CEM UK Team · 3 min read
If you have recently put your faith in Jesus, sooner or later someone will ask whether you have been baptised. It is a good question, and it deserves a clear answer.
Jesus sent His disciples to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). He was baptised Himself, not because He had sin to repent of, but "to fulfil all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15).
On the day of Pentecost, when the crowd asked what they should do, Peter answered, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38). Baptism was never an optional extra for the early church. It was the first step of following Jesus.
Jesus told Nicodemus that to see the kingdom of God a person must be born again, "born of water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5). Paul describes baptism as being "buried with him by baptism into death", so that we "should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).
Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change. It declares publicly that your old life is finished and your new life belongs to Jesus. It is not a reward for being good enough. It is for people who have received God's grace and want to follow Him in obedience.
Speak to our new converts team or any of our pastors. They will talk you through what happens and when the next baptism service will be. If you are still new to faith, The First Ninety Days of Following Jesus is a good place to start.
"May you walk in newness of life, filled with the Holy Spirit and rooted in the family of God."
