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What is Baptism? |
Should I be Baptized? |
Should
Children be Baptized? | Why Should I be Baptized?
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If I'm not Baptized, Will I Go To Hell? |
Should I be completely immersed in Water, or just
sprinkled?
What does it mean to be Baptized?
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
Baptism is simply a way of saying: "God I dedicate my
life to you". It is done by sprinkling a person
with water or immersing them in it. According to Peter,
it is an appeal to God for a
good conscience .
1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism
now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh,
but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Baptism is a religious
rite, but it is also a sense of dedicating yourself to
God, consecrating, or setting yourself apart for
his service, being initiated into, or bringing yourself
under obligation to. To what? To Christ! The kingdom,
God, etc..
SHOULD
YOU BE BAPTIZED?
If you are smart, "Yes"
you should! Why? For all the reasons I just stated
above. It would be your way of saying: "Lord, I am
making a commitment to you this day". It is also a
further proclamation of your faith. By doing so you are
making the statement "I believe in you! I believe in
your son and that he died on the cross for me, and I am
making a commitment to be pleasing to you from now on"
SHOULD
CHILDREN BE BAPTIZED?
Personally, I don't
believe it is necessary. On the same token, I don't
believe it hurts anything either. Children,
(especially babies) are incapable of making a
commitment to God, or dedicating their life to him. If
you choose to have a child baptized, I highly recommend
that they get baptized again after they have reached an
age to make that kind of statement.
WHY SHOULD YOU BE
BAPTIZED?
Because, Jesus said you should! He
further states what will happen to you if you "are"
baptized.
Mark 16:16
"He who has believed and
has been baptized
shall be saved;
but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Like
many scriptures in the bible, this one can be read
differently. On one hand, Jesus says: "The one who has
believed "and" has been baptized, shall be saved". On
the other hand, he only states that if you have
disbelieved, you will be condemned, Here, he left out
baptism. (which would perfectly line up with his
other statements.)
John 10:9
"I am the door; if
anyone
enters through Me, he will be
saved,
and will go in and out and find pasture".
Romans 10:13 -
for "WHOEVER
WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
WILL I GO
TO HELL IF I'M NOT BAPTIZED?
So,
should you be baptized? I personally don't believe that
you'll spend eternity in hell if you don't, but would it
make any sense not to? After all, if some big wig on
Wall Street gave you a tip on the stock market, wouldn't
you invest? Or if someone notorious for winning at the
track gave you a tip on the winning horse, wouldn't you
bet?
Jesus
was "God in the flesh". If you want to be saved,
consider it inside information from the top! At the
least, he recommends it. You'll never get advice that
good from your stock broker. (I recommend taking
it)
Should I be completely immersed in Water, or just
sprinkled?
I don't see a huge
problem with whichever you choose. After all, baptism is
symbolic. According to Peter, it was also symbolic of
Noah and his family being brought safely through the
water.
1 Peter 3:20 who once were
disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in
the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark,
in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought
safely through
the water.
1 Peter 3:21 Corresponding to that, baptism
now saves you--not the removal of dirt from the flesh,
but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ,
Again,
when God parted the waters, with Pharaoh's army pursuing
them, the Israelites were considered Baptized after
going through. They were probably sprayed with a mist,
if they even got wet at all! At any rate, they passed
through the waters.
1 Corinthians 10:1 For I do not want
you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all
under the cloud and all passed through the sea;
1 Corinthians 10:2 and all were baptized
into Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
What does it
mean to be Baptized?
Well,
in my typical unorthodox way of explaining, it means:
"You publicly signed up" and "You joined the club". It
also means you have followed the instructions of Jesus
Christ. It means you have made a commitment to follow
him.
God Bless You
Dan Douglass
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