Baptism has been a part of the church since the early days. It is a formal procedure of ritualistic cleansing. Jewish people believed that entering a body of water could make them clean, not only physically but also spiritually “God shows us through the bible that he wants his people to be baptised” “e.g. Jesus getting baptise”
A few references from the bible:
“Turn away from sins and be baptised and God will forgive your sins” (Mark 1:4)
“And just as he (Jesus) was coming up out of the water he saw the heavens opens torn apart and the sprit descending like a dove upon him. And a voice came down from the heaven ‘You are my own dear son I a pleased’ ” (Mark 1:10-11) This shows that Jesus was baptised and his original sins were forgiven because Jesus did not do any wrong through out his whole life
Jesus shows us baptism is what we are meant to do he showed this by getting baptised by John the Baptist his cousin in the river Jordon before he began his life preaching about his life work for God. Therefore we all assume that because Jesus got baptised we should follow his example and that’s what God wants us to do before we truly begin our life and work for him I his world.
There are also a few references:
“Go and make disciples of all nations baptising them in the name of the father, son and the Holy sprit” (Matthew 28:19) This means that every body can be baptised no matter what race, nationality you are as long as you believe in God you can be baptised and follow the ways of God only.
“Peter also says, “Turn away from sin and be baptised” (Acts 2:14-42) Here Peter is saying try and resist temptation and just believe in God and he will help you when ever in doubt.
Infant Baptism
Infant baptism sees that we are cleansed from all original sins that stain our souls, due to the acts of Adam and Eve which refers to the fact that all humans when they are born they are born with original sins, by being baptised we are cleansed in an early life of sins and offered protection of sins from God.
Believers Baptism
Believers are baptised later in life so that they can be fully aware of the commitment they are making to the Christian community and God Jesus was baptised as an adult therefore it could be said that the people who are being baptised later in life are able to begin a new life with God and Christ.
Things to remember
When a person is baptised it’s not because they are not forced this is important because is means that the child can make up their own mind and choose whether they want to be a part of Gods church. I think if I wasn’t baptised I would feel lonely because i wouldn’t have anybody to talk to when I have sinned and just to be there through out all my life. But when a person is baptised it is because they want to out of their own free will this means they can make decisions there selves and can therefore choose to sin or to be cleansed form sin. People soul dues their faith of God as the basis to make a moral decision about how to live their life in a better way.
People can put their faith in to practise every day by taking time to pray to God and thank him for all the goods things he has given you and to thank him to die on the cross to forgive your sins they can also use their faith to share the knowledge with other people and spread their understanding, also they ca spare one hour each Sunday “Sabbath day” to dedicate to God and go to church. And if you share your life with God it helps you to stay on the right track, also you have a focus with God.
