Becoming faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, reaching others with the transforming power of His Word!
Baptism @ CAC:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19 NIV).
The practice of water baptism was established by Christ Himself for the benefit of the Church. Water baptism is sometimes called the ordinance of initiation. This initial act of obedience to Christ will strengthen the new believer. Proper preparation for the act of baptism should occur soon after conversion. Water baptism followed conversion in New Testament times. And so it should in today's church. Baptism is not an option. It is a regular procedure of Christian discipleship. New Testament writers often relate baptism to the beginning of the Christian life.
"and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized"
(Acts 18:8 NIV).
This sequence of hearing, believing and being baptized is the pattern in the Book of Acts. Water baptism is believer's baptism. People are not baptized in order to believe. They are baptized after they have responded to the proclamation of the gospel by believing the message of Christ.
Believing the gospel is not the only prerequisite for water baptism. Peter said,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38 NIV).
Some three thousand people responded to Peter's message.
"Those who accepted his message were baptized" (Acts 2:41 NIV).
Peter instructed those making inquiry on the Day of Pentecost to repent of their sins. He also added another condition for baptism: receiving the word preached.
The occasion of baptism calls for a confession of Jesus Christ. Being baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit requires commitment to Christ and a willingness to confess Him openly as Savior and Lord.
The method of baptism practiced by the early church may be determined by examples preserved in the New Testament. Details of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch by Philip are self-explanatory.
"And he ordered the chariot to stop. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him...When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away" (Acts 8:38,39 NIV).
In this instance a large enough quantity of water was required to permit both men to enter the water for baptism. Immersion must have been the method used by Philip.
The Greek word for baptism means to immerse, douse, or saturate. These meanings and the fact that immersion was practiced widely for those converting to Judaism give support to immersion as the proper method of baptism.
The symbolic meaning of baptism speaks of being buried and raised up. Immersion best depicts the spiritual meaning of the ordinance.
The New Testament epistles provide insight into the meaning of water baptism. Paul says of baptism,
"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?...We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live as new life" (Romans 6:3,4 NIV).
The apostle depicts baptism as a symbol of the believer's union with Christ. Baptism also symbolizes the believer's identification with Christ in His death and resurrection. As a practice of the church, it speaks of the radical inner change brought by regeneration. The believer rises from the baptismal water charged to walk in newness of life. That newness of life is the effect of being born again through the Holy Spirit.
Another passage from Paul's epistles give rich insight into the meaning of baptism.
"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ"
(Galatians 3:27 NIV).
This portrays the putting off of the old life and the putting on of a new life. In the practice of baptism one must change his garments. In a spiritual sense, the baptismal candidate is celebrating the change that has taken place in his own life as a result of accepting Jesus Christ as personal Savior.
The symbolic meaning of water baptism is enlarged further by the word of Ananias to Saul of Tarsus.
"And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name"
(Acts 22:16 NIV).
Ananias draws attention to the way in which water baptism pictures the cleansing process of salvation. But it must be clear that baptism does not cleanse away sin. The apostle John said,
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin"
(I John 1:7 NIV).
Water baptism is not an innovation of the church but a practice established by Christ. Christian baptism is unique among the religions of the world. It is not a magical rite which makes one a Christian. Baptism is an act which speaks to the world of God's grace and witnesses to the believer himself of the inner working of God in his heart.
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