Why should I get Baptized?

[Mike's Wife]

In a few weeks I am going to be Baptized. I am very excited. But also nervous. I am shy, and my Pastor tells me I will have to say WHY I want to get Baptized in front over everyone at church. I cant really come up with any good answer as to why….only…. I want to be Baptized because I want to be closer to Jesus. Is that the right answer?
Oh…one more question. After I do get Baptized, my family and some friends are coming over to my house and we will celebrate with cake….Chocolate Cake. I have been saving a very nice bottle of red wine for a special occasion. I love Choc and Wine! Is it appropriate to drink wine still?

[kay-gee]

Acts 2:38 is your safest bet. Simply say you want to have your sins washed away.

As for the wine. That's entirely up to you.

all te best...

[TEITZY]

Well first and foremost you should want to be baptised because Jesus commanded all His followers to do so. Secondly, baptism is a public profession of faith, so it is important for you to personally tell those attending why you became a Christian (your testimony) and what Christ has done for you. A clear statement of what you believe about Christ and His cross work should also be presented (the bones of the Gospel if you like) and I'm sure your Pastor will ask you some questions just before baptising you so those present know exactly what you believe.

Cheers
Leigh

[Desperaux]

You are being obedient to be baptized, once you have accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour. It is a good thing to profess your faith publically, as an act of obedience also, according to the Word of God.

Romans 10:9-10
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.


As for the celebration, it isn't necessary, but it is a more cultural thing. Celebrating with wine is something you need to ask the Lord about, waiting on His answer. IMO it isn't something that glorifies God after such a spiritually deep experience.

As for being shy to speak--just remember, that Jesus was not shy, and He was bold for you. I know it can be uncomfortable, but push through, and remember that He is with you. I am sure only a few words is required that state how you were before Jesus and how you are now! That makes an impact on people how faith in Jesus changes us...you don't know how many people there may need Him and be impacted by your faith and obedience.

God bless you as you take this step in following after the Lord Jesus!

[sedux]

In a few weeks I am going to be Baptized. I am very excited. But also nervous. I am shy, and my Pastor tells me I will have to say WHY I want to get Baptized in front over everyone at church. I cant really come up with any good answer as to why….only…. I want to be Baptized because I want to be closer to Jesus. Is that the right answer?
Oh…one more question. After I do get Baptized, my family and some friends are coming over to my house and we will celebrate with cake….Chocolate Cake. I have been saving a very nice bottle of red wine for a special occasion. I love Choc and Wine! Is it appropriate to drink wine still?

That's so wonderful MW!! Baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord, which should come from the heart. It's not a test, so don't worry about saying the "right" thing. Just speak the truth from your heart and you should be just fine sister. God bless you!

Matthew 10:32
Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.

[markdrums]

Baptism IS an outward expression of faith & obedience.
It's also symbolic of "Burying your OLD self, & being Raised, born again-new."

Baptism has nothing to do with salvation, or washing away sins, in & of itself.

Think of the thief on the cross next to Jesus; HE was never baptized, yet Jesus told him he would be with him in Paradise. The thief "BELIEVED" that Jesus was indeed the messiah, and was forgiven of his sins through his faith, & his asking. (Even though it was in his last moments.)

But, Baptism is something we SHOULD do, to express our faith & obedience to Christ.

Hope that helps.

[Sold Out]

In a few weeks I am going to be Baptized. I am very excited. But also nervous. I am shy, and my Pastor tells me I will have to say WHY I want to get Baptized in front over everyone at church. I cant really come up with any good answer as to why….only…. I want to be Baptized because I want to be closer to Jesus. Is that the right answer?

Yikes! You have to give a testimony? Isn't the fact you are being baptized testimony enough?

I think that's way too much pressure on folks and might discourage others from being baptized. It would have discouraged me!

I guess if you HAVE to say something, it could be something like "I want to follow the Lord Jesus in believer's baptism."

About the wine...that's up to you. If you feel convicted about serving/consuming it, that's between you and the Lord. None of us here is the Holy Spirit.

[Ryan R]

Congradulations! Don't get drunk! Mmm, red wine and chocolate!

