Baptism
We are going to be hosting baptisms in June 2024 at one of our Sunday services at King’s Lynn Academy.
Baptism is an important part of becoming a disciple of Jesus. At The Gateway we baptise believers by full immersion in water.
What about infant baptism?
In my small group last night there were a lot of questions from those who had grown up in Anglican settings and been baptised as a child.
Infant baptism came in as a tradition in some denominations as an answer to high infant mortality rates and the belief that it is baptism saves us. Some argue that the Philippian jailor’s household (Acts 16:33) getting baptised is biblical justification for baptising babies. The previous verses speak of him and his household hearing the gospel and believing v32, so I’m not convinced it is a justification for infant baptism.
On the issue of whether babies are saved, I find John Piper’s explanation from John 9:41 and Romans 1:20 helpful – in other words yes they are!
Many people wrestle with whether they should be baptised as a believer if they have been baptised as a baby. I would encourage them to go for it. Infant baptism was the parent’s choice. Getting baptised as a believer is the choice of that believer.
Why get baptised?
At The Gateway one of our values is that we are “Word Based”, we want to base what we do on what the Scriptures teach, so to see why get baptised, please grab a Bible and find the answers to these questions…
- In Matt 28:19-20 Jesus gives His followers the mission, we are sent to every nation to make disciples. What two things are we to do with every person who becomes a disciple?
- The first time the good news is preached in Acts 2, many people respond. What does Peter tell them to do in Acts 2:38-41?
- In Acts 8:12-13 Philip tells a group of people the good news about Jesus, what two things do they do in response?
- Jesus was baptised at the age of 30 by John the Baptist (Matt 3:13-16). Jesus was sinless and didn’t need to repent, so what does the fact He still got baptised say to us? He was honouring his godly upbringing and spiritual past.
- Water baptism is a public acknowlegement of what has happened in our hearts. Why is a public acknowledgement important Matt 10:32-33?
- Some people don’t get baptised because of what friends and family might say. What counsel does Jesus give in Matt 10:34-39?
What does it mean?
It’s like a burial service – the old you is buried and you come up out of teh water representing the new life in Christ (Romans 6:3-4)
It connects us with the body of Christ – the church. 1 Cor 12:12-13
It confims our position as in Christ. The Gospels tell us to baptise believers “into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19
How do we do baptism?
We baptise by full immersion in water. The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, which means to dip, plunge or immerse. It was a non-religious word and used in recipes to describe pickling an onion by baptising it in vinegar, or dying a cloth by baptising it in the dye. Sprinkling wont pickle an onion or dye a cloth!
Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion under water and the book of Acts shows us that this was the norm for every believer.
“Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water…” Acts 8:38,39.
We have done baptisms in an outdoor swimming pool, in the sea at Sunny Hunny and in our baptistry tank during a Sunday service!
Who should get baptised?
Anyone who has decided to follow Jesus! It doesn’t matter when you became a Christian – the Philippian jailor got baptised a few minutes after conversion, the disciples a few years and Paul a few days.
If you would like to get baptised please do get in touch. If you are just exploring Christianity, why not try our Alpha course.
