Baptism?

[dannibear]

I am a follower of Jesus, and I try my hardest to keep on His path. He is a big part of my life, but one thing that keeps coming to my mind is: I've never been baptized. I consider it a big step in life. I want to get baptized, but for some reason, not now. I will definitely. But I want to know, what is that like?

 

[Boanerges]

You get wet. LOL.
Baptism is a subject that discussed with 100 people will yeild 100 opinions. What everyone can generally agree on is this:
Jesus commands us to be baptized so we should gladly take the plunge.

 

[Giggles4God]

Asking what baptism is like...almost like asking how someone's experience in the presence of God is.

Like Brother Bo said...if we ask 100 people what God's presence is like...we get 100 different answers.

I believe God uses how we 'get' things to help us see the way we experience them.

My own experience:

I was baptized when I was 10 by my step grandfather using his hands to cup water over my head three times (for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

When I was in my early 20's I got immersed. Totally different experience. When I was 10, I didn't really 'feel' anything, but when I was in my 20's and got immersed...oh wow! When I rose out of that cold water...I practically jumped out of the horse trough the church did baptisms in. I was jumping up and down with one of the ladies in the church. I felt SO excited and happy.

So yeah...I felt I was gonna fall out of that horse trough lol. I was so...wow! lol

It is truly hard to explain.

I don't know why you are waiting, but just know...you'll have your own experience to tell, too.

 

[shipwrecksoul]

Dear Dannibear

You have never been baptized?
Neither was the thief on the cross that was the first saved By Jesus himself!
The thief who trusted in Jesus to save. The thief who could nothing but trust in him.
So I hope the experience for you is thought out as you go forward among believers to follow Jesus and get baptized in your admission to all that you proclaim to follow him publickly.

God is so good to those seeking his will.

 

[dannibear]

thank you all for your responses my church is doing a baptism this spring, and I am looking forward to it. I am hoping to experience the feeling of a new life, and to take the next big step in my faith. I was reading my Bible in the park today, and I came across stories of how when people were stuck in a situation, they were always taken care of. they never went hungry or without hope. and I look back at my life, and even though it was hard, i know i was always provided for. So now i cant wait for this experience to come =]

 

[stephen]

Dannibear....blessings to you...in Jesus

Lovely to have a desire to follow Jesus......water baptism...as you express......Be baptised....Acts 2: 38........Follow Jesus and be baptised and fulfill the scripture.....become a disciple of Jesus. I too came the same way........way back.


Jesus said......"He that followeth me.....etc.

The Christian life involves following Jesus.....and the things which he said..........

Many come via John 3:16.....Acts 2:38.....the Roman way....ect But the principal thing is to want to follow HIm.....The bible says "that I might know Him......." Phill 3:10...we cannot all aspire to such great desire.......but that is the target.


In His LOve dear brother........I pray you know His blessing as you follow the Master....... going through the waters in baptism.

 

[Veracity]

I am a follower of Jesus, and I try my hardest to keep on His path. He is a big part of my life, but one thing that keeps coming to my mind is: I've never been baptized. I consider it a big step in life. I want to get baptized, but for some reason, not now. I will definitely. But I want to know, what is that like?

What is it like? What do you want it to be like? I wanted it to be like what the Lord intended it to be like.

The next three scriptures from the gospel are three accounts of the same subject...Jesus said it, so it must be important.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Mark 16:15-16 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Luke 24:46-47 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

The next several scriptures are the actions taken by the apostles regarding what Jesus instructed them to do.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:16 For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 10:47-48 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Perhaps there is a "special" gift of the Holy Spirit in being baptized in Jesus name.. I don't know, this is just my testimony.

I have heard it said that baptism has nothing to do with salvation, using examples of people repenting on the death bed etc, what my opinion is has nothing to do with scripture if it does not match the scripture. Apparently, baptism was a part of salvation, a part of believing. It meant something to Jesus.

