"And Peter said to them, '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" (Acts 2:38, ESV).
NOTE: I AM NOT IMPLYING THAT SALVATION IS A REQUIREMENT FOR SALVATION BUT IF ONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY AND DOESN'T DO IT, IT IS A SIN OF OMISSION.
Jesus was baptized with the baptism of John to inaugurate His public ministry, and when asked why: "To fulfill all righteousness!" We are to follow in His steps. John's baptism belonged to the Old Testament and was one of preparation for the kingdom of God. Jesus 'ministry commenced at this time of ordination and He officially became the Christ, being anointed. Christ was relating to us, as well as condescending, as an example. We are subsequently commanded to follow suit and do as commanded: to be baptized ourselves as a public testimony of our salvation.
By the way, Jesus never gave suggestions or good advice, but commands or mandates; we are commanded to be baptized in the Great Commission, and it is not an option or a suggestion! Jesus never mandated anything He didn't do! The symbolism alone is enough to make one desire baptism, to be a witness to the community of believers that you are not ashamed to own your Lord and follow in His steps. We should yearn to relate to Christ and be like Him.
In baptism, we declare our allegiance to Christ and are saying that He is Lord of all! That is, we are no longer secret disciples, but can openly confess His name as it is written in Romans 10:10 that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
One main draw of baptism in the early church was to put a slap on the face of the emperor, who fancied himself a god, but they were saying their new loyalty oath as, "Jesus alone is Lord!" They were committing treason by refusing to say the Roman loyalty oath: "Caesar is Lord." This opened the door to persecution from Rome.
We must understand that the mere act of baptism doesn't save (Some believe it's the instrumental means of salvation is baptism, while others believe it is faith), but baptism is only an outward sign of an inward reality: "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21, ESV). It's like saying that your house saved you from the tornado because it took the brunt of the damage. Or you could say, "This verse saved me!" meaning it woke you up spiritually.
Actually, there is only one Savior to be reckoned: "... [You] know no God but me, and besides me, there is no savior'" (Hos. 13:4, ESV). God alone is the Savior and will not give His glory to anyone else: That's why we say, "Soli Deo Gloria!" which, being is interpreted as, "To God alone be the glory!" Baptism, as an ordinance commanded by Christ, therefore, is symbolism using water to represent spiritual realities.
We should desire to share our faith and to make a public testimony real to our family of believers in order to feel part of the fellowship. We share in Christ's righteousness or "all righteousness." Baptism is a wonderful opportunity to make our faith known and show that we are not ashamed of Jesus. We don't merely do it legalistically because we "have to," but we should have a change of heart that makes us "want to" do it in following our Lord's good example. It isn't one more hurdle to jump through for our salvation to be deemed legit!
Jesus needed no baptism and John demurred, but did it as our Exemplar to show us the way and give us an open door to testify publicly. So hearing the testimony of others, how they came to know the Lord, gives us encouragement and helps us to see how people get saved in various ways, that there is no one-size-fits-all methodology. Faith is the only commonality, and that faith must be tested, as this first step is also a test of our obedience to the Lord (if we love Him we will obey Him!). Soli Deo Gloria!
Jesus was baptized with the baptism of John to inaugurate His public ministry, and when asked why: "To fulfill all righteousness!" We are to follow in His steps. John's baptism belonged to the Old Testament and was one of preparation for the kingdom of God. Jesus 'ministry commenced at this time of ordination and He officially became the Christ, being anointed. Christ was relating to us, as well as condescending, as an example. We are subsequently commanded to follow suit and do as commanded: to be baptized ourselves as a public testimony of our salvation.
By the way, Jesus never gave suggestions or good advice, but commands or mandates; we are commanded to be baptized in the Great Commission, and it is not an option or a suggestion! Jesus never mandated anything He didn't do! The symbolism alone is enough to make one desire baptism, to be a witness to the community of believers that you are not ashamed to own your Lord and follow in His steps. We should yearn to relate to Christ and be like Him.
In baptism, we declare our allegiance to Christ and are saying that He is Lord of all! That is, we are no longer secret disciples, but can openly confess His name as it is written in Romans 10:10 that with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
One main draw of baptism in the early church was to put a slap on the face of the emperor, who fancied himself a god, but they were saying their new loyalty oath as, "Jesus alone is Lord!" They were committing treason by refusing to say the Roman loyalty oath: "Caesar is Lord." This opened the door to persecution from Rome.
We must understand that the mere act of baptism doesn't save (Some believe it's the instrumental means of salvation is baptism, while others believe it is faith), but baptism is only an outward sign of an inward reality: "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21, ESV). It's like saying that your house saved you from the tornado because it took the brunt of the damage. Or you could say, "This verse saved me!" meaning it woke you up spiritually.
Actually, there is only one Savior to be reckoned: "... [You] know no God but me, and besides me, there is no savior'" (Hos. 13:4, ESV). God alone is the Savior and will not give His glory to anyone else: That's why we say, "Soli Deo Gloria!" which, being is interpreted as, "To God alone be the glory!" Baptism, as an ordinance commanded by Christ, therefore, is symbolism using water to represent spiritual realities.
We should desire to share our faith and to make a public testimony real to our family of believers in order to feel part of the fellowship. We share in Christ's righteousness or "all righteousness." Baptism is a wonderful opportunity to make our faith known and show that we are not ashamed of Jesus. We don't merely do it legalistically because we "have to," but we should have a change of heart that makes us "want to" do it in following our Lord's good example. It isn't one more hurdle to jump through for our salvation to be deemed legit!
Jesus needed no baptism and John demurred, but did it as our Exemplar to show us the way and give us an open door to testify publicly. So hearing the testimony of others, how they came to know the Lord, gives us encouragement and helps us to see how people get saved in various ways, that there is no one-size-fits-all methodology. Faith is the only commonality, and that faith must be tested, as this first step is also a test of our obedience to the Lord (if we love Him we will obey Him!). Soli Deo Gloria!