Baptism

What is Baptism?

Baptism is a public profession of your faith in Jesus Christ. It is about "going public" with your faith, and it is the next step after you have been saved.

"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 6:4

Baptism literally means to "dip under water." It carries the picture of clothing being dipped or immersed into a dye. A cloth is dipped into a vat long enough to soak in the color of the dye. Once this process is done the cloth is pulled out of the vat now resembling the color of the dye.

When Jesus died on the cross, His blood was shed for mankind. His blood cleansed sin's curse. Baptism is a symbol demonstrating that a believer in Jesus has been buried in Christ, raised to a new life in Him, and desires to grow to become more like Him.

Our goal is to identify and be like Christ, hence, baptism by definition and by illustration is for a believer to be immersed into a body of water as a public profession of one's faith.

What if I was Baptized as an Infant?

Some churches baptize infants. At NorthRidge, we don't. We only baptize those who have made a decision to believe in Christ's death as a payment for their sin. In the Bible, men and women were baptized following their belief in Jesus. Whether you were baptized as a baby or not, it is a matter of obedience to be baptized after you have come to saving faith in Jesus.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

When a believer in Jesus Christ gets baptized, he is proclaiming a commitment to follow Jesus as Lord. It demonstrates a washing away and repentance from sin. Baptism is a sign to others that one's allegiance is pledged to God, not self. It identifies one with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.

A believer does this in order to take on the likeness and attitude of Jesus - just like dye colored garments. When one is baptized he is choosing to take on the character traits of Jesus.

Key Point

Baptism does not make you a believer, it demonstrates that you already believe.

It is important to understand that baptism does not "save" you. You are saved only by your faith in Jesus.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith...and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God...not by works, that that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

Who is baptism for?

Baptism is for those who have already made a decision to follow Jesus and have accepted His offer of eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Baptism is for those, who by choice, have decided to follow the example of Jesus and be submitted to His Lordship in every area of their life.

When should I be baptized?

As soon as you have decided to receive Christ into your life, and when you understand what baptism is and what it demonstrates, you can and should be baptized. There is no reason to delay. If you wait until you are "perfect" you will never be ready.

"Those who accepted his message were baptized...that day." Acts 2:41

"Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they were traveling along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, 'Lord, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.'" Acts 8:35–38