I am inclined to believe that those who followed Him, who spoke with Him on a daily basis understood what He meant when He commissioned them, when He commanded them to go forth baptizing, they understood what "in the name of" meant. The Father, the Son, and The Holy Spirit is representation of the One true God, who has chosen the name Jesus to mean something in the end days after He said, "It is finished" on the cross.

As far as the thief having not been baptized, that was before the death and resurrection of the Christ, the Lord will save whom ever He wants to save when it comes right down to it, but if we have learned something, and we know what is right and we choose to go against it, that is a different situation all together.

Each person has to work out their own salvation, and if some choose to ignore what is clearly stated in scripture, or maybe they really don't understand, then that is between them and the Lord.

I have been baptized three times in my life, twice with the words "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" said over me, both times I got wet, and inside I felt exactly the same. Outwardly trying to hide what disappointment I held inside. The last time I was baptized in the Name of Jesus, and I actually felt the difference, it meant something, it really changed something in my spirit. The Lord gave me a new heart at that point, a new strength, a new outlook, a new understanding, but that was me in my relationship with the Lord, my seeking, my questions answered. It may be the Lord meets each person at the level they stand at when they seek Him. I only know who He is to me, and what the scripture says.

It is really up to each individual as to what they are choosing in this life, what they are willing to learn, what they are willing to search out in the scripture. I have been ridiculed and referred to as foolish, and when that happens, I am blessed!!!

I hope when you choose to be baptized, it will be a newness you can feel.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

I am hoping to experience the feeling of a new life, and to take the next big step in my faith.

In my church we baptise in groups by immersion and its done as part of a regular weekend service, so there are usually 100+ people present plus invited family members and friends. Every new believer gets a hearty round of applause when they come up out of the water. Its a "Welcome to the family!" ceremony, in the twenty years I've been at my church and seen many baptisms, I've seen people come out of the water crying tears of joy and I've see them come out excited and laughing, but I've never seen one who was unhappy.

SLE

 

[Greatness4life]

Baptism

Dear dannibear, allow me to post what I posted on my blog here. Many people has always said that baptism does not matter neither does it count. But what does the scripture said?
The scripture said: He that believed and his baptized shall be saved; Mark 16:16a. hope that verse of the scripture explained itself.

Here is the Message I posted on my blog concerning this:

This is the continuation on the previous blog- Basic Element of True Salvation.


It is very important not to just talk about the water baptism without touching the other aspects of it which are, IN WHAT NAME MUST WE BE BAPTIZED? IS IT BY SPRINKLE OR IMMERSION?
I believed Water Baptism is important and not just fulfillment of all righteousness. Many who seems to use this kind of phrase counted water baptism as not important. By God's grace, I will be showing to you that, in whatsoever baptism you have been baptized has an effect on your Christian walk. In fact, entering to spiritual things may be difficulty if this is not in the proper place.
Let start with; in what name must a Christian be Baptized.

IN WHAT NAME MUST A CHRISTIAN BE BAPTIZED?


Name is very important, if it were not so then, people shouldn't be given name. When God created Man in the Garden, He gave them name. When the Lord brought all the animals before Adam, they were to be given name and whatsoever name that Adam gave to them, it was that they bared even till today. Just imagine how it will look like if everybody in your Family doesn't have a name, there will be disorderliness.
So, name is very important when it come to the issue of water baptism. The scripture said in Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:


This was the commandment the Lord gave to the disciples after His resurrection. And this word were to be understood by the revelation of Himself which He has given to them.

John 14:8-9;
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

John 8:58
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

There are many other scriptures that confirmed how the Lord was revealing Himself to them, Who He was and Is and Is to come.

If Jesus Christ has really saved you and I, wouldn't it be proper for us to be baptized in that same name in which we were saved? or Should we just follow the Logo and despise the place of Rhema?
The Logo said, we should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy-Spirit. But what does the Rhema said?
The first step in recognizing what the Rhema said is by asking What is the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy-ghost? These three things mention about are just like a title.

