On Sunday June 3rd at 10am, we're offering people the opportunity to be baptized in water. To help answer a few questions about what baptism is and why we do it, Pastor Ben has attached his notes from a talk he gave to the youth about a year ago on this subject.
Water Baptism is such an important part of the church that most churches actually have "baptismal tanks" installed somewhere near the stage. That's right- they actually work it right into the building design! Other churches will baptize people in lakes, rivers or swimming pools- wherever water is handy! But, what is water baptism? Why is it significant?
Water Baptism generally involves someone getting in front of the whole church and stepping into a giant tub of water. This is kind of an odd thing, considering we don't normally get into a tub with an audience watching, but don't worry- the person getting baptized will be fully clothed (we have tips on what you should consider wearing) and will be in the water alongside the pastor. The pastor will usually interview you and ask you why you wanted to get baptized and what it means to you, and then you will be dunked completely under the water. This sounds like a pretty fun perk of the job as a pastor, but he/she doesn't hold you under the water- it's a pretty quick 'down and up'. When the person comes out of the water—the whole church is usually cheering and celebrating! You’ll never forget the first time you see a water baptism because it just seems so bizarre!
So, why do people get baptized in water? Why do people cheer and celebrate when it happens? Well, the first time we hear about baptism in the Bible, this person named John (who is actually known to us as John the Baptist) was telling people by the riverside that they needed to turn from sin and make their lives right with God. When people were deciding to do this, John was dunking them underwater in the river as a symbol that their sins had been washed away and they had, spiritually, been given a brand new start.
Matthew 3 (along with a few other places in the Bible) tells us that right before Jesus began to teach people about God and do miracles, he asked John to baptize him. At first John didn’t want to do it, because he knew that Jesus wasn’t just some ordinary person—Jesus didn’t have any sin to be forgiven---but Jesus told him that it was important. When John baptized Jesus, something amazing happened. The Bible says that people heard the voice of God, OUT LOUD, say "This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him" (Matthew 3:16-17). Next, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, which meant that people somehow visibly noticed the power and presence of God falling on Jesus. It's an amazing moment in the Bible.
In Matthew 28:19-20, it tells us that after Jesus died and rose again, he gave his disciples a special mission- “Go into the world, share the good news of God's love with others, and BAPTIZE THEM!" -so the disciples started doing that right away! In the Book of Acts alone, it tells us 6 different times that when people believed in Jesus, the next step was that they were baptized in water right away! (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 8:38; 10:48; 16:15; 16:33)
Baptism is a symbol. It symbolizes how through Jesus, God has cleaned us up and given us a brand new start. Getting dunked in water doesn’t actually wash your sins away, it doesn’t do anything magical, but it’s a symbol of what God has done on the inside! It’s also a way for you to make a public declaration that you’re a Christian- someone who has decided to follow Jesus. Most people who choose to be baptized find it to be a very meaningful, and spiritually rewarding experience. So, that’s the reason why people get baptized in church- that’s the reason why people will cheer and be all excited about it-- because it’s that person saying, “Jesus has forgiven me and I’m serious- I want to follow him with my life”.
Now, there are some churches that baptize babies (including ours), but -FUN FACT- that’s more of a church tradition. Infant baptism is actually never specifically mentioned anywhere in the Bible. It does tell us in a few places that families were baptized after they came to faith in Jesus (Acts 16:15; 16:33), and while this may have included young children, it likely would have only been for children who were old enough to make a faith decision.
Usually, when a baby is baptized, the parents bring their baby to the front of the church and instead of dunking them underwater, the pastor sprinkles them with a little bit of water. In our church tradition, when we baptize a baby, it’s a way to ask God to bless that baby, that he/she would grow to know and follow Jesus, and it’s a way to welcome the new addition to the church community. It’s also an opportunity for the parents to make a promise to raise their child in a way that they would know and follow Jesus when they’re older and for the congregation (the people in the church) to promise to be a help and support to those parents and that child!
Because it doesn’t mention anywhere in the Bible where infants were baptized, and because, in the Bible, water baptism always happened after someone made a personal decision to follow Jesus, most churches opt to do baby dedications instead of baptisms. Baby dedications have the same meaning as what was described above, but they don't involve water. The reason why we prefer to do baby dedications is that we don't want to confuse parents or others in regards to what water baptism actually means. Unless you go to a Roman Catholic Church, which almost exclusively baptizes babies and holds different beliefs as to what baptism actually does, you’re far more likely to see older kids or adults being baptized—something people do when they are old enough to understand the faith decision they’re making.That said, at Arlington Woods, we can do an infant baptism or a dedication, depending on what the parents would prefer.
Water baptism isn't something that you need to do in order to be saved (to receive God's forgiveness). It's not something that you're required to do in order for you to be a part of heaven one day. No. Water baptism is a public declaration of the change that Jesus has made in your life. It was something that Jesus modeled himself, something that he told us to continue doing, and something that was done when people came to faith all through the New Testament. It's a way for us to show and tell others that we love Jesus and want to follow him with our lives. If you've never been baptized before, we would love for you to consider it!
