Baptism

1.Who is Baptism for?

In the bible baptism follows repentance and faith.

Acts 2:38-39

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”

Mark 16:15-16

15 And then he (Jesus) told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptised will be saved.

In the Bible it always follows this pattern - repentance & faith always come before baptism.

So baptism is for the person who has become a Christian.

Is there an age limit?

No, there is no qualifying lower or upper age limit, providing the person has repented and expressed faith in Jesus.

Babies should not be baptised as they can’t personally demonstrate their repentance and faith in Jesus. At Trinity we usually recommend children wait until they are teenagers, but anyone keen to be baptised is spoken to and if the leadership of the church and the parents of the child are all in agreement that the child understands what they are doing, we will baptise children a little younger than 13.

2. How do we Baptise?

The Greek word for baptise is ‘baptizo’ which means “to dip; to immerse; to submerge”.

In the New Testament believers were immersed in water.

So when John the Baptist was baptising he deliberately chose somewhere with plenty of water.

John 3:23

23 At this time John the Baptist was baptising at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism.

Jesus was also baptised by going into the River Jordan Mark 1:9-11

9 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptised him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

At Trinity we usually baptise people by taking their whole body under the water and then up again. This might take place in the sea or in a small pool at church.

3. What does Baptism mean?

It is kind of like a Christian’s funeral service.

Romans 6:3-4

3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Baptism symbolises something that has already happened to you.

When you become a Christian you are placed (or immersed) into Christ, so you have therefore taken part in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection to new life.

So baptism in water symbolises this baptism into Christ:

i) Going down into the water symbolises that our old life of sin has died. The power of sin is broken in my life.

ii) Being under the water symbolises that just as Jesus was buried in the tomb, so my old life has been buried in the water.

iii) When you are lifted out of the water, you are saying that just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God, so now you are living a new life by the power of God.

Baptism is an outward sign that your sins have been forgiven, forgotten, and that you now have a new life as a Christian.

Why did Jesus need to be baptised?

Jesus was baptised by John, but He had no sin to be forgiven.

Jesus wanted to identify with us (sinners/humanity), so when he was baptised he was acting out his own death and resurrection. It was like a prophetic act pointing to what he was going to do.

You aren’t saved by being baptised

Baptism doesn’t save you. You get baptised once you are saved. It is a demonstration to the world that you have put your faith in Jesus. You are not saved by anything you do. Your salvation is all a demonstration of God’s grace. However, there is something spiritually significant about your baptism, and for many, it is a very special moment.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

You get to join God’s family and be part of the the body of Christ

Becoming a Christian and being saved means you have been adopted into God’s family, His church.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptised into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

4. Is Baptism optional?

Does Jesus want new Christians to be baptised?

Matthew 28:18-20

18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

He is calling His disciples to obey His teaching – and the first step of obedience is baptism.

Jesus identified with us in baptism – He has done it – and so He now calls for you to identify with Him and openly confess our faith in this way.

The Church continued to follow what Jesus taught.

Acts 10:47-48

Then Peter asked, 47 “Can anyone object to their being baptised, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” 48 So he gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.

So we shouldn’t spend lots of time making up our minds about this. If we have declared with our mouths that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead - We will be saved, and therefore we should get baptised.

You don’t have to wait until you think you know everything about the Bible. If that was the case, not many would get baptised. It is not the end of the journey - it is the start of a new exciting journey of Faith with Jesus.

In the New Testament there was no delay in being baptised!

And finally – because baptism is a confession of faith in Christ, it should not therefore be done in secret but as a witness to the world.

You are saying Jesus is Lord of my life and I am now following Him.

5. Preparing for Baptism

If you declare that Jesus is Lord and believe he rose from the dead by the power of God, then follow these steps:

Step 1 Read this booklet and speak to one of the leaders about getting baptised.

Step 2 Sign up to get baptised at the next available opportunity

Step 3 Prepare a short testimony to share with the church

It could include:

What was your life like before you became a Christian?
How you became a Christian - People often have very different experiences (and that;s OK).
Have you noticed anything change since becoming a Christian?
Declare that Jesus is Lord of your life

Step 4 Prepare what you are going to wear for your baptism.

Most people wear a swimming costume and then wear shorts and a T Shirt over their costumes. Don’t forget to bring a towel and a change of clothes.

Step 5 Invite friends and family to your baptism.

Step 6 Your baptism is a special event and so give yourself some time to pray during the days leading up to the moment as

you prepare to publicly declare that Jesus is Lord of your life.

6. What about Baptism in the Holy Spirit?

In the book of Acts, many times when people put their faith in Jesus and got baptised in water, they also received a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Have a look at the following passages and answer these questions.

Bible Passages: Acts 2:38-39, Acts 8:4-25, Acts 9:1-19, Acts 10:1-48, Acts 19:1-7

Questions:

Were hands laid on those who received the Holy Spirit?

Did they get baptised in water?

Did they speak in a new language (tongues)?

Any other things to note?

Was there an order to these things happening? E.g. Water Baptism, Filled with the Spirit, Speaking in tongues?

What have you noticed?

When we baptise people at Trinity we will also pray that they are filled with the Holy Spirit.

FAQs

1. Is it for anyone? It is for anyone who believes in Christ.

2. How do we baptise people in Trinity?

We ask those being baptised the following questions so we know they are Christ-followers:

Have you turned from your sin and put your faith in Jesus?
Do you believe He died for you and rose again?
Is Jesus your Lord and Saviour?

If it is a ‘yes’ for these questions, then we would baptise you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, by brieﬂy laying you backwards into the water. Your head is only under the water for about one second and you can hold your nose if you want to. It is a great time of celebration which is shared with the church family. Often people being baptised invite their family and friends to witness this special event. I would encourage you to ask people to take photos and video for you.

3. Do we baptise infants? No. We believe the Bible makes it clear that you personally respond to the gospel and then you are baptised.

4. Do I become a Christian when I get baptised? No, you believe ﬁrst and then get baptised. Baptism does not make you a believer.

5. What about sprinkling with water? The word Baptism means immersion. John 3:23 – John needed plenty of water in order to baptise. Our usual practice is to place your whole body under the water when you are baptised. If you are scared of going under the water, please let us know and we can talk about how best to help you be baptised.

6. Do we re-baptise? In order to be baptised according to the Bible, you would ﬁrst believe in Christ and then be baptised. If you were sprinkled with water during a christening ceremony, you were too young to have a knowing relationship with God or to make a confession of faith. We would recommend you be baptised again as a Christian who is able to make a confession of faith and be fully submerged in water. If you have been baptised according to Scripture, but have had a period of your life where you were not walking with God and you want to recommit to a relationship with Him, then you do not need to be re-baptised.

7. What if I got baptised at my previous church?

If you were baptised at another church we don’t need to re-baptise you here at Trinity.

8. What if I have sinned? Baptism does not cleanse you from your sin; Jesus does and has done it already on the cross. Repent and confess your sins to Him and receive His forgiveness. God’s grace is sufﬁcient, do not let sin stop you from taking this powerful step in your faith journey.

9. What if I got baptised before I became a believer? We would recommend you get baptised again into the Trinitsrian God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), because you were not a believer in Christ then.