What Is Christianity Part 1

We gathered around a swimming pool anticipating the ceremony about to begin. The baptismal candidate, one of several, stepped into the shallow end of the pool. He walked through the water toward the minister who was about to baptize him.

It was a momentous and memorable day for this young man, and we all felt some of his excitement. He now understood God’s aim in salvation – to save us from our blighted human condition, to make us at peace with him, to offer the Holy Spirit as the promised “down payment” on eternal life.

The young man also understood the profound role of Jesus Christ in God’s purpose for us. Jesus was sent by God to be the Savior of the human race. By his perfect obedience and his atoning work on the cross we can be saved. Now, the young man was about to make a public statement of his commitment to God. He was ready to accept his new life and Jesus Christ as his Savior—to say “I do” to God. The baptismal ceremony had begun.

“Have you repented of your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?” the minister asked him. “Yes, I have,” the young man replied to the minister’s question. “Having repented of your sins, and having accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, I now baptize you into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” said the minister.

He concluded with an “Amen,” and we all whispered the word in agreement. We watched as the minister gently immersed the young man under the water. A second later, he lifted him back up to his feet. It was a dramatic moment. The young man emerged from his watery grave as if he had been resurrected from the dead. According to biblical teaching, he was a new person—a born-again child of God.

The minister warmly shook the smiling man’s wet and dripping hand, welcoming him into the Body of Jesus Christ. It was a wonderful experience for the young man and the other individuals baptized that day. No doubt, they would remember their baptism as a special event for the rest of their lives. Some might even think of their baptism as a special birthday. It certainly is a public testimony of our new birth.

Baptism reinforces our intent to accept God’s gracious offer of salvation. It is a statement made to ourselves, to the community and to our Creator that we have committed our lives to God. We acknowledge that he is the source of our life and the reason we exist. In that sense, baptism is the most important landmark and turning point in our lives. It has much in common with another ceremony that marks a milestone in many people’s lives—marriage.

We know how important a marriage ceremony is to the couple in love as well as to their families and their friends. Of course, the ceremony does not make a man and woman married. Neither the ceremony itself nor its component parts—such as the making of vows, the pronouncement of the minister and the exchanging of rings—creates the marriage.

The reason the couple is getting married is because they had already agreed to commit to each other. The bonding process began long before the couple actually walked down the aisle. However, that doesn’t make the marriage ceremony any less meaningful. The ceremony is an outward statement of a couple’s intention to make a life together. Marriage is their public commitment to say “I do” to each other.

Baptism pictures the drama of our “I do” decision for Jesus Christ and all that he represents in our salvation. It is a symbol that reminds us we have made a commitment to Christ, believing that he is our Savior. Those who request baptism are saying they want to be associated with Jesus Christ in a personal and intimate way—to belong to Christ. That’s what it means to be baptized “in the name of Jesus Christ.”

Believers share in the life of Christ. As Christ died, so do the believers. As they share in Jesus’ death, they also have a share in his resurrection and eternal life. Believers who are baptized are stating that they, by God’s grace, have a part in the greatest events of salvation history. This includes the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In being baptized, they publicly dramatize their acceptance of God’s gracious offer of salvation.

Of course, baptism is not magic. It is a ritual, a metaphor that symbolizes that we have died to our former life and have been reborn to a new life in Christ. What better metaphor for the individual’s inner change than death and new life through the cleansing of water?

Author and pastor William Willimon described it well when he said: “To receive the Spirit through Christ is likened to a birth bath in John 3:3-5 and Titus 3:5-7; to a funeral bath and burial in Romans 6:1-11; and to a bride’s nuptial bath in Ephesians 5:26. These baths were consummated in anointing and arraying the body in clean, or new, clothing (Galatians 3:27)” (Peculiar Speech: Preaching to the Baptized, page 58).

Need information about baptism?

Perhaps you have certain questions about whether you should be baptized. You wonder if you have truly repented, or you want to know whether you have real faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Sometimes people don’t want to be baptized because they aren’t interested in joining a church. Of course, we are not baptized into a church or denomination—but into the Body of Jesus Christ.

If you are interested in contacting a minister about baptism or to receive help in spiritual matters, please contact one of our pastors. In the U.S., you may call our toll-free number, 1-800-924-4644, or see churches.wcg.org to locate a pastor near you. In other nations, see www.wcg.org/whoweare/offices.htm for an address near you – or feel free to contact the pastor of another Christian church.

Other articles about baptism:

I was baptized more than 30 years ago. Many things have happened in my life since then. There were times when I doubted my conversion, and there were times when I, like Jonah, sought to run from God’s presence. But one thing was always certain. A generation ago I had made a public decision to accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

I knew what that meant. I took on responsibilities as a Christian. I would also enjoy the benefits of having an intimate communion with God and would receive the promises of eternal salvation made possible by the work of Jesus. When I was placed under the water, I understood this was to portray the death of my old life and sinning self. When the minister lifted me out of the water, I was being symbolically resurrected to a new life now, the new life in Christ.

I can never forget that I came to understand God’s purpose for my life. I can never say: “Well, that was so long ago. I didn’t really understand God’s message of salvation.” Of course I didn’t understand it then as well as I do now, but I understood enough: that God was offering me salvation through Jesus Christ. The drama of my baptism ceremony reminds me that, yes, I did understand, and yes, I did make a commitment.

If God is moving in our lives, a time comes when we see our need for him. We learn that because of sin we have been cut off from his blessings and communion. But we also learn of God’s grace given to us through Jesus Christ. We can demonstrate that the Holy Spirit has enlightened our minds about these important truths.

We can show we have accepted God’s promises and put our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. We can portray the depths of our inner commitment and yearning by saying “I do” to God. We can be plunged into the watery grave of baptism, and then rise out of the water to a new life with Christ.