Let me give an analogy:

Imagine yourselves as a married man; to your wife, you are aHusband, to your Children, you are a Father, to your own parent, you are aSon but to your friends and colleagues, you are John.
Which one of these really described you, I mean your name? Is it Husband, Father, Son or John?
If your wife has to bear your name as a surname, will she be called Mrs Husband or will your Children be called James/Jane Father? If your answer is no and you believed that the surname in which your children and wife must bear is John, why then, should we be baptized in that Title name? Why not in the name of Jesus?

One of the things Baptism does for you is to change your surname, If you have been bearing Janet Marcus, bear in mind that your original surname as an unbeliever or sinner was SATAN but when you came to Christ, you were reborn and at baptism you received a surname of the family that you now belong to and that family is the Family of Christ. Why then did you chose to be surnamed after the title called Father, Son and Holy-Ghost? Why not Jesus?

But some of you are bearing title surname. How contradictory does it sound to the teaching of Christ and His disciples.


Can we look at the application of that Matthew 28:19?;

Note that the verse read NAME not NAMES which implies that the Father, the Son and Holy-Ghost is the same person bearing the same name which is JESUS CHRIST.

Act 2:38

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost

Can we boldly say that, there is no remission of Sins without Water Baptism?


Act 10:48;

And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

What is the name of the Lord? is it the Father, Son and Holy-Ghost or Jesus Christ?

Act 19:5;

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

This was what the Apostle did and the Lord did not rebuked them for doing such rather He confirmed it.
So, if the truth has to be preached then, it will be that those who are baptizing people in TITLE name has not yet received the revelation of what baptism is all about.

A christian must be baptized in the name of JESUS CHRIST and that is the truth.


IS IT BY SPRINKLE OR IMMERSION?

I believed the true baptism should be done by immersion, the scripture has no teaching on baptism by sprinkle. Such things are the traditions of men. John was baptizing people by river side when Jesus came to him. He didn't sprinkle water on Him rather he immersed Him inside the flowing river, Jordan.

Matt 3:16

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him


Mark 1:9-10
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.


And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him


May I also say that the day you are baptized correctly Your Heaven will be opened


John 3:26

And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.

John 4:1-2

When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

(Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)


You can search the scriptures and see for yourself but, as far as your Christian walk is concerning, I will advice you that, if you have been baptized by sprinkling of water then you need to be re-baptize again.
Also, if your own is that you has been baptized in title name, the truth of the matter is that, the Lord want you to be re-baptized in His name- Jesus Christ.

Let me show you some others baptism that are in the scripture:

Baptism unto Moses:

1 Cor 10:2;

And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

Baptism into John the Baptist:

Acts 19:3;

And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

Can wrong baptism affect your Spiritual experiences in the things of God? The answer is Yes;

For example:

Acts 19:2-6

1 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

I think that scripture is self explanatory.

The second example I will give has to do with my Spiritual experiences:

I was first baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Spirit, this happened after I refused to be Baptized by Sprinkle of water. But when the Lord started to show me that there is needs for me to be re-baptized again, linking it up with some experience He desired me to enter into and the door way the Lord showed to me to enter into those experiences was to be Baptized in His name.

After much teaching and conviction from the Lord, I agreed to be re-baptized again in His name(Jesus Christ) and ever since then, some of the experience I have been desiring for came without struggle. In fact, that baptism opened my eyes to many thing, my Heaven was opened and till today I'm still grateful for that opportunity the Lord gave to me.

One may want to say what about the thief on the Cross? The answer to that is this; The Thief has no second chance of living on earth so as to be baptized

Without proper Water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ, there is no remissions of Sins, Your salvation experience is far from completeness, and your heaven may not be open to some extent.


My prayer is that the Lord will grant you understanding of this in Jesus name. May the eyes of your understanding be open to see the Rhema of this word and no longer the Logo. For the letter killeth but it is the Spirit that giveth Life.

