Every Christian has to be baptized, this was emphasized much before the birth of Jesus Christ by John the Baptist who declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near”, and baptizing people in the Jordan River (Matthew 3).
Baptism is very important for us in these times when the gospel is being diluted and wrong or false doctrines are being preached all across the country and the world.
Here are 5 reasons why Christian must be baptized:
1. Making a public confession of faith in Jesus Christ
We are privileged to be Christians in America where there is hardly any persecution but we have brothers and sisters in other parts of the world who are being killed daily because of being followers of Christ. We should support and encourage them through baptism because when we are baptized, we declare publicly that we have decided to follow Jesus. We are encouraging others and reassuring them that they are not alone.
2. Jesus Christ was baptized
Our role model Jesus Christ took baptism, Mark 1:9 states, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.” If baptism was good enough for Jesus, then we as His followers should follow Him by being baptized as well.
3. Through death and rising again
Through baptism, we die symbolically to ourselves and are resurrected as new follower of Jesus Christ. Baptism gives us the opportunity to throw off the old self and put on the new. It is written in Romans 6, “Or are you ignorant that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so also we might walk in newness of life. For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”
4. We receive forgiveness of sin
After we repent and are forgiven by Jesus Christ of all our sins, the symbolic ritual of baptism illustrates it as we leave our old selves in the water and come out new, cleansed, and completely renewed in Christ. Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
5. The word of God commands us to be baptized
The Bible tells us that every Christian has to be baptized, Matthew 28:18-20 reads, “Jesus said, ‘Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’”
If you are still yet to be baptized then I encourage you to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider speaking to your pastor about how you can take baptism.