BAPTISM Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2:41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. When the crowd asked Peter what they should do in response to his sermon, he gave them a three-fold answer: repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Thousands responded and were added to the fellowship of believers. The biblical pattern is that everyone who is baptized is also added. Every baptized disciple is expected to become an active member of a local fellowship. WATER BAPTISM Water baptism is the public declaration to God, the witnesses present and the spiritual realm (all the angels and demons) of our identity with Christ in His: death, burial and resurrection. It is the celebration of our new life in Christ. Water baptism is not an avenue to salvation but an act of faith and obedience after believing the gospel and turning to God. You declare your final separation from the world and your willingness to be set apart for God’s purpose. The requirement for being baptized is to declare Jesus as the Lord of your life; therefore, without this personal declaration, the process of sprinkling water on a baby’s head cannot be called baptism as babies are too young to declare this for themselves. There is no example of this in the Word of God. Baby dedication is the act of parents devoting their baby unto God and asking the community to help them raise their child for God’s purpose. This is a great practice, but it is not the same as baptism. Due to the fact that your baptism is a declaration of your conviction of your new life in Christ and your commitment to live for Him, this needs to happen once you are able to decide this for yourself. Romans 6:3-6 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 1 Peter 3:21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Colossians 2:12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.