Be Baptized Because Jesus Commanded It.

It was cold, I was feeling ill, and the sea was choppy. But that was not going to stop the planned baptism of Grace, yesterday. Why oh why could she have not picked today, the sun is out, its warm and it is calm. And while we were on the beach before heading into the water, young Josh decided he would like to be baptised.

So why, be baptised? Many of us were baptised as babies, were we not? For me, at that early age, I did not have the choice, that choice was made for me by my parents. As I grew older and made the decision to follow Christ, it was a decision I made for myself and I wanted to make a declaration of following Jesus. Also I like how Pastor John Piper puts it:

Faith unites us to Christ; baptism symbolizes the union.

A comparison would be saying, “With this ring I thee wed.” When we say that, we don’t mean that the ring or the putting on of the ring on the finger is what makes us married. No, it shows the covenant and symbolized the covenant, but the covenant-making vows make the marriage. So it is with faith and baptism.

Right before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples their marching orders. These were His final words to them—and quite often, the last words of anyone are worth remembering, are they not???.

Jesus said “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” (Matt. 28:19–20).

In addition to promising He would never leave us, God gave Christians very specific instructions:

• Make disciples.
• Baptize those disciples.
• Teach them to follow God’s Word.

Because baptism is a symbol of God’s grace and because it is a way to publicly pledge our allegiance to Him, Christ commands it for His disciples.

You should be baptized because Jesus did it….Matthew 3 tells the story of Jesus’ baptism:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:16–17).

Jesus was baptized. I want to follow Jesus. That is good enough for me. It was good enough for Grace & Josh yesterday….

How about you? Have you been baptized? I’d love to hear about it.