Baptism

Weekly Update – August 3rd, 2023

Last Sunday, we had an opportunity to witness the baptism of Mark Petty.  Mark has been coming to First Baptist Church since around March, came to Christ, and then approached me in May about going public with that decision in baptism.  Since then, his wife Kirsten started coming with him and they are about to enter the membership process.  Aside from this, there were four significant things that were going on during this baptism on Sunday.  Let me highlight them for you.

First, for every baptism, we ask the person being baptized to share their testimony.  This is not only so that you might be able to get to know the person about to go under, but so we might together affirm their faith in Christ and rejoice in God’s work of salvation. Having a testimony shared also allows a clear presentation of the gospel to any potential unbeliever who might be present.  In fact, any of us who profess Christ should have a clear testimony so that we might be ready at any moment to share with others about Christ and how he redeems us from our sins (1 Pet. 3:15). 

Second, during Mark’s testimony, he shared that it was during the preaching of the word of God that he was changed.  This is significant because it affirms for us that listening to God’s word preached has redemptive effects in our lives.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that God’s word is the instrument that he has chosen to convert the unbeliever and to conform the believer into his image.  That means that on Sunday morning when the Word of God is being preached, we are not simply learning another lesson on morality or parable for life, but change is in fact occurring in our hearts (2 Cor. 4:4-6).

Third, when I mentioned Mark sharing his testimony, I said that we are affirming his faith.  The reason why I said that is because what is happening in baptism is not merely a group of us watching someone profess their faith in Christ, but it is the church participating as it commits to walk beside the person being baptized.  In other words, baptism is not an individual act, which is why we don’t baptize people on a Tuesday by themselves, or in their bathtub at home.  Baptism is a public act, performed in front of the gathered church, as the person being baptized is officially “initiated” into the people of God.

Fourth, baptism ought to be done in connection with membership to the church.  If in baptism, the church is affirming the testimony of the person being baptized, and the person being baptized is “initiated” into the people of God, the next logical step is membership in that local church.  In fact, we see this pattern in Acts 2:41 which says, “So those who received the word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.”  In other words, those in Jerusalem heard the word preached, were changed, baptized, and then added into the membership of the church.  They were immediately added into the membership of the church because the best way to commit to the faith of a newly baptized believer is to do so in a covenanted relationship. 

Everything we do at First Baptist Church is done with a purpose.  The way the word is preached, the songs that we sing, the prayers that are prayed, the scriptures that are read, and even the way we witness baptisms.  There is a reason and a biblical precedent behind it all.  At the same time, we don’t take any aspect of what we do lightly either.  For we believe that as the gospel is communicated and displayed, God is at work to bring transformation to all who see and hear.

Serving Him with You,

Pastor Michael Nelson