 

[Boanerges]

Dear dannibear, allow me to post what I posted on my blog here. Many people has always said that baptism does not matter neither does it count. But what does the scripture said? The scripture said: He that believed and his baptized shall be saved; Mark 16:16a. hope that verse of the scripture explained itself.

Just my view:
Baptism matters as an act of obedience. Some circles teach that getting wet will save you. Personally I believe it to signify death, burial and resurrection with Christ to new life.Christ will not reject anyone who comes to Him and trips on the way to the water.

Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

If we divide that like you did :
16:16a He that believeth and is baptized - Jesus came to baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. He never once baptized a single person with water.
16:16b he that believeth not shall be damned- the only one mentioned as being damned is the one who believeth not, there is no mention of baptism in the latter portion of that verse.
So (again my view) baptism is a good and necessary thing but my salvation is not hinged on getting wet but instead by getting covered in the blood of the Lamb.

 

[Greatness4life]

Just my view:
Baptism matters as an act of obedience. Some circles teach that getting wet will save you. Personally I believe it to signify death, burial and resurrection with Christ to new life.Christ will not reject anyone who comes to Him and trips on the way to the water.

Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

If we divide that like you did :
16:16a He that believeth and is baptized - Jesus came to baptize us in the Holy Spirit and fire. He never once baptized a single person with water.
16:16b he that believeth not shall be damned- the only one mentioned as being damned is the one who believeth not, there is no mention of baptism in the latter portion of that verse.
So (again my view) baptism is a good and necessary thing but my salvation is not hinged on getting wet but instead by getting covered in the blood of the Lamb.

If that was what you got form what I posted then, I think you misunderstood or you don't seems to understand what I posted concerning the matter. Well, May be you need to re-read my post dear friend.

 

[dannibear]

I have been baptized three times in my life, twice with the words "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" said over me, both times I got wet, and inside I felt exactly the same. Outwardly trying to hide what disappointment I held inside. The last time I was baptized in the Name of Jesus, and I actually felt the difference, it meant something, it really changed something in my spirit. The Lord gave me a new heart at that point, a new strength, a new outlook, a new understanding, but that was me in my relationship with the Lord, my seeking, my questions answered. It may be the Lord meets each person at the level they stand at when they seek Him. I only know who He is to me, and what the scripture says.

It is really up to each individual as to what they are choosing in this life, what they are willing to learn, what they are willing to search out in the scripture. I have been ridiculed and referred to as foolish, and when that happens, I am blessed!!!

I hope when you choose to be baptized, it will be a newness you can feel.

thank you for your experience =] I do not know what my pastor says when he does baptisms, but I do know, that when I first heard the story of when Jesus died for me on the cross, it brought tears of joy to my eyes, more so then when people tried to explain to me what God was all about in general. I knew the second someone said, someone loves you so much, they are willing to die for you, I had someone special. Maybe it will be the same for me

 

[dannibear]

In my church we baptise in groups by immersion and its done as part of a regular weekend service, so there are usually 100+ people present plus invited family members and friends. Every new believer gets a hearty round of applause when they come up out of the water. Its a "Welcome to the family!" ceremony, in the twenty years I've been at my church and seen many baptisms, I've seen people come out of the water crying tears of joy and I've see them come out excited and laughing, but I've never seen one who was unhappy.

SLE

that sounds like something I always imagined it would be. I always thought of the feeling
as being joyful, and being surrounded by people that are just as happy to see them
baptized as the person feels having been baptized. Already a smile came to my face reading this, knowing that I might have a chance to experience a moment like that, so important, and surrounded by loving people. I think we do the same, where we invite many people at once, and we do ours at the beach =)

 

[dannibear]

After much teaching and conviction from the Lord, I agreed to be re-baptized again in His name(Jesus Christ) and ever since then, some of the experience I have been desiring for came without struggle. In fact, that baptism opened my eyes to many thing, my Heaven was opened and till today I'm still grateful for that opportunity the Lord gave to me.

so, hopefully I correctly understand what you wrote in the blog.
Only when a baptism is done with complete immersion and in the name of Jesus Christ will the true feeling of Heaven opening and a new life come to you? And if my pastor wanted to baptize me, and he wanted to use the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, I don't think he would be offended if I asked him if I could be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ would he?

