We are forgiven for our sins through repentance, and this cleansing is best illustrated through the symbolism of baptism. The picture in baptism is that our sins and our old life are left in the water, and we come out new, cleansed, and completely renewed in the identification with Christ in His glorious resurrection. What a refreshing step of obedient faith for us, and what a witness to others!
Jesus asks us to come to him so he can take away our burdens. Repentance is our acceptance of this offer, and baptism is our celebration. This is perhaps the greatest reason of all: Jesus commands that every Christian be baptized. These are the three things the church is commanded to do: Make disciples — help people come to know Christ, baptize them, and assist them to grow.
After I know about the Christian life, then I will be baptized. In fact, baptism is the very first command Jesus gives you after repentance. If you cannot obey this simple instruction, how can you obey more challenging ones?
Notice the order: You make the disciples, then you baptize them, then you spend the rest of your life following and growing as a Christian. If you have not yet been baptized, I encourage you to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider taking the first steps towards baptism today.
Follow the link below to learn more about baptism and schedule your baptism today. Thus, we have the ability to live and act under the guidance and light of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This helps us mature in goodness through the practice of virtues, such as the Cardinal Virtues: prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude. By Baptism we become members of the Church, the Body of Christ.
We share in the priesthood of Christ as well as his prophetic and royal mission. We enjoy the community we find in the Church, share our talents and gifts with its members, respond willingly to its teachings and requirements, and assume the responsibilities that our membership implies. Baptism provides a common foundation among all Christians, including those not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church.
The Church recognizes the validity of Baptism in other Christian Churches as long as the rite involved the pouring of or immersion in water, a Trinitarian formula, and the intention to baptize. Those who have been baptized have been saved by their faith in Christ and the grace of Baptism.
Baptism seals the Christian with the indelible spiritual mark character of his belonging to Christ. No sin can erase this mark, even if sin prevents Baptism from bearing the fruits of salvation. There are many stories of people being baptized in the Bible.
But what is the purpose of Christian baptism and what is its significance for your Christian life? Baptism is an act in which a Christian is immersed in water to symbolize the end of an old way of living, and a new start. When you get baptized it is a testimony to God and people that you, by faith, will live a new life as an overcomer. The Bible first mentions Christian baptism in its accounts of John the Baptist.
The baptism of John was for the remission forgiveness of sins. With the establishment of the new covenant, because of the death of Jesus on the cross, baptism is now about more than the forgiveness of sins—it is a covenant to live the life of a disciple before God.
Just as the waters of the flood put an end to this evil in the Old Testament, baptism represents an end to living a self-centered life of doing my own will and beginning a new life of doing the will of God in the New Testament. If you have made a lifetime commitment to follow Jesus, obey the Word of God and live a new life you are a candidate to be baptized. You are repentant and want to be free from their sin.
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