Baptism

FAQ's about Baptism at Celebration Church

Inviting Christ into your life is the first step in becoming a Christian.  The next step is baptism.  This pamphlet serves as an introduction to its meaning, practice, and practical implications for our lives.  It answers the most Frequently Asked Questions about this practice of the church.

1.  What is Baptism?

Baptism is the immersion or dipping of a new believer in water by a pastor or other Christian, symbolizing the complete renewal and change in the believer’s life and testifying to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation.  Baptism occurs when a person trusts Christ as Lord and Savior and obeys the command to be submerged in water and raised from it as a picture of the conversion experience that has occurred.  It is a public demonstration and celebration of the new life of a Christian. It is an act

which connects us to Jesus and to other Christians in very special ways.

2.  Why Should I Be Baptized?

A.  To follow the example set by Jesus

“In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” (Mark 1:9)

B.  Because Jesus commands it

“’Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…’” (Matthew 28:19-20)

These were part of His very important last words.

C.  It shows that I’m a believer

“…many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized.” (Acts 18:8)

Baptism follows closely upon declaring faith in Jesus and trusting one’s life to Him.  It is perhaps best compared to a wedding ring;  it’s the outward symbol of an inward commitment.

3.  What Is the Meaning of Baptism?

It is a Sign or Symbol of…

A.  Jesus’ burial and Resurrection

“For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ.” (Colossians 2:12)

Baptism is about joining our lives with Christ.  Going under the water is symbolic of participating in Jesus’ burial, and coming up out of the water is like being a part of His resurrection.

B.  My new life in Christ

“Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4)

It represents a cleansing, a washing away of the old, a fresh start -- not just an improved version of one’s previous way of living, but a fundamental change of being.

C.  New identity and new community

“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26-27)

Baptism is a “rite of initiation” into the church.  As an act of the church, it expresses the community’s acceptance of the one being baptized.  And the community into which that newly baptized person is welcomed is radically inclusive; racial, ethnic, class, economic, gender, age, and all other potentially dividing distinctions are dissolved in the waters of baptism.  We become one with Christ and with one another.

D.  Christian unity

“For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” (1 Corinthians 12:13)

A person is not just baptized into Celebration Church or even into this denomination called the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); we are baptized into, received as  members of, the church universal, the whole church in all times and places and manifestations.

E.  Forgiveness of sins

“’Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven…’” (Acts 2:38)

All that has kept one apart from God, anything in one’s past that one is ashamed or guilty of, is as if it is washed down the drain.  This is a powerful sign of God’s ever-merciful heart toward us.

F.  The gift of the Holy Spirit

“’Repent, and be baptized… and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)

This is not so much about specific gifts of the Spirit like healing or teaching and such, but about a far more precious gift:  the gift of God’s presence, of God’s help and guidance and closeness and comfort.

G.  God’s blessing and gift of grace

“Jesus… was baptized… and a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased.’” (Mark 1:9-11)

Baptism is about being saturated with acceptance from God.

It means you are the “beloved of God.”

4.  How Should I Be Baptized?

by immersion, which means to be totally submerged in or dipped under water

A.  Jesus was apparently baptized this way

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.” (Matthew 3:16)

B.  The earliest Christians were baptized this way

“…Philip and the [man] went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.  When they came up out of the water…” (Acts 8:38-39)

Immersion was the usual practice of the New Testament churches.

C.  It best symbolizes burial and resurrection with Christ

5.  Who Should Be Baptized?

every person who believes in Christ

“But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12)

At Celebration Church we wait until children are old enough to declare faith in Christ for themselves before we baptize them.  While baptism of adult believers by immersion is our practice, we do not require persons who were baptized as infants or who were baptized by sprinkling or pouring to be re-baptized.  We fully recognize the validity of their baptism.  Some people, however, wish to experience immersion baptism as a adult, as a statement of their own decision to live for Christ.

6.  When and How Does Baptism Take Place at Celebration Church?

Whenever possible, baptisms take place as part of the Sunday morning worship service.  Baptism is an event for the whole church, not just for the one being baptized.  It is a time for other members of the congregation to recall and reaffirm their own baptisms as they witness and celebrate the new person’s.

We schedule baptism soon after a person receives Christ as Lord and Savior.  We do not wait for a whole bunch of people to be baptized at once, though that can and does happen.  We encourage people being baptized to invite family and friends to be present for this very important moment in their life.

One of the pastors or leaders will discuss specific procedures with the person to be baptized.

Now, to the final, as well as most important, question…

7.  How Should I Act Once I’m Baptized?

A.  I will live as someone full of joy

“When they came up out of the water… the [man]… went on his way rejoicing.” (Acts 8:39)

Baptism is a joyful act – God’s angels cheer when someone is

      baptized.  Christian life is also joyful.  That doesn’t mean

      that Christians are always happy; it does mean that

      Christians possess an unshakable sense of satisfaction

      that nothing can ultimately keep them down.  Christian

      living ought to reflect that.

Evangelist Billy Sunday (1914):  “The trouble with many men [and women] is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable.  If there is not joy in your religion, you have got a leak in your religion.”

B.  Since baptism is a sign of God forgiving my sin (see 2E), I will forgive others

“…forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Throughout the New Testament, the point is constantly made that our being forgiven by God is intimately linked to our being forgiving of others.  The act of baptism in a sense frees us to forgive others; it begins to wash away the resentments.

C.  I will treat other people as equals in Christ

“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

As we have been welcomed, so we are to welcome others.

We are all brothers and sisters for whom Christ has died and in whom Christ lives.  Whatever differences there may be between us – those were dissolved in the waters of baptism.

D.  I will live a Christ-like life of love and service to others

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:3,5)

This isn’t simply occasional bouts of kindness, but active, ongoing, sacrificial love and service.  If being misunderstood, stretched to the limits, and crucified was the experience of God’s Son with whom God was “well pleased” at his baptism, it seems reasonable to expect that being called to risk ourselves for God would be part of the experience of Jesus’ followers.  As ones who share with Jesus in baptism, we also may be asked to give away our lives in love, to respond to a world in need.

E.  Since baptism is a sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit (see 2F), I will live my life guided by the Spirit.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22,23,25)

Wouldn’t it be wonderful – for each of us personally, for the people we live and work with, for unbelievers who may look to us as their measure of what a Christian is – to fully and consistently exhibit those qualities in our lives?  Of course we don’t get there all at once; most of us don’t get there this side of heaven.  But baptism is the beginning of that amazing journey in company with the Spirit of God.

A child was really eager to get baptized and ran up to the pastor one day and asked, “When can I get advertised?”  That’s what baptism does to a person, calls forth from a believer.   A baptized Christian is meant to be a walking advertisement of the grace of God.  A baptized Christian is expected to act like someone whose act is being cleaned up by God.  A baptized Christian is called upon to get the message of Christ’s love through to others in an appealing and accepting way.  It’s a life-mission that really matters.

8.  What Do I Do Now?

Are you ready to enjoy and live in the incredible power and promise of being blessed by God in baptism?  Get in touch with Pastor Marc in person, by phone at 636-970-6646, or by e-mail to Marc Runyon.