[Epiphanios]

Being baptized won't bring you closer to Jesus Christ.........it will bring you INTO Him. Baptism in a real way marks your sharing in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3, 4).
If we were to get baptised in order to bring us closer to Christ, then we should get baptised every day.
But once you are baptised, the rest of your life is an expression of your baptism..........because it marks your being a new creation. Baptism isn't only an event, but also a process that engages with the rest of your life.

[watchinginawe]

Why should I get Baptized?

Lots of good suggestions here. I add this answer from the Bible given by the eunuch:

Acts 8:36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

[Moxie]

In a few weeks I am going to be Baptized. I am very excited. But also nervous. I am shy, and my Pastor tells me I will have to say WHY I want to get Baptized in front over everyone at church. I cant really come up with any good answer as to why….only…. I want to be Baptized because I want to be closer to Jesus. Is that the right answer?
Oh…one more question. After I do get Baptized, my family and some friends are coming over to my house and we will celebrate with cake….Chocolate Cake. I have been saving a very nice bottle of red wine for a special occasion. I love Choc and Wine! Is it appropriate to drink wine still?

Congrats Mike's wife,

I think its wonderful that you are willing to obey the Lord in Baptism. I guess the question in my mind when you ask why you want to be baptized is...Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? John 3:16 says For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. The term believe means to put our faith and trust in the person of Jesus Christ. Are you willing to make Him your Lord and Savior? God also wants us to repent or turn from our sins. He wants us to confess with our mouth that He is Lord and Savior Romans 10:8-9 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Your testimony is just simply telling others when you placed your faith in Jesus. For many people, this is in form of a prayer, some people simply cry out to God. In other words, If I were to ask you, "Tell me about your salvation story" you should be able to give me some details that would tell me about a time when you placed faith in the person of Jesus Christ, repented of your sin, confessed Him as Lord and Savior and followed Him in obedience by being baptized. I hope that makes sense.

[th1bill]

Mike's Wife,
... I read good reasons and bad according to the scriptures. The reason I was Baptized and the reason I wanted to be was to be obedient to Christ and to let the world know that I was following Him. I am fully aware of a few scriptures, drawn out of their context, that are used to prove that Baptism washes away one's sin but when taken in context with the entire Bible the only way to have our sins forgiven is to confess them before God and then God forgives and removes our sins as far away as the East is from the West.
... Welcome to a life filled with God and congratulations on you act of obedience.

[markedward]

Why should I get Baptized?

Short answer: Because Jesus told us to...

Matthew 28.19: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"

Mark 16.16: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

... and because the apostles told us to...

Acts 2.38: And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

[blessedmommyuv3]

Just stepping in with this reminder:

Maturing in Christ is a non-debate forum.

If you are interested in debating any aspect of baptism, please begin or join in an already ongoing thread in Bible Chat.

Thank you,

Jen

[Gypsy]

Hey Mike's Wife and welcome to the boards. That's awesome that you are to be baptized!!! I'm so happy to meet a new sister in Christ! Folks will argue about have to be baptized to be saved/don't have to be baptized to be saved. I wouldn't pay it much mind. Whichever side of the fence you come down on I can tell you that you'll be glad that you were baptized. I tell you what, you come out of that water with every part of you that you needed to keep and no part of you that you didn't. It's amazing.

Listen, I had to give my testimony too the day I was baptized. Don't sweat it. It's really no big deal. You know there is a sub-forum here just for people's testimonies. Why don't you look around there for a while? It can give you some ideas about how to arrange it,but there really aren't any rules. You can even post your's there and ask for help, but again I just wouldn't fret so much about it because even if you stink (and believe me I've seen some folks struggle through it) not one single person in that church is going to mind as the act of you dedicating yourself to Jesus so much overpowers anything that you will say anyway. It's really all that matters.

Oh, the wine; again folks will argue. Some say absolutely none. Some say OK in moderation. None say it's OK to become a rip-roaring drunk. If you do a Goggle search on alcohol in the bible, there are a number of cites dedicated to this. You should review the relevant scripture and decide for yourself (that's good advice, not just about booze btw, but a lot of the stuff that you might get confused about and find conflicting answerers among other Christians).

Welcome again and Congratulations on your upcoming baptism our new sister in Christ.