means that not just any immersing is baptism like diving into a swimming pool is not baptist there is a holy appeal to God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit to be present in this act and make the portrayal true and real in what it says about the work of redemption. [08:37:20]

Baptism is an expression of faith and therefore only for believers which is why we don't baptize infants we're not able to believe and let me just give you one verse for why you should seriously consider the fact that it's only for believers and that it is an expression of faith when I was in Germany studying with nothing but Lutherans all my classes I was the only baptist in study of the university of Munich and we went away on a retreat and talked about baptism and they all turned to me and said so why don't you baptize babies and I took them to Colossians 2 12. [09:43:60]

Baptism is very important it was uncompromisingly commanded and ordained by the Lord Jesus until he comes it was universally practiced and administered by Christians in the early church and has been all through the centuries Paul took it for granted there are no unbaptized Christians in the New Testament and it was uniquely connected to conversion as an unrepeatable expression of saving faith we're only justified once we only die and are united to Christ once and permanently. [11:33:60]

It was closely connected to being a member of a local church in the mind of the apostles to be united to Christ by faith through baptism was to be united to the body of Christ and local churches are the manifestations of the universal body of Christ to be a Christian therefore is to belong to a local church it's right and fitting that you belong to a church baptism wasn't a fun climax to beach evangelism with everybody going their separate ways with no reference to the church. [12:17:00]

Baptism was a sacred expression of faith a faith that unites you to Christ and his people a particular people in a particular church where you can be nurtured and held accountable as the New Testament teaches. [12:57:20]

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