Baptism
” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, ” Brothers, what shall we do?” 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. For the promise is for you and for your children who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” – Acts 2: 37-39
There are lots of thoughts about Baptism out there. Some good, some bad and some are just confusing.
Here at Harvester Christian Church, we think a lot about Baptism. The act of baptism, the heart behind baptism, the symbolic nature of baptism, and most importantly, the relationship you are growing as you are baptized by immersion in the baptistry. Here are Harvester Christian Church we believe that God created all. He is the good and beautiful creator who created human beings. But we as humans fell into sin when Adam and Eve ate the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. When that happened, we as humans created a chasm between us and God. Forever severing the once perfect and close-knit relationship that God intended to have with his creation. We see in Genesis that God desires to walk with his creation as he did in the cool of the day in the Garden. Because of our decision to eat of the apple and the tempter being successful at pulling us away, we enter in to a life that is inherently sinful and yet inherently good all at the same time. The reason it is inherently good, is because along the way of His creation, God decided to send a rescuer, a healer, a mighty one, a redeemer, a sanctifier, a savior. Yes, life is good because God sent his one and only son Jesus, to the earth, coming in the form of a baby and living a perfect life for all to see and emulate.
You see, Jesus came in a time of conquest, confusion, losing, hardship and maybe most of all, Jesus came in a time where Hope and Love were needed. Jesus came in the time of an empire that was striving to be the biggest and best in the world. Jesus came in a time when people were falling left and right into temptation and slavery and financial hardship. But Jesus came and brought hope, he brought a light in what seemed like a very dark world for those that heard the message that Jesus was preaching.
Baptism is a way that we get to show others where we are on our journey with Jesus. When the disciples in Acts 2 preached at Pentecost, baptism what the immediate next step for anyone who believed the message of Jesus. It still reigns true today! Baptism is our outward expression and acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior as we repent for our sins, confess Jesus as Lord and then we are immersed in the water and come out of the water a new creation in Jesus. The act of baptism is symbolic of Jesus dying on the cross, being buried in the tomb and then rising again. With Baptism, we are dying to our old self, being cleansed by the water or buried in the water and coming out of the water a new creation just as Jesus came out of the tomb as a new creation!
The Apostle Paul writes it this way:
” Do you no know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were burried 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
” I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me……..For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Galatians 2:20 & Galatians 3:27
if you would like to look more at Harvester Christian Church’s stance on baptism, click this link – Discover Harvester –
Another great resource for you might be this video, that Pastor Doyle Roth filmed on HCC’s stance of Baptism:
If you are ready to get baptized, let us know! We as a church would love to come alongside you and celebrate this decision! You can let us know by filling this form out:
If you have other questions or would simply like to talk to someone more about Baptism and what it might mean for you, feel free to reach out to us anytime! You can fill out a questionare over at harvester.cc or you could email our Next Steps Director here – bfoulke@harvester.cc –
Some might be wondering, ‘ well I was baptized as an infant or my parents had me sprinkled as a child ‘ All of those are amazing things! The fact that your parents were wanting you to be baptized and known by Jesus is something we will celebrate all day long! At Harvester, we believe that baptism is a choice that you as an individual would make for your relationship with Jesus. It doesn’t mean that what your parents did for you were wrong or bad, but the decision to be baptized may not have been yours. To continue growing in your relationship with Jesus, we would encourage you to read scripture, think and pray about it and ask as many questions as you would like! The journey with Jesus is not one that is simple or easy. It is a lifelong process of allowing God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit form you in a way that is not culturally normal. Baptism is one of the major steps in that journey of following Jesus that can represent the start of walking with Jesus for the rest of your days.
We hope that this post and the video are helpful to you on your journey learning what Jesus is calling you towards and how Jesus wants to free you not just from your sin and shame, but free you into a new life and a new creation that bring glory to God the Father through what He will do in your life and through your life.
Praying for you.