Water Baptism

After the new birth,  the Lord expects us to be able to walk in newness of life and testify of this to the whole world so that our salvation will be perfect. And if we are proud to belong to Jesus, we must commit ourselves totally to following him.  And this commitment only becomes effective when we pass through the waters of baptism.

WHAT DOES BAPTISM MEAN?

The word baptism comes from the Greek word “BAPTIZO” which itself comes from BAPTO, which means to immerse in water, or to dye, BAPTIZOmeans to immerse, sink or bury, as to submerge or in a shipwreck, to immerse, as to bathe or to dye a garment in a other color.

It is an institution of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the first sign that Jesus instituted and practiced when, at the beginning of his ministry, he made his first disciples.

WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

Water baptism by immersion corresponds to a spiritual experience, of which it is the visible element. Going down into the water and coming out of the water is a sign of the spiritual reality of a new life. It expresses a death and resurrection, the burial of the crucified sinner with Christ, and the birth of the regenerated man. It indicates the break with the past and sin and the entry into the new sphere of faith and life in Christ.  Colossians 2:12.

Rom.6.3/4: buried with him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also might walk in newness of life.

It is the symbol of your death to your former sinful life to be reborn now and live with Christ, that is, to live the life of Christ from now on.

• Water baptism is the appropriate and righteous act of obedience on the part of one who says he believes. Matthew 3.15 Jesus himself coming to the Jordan to be baptized by John the Baptist, gives us the example of the obedience of faith. In a personal and responsible commitment, he wanted to show that in all things, he made himself obedient to his Father.
• Water Baptism is the concretization of our decision to follow Jesus... it is the visible and tangible act of our decision with regard to the Lord, an act of obedience to his word. (For faith without works is dead. James 2.14 to 26)
• It is the commitment of a good conscience towards God

This water was a figure of baptism, which is not the cleansing of the filthiness of the body, but the commitment of a good conscience to God, and which now saves you also through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Peter 3:21

This means that through baptism, you demonstrate your commitment to truly serve God, you tell the Lord that you are truly committed to following him, this must be done when we are conscious, this brings us to the question who should be baptized? Is the baby already conscious to be baptized?

WHO CAN BE BAPTIZED?

Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and is aware of their commitment to Christ can be baptized.  For this reason, the baptism of babies is not Biblical, since they are not yet conscious. 1 Peter 3:21

So if you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you need to get baptized! Let's read Mark 16:16, the Lord says here, He who believes and is baptized will be saved!

WHAT DOES IT NEED TO BE BAPTIZED IN WATER?

To receive water baptism, one must have faith in Jesus Christ, be in a spirit of repentance, be convicted of sin and be conscious of one's commitment to God.Acts 2:38

Acts 8:12 When they believed Philip, who preached to them the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

Faith is essential to be baptized.… It is the motivation for baptism. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, Jesus said. Mark 16.16

It is true that in some churches, Christians are required to take baptism courses before accepting them for Baptism, which is useful and important but not necessarily obligatory for someone who, after hearing the good news, believes in Jesus Christ and is convinced to baptize himself like the Ethiopian eunuch who was baptized by the deacon Philippe a few hours after accepting Jesus. Acts 8:26-40

HOW IS WATER BAPTISM DONE?

The word BAPTISM comes from the Greek “baptizo” which means IMMERSE.

- It is done by total immersion of the body in water including the head, hence the definition in Greek.
- It can be done in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), or in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Water Baptism is a command of the Lord Jesus: Make disciples, baptizing them…Matt.28.20

To designate those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and his Word, today we use the word "Christians" which in reality means "little Christs" that is to say "disciples of Christ", those who follow the teachings of Christ and strive to resemble him. (Act.11.26)

Beloved, sprinkling is not baptism, if we say that we are Christians that is to say like Christ, then we must do as he did, let us look at his baptism in Matthew 3:16,  John the Baptist was guided by the Holy Spirit to establish the way of baptizing as it appears in this scripture: "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went out water..."

In Greek, to baptize means "to immerse" or "to plunge", NOT TO SPRAY!

Let's also read ACTS 8:36-38"...Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and Philip baptized the eunuch." 

There is no sprinkling in this text. Sprinkling is a man-made teaching and has no biblical basis.

IS WATER BAPTISM OBLIGATORY FOR A CHRISTIAN?

YES: Baptism is first and foremost a recommendation from the Lord, it is an act of fidelity, submission and consecration to Jesus.  It is also a demonstration of our love and our belonging to Jesus. It is part of the Salvation process. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:16

As the bride demonstrates her love and the conviction of her choice to her fiancé by committing herself to marriage, so we demonstrate our belonging, our love and our faith in Jesus by baptizing ourselves. 

Others will take the case of the criminal at the cross Luke 23:43, who was saved just after accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, to say that baptism is not an obligation. 
I will tell them that if you can baptize and you don't, you are sinning against God and you are in disobedience and do not yet officially belong to the bodies of Christ. Our Lord Jesus himself was baptized to show us the model to follow and to show us the importance of baptism in faith.

If we say that we love Jesus and that we have chosen him for life, why do we not baptize ourselves to concretize and demonstrate our faith in Jesus before God and his angels, Satan and his army and before men?