1. TO FOLLOW THE EXAMPLE SET BY CHRIST.
“At that time Jesus came from Nazareth and was baptized by John in the river.” Mark 1:9

2. BECAUSE CHRIST COMMANDED IT.
“Jesus said, ‘Go then, to all people everywhere and make them my disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.’” Matt. 28:19-20

3. IT DEMONSTRATES THAT I REALLY AM A BELIEVER.
” … many of the people who heard Him believed and were baptized” Acts 18:8
“We know that we have come to know Him, if we obey His commands.” 1 John 2:3

1. IT ILLUSTRATES JESUS’ BURIAL AND RESURRECTION.

1. “Christ died for our sins …  He was buried  …  and He rose again.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
2. “For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ.” Colossians 2:12

2. IT ILLUSTRATES MY NEW LIFE AS A CHRISTIAN.

“By our baptism then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead…so also we may live a new life.” Romans 6:4

By being Baptized we tell our stories as individual believers. The picture of baptism tells the story of God’s rescuing, renewing and restoring work that’s been done in you through the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Baptism doesn’t make you a believer. It demonstrates that you already believe in Jesus. It’s important to understand that baptism does not “save” you. You are “saved” only by your faith (putting your trust) in Jesus. The thief on the cross was not baptized, but he was promised eternal life. That’s because Jesus saw a changed heart in an obedient servant. Jesus asked you to just give a public witness to the fact that He’s already saved you andthat you are receiving it as a gift.

How could anyone be of the mind to say, “I’ll take the free gift of salvation, but no thanks, I’ll pass on the request to go public about it and be baptized.”

Jesus dies an excruciatingly painful death on the cross for your sins. He takes your sins and eternal condemnation on himself. And then He offers salvation and eternal life in heaven, as a gift of grace and love to you.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith …it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Baptism is like a wedding ring – it’s the outward symbol of the commitment you make in your heart.

BAPTISM IS AN OUTWARD SIGN OF AN INWARD COMMITMENT.

1) BECAUSE JESUS WAS BAPTIZED THAT WAY.
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water.” Matt. 3:16

2) EVERY BAPTISM IN THE BIBLE WAS BY IMMERSION.
(Example) ” … then both Philip and the man went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water…” Acts 8:38-39

3) THE WORD “BAPTIZE” ACTUALLY MEANS “TO DIP UNDER WATER.”

4) IMMERSION BEST SYMBOLIZES A BURIAL AND RESURRECTION!
“When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand  new person inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

True believers not only offer their sins to Christ for forgiveness, but they yield their wills to Christ as well. They say, “Upon receiving salvation, Lord, I will follow you. You just say the word, and I’ll do it. I’ll stand before any number of people (any time) and declare you as my Savior, forgiver of my sins and the leader of my life.” That’s the heart of a true believer.

As long as the symbolism of purification is made clear, the amount of water used for baptism does not matter. A little water can suggest cleansing and renewal as well as a whole lake.

1) EVERY PERSON WHO HAS BELIEVED IN CHRIST.

1. “Those who believe and accepted His message were baptized …” Acts 2:41
2. “Simon himself believed and was baptized …” Acts 8:13
3. “But when they believed Philip as he preached the Good News … and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Acts 8:12

The position of Radiant Life Fellowship is that baptism should only be administered to those who are old enough to recognize their sinfulness before God, mature enough to understand what the death of Christ on the cross really means, and responsible enough to make a solid decision to trust Christ and to follow Him.  A person only needs to be baptized once. There’s no evidence in Scripture for a need to be re-baptized. If a person wants to re-commit their life to following Jesus, then there’s other mechanisms in which that can be communicated to the church community.

A GREAT QUESTION: What if  I was baptized as an infant?

Some churches baptize infants. At Radiant Life Fellowship we don’t. We dedicate our infants (very young children) to the Lord.

We only baptize those who have made a decision to believe in Christ’s death as the payment for their sin. In the Bible, men and women were baptized following their belief in Jesus and their commitment to follow/trust Jesus with their whole life.

The custom of infant baptism began about 300 years after the Bible was completed. It’s a ceremony intended to emphasize a commitment between the parents and God on the behalf of the child. During this ceremony, the parents promise to raise their child in the faith until the child is old enough to make his own personal confession of Christ.

At Radiant Life Fellowship, we will have lots of dedication services for infants and children that emphasize the parent’s role in raising a child to follow Christ. Therefore, if you were baptized as a baby, we encourage you to be baptized by immersion as a believer.

1. AS SOON AS YOU HAVE BELIEVED!

1. “Those who believe … were baptized … that day!” Acts 2:41
2. “Then Philip began with the scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the man said, ‘Look, here is water!  Why shouldn’t I be baptized right now?’ Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’  The man answered, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So they went down into the water and Philip baptized him.” Acts 8:35-38

There is no reason to delay.

1. As soon as you have decided to receive Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized. If you wait until you are “perfect” you’ll never be ready. (Acts 8:36-39)

We want to give everyone every possible chance to express the new life they’ve discovered in Jesus Christ by being baptized. We have access to a pool and a lake as a part of our regular worship services.

All you have to do is let us know that you are ready to be baptized and we (as a church community) will gather and offer you a chance to tell your story and God’s story in your baptism.