Having been buried with him in Baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead; (Colossians 2:12 NIV).
“Being baptized is an outward expression of an inward confession.” – Jeanie Shepard
Water Baptism is the biblical method used in baptizing. Having been buried with Him when you were baptized, you were circumcised. Baptism is regarded as the burial of the old carnal life. Water submersion represents death to sin, and emerging from the water represents the cleansed holy life that follows salvation; (Romans 6:4). Baptism is an outward testimony of an inward change in the believer’s life. Being buried with Christ in baptism, we are circumcised in Him spiritually, and the sins of the flesh are put off and removed from us; as in an allusion of the cutting off, and casting away of the foreskin in circumcision.
At the river, pool, or baptistery, we let ourselves be completely immersed in the water. This symbolizes burial with our Lord; we are baptized into His death on the cross and are no longer slaves to self or sin; (Romans 6:3-7).
When we are raised out of the water, we are symbolically resurrected, raised to our new life in Christ to be with Him forever, born into the family of our loving God; (Romans 8:16).
Being baptized is not a pre-requisite for salvation, although there are many born again believers who choose to follow Christ’ example given in Matthew 3:7. As the Ethiopian eunuch expressed, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”; (Acts 8:26-39).
Before we are baptized, we must come to believe that we are sinners in the need of salvation (Romans 3:23). We must also believe that Christ died on the cross to atone for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was resurrected to assure our place in heaven (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). We then turn to Jesus, asking Him to forgive our sins and to be our Lord and Savior; and the moment we do this we are born again, our eternal salvation is guaranteed. At this time we are qualified to be scripturally baptized.
Now I ask you, “What’s standing in your way of being baptized?”
Picture Credit: Pic. #2: Title: “The Baptism” by Christina Ramos
Jeanie Martin Ministries 