Water kills germs not your sins
I grew up in a strong, sound, and vibrant Baptist church. Baptists are big on Baptism. so as a child when the conviction came hot and heavy I knew what time it was. It was time to repent and get baptized.
The issue I found though was I found myself asking Jesus to save me and then getting baptized over and over. I just could not get rid of the conviction no matter how many times I asked for forgiveness, walked the church aisle, and got baptized.
so finally one day I decided to do something about this endless cycle. I got down on my knees and simply told God that I was going to Believe that what Jesus did on the cross to obtain my salvation was enough. And at that moment I experienced peace like never before.
After having this conversation with God the Lord convicted me about my need to get baptized for real. For I had just allowed God to save me.
So after much struggling, I swallowed my pride and followed through in obedience. This time when I was baptized it wasn’t just a bath but a symbolic picture of what Christ had already done in my heart.
I am not sure where you are at in your walk with God but you don’t have to make the same mistake that I did. Getting the order of your salvation and baptism can make all the difference in the world.
Reminding ourselves of the beautiful truth baptism represents can also help us to remember where our hope lies. so read on to discover how to get it right the first time or to rediscover where your hope lies.
what you don't see on Baptism sunday
Baptism Sunday is usually one of the happiest Sundays of the year. It’s all about the celebration. That is the fun part. We don’t see the long difficult conversations.
The tears of repentance when they finally broke down and surrendered their old ways to God. That is a difficult decision. A decision that takes a lot of work.
In order for us to have peace after our baptism, we have to do the hard work also. We have to take care of our salvation before we ever get into that baptistry.
Then and only then will we find peace while being baptized. This means that we have to admit that we are sinner.
Believe that Jesus the Son of God paid for our sins on the cross and that it was enough for our salvation. And finally, repent and let Him be in charge of our lives.
Only then can we proceed to tell the church our good news and it actually be the truth. Does this mean that we will never sin again? It does not mean that. What it does mean is that we are God’s child whom He will be continually making us look more and more like Jesus. Think about your child.
when they became a teenager and were crazy did you just get rid of them? God treats us the same way.
Baptism is very similar to graduation day. If we don’t make the grades and pass the classes then walking across the stage is just walking on a stage.
But if we completed the requirements then it is a symbolic act of walking across the stage into the next stage of our lives. Without completing the task of having faith in what Jesus did on the cross baptism is just a warm bath.
A warm bath that leaves our hearts looking for lasting peace. So let us make the choice to trust Jesus for our salvation and then follow through with Baptism. so why baptism? what is the meaning behind getting baptized.
The moving picture behind baptism.
Baptism isn’t just something that we do because that is what people have done for centuries. But it is an act of obedience that portrays to the world the beautiful truth of the good news.
The apostle Paul explained this well in Romans 6:4. Baptism is an outward representation of what has already happened on the inside. God punished our sins on the cross. So we can have peace with God because our sins were finally dealt with through the wrath poured out on a Roman cross by a Holy God.
After enduring the cross Jesus was buried in a tomb. This is why when we are baptized we are completely submerged underneath the water. It is a picture that our sins were dealt with on the cross and put to rest in the grave.
I find it comforting that God buried and left my sins in the tomb as dealt with because of my faith in Him. Just like Jesus completely forgives us from all sins the water covers all our bodies. There is no sin that is not covered and forgiven through Jesus.
That is the best news ever. But it continues to get even better. You probably have seen the smile on people’s faces when they come up out of the water. that smile is brought to you by a new life.
Coming up out of the water is a picture of how Jesus rose from the dead and has given us a new life of salvation. That we belong to Him now and have an eternal home in heaven.
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