 

[Greatness4life]

so, hopefully I correctly understand what you wrote in the blog. Only when a baptism is done with complete immersion and in the name of Jesus Christ will the true feeling of Heaven opening and a new life come to you? And if my pastor wanted to baptize me, and he wanted to use the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, I don't think he would be offended if I asked him if I could be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ would he?

I hope he will..

The only thing I believed you should do before going to tell your pastor to baptize you in the Name of Jesus, is to pray that the Lord should give him understanding of this. If not, he may not agree or take it likely with you.

I pray the Lord be with you and give you understanding of His way. As you desire to follow Him, may He carry you in all your ways and lead you into Christ in Jesus name. Amen

 

[RJ]

Baptism by water can be a wonderful experience and to make a public statement of your love and devotion to Jesus Christ, would make it even better.
I respect and applaude anyone who does it for such reasons, in fact, I have been baptised by immersion.
But, when I fully came to grips with God's New Covenant Grace, ushered in by Jesus and the primary telling of by St. Paul,I realized water had nothing to do with a person's salvation.
I mean this with no disrespect but, you have about as much chance of being saved in a shower as you do in a Baptistry but, you could be saved in either one with or without water.
For me, to think that you have to be baptised in water is not what God said about our salvation: " you are saved through belief in grace, it is a gift and not of your works".
To believe that your salvation is dependent on your act of getting wet, then you are not following grace but works and, this is the "Old Law" of doing, which God said that he abolished with the New Covenant.
Many have been saved during water baptism, but it just happened that they were baptised by the Holy Spirit at the same time. Water is not a requirement for Spiritual Baptism. God will save you anywhere and anytime!

 

[dannibear]

I hope he will..

The only thing I believed you should do before going to tell your pastor to baptize you in the Name of Jesus, is to pray that the Lord should give him understanding of this. If not, he may not agree or take it likely with you.

I pray the Lord be with you and give you understanding of His way. As you desire to follow Him, may He carry you in all your ways and lead you into Christ in Jesus name. Amen

thank you for your prayer =] God Bless
and I will take your advice ^.^

 

[dannibear]

Baptism by water can be a wonderful experience and to make a public statement of your love and devotion to Jesus Christ, would make it even better.
I respect and applaude anyone who does it for such reasons, in fact, I have been baptised by immersion.
But, when I fully came to grips with God's New Covenant Grace, ushered in by Jesus and the primary telling of by St. Paul,I realized water had nothing to do with a person's salvation.
I mean this with no disrespect but, you have about as much chance of being saved in a shower as you do in a Baptistry but, you could be saved in either one with or without water.
For me, to think that you have to be baptised in water is not what God said about our salvation: " you are saved through belief in grace, it is a gift and not of your works".
To believe that your salvation is dependent on your act of getting wet, then you are not following grace but works and, this is the "Old Law" of doing, which God said that he abolished with the New Covenant.
Many have been saved during water baptism, but it just happened that they were baptised by the Holy Spirit at the same time. Water is not a requirement for Spiritual Baptism. God will save you anywhere and anytime!

lol, I loved the shower example xD
and thank you for more wisdom on the subject ^.^

 

[spirit1st]

1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.


But There is water baptizing and HOLY GHOST baptizing! We need the HOLY GHOST baptizing! But could go to heaven without the water baptizing! Still We must follow our LORD! He did it So we should count it a Blessing we can too!

Act 10:44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.
Act 10:45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Act 10:46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
Act 10:47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
Act 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.


Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.


1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

WE cannot expect much from our LORD , if we refuse to follow HIm and obey HIM!


Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

 

[WangLili]

What does Scripture say about whom should baptize? Can a non-publicly ordained believer baptize?