Baptism Booklet

Letter from the pastors

Greetings!

We are so glad you are interested in learning more about baptism! Our goal for this booklet is to help you know more about baptism so you can discern if it's the right next step for you in your journey with Jesus!

Everyone considering getting baptized should go through this material for the sake of clarity; both you and our church family. Our format will be through questions and answers below. You will be given the opportunity to interact with this info as you go. Please feel free to download the file at the bottom of this page to fill in the questions throughout the material before meeting up with one of the pastors for next steps!

1. What Is Baptism & What It Is Not?
2. Who Should Be Baptized?
3. How Do We Baptize?
4. What About Re-baptism?
5. Is Church Membership Necessary To Be Baptized?
6. What Are The Next Steps?

The great news is that Jesus Himself modeled baptism and we see this in Luke 3:21, "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too." God not only modeled baptism, but he commands it alongside repentance. Acts 2:38, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

As you go through this online class, know that God has gone before you and He will be with you. We, the leadership of Center City Church, are so proud of you and all that God is doing in and through you.

Blessings and love,

G'Joe Joseph and James Lecheler
Pastors, Center City Church

"We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord by which those who have repented and come to faith express their union with Christ in his death and resurrection, by being immersed in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of belonging to the new people of God, the true Israel, and an emblem of burial and cleansing, signifying death to the old life of unbelief and purification from the pollution of sin." Elder Affirmation of Faith, 12.3

Something it helps to see things from what they are not first. Here are three things Baptism is NOT:

1. BAPTISM IS NOT SALVATION. Getting baptized does not save you. Though grace is mysteriously mediated through the ordinance of baptism, it is not saving grace but rather sanctifying grace. In other words, God working in you to want to move towards Him.

2. BAPTISM IS NOT “NECESSARY” FOR SALVATION. Without diminishing the duty and delight of baptism for a believer, we must warn against the doctrine which suggests that salvation is dependent upon baptism. The Gospel is one of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone not by any works. Anyone preaching that baptism is necessary for salvation is preaching another gospel, which is no gospel at all! (Galatians 1:6-9)

3. BAPTISM DOESN'T INSTANTLY HELP YOU OVERCOME SIN STRUGGLES, YOUR PAST OR SHAME. Baptism isn't an outside - in experience. Some believe wrongly that if I can just have this experience, it will help me overcome something from my past. Baptism is when God has already come to you and is changing you, that you desire to make your relationship to Christ publicly known to the outside world.

Baptism is the sacrament given by our Lord Jesus Christ as the external visible symbol of internal grace. Baptism is one of two sacraments (the other being the Lord’s supper) that represents of the invisible realities of the Gospel and the Spirit’s application of this Gospel to our lives. Like a wedding ceremony being a public declaration of internal love and commitment, so too is baptism our public declaration of God's love for us and our response of repentance and faith in Christ.

As we enter the waters or watch another do so, we are reminded that Christ was crucified and raised from the dead and that we, too, have died to the old self to live for Christ. Baptism says that He went all in for His bride, and that all of me (my life, identity, community, purpose and future) is all in with Christ.

Here are some helpful passages in Scripture that teach us about baptism:

• "Baptism, which corresponds to this, 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," 1 Peter 3:21.

• "for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:26-27

• "And Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 2:38

• "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit." 1 Corinthians 12:13

• "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Romans 6:3-4

• What is one thing you learned (or were reminded of) in the definition of baptism?

• What is one thing you learned (or were reminded of) in what baptism is not?
  

Here are a few factors that help us determine if someone should be baptized:

1. Is there genuine turning away from sin and shame and turning to God through faith in Christ?

2. Is there genuine professing to believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation? When one turns away from sin, do they turn to Christ alone or is something they did? While we do things for God, the question should be asked, is this doing for God coming from what He’s done for us? Several passages in Acts support that faith and repentance are necessary conditions for baptism: Acts 2:41, 8:12, 10:47-48, 11:15-18, 16:14–15, 16:30-33

3. Is there evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work and presence in one’s life? When the Gospel is preached, a few things happen together: people were converted, they turned from past identities and idolatry, they began following Christ filled with the Holy Spirit and were baptized into a new community. The presence and power of the Holy Spirit is a key part of this flow.

4. Have they already been baptized as a believer by immersion? If so, then that person should not be baptized.

5. Is there a willingness to engage in the process towards moving to church membership, either with Center City Church or elsewhere? More on this in section 5.

