What is baptism?

Baptism is a public profession of faith in Jesus, that involves being submerged in water and then raised out again in the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Through baptism we are declaring to the world that Jesus died for our sins, that he was raised to life again and that we are committed to following him.

Why get baptised?

Firstly, baptism is an act of obedience. Jesus commands us to ”go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [he] has commanded.” (Matt 28:19-20). When we get baptised, we are simply obeying Jesus.

Secondly, Baptism symbolises our union with Christ through his death and resurrection. Being immersed into the water, we are buried with him - dying to ourselves and cleansed of our sin - in order that we may be raised up to share his new resurrection life (Roman 6:3-5).

Thirdly, through baptism we welcome new believers into the Church. Baptism signifies our adoption into God’s family through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15).

Who should be baptised?

Anyone who has heard the good news about Jesus and has made a decision to follow him should be baptised. This is the pattern we see in the early church (Acts 2:38-41, 8:12 8:36-38, 9:17-19, 16:14-15, 10:36-48, 16:31-33, 18:8).

Since baptism is an expression of faith in the work of God (Colossians 2:12) we only baptise professing Christians. For this reason we do not practise infant baptism; instead we offer dedications for Christian parents who are committed to raising their child in the faith until they are able to make a decision to follow Jesus for themselves.

Saved by faith

The act of baptism doesn’t make us a Christian, rather it declares to the world that we are already one! It is an outward sign of the inner reality of knowing Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Likewise we are not saved through baptism; we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, which is a gift from God. (Ephesians 2:8)

The Bible says that; ‘If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.’ (Romans 10:9-10)

Getting Baptised at EV

We hold baptism services throughout the year. If you are considering getting baptised we’d love to hear from you.