Three Reasons To Be Baptized

Jesus Was Baptized Himself
He did not need to, but He did it, "To fulfill all righteousness," see Matthew 3:13.  Since this was part of God's plan for all to be water baptized, Jesus submitted to it.  He wanted to show His readiness to comply with all of God's ordinances.  This was called, “The baptism of repentance.”  Even though Jesus had nothing to repent of, He was baptized anyway.  God honored it, by speaking to Him and "baptizing" Him in the Holy Ghost. Wonderful things can happen at water baptisms.  People can be filled with the Holy Ghost and start speaking in tongues.

People can be set free from bondages that may have held them for years. We need to expect God to move whenever we honor His Word.  Jesus was baptized were you?

The Early Church Practiced Baptism
In Acts 2:41, they were saved and baptized the same day.  In Acts 8:12, they believed and were baptized.  In Acts 8:36-40, the Ethiopian eunuch was saved and baptized the same day. In Acts 16:15, Lydia and her household were baptized right after they were saved. 

In Acts 10:48, Peter COMMANDED, that the new believers should be baptized.  He did not SUGGEST that they consider being baptized.  The normal sequence would have been that they believed and were baptized in water first. Because of the Jewish prejudice towards Gentiles, God overruled the normal process and filled these Gentiles with the Holy Ghost before they publicly confessed their belief in Jesus. 

In Acts 16:33, the jailer and his household were saved and baptized.  This is a very interesting story when you realize that this baptism took place around 2:00 AM!  Paul and Silas even had open wounds that were just bandaged.  They must have felt an urgency to baptize or else they would have waited until a more convenient time! 

It appears that the new believers in the Book of Acts made their public confession as they were water baptized.  In other words, they did not have an altar call first, and then some months later offered to baptize them.  It was all one and the same.

Jesus Said We Should Be Baptized
In Mark 16:16, we read, "Preach the gospel. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved."

In Matt 28:19, we read that Jesus said, "Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

Some get all hung up on whether we should baptize someone in Jesus’ name or in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  We do it both ways.  "In the name of Jesus, we baptize you unto the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."

Common Questions

Who can baptize you?
There is no specific teaching in the Scriptures about who administered water baptism so we must conclude that any Christian may baptize. If you can "teach" then you can "baptize."

Normally it is the minister in the church, or a deacon or leader in the church.

What happens when you are baptized?
The word "Baptism" means, to be “totally overwhelmed, covered over, or immersed."  This means that being sprinkled is not being baptized. To be “baptized” you must be totally submersed.

In Acts 2:38, we read, “Repent and be baptized in Jesus’ name and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” You can be baptized in the Holy Spirit at the same time you are water baptized.  It appears that this is what happened to Jesus when He was water baptized.

We should be saved, baptized in the Holy Ghost and in water all on the SAME DAY.

In Mark 16:17, Jesus said, "These signs shall follow you, after you believe and are baptized."  We should believe that signs and wonders will follow us as we are obedient to Jesus’ commands.

If a person is not baptized are they saved?
YES, but they are being disobedient. The fruit of disobedience is missing out on all that God has for their life.

In Mark 16:16, we read, "He that believes and is baptized is saved, he that does not believe is NOT SAVED."  It does not say, "He that is not baptized is damned, but he that does not believe is damned.”

Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be in heaven with Jesus that day, and the thief was not baptized.  The fact that he could not be baptized does not mean anything.  If baptism is REQUIRED, then there are no exceptions to this.

Should children be baptized?
In the Bible it is not clear how old a person should be before they are baptized. There are some passages that give us some guidance.  It was not until Jesus was twelve years old that He made this statement, “... I must be about My Father’s business,” see Luke 2:42-52.  This seems to infer that at this age He felt He was responsible to be doing His Father’s will.  It is not until, at least this age, that God holds a child accountable for their actions. 

It may not even be until age twenty that God begins to hold a person accountable for their actions.  In Exodus 30:14, Numbers 14:29 and Deuteronomy 1:39, we find that God says children, nineteen and under were innocent because they “... did not have the knowledge of good and evil.”

There is no Biblical precedent for infant baptism.  Jesus said, “Believe and be baptized.”  The proper order is believe first and then be baptized.  That is why it is called, “Believer’s baptism.”  Newborn babies should be DEDICATED to the Lord. This is not the same as being baptized or being saved.

We do not baptize young children under twelve years old. We do not want to have to baptize them three or four times as they get older and are saved again and again.  That would just cause confusion and doubt.

What if a person was baptized all ready and wants to be baptized again?
The Bible only speaks about being saved and baptized ONCE.  There is no need to be saved or baptized again.  Even if a person turns away from the Lord and then wants to get right with God, they do not need to be saved and baptized again. They only need to REPENT.  You can only be born again once.  You can only die and be resurrected in the baptismal waters once.  In Romans 6:1-9, Paul teaches about the significance of water baptism.  He asked the Romans if they understood this when they were baptized.  Apparently they did not really understand the full significance of water baptism when they were baptized or they forgot.  This is not an uncommon situation even today. Many people say, “I did not know what it all meant when I was baptized, should I get re-baptized?”  We need to look at what Paul says here in Romans chapter 6.  Does he say, “Since you did not fully understand the significance of water baptism then you should get re-baptized?”  No!  He tells them to realize what DID happen when they were baptized, accept this fact and start living by it.  When a person is baptized they die to sin.   It happens whether you completely understand it or not. Once a person has been born again and baptized they need to deal with renewal, repentance, sanctification, and being constantly refilled with the Holy Spirit.

What do we require in order to baptize someone at Vineyard Community Church?
In Acts 8:36-40; the Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip what was required in order to be baptized.  Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptized.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then Philip baptized him.

If you are interested in getting water baptized you will need to contact the church office or sign-up using the above link. Then we will send you some material about the baptism or you can complete the online forms. We ask that you attend a water baptism class on Sunday morning to prepare for getting water baptized. We ask that you be willing to make a confession of your faith to one of the ministers and then we bring you up on the stage on Sunday morning to baptize you. When you go down in the water be praying and repenting and confessing your sins, see Luke 3:21. 

You should invite people to come to church on the day that you are baptized.  If your parents or spouse would like to help in the baptism, please have them call the church to let us know.