On The Question Of A Minimum Age?
The Bible sets forth certain prerequisites for baptism; however, a minimum age is not one of those prerequisites. Therefore, when repentance, faith, and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit are evident in a person's life, he or she should be baptized regardless of his or her age. However, this is difficult to determine in a child's life. Therefore, parents should be involved as much as possible, because they are probably the best witnesses of their child's transformation.

The Bible also does not require a certain duration of time between a person's conversion and baptism. There is a biblical warrant for baptizing immediately in some situations (Acts 8:26-39), but there is also a biblical warrant for postponing baptism (Acts 10:47).

Although the Bible does not prescribe a minimum age or waiting period for baptism, candidates should have a basic understanding of what the Bible teaches about baptism and be able to explain their reasons for wanting to be baptized.

The following list of questions may help determine whether God has made you ready through repentance, faith, and new birth:

• Have you seen evidence of repentance (turning away from yourself and turning to God)? If so, please share more.



• Is there evidence that you are trusting in Christ and bearing fruit in keeping with your repentance?



• Do you see in yourself a basic understanding of what the Gospel is (and what it is not)? Please explain.



• Why do you think you should go to Heaven?



• Who is Jesus to you since your life changed?



• Why do you sense baptism is the next step for you in your journey with Jesus?

Baptism is typically administered in one of three ways: sprinkling water on a person (aspersion), pouring water on a person (affusion), or submerging a person in water (immersion).

Though the Bible does not explicitly command one mode while prohibiting the others, three arguments suggest that immersion is the mode most faithful to the Bible.

• First, the definition of the Greek verb "to baptize" (βαπτίζω) means "to immerse, wash, purify, plunge, or dip." For this reason, the word itself describes the mode in such a way that "baptism" and "immersion" ought to be considered synonymous.
• Second, the stories of baptism in the New Testament describe that baptism was (and therefore still should be) administered by immersion (i.e., Acts 8:36-39).
• Third, immersion portrays one's participation in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ with greater clarity than any other mode (i.e., sprinkling or pouring).

So, the meaning of the word "baptize", the practice of the early church, and the importance of clearly portraying the Gospel in baptism are important enough realities to commend immersion as the ideal mode. The burden of proof lies upon those commending other modes to explain why they are either permissible or preferable.

In baptism, God has united a profession of faith with a physical act that depicts our salvation. The faith and the act are both important and we must pay careful attention to what the Bible teaches about each. If baptism is "preaching the Gospel with your body" then baptism by a mode other than immersion is like speaking an incomplete sentence, not like speaking an incorrect sentence.

To put it another way, faith in Jesus Christ makes our proclamation correct, and following the biblical mode of baptism makes our proclamation complete. Having baptism be both correct and complete is our desire for the sake of God's glory, the candidate's joy, the edification of the church, and the calling of the lost to find salvation in Jesus.

A person cannot be "baptized again" because baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime event. If the faith one professed at a previous "baptism" was false, then it was not a genuine baptism. A person may have been immersed in water, but it was not Christian baptism without a genuine profession of faith (repentance and faith).

It can be difficult for some to distinguish between the growing "in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" 2 Peter 3:18, and false faith. If you are struggling with this question, we recommend not only prayerful consideration and self-reflection but also seeking counsel from godly leaders and other Christians who are close to you.

If, after seeking wisdom and guidance from the Lord and the Church, you are convinced your faith was false, then you should proceed toward baptism provided there is good reason to believe you are now genuinely repenting of your sins and believing in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

The quick answer to this question is yes and no. This does however require further explanation.

Baptism (and all the Christian life for this maker) is not just about you and Jesus. There are always vertical and horizontal dynamics to life with Christ that are both uniquely different yet mutually interconnected. When Scripture talks about baptism there are two places you are baptized into. First, the person of Christ. Second, the people of Christ. In Romans 6:3, Paul reminds the church in Rome that, "all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?", into the person of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, Paul tells the church in Corinth that they, "were all baptized into one body"; the people of Christ. These are uniquely different yet inextricably interconnected.

In the Great Commission given to all of Christ’s followers in Matthew 28, we see Jesus in verses 18-20 say, "'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" Baptism implies the centrality of God in your life (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), surrounded by community around your life (teaching, living, observing), namely the people that God has brought into your life.

Because the Scripture gives both teaching and modeling to baptism being into the person and people of Christ, we at Center City Church ask that anyone being baptized commit to being part of a local church. If that’s our church, we want to help you take further steps into our family through community groups and our next membership class.

Step 1 – Go through this entire booklet and answer all the questions.
Step 2 – Meet with one of the pastors to answer any questions and review the content, especially Section 2.
Step 3 – Talk through next steps after baptism moving deeper into a local church.