Why am I getting baptized at all?
I want to start with what I believe about Baptism, and what I believe the Bible says about Baptism. Well, I believe that Baptism is what the Bible says it is. That was easy. Now, for what I believe the Bible says about Baptism.
First, a preface to what I believe about baptism:
I believe that God created us to be in a perfect relationship with Him because of His deep love for us. That is why when He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, there was no sin. Everything was as God intended and they walked with God. They literally walked with God. Wow. But we are humans, and humans are not perfect. Beginning with the first sin in the Garden, humans have continually broken the perfect relationship we had with God. We are sinful people. A good majority of the time, we do what we want, and not what God wants. We choose our selfish desires over the desires of a Holy God that knows everything. Due to this sin that is evident in our lives, we can't have this relationship with God; we are separated from Him. However, I also believe that God loved us so much that He decided to make a way for the relationship to be redeemed, to be made new. God sent Jesus Christ to the earth as a way to pay for our sins. Jesus was fully human and fully man, and He lived a perfect life on earth while facing all of the same temptations and trials that we experience. Jesus was killed on the cross because of our sins, suffering a horrible death and taking on the wrath of God. He died to take on the penalty for all of the times that we disobey a perfectly Holy God. But not only did He die for our sins, but on the third day, He rose again! Jesus literally rose from the dead, which not only proved His deity, but also that He had victory over sin and death. In this act (which I believe is a historic fact, not some fable), a way was created for man to have a relationship with God again. By placing our faith, and faith alone (Ephesians 2:8), in Jesus, and Jesus alone, and by turning from our old ways, we can have the incredible promises of forgiveness and an eternity in Heaven worshipping God.
That is what I believe the Bible is all about. Because I believe this and have this relationship with God, I want nothing more than to honor Him, glorify Him, and enjoy Him. I am still sinful, and I do not do this perfectly by any means. Let me repeat that: I am still sinful. I still mess up a lot and need forgiveness. But because I believe this, I believe more than anything, I need to obey God and obey what the Bible says.
With that being said, I believe that Baptism is an act of obedience that I want to follow because of my reverence of God. In Matthew 28:19, when Jesus is commissioning His disciples, He commands them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey the commands of God. Jesus tells them to be baptizing people and teaching them to obey, as the people they talk to believe. So since I believe, I have been commanded to be baptized by Jesus. In Acts 2:38, Peter and some other apostles are preaching to a group of people, who then believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They then ask what they should do, and Peter replies with the command that they repent and be baptized. After these people made the choice to believe, they are commanded to get baptized. So, first off, I believe the Bible commands believers in Jesus to get baptized as an act of obedience.
I also believe that baptism is a way to publicly declare that I believe Jesus is my Savior, and to confirm that I not only believe that with every ounce of my being (despite my failures), but also that the desire of my heart is to live to glorify Him for the rest of my life. In the words of the church that I am doing the baptism with (Evanston Bible Fellowship), baptism is "an outward confession of an inward salvation that has occurred through belief in the Lord Jesus." Since I believe I have salvation through my belief in Jesus, I want to obey God through this act of outward confession.
Now, to address the second question:
Why am I getting baptized again?
I was baptized as an infant, but I believe that it is more Biblical to get baptized as an adult, after it is clear that the person is truly a believer in Jesus Christ. I ask that you keep in mind why I'm getting baptized at all as you are reading this, as there may by a little bit of overlap.
In every baptism in the Bible, it occurs when the person is at an age where they can make the decision on their own. Since I think that the Bible is the best model to use when determining how to go about these things, I want to obey this command now that I've reached that age as well. I think that Jesus' baptism is very insightful into the process of getting baptized. It can be found in Matthew 3:13-17, where Jesus gets baptized as an adult.
In relation to baptisms happening when people reach an age of accountability, I also want to do it again out of my own choosing. As a child, I had no say in being baptized. Then again in 8th grade, I went through confirmation of my baptism. However, there was a lot of pressure to do it and it still wasn't necessarily out of my own choice. I am extremely grateful for my parents and I love them a lot, and I think they did a great job raising me, but ultimately I don't feel like these things were my choices.
Even looking back at those times in my life, there were not really signs that I was truly a Christian. My faith was not in Christ. My faith was in myself. I put my worth in my grades, my academic achievements, and how many friends I had. I tried to do this all in my own power and strength. There was no reliance on Christ. However, midway through high school, as I learned about what the Bible said, I began to live for the glory of Christ as I experienced His grace, love, and mercy. I began to really think about what I believe, and I made the choice to follow Christ with my life. It was not because of pressure, but because I came to the conclusion on my own that it was true. Since I have really taken ownership of my faith, I want to follow the Biblical model and get baptized now that I have chosen to repent and believe that Jesus is God.
What I am not doing.
I am not getting baptized into a denomination of Christianity.
I am not doing this to earn salvation. I believe that I already have it through my faith in Jesus, not because I earned it or deserve it.
I am not trying to get gifts or money. I know that for infant baptisms there are sometimes gifts given, but that is not at all what I'm doing. I don't want that at all. I won't accept any.
Conclusion.
I love Jesus with all my heart (or at least this is my life's desire). He has overcome the grave and gives me hope, strength, and peace. All I can do is attempt to glorify Him through all I do and obey Him. Not out of obligation or guilt, but out of an overflowing from my heart of the joy that I have experienced knowing God in my relationship with Him. I would love to have you come celebrate this step in my life! Please let me know if you have any questions about this. I want to be as open and honest about this as possible, so comment, e-mail, call, or message me on Facebook if you are still confused or are not pleased or are happy! Thanks so much for reading this, I know it was long :)
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