what is baptism?

Question

if you aren't baptized, but you accept the beliefs of christianity, are you not a christian? what is the importance of baptism?

Answer 1

Baptism is a command of Christ. He said, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16)

Many will tell you that someone is saved, then he shall be baptized. This is not the same thing Jesus said. It is not in the same order.

What would Jesus have said if he had meant, “He that believes and is baptized shall be saved”? I believe he said what he meant and meant what he said. I believe Jesus! “He that believes not shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)

Many agree that baptism is commanded by Christ, but they say it is not necessary for salvation. Hebrews 5:9 says, “He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.”

Acts 2:38 says that baptism is “for the remission of sins”, “unto the remission of sins” or “so that your sins will be forgiven”. (Depending on which translation you read.) I Peter 3:21 says baptism now saves!

In the conversion of Saul (Paul), Acts 22:16 says he was commanded to be baptized and wash away his sins. Can we be saved if our sins remain? The only thing that can wash away sins is the blood of Christ.

Romans 6:3-4 says we are “baptized into Christ”. Can we be saved outside of Christ? (See Gal. 3:27 also.) These verses in Romans also say we are “baptized into his death”. At Christ’s death is where his saving blood was shed and offered for our sins. We must contact His death to contact that blood! Can we be saved if we have not contacted His death?

Romans 6:3-4 also say that at baptism we “rise to walk in newness of life.” At a birth there is a new life. Can we be saved if we have not been “born again” to this new life?

In the New Testament after Jesus gave the command about baptism, every example of a conversion specifically mentions baptism. None of these converts ate, drank, slept, or continued their journey until they were baptized. It was always immediate.

Saul who I mentioned earlier, spoke to Jesus. He called Jesus “Lord” and he asked what he needed to do to be saved. Jesus told him to go into the city and it would be told to him what he “must do”. In the city he fasted for three days and he was praying. (Acts 9:9-11) Many would say he was saved at that point, but he was still not told what he “must do”. Then he was told to be baptized and wash away his sins. Please note, even though he had not eaten or drank for three days, he was baptized before he took food. (Acts 9:18-19) This shows the urgency of baptism.

After one believes, repents and confesses Christ, baptism is the point at which we come “into Christ”. The act of being immersed in water and rising up out of the water symbolically recreates Christ's death, burial, and ressurection. It is this way God has appointed for us to contact Christ's death and be forgiven of our sins. Baptism is “for the remission of sins”.

Answer 2

Baptism is a water purification ritual practiced in certain religions such as Christianity, Mandaeanism, Sikhism, and some historic sects of Judaism. The word baptize derives from the Greek word βάπτειν (the infinitive; also listed as the 1st person singular present active indicative βαπτίζω), which loosely means "to dip, bathe, or wash".

Answer 3

You need to be baptised it is not just merely for show. John the Baptist came specially for 2 things. To herald Jesus' coming and to introduce the concept of baptism. Prior to him, there was no such sacrament.

The crossing of the red sea by the Jews depicted this baptism.

Of course, the most important baptism is not the baptism of water, but the baptism of fire and spirit.

Answer 4

You will get many differing views on this, because not all Christians believe the same thing about baptism. Here's what I believe:

Baptism does not save you, or make you a Christian. But it is the outward expression and symbolism of your old self being washed away and the birth of a new person in Christ. It is a public demonstration on the outside of what has occured on the inside. : )

Answer 5

Until the Protestants falsely attempted to redefine the term, every Christian understood that baptism is necessary for salvation, and for membership in the church, and that valid baptism requires either pouring of, or immersion in water, and consecration in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

No one should take a chance with their own eternal security, or that of their loved ones, by accepting anything less.

Answer 6

importance of baptism:
God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit."
And this is what God has testified: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.
It is important to understand that baptism is a result of salvation, not a cause.

Answer 7

Baptism is the New Birth that Jesus said all must undergo ("by water and the spirit") in order to receive the Kingdom of God. Baptism is God's working in us by the waters of the Holy Sacrament. There is no salvation outside of Baptism.

As St. Peter said: "Baptism doth now save you..."