Baptism: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

If you accept our invitation and come worship with us at ECBC tomorrow on Palm Sunday, you will witness one of the most significant public services we undertake together as a congregation of Baptist believers. As Baptists, we believe in "full immersion baptism at an age of consent." Let's unpack that. Full immersion baptism means the person baptized is completely submerged in water. The pastor lowers the individual baptized down into the water (tilting them from a standing position backward until the believer's body is completely submerged). As soon as the believer is submerged, she or he is raised up again. By age of consent we mean that the believer must be old enough to make her or his own decision that he or she believes in Jesus Christ and wants to follow Jesus more closely by dedicating her or his life to Jesus.

The baptism is a public service performed before the congregation. We do this for two reasons (at least): 1. the individual being baptized declares her or his faith publically by having the baptism performed before the gathered community of believers and 2. the congregation witnessing the baptism agrees to help this new, close follower of Jesus Christ on the journey through life, helping to answer questions, offer guidance, and offer assistance along life's often rocky road.

Why do we do this, you ask? That is an excellent question. We are baptized because Jesus was baptized. We wish to follow Jesus as closely as humanly possible. Through baptism we follow in a service Jesus took part in. As it states in Matthew 3:13-17: Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him , saying "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now: for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

Jesus was baptized, God approved, and we follow His example.

There is symbolism here as well. The water (ordinary tap water by the way, nothing mystical about that or specially imbued with grace) is symbolic of the transition from our old lives to our new lives. When we are lowered backward into the water, it is symbolic of our death and burial in our old lives; when we are raised up, it is symbolic of our resurrection into new life in Christ. As the apostle Paul states in Romans 6: 3-4: Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God, so we too might walk in newness of life.

One note of etiquette if you haven't been with us before: as you can see, baptism is a very significant ceremony full of joy and meaning. We ask you to refrain from making comments during the baptism and we insist on electronic devices being silenced or turned off during this service. That said, we hope you will come and share in our joy as two believers in Jesus Christ offer up their lives into service with Him.

J.B. Snyder