The Old made New in Christ Jesus

We can talk about the old but we must embrace the authentic new.

The importance of Water Baptism

Baptism through immersion is central because Jesus established it for the church. It is a commandment not an option and we must understand it is a privilege. We find this in Mathew 28:19-20, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

When, by faith, we receive Jesus as our Lord and Redeemer we are born again. When baptised, it is a symbol of our union with Him, there is no salvation without the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as such the act of baptism is in honour of the Godhead who without we can do nothing.

Christian baptism is how a person makes a public profession of faith and discipleship. In the water baptism, a person publicly confesses faith in Christ; it is a representation that the old is dead, and a new life of sanctification through Christ began. Christian baptism illustrates, in dramatic style, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It also exemplifies an end to sin, in us, and new life in Christ.

From the photo, you can see RIP gravestone and how Soian, was baptised into a new life, the old died, was buried and resurrected. It portrayed what happened when he repented and received Jesus Christ Romans 6:3-4. He was immersed in the water, representing his death to sin and emerging from the water symbolising the cleansed holy new life that follows salvation. We see this in Acts 8:37-38. The former body was buried through immersion so that the new man was lifted, just as Christ was resurrected, through the glory of the Father. Now we too may live a new life.

It was Soian’s outward testimony of inward change that he had experienced once he received Jesus Christ as his Lord and saviour.

Baptism is essential for all who are come to faith in Jesus Christ. Jews were baptised as sign of purification. Jesus himself was baptised in a dramatic way In Mathew 3:16-17 “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”