As well as receiving the Gift of the Holy Spirit, there are many other important and significant reasons for being baptised, which still apply today. Baptism is one of the seven Sacraments, which form a very important part of worship in the Catholic Church. As a result of being baptised we can receive the other six sacraments e.g. The Sacrament of marriage and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. After baptism, a person is allowed to get married in the church and God can become part of the relationship, which is very important. The Sacrament of Reconciliation enables us to avail of God’s forgiveness at important times in our lives when we need God’s healing. Another important sacrament, which we can receive after being baptised, is the Eucharist, which provides us with spiritual food, which gives us the strength we need to lead good Christian lives. Just as in baptism, we again receive the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation where we confirm the vows made by our parents and godparent when we were baptised.
As I mentioned at the beginning, many Christian groups argue over the issue of baptism. Some groups e.g. argue that infant baptism is of greater significance because they believe that through infant baptism, original sin is removed. If a child dies at a young age, then most parents would find it important and comforting to know that their child is baptised and is with God. When the child is anointed, he/she will receive the strength to fight temptation. They also argue that being baptised as a baby means that the child will become a member of the Christian church from a young age. The child will be brought up in the faith of the church and as a result the child will learn to pray, will go to mass regularly and will develop a personal relationship with Christ.
Believer’s Baptists on the other hand believe that babies should not be baptised and that a person should only be baptised when they are old enough to know what they are doing and understand the commitment baptism requires. The faith of a Believer’s Baptist is partly based on this reference from the New Testament. In the New Testament it is written “repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins2. Believer’s Baptists argue that a child is unable to repent of their sins. Also, Jesus was baptised as an adult and believer’s Baptists think that it is important to follow in the example of Christ and other figures in the New Testament.
The most significant event during Believers baptism is “Total immersion” which I have described in part 1. They believe that being baptised, as an adult is also very significant, even today. When they get baptised they welcome God and God will be with them everyday and will help them through their life and help them to make important decisions, such as buying a house, just like in infant baptism. Baptists find it very important that they have personally invited God into their lives. Baptists find it significant that through being baptised, they have repented of their sins and their sins have been forgiven by God. Similar to Catholics, Baptists also believe that through baptism, a person becomes part of a community which look out for each other and help each other.
As I have shown baptism is very important and meaningful to those who practise Infant and Believer’s baptism. Being baptised halps us to live our lives in the best way possible.
