Revision: our first baptisms

my sister, Katie, already blogged about this event. and she did a great job. but since this is my blog, i wanted to document it for myself.

on saturday, June 18, our church had its first baptism service. 3 of our members were baptized. we had a big cookout at Amelia's house (awesome, awesome house!) and then the 3 guys: Jordan, Austin & Mr Joe, were baptized. it was such a sweet blessing to witness 3 people publicly declare their love for Christ & commit to follow him all their days.

i love the picture of baptism. it identifies the believer with Christ in his death, burial & resurrection. we must die to our flesh, through our faith in Jesus & his death on the cross & we are given new life in Christ.

i love the definition that Mars Hill gives of baptism. in fact, i love it so much that i'm just going to copy it from their website. (www.westseattle.marshillchurch.org)

Q: WHAT IS BAPTISM?

A: Baptism is the Christian act of immersing a believer under water and then bringing him forth out of the water. It is a practical representation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as the person being baptized is plunged beneath the waters and brought forth in the same way that Jesus was buried in the earth and resurrected on their behalf in forgiveness of their sins (Rom 6:1-10; Col 2:12). Baptism identified a Christian with Jesus (Acts 10:48; Rom 6:3; Gal 3:27), the universal church (1 Cor 12:13), and the local church (Acts 2:41).

Q: WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS BE BAPTIZED?

A: Jesus commanded that all Christians be baptized (Mt 28:19). His apostles also commanded that all Christians be baptized (Acts 2:38). Therefore, Christians should be baptized because their God and His servants command it.

Q: WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?

A: First, John the Baptizer required that people repent of sin before they could be baptized (Mt 3:2, 6; Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3). Therefore, only Christians who have repented of sin should be baptized.

Second, every baptism in the New Testament is preceded by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus (Acts 2:38-41; 2:41;8:12; 9:18-19; 10:44-48; 16:14-15, 40; 16:29-36; 18:8; 19:1-7; 22:16). Therefore, only Christians who have repented of sin and have trusted in Jesus should be baptized.

Third, baptism is reserved solely for people who have put on Christ (Gal 3:27). Therefore, only those who are Christians should be baptized.

In summary, repentance of sin and faith in Jesus are the marks of a Christian. And all Christians are commanded to be baptized in order to identify themselves with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Subsequently, no one but a Christian should be baptized, and this excludes all non-Christians and children who are too young to demonstrate repentance and articulate faith.

they said it so much better than i could! baptism does NOT save you. only your complete trust in Jesus, repentance of sin & handing over of your life to Christ will save you. baptism is a work, not a faith or saving act. that should always be made clear. nothing can save you but the blood of Jesus!!!

we had such a fun night grilling hamburgers, talking, swimming, eating & baptizing 3 believers. God is so good. and the work that he has begun at Revision is just a blessing. we are all so thankful for this body of Christ. praying we are able to have another baptism service soon!!!

i stole a few (ok, all) pictures from Katie's blog & facebook. she takes MUCH better pictures than i do! thanks to Katie & Evan for being our photogs for the night!!!

so thankful to be part of this body. praise the Lord for what he is doing in our church!!