April 28th Sign Up Form!

WHY SHOULD I GET BAPTIZED?

1. ...because Jesus went public about His love for us, we should go public about our love for Him. Being baptized shows that we turn away from a life of sin toward Jesus, the only one who can change us (Acts2:38-41). For everyone who decides to follow Jesus, baptism is the next step. Anyone who commits his or her life to following Jesus is ready to be baptized (Acts 8:12).

2. ...because you’ve decided to follow Jesus and you want people to know. Making the decision to become a follower of Christ is the best decision you’ll ever make. When you make a life-changing decision like this, you want to tell everyone about the new hope you’ve found in Jesus! You want to let people know you believe God is real. If you’ve decided to get baptized, it’s time to party! Make sure you invite your friends and family to celebrate with you. Our faith should be personal, but not private. Baptism is about going public with your faith. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change. It’s a public declaration of how Jesus changed your life. Being baptized shows others that you’ve decided to follow Jesus and allows them to celebrate this decision with you.

3. ...because baptism is a powerful symbol of what Jesus did for us. Baptism is this incredible reenactment of what Jesus did for us. As He went into the grave, we go into the water; as He was raised back to life, we come back out. Our broken souls and wrong living are healed and washed away by Him; the water doesn’t actually wash off dirt, but symbolizes the healing and washing that He has done and will do in our lives. At GracePoint, we believe it’s Jesus who does the washing, not the water. This bold public symbol symbolizes what only Jesus can do.

4. ...because Jesus was baptized and wants us to baptize others. In Matthew 3:16, we learn about the time when Jesus Himself was baptized before He started His ministry on earth. If the Son of God pursued baptism, so should we. Later, Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19-20 He wants us to spread His message of love. He told us to continue baptizing and being baptized! Okay, Jesus. We’re happy to obey. Following Jesus is doing what He did, and Jesus got baptized.

This one is pretty simple. If we’re going to be followers of Jesus, then we should do what Jesus did and get baptized.

5. ...because baptism reminds us that the old is gone, and the new has come! Remember: getting baptized is important, but not because it saves you. The grace of God through faith in Jesus is what saves you. Getting baptized is all about telling the world about the change that’s already happened inside of you. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:4 ESV “And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:21 NLT

OTHER REASONS to THINK ABOUT GETTING BAPTIZED:

If you’re reading this and you’re wondering if you should get baptized, then hopefully some of these reasons will be helpful as you make your personal decision to go public with your faith.

• You’ve decided to follow Jesus but you’ve never been baptized. If you are a follower of Jesus and you haven’t yet been baptized, then now is a great time to take that next step. There’s nothing that should hold you back!

• You were baptized but you didn’t make the decision yourself. Sometimes people who were baptized as infants, or when the decision wasn’t theirs to make, decide they’d like to get baptized again, this time by declaring their own intention to make Jesus known.

OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:

1. DO YOU BAPTIZE CHILDREN?

As parents, we can help point our children to Jesus, but they are the ones to decide if they will commit their lives to Him (Romans 10:9). Any instance of baptism follows a person’s decision to trust Jesus for his or her salvation and commitment to follow Him (Acts 10:47-48). At GracePoint, we wait until children are old enough to express their own decision to follow Jesus and understand the meaning of baptism. We ask that children be 5th grade and above to be baptized. Email jill@gracepoint.me for more information.

2. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMMERSING AND SPRINKLING? Baptisms in the Bible were by immersion. The original word for baptism most often referred to being immersed or submerged in water. Jesus was baptized by being immersed in the water and rising out of it (Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10). Immersion in the water symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Being submersed underwater represents our death to sin and old way of life, and being raised out of the water is a picture of how Jesus raised us and gave us a fresh start in life (Romans 6:3-5).