By Jason Pettus

What do we believe?

We believe that baptism is a public identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Why do we believe this?

Mark 1:9-11 – In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Why does it matter?
Baptism is the beautiful way a believer first announces their commitment and faith in Christ. It is an ordinance of the church. By being immersed in the midst of the gathering of a local church, a person communicates that their old life is gone and that they now have a new life in Christ.

Each part of the baptism experience celebrates the work of God.

Profession of faith in Christ before going beneath the water celebrates the truth of the Gospel and the hope of all believers. It is not by being taken under the water that a person is saved. It is by faith in Jesus that a person is saved. In claiming Christ as savior, the person being baptized is clarifying that they have done nothing to save themselves. They have simply believed and have been made a child of God through faith in Jesus.

By going under the water, a believer announces that their old life was done away with when they believed on Jesus for salvation. Going under the water is a picture of going down in death. The old life of a new believer is gone and Jesus makes the redeemed new in Him.

By being under the water, a believer announces that they have been washed clean. Their sin has been forgiven. They have been filled with the Holy Spirit. They have been made holy by faith in Jesus.

My coming up out of the water, a believer announces that they have been raised up to live a new life guided by the Holy Spirit. Their life is now lived in the resurrection power of Jesus for the purpose and glory of God.