Why Be Baptized?
Churches fall into two camps regarding the role of baptism.
- Baptism is a requirement for your salvation.
- Baptism is a reflection of your salvation.
Most conservative evangelical groups believe that baptism is not a requirement for salvation, and I agree with that assessment. But if belief—faith and trust—in Jesus Christ is all we need to be saved and have a relationship with God, what’s the point of baptism?
Baptism is a public statement. By going under the water, we are making a public statement that we have accepted Christ’s death for our own—we have died and been buried with Christ. By coming out of the water, we are showing that we have been raised with Christ to a new life. It’s a public way of telling others what Christ has done and that we now belong to and identify with Him.
In The Insanity of Sacrifice, Nik Ripken tells how this public proclamation is a big deal in other countries.
For followers of Jesus who come out of Muslim backgrounds, baptism is a cataclysmic event. It is, we might say, the point of no return. Before baptism, Muslim family members and friends assume that people showing interest in Jesus are, perhaps, simply going through a phase. The assumption is that, once they come to their senses, they will walk away from Jesus and return to their traditional faith.
With baptism, however, a line is crossed. And it is baptism that typically opens the door for the fiercest persecution and oppression. At that point, the persecution and oppression might come from the government authorities, but it will most likely come from family members who will be seriously dishonored, embarrassed, and scandalized by their family member who has decided to become a follower of Jesus. It is typically baptism that sets severe persecution in motion.[1]
Baptism is an act of obedience. While baptism does not play a role in saving us, it is something we are commanded to do (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:38). In the early days of the church, it was the first thing believers did; therefore, I see baptism as our first act of obedience.
I’m going to walk a fine line here, but it’s at this point I wonder if some people have truly given their lives to Christ. I’ve heard plenty of excuses for not getting baptized:
- I was sprinkled when I was little.
- I’m afraid of water.
- I’m shy and I’d rather not.
- It doesn’t save me, so I’m good.
Letting someone dunk us in water is not typical behavior. Kids playing in the pool try to show dominance over someone else by trying to dunk them. Yet that’s part of the beauty of baptism. We don’t baptize ourselves; it is an act of submission; we allow someone else to “humble” us by taking us under the water. That’s what it means to follow Christ. We humble ourselves before His lordship; we die to ourselves to follow Him.
This is why I want to question people who are unwilling to be baptized. If you’re unwilling to follow through with this simple, albeit unusual, act of obedience, what does that say about your willingness to submit to Him and follow Him when He calls for obedience in other areas of life? You say you prayed a pray of commitment to Jesus as Lord and Savior, but is He really your Lord if you won’t do this one thing?
Baptism does not save us, but it is an act to show that we have been saved.
If you’ve given your life to Christ but have not make a public declaration of that through baptism, there’s no time like the present.
“Jesus answered, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word’” (John 14:23).
“This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands” (1 John 2:3).
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[1] Nik Ripken, The Insanity of Sacrifice (B&H, 2019), 149.
