Baptism- MINE! :)

After years of waiting I finally took the plunge and got baptised today! It was such an awesome experience. It was exactly the way I had always yearned for….like a dream come true!

So I thought I would share a few notes on baptism that our pastor shared with me (and some of my additions), as well as a brief testimony, since really this was a big part of what I got to share today.

Firstly, who may be baptised?
Believers!
- Those who have heard and believed the gospel.
Mark 16:15,16 ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned’.
Acts 2:41 ‘Those who accepted his message were baptised…’.
- Those who have received the Holy Spirit.
Acts 10:44-47 ‘ 44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues[a] and praising God. Then Peter said, 47"Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."
- Those whose lives demonstrate repentance
Matt 3:7,8 ‘7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.’
Acts 2:38 ‘38Peter replied, "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.’

Why should Christians be baptised?
-Not for salvation. The NT clearly states that salvation depends upon repentance and faith alone. Eph 2:8-9 '8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast’
- Because Jesus commanded it in the great commission. Matt 28:19 ‘19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,’
- Because the early church practiced it. Acts 9:18 ‘18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,’ (along with many other references…Acts 8:12, 38; 10:48; 16:15,33; 18:8).
Paul even took it for granted. 1 Cor 1:13 ‘ 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into[a] the name of Paul?’.
- Because it is a public testimony that we are Christians. An outward expression of our inward!

Why baptise by immersion?
- It seems like it was the method used in the NT church. Immersion was certainly the method used in Judaism and we understand baptism in the early church to have been patterned on this practice.
- Because the word ‘baptizo’ means to immerse. For example, someone dying cloth would ‘baptizo’ the cloth in the dye. It would be very hard to dye the whole cloth if only a small part of it was dipped in the water.
- Because the NT references to baptism imply immersion. Matt 3:16 ‘16As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him’. Acts 8:38 ‘38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him’.

Objections to Baptism
“I am not a Baptist”. Neither were the people spoken of in the book of Acts. It’s something for all Christians, not just those of a particular denomination.

“I have been baptised as an infant”. Many churches have ceremonies involving infants. Dedication is basically a ceremony for parents. Christening is a naming ceremony. Infant baptism is argued for on the basis of the baptism of households (Acts 11:14; 16:15,33). However, the NT always links baptism with hearing the gospel, understanding the gospel, repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. There are no direct references to infant baptism in the NT.

“The baptism of the Holy Spirit has superseded believers baptism”. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is when we are immersed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit when we repent and believe. This happened to all the NT believers also and they were subsequently baptised in water.

“I wont be able to live up to it”. It’s a statement of what has happened inside, not a vow of perfection.

Our pastor met with me to go through all these things, among others. I have wanted to get baptised for about 8 years, and have never quite found a pastor wanting to sit down and seriously discuss this with me, and make an extensive study. I am thankful, so very thankful for our church and our pastor (Earle McKay).

I got baptised with 2 other people this morning. One was a young man, 17 years old, who grew up in a Christian family at the church. He was saved at a young age and grew up knowing Christ, heavily involved in all aspects of church worship & service. He realised there was a time that it was too easy for him to just ‘go through the motions’. That there was a definite turning point where he wanted to get serious about Gods purpose in his life. While he didn’t have a ‘road to Damascus conversion’, his testimony was so special for me to hear.

The other lady was in her 60’s. She grew up going to church in England after WW2. She had always used God like an “ice pack”. There when she needed Him, and when she was done “using” Him, put him back in the freezer to be ignored. Her sister had been saved for quite some time and would always speak of Gods love and grace. She had a peace and a joy that this lady longed to have. About 8 years ago she realised she needed God and walked into our church. For the first time in all her life of attending different churches when she needed something, she felt comfortable and at home. She began going to bible studies and actually reading the scriptures for the first time. And she now loves the Lord. This woman has been such an encouragement to me with her spiritual wisdom and it was a great blessing to be baptised today with her.

The first time I was asked to give my ‘testimony’ I looked blankly at the people that were asking. As a brand new Christian, the word sounded like a foreign lingo to me, I was ignorant of not only God’s word but of the meaning of all the big, ‘scary’ sounding words that run in Christian circles…testimony, repentance, salvation, redemption, sanctification…they sounded so intimidating.

I did know about one word though. I knew about sin. I was raised in a secular home, and by the time I was 18 I was literally drowning in sin. I don’t need to go through my life story, but I was depraved and living a very dangerous life. Through a friend, I ended up talking to Jack (now my husband) online every now and then. His roommate described him as weird, he never partied, never got drunk, read his bible daily. I would make fun of Jack in my own way, I was “too intelligent” to believe in the Bible and I actually had never encountered anyone with the genuine kindness Jack displayed. It took me a long time to accept that he was actually that ‘nice’, that kind, that caring…about a stranger. Over time as I spoke to Jack more I began to take our conversations about God seriously. With Jacks prompting and my own research I found out that the bible was a ‘valid document’ and Jesus Christ was an historical figure. I began asking more questions and Jack would always point me to the scriptures. Over time I realised that I desperately needed God, but unwilling to make changes in my life, I continued to try and find pleasure in the things of the world. But the harder I tried, the less satisfied I felt. I found no contentment, just restlessness. You know those cartoons with the good little angel that sits on one shoulder? I had a case of that, really bad. And one night I realised that I was not going to escape from God. That he loved me too much to let me go. The Holy Spirit had convicted me of my sin, of Christs work on the cross, of Gods grace, of his love for me however unworthy I felt. And so I asked him to take over my life. Jack gave me a verse with the task of finding out which passage it was. It was Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths”. I searched through the book of Proverbs in the old bible I had, and I couldn’t find it. So I borrowed a neighbours bible and I couldn’t find it. Finally I googled it, only to find that I had read it several times, along with the entire book of Proverbs…its just that there were slight variations in the text with different bible translations. I was that ignorant of the Bible, of Gods Word, of everything. This is a serious blow to someone who had always been considered successful by worldly standards. I recall ringing up a Christian girl I went to high school with and telling her that I thought I was saved. Im sad to say that because of who I was before, she just couldn’t instantly accept my ‘conversion’. And those who knew me best refused to accept it either, expecting me to be the same “fun” person I had always been. I split with my boyfriend, I was miserable at work and felt inwardly unhappy around my friends. Being very discouraged, not knowing any other Christians, being intimidated by churches, and having friends who thought it was all a big joke I was playing…I was encouraged to go travelling which is when I ended up heading over to meet Jack. A whole other story…which yes, eventuated in one of those weird “we met on the internet” marriages but the last 7 years have been amazing!

In the last 8 years (well, more when I look back) God has shown himself to me in amazing ways. He has given me great joy in times of unhappiness. He has given me peace in times that are chaotic. He has given me hope and comfort, when all seems lost to those who don’t know him. While Im no theologian, I now have just a small understanding of those big words that sounded so intimidating when I started my Christian walk. Repentance- realising my sin, desiring to change and turning to Christ for forgiveness and change. Salvation- being saved from spiritual death by grace through faith; Redemption- Christ fully paying the ransom on the cross for my sin, so that I can be delivered from sin and reconciled with God; Sanctification- being set apart, letting the Holy Spirit work in me to conquer sin, and transform me to be used for Gods purpose and plan. And testimony- what I have just shared with you.

I wish I could end with my favourite verse. I simply have far too many to choose just one. But I love this one, Lamentations 3 :21-24
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."