Baptism I — Spiritual Growth for New Believers

Bible Reading:

Category 1:

Mark 16:16 (NRSVue)“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.”

Acts 2:38 (NRSVue)Peter said to them, “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 22:16 (NRSVue)“And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.”

1 Peter 3:20–21 (NRSVue)"...who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ..."

Category 2:

Romans 6:3–4 (NRSVue)“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

Colossians 2:12 (NRSVue)“When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”

Baptism is a major topic in the Bible. Regarding baptism, we need to understand two key things:

The first is what we need to be clear about before baptism—What does baptism actually do for me?The second is what we should understand after baptism—What is the true significance of being baptized?

The baptismal pool is set before you, and the water is there. As you step forward to be baptized, ask yourself:

“What does baptism do for me?”

And after you are baptized, look back and reflect:

“What is the meaning behind what I just did?”

One is forward-looking, the other is reflective. One is what you should know before being baptized, and the other is what you should understand after receiving baptism.