Step Three - Get Baptised

2.000 years ago when someone wanted to know what to do to become a Christian the answer was very simple: Repent and be baptised (in a past blog I already mentioned that the term "repent" has become an outdated term - I also stated that repentence simply means "to turn around"). To begin a Christian life it is very important to admit that you are in sin, and that you need a change - a turn around, and once you have decided to turn your life around, it is important to be baptised. And at this point... let's look at a brief overview of what baptism is all about.

WHAT IS BAPTISM? AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL / SOCIAL POINT OF VIEW

Briefly, baptism is a rite of passage; a popular ritual filled with symbolism.

From a social / anthropological point of view, it is a rite of passage which like marriages or funerals, marks a change of a person's life situation. Baptism is a rite of passage representing a change from "not a Christian" to "Christian."

Rites of Passage are common to all societies and are designed for a person making a life change. Rites of Passage serve an individual as well as his/her community, helping everybody to adjust to the new state of the individual partaking in the rite, whether its marriage, the ritual designed to mark one's adulthood, or whatever.

Baptism is a rite of passage that is used for you to tell the world that you are making a change; you are becoming a new person.

Further clarification is needed here as Rites of Passage relate to baptism. Some people change from one form of Christianity to another. For example, many Catholics convert to some sort of Protestant form of Christianity. These people oftentimes reject the validity of their first baptism and will get rebaptised. In rare situations you might find somebody who has been rebaptised not only once but several times. In these rare situations the person converts from one form of Christianity to another and then another and possibly some others.

These people who move around constantly have a hard time settling down in life, and usually such moving around should not be encouraged. I would liken it to the person who marries and divorces 3, 4, 5 or even more times. The person is more in love with the idea of marriage than the reality of marriage, or perhaps that person can only handle the romantic part of a relationship and cannot commit when it comes to long term investment.

DIFFERENT FORMS OF BAPTISM

There are several forms of baptism:

Full Immersion - The person is put completely under water.
Sprinkling - The baptiser sprinkles water on the head of the person baptised.
Child Baptism - A child of any age is baptised.
Adult Baptism - Only an adult who can reason is baptised.

Some churches baptise infants expecting them to grow up in the faith. Others insist that only an adult (someone old enough to reason and think on their own) can be baptised. Both forms have been argued from and have been supported by the Bible and Church History.

WHAT IS BAPTISM? A SPIRITUAL / BIBLICAL POINT OF VIEW

There are two theories about what baptism does for us. The first says that the act of baptism imparts grace to the person being baptised. In other words it does something spiritual to the recipient - it creates something mystical and spiritual within the recipient's life.

The second theory states that baptism imparts nothing spiritual or mystical. Baptism is simply a symbolic act designed to help the new believer understand the real transformation taking place in his/her life.

People on both sides believe that Jesus commanded us to be baptised and therefore we should be baptised in obedience to Jesus' command.

WHAT IS THE BIBLICAL MEANING OF BAPTISM?

The Bible presents several metaphors for us in describing baptism. Baptism washes away our sins, gives us new clothes to wear and is symbolic of death, burial and resurrection. The Bible also tells us that because we all share the same baptism, we are all baptized into one group. No matter what church or denomination you belong to, you are joined together with others who have been baptized.

IS THERE A RIGHT FORMULA FOR BAPTISM?

The words said at baptism may vary to some degree, and the form of baptizing may differ. The most important thing about baptism is not the outward act with water, but rather the most important thing about Baptism is what is going on inside of you.

WHEN SHOULD I GET BAPTIZED?

Throughout the history of Christianity there have been at least 2 different thoughts on this. The first is that you should get baptized right away. The New Testament church followed this rule.

The second thought is to wait until there is a certain level of training. John the Baptist told some of his followers that he wanted to see some evidence of spiritual change before he would baptize them. In some of today's churches there is some training involved before one is baptized.

Either way is good, because baptism is not the act that saves you; but rather it is the physically outward and social act that marks the beginning of your new life in Christ. It is therefore good to seek it as soon as possible, whether that includes training or not.

IF I AM NOT BAPTIZED AM I STILL A CHRISTIAN?

Yes, but as a Christian you will want to follow Jesus and what He wants from you.

SCRIPTURE FOR CONSIDERATION

Hebrews 10:22 says, "Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water." The metaphor in this verse is that of washing. It implies the washing away of sins and is symbolically seen in either sprinkling or full emersion.

The second metaphor is that of putting on clothes. Galatians 3:27 says, "And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes."

The third metaphor is that of death, burial and resurrection. This is best seen in the full emersion type of baptism. Romans 6:3-4 says, ...do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Finally, 1 Corinthians 12:13 explains how we are all united in baptism. "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit."