So my friend that God used to influence me to come to Jesus was named Frank and it was my great Uncle Frank’s church that my dad used to drive me to.
God used two Franks to get me started in my Christian life.
As soon as I trusted Christ as my Savior, I wanted to be baptized. I knew that’s what Christians did and I wanted to do it. I called my Uncle Frank and told him I had gotten saved and asked him if he would baptize me. He was overjoyed about my decision and gleefully agreed.
He then asked, “How is two weeks from now?”
“Two weeks!” I retorted. “C’mon Uncle Frank. I want to do it as soon as possible.”
Well as far as Uncle Frank was concerned, two weeks was as soon as possible. So, two weeks later I was baptized.
Matthew 3:16 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:”
Four things about baptism:
- Baptism is by immersion. Jesus went to a river to be baptized. The bible says He came up out of the water. You’ve got be be under something before you can come up out of it. Baptism also symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Immersion under the water does those three things.
- Baptism comes after salvation. Philip told the Ethiopian eunuch that if he believed in Christ, he could be baptized. Only someone who is capable of comprehending the gospel and puts his or her faith in Christ should be baptized.
- Baptism is thus limited to adults and children capable of accepting Christ. Acts chapter two describing Pentecost says, “they that gladly received his word were baptized”. Nowhere in the bible do we find infants being baptized.
- Baptism is only a symbol. It does not save our souls. It does not wash our sins away. It pictures two things: the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; and the transformation from the old life lived in the flesh to the new life in Christ. A good example is a wedding ring. Putting a wedding ring on the finger of a single person doesn’t make them married. A married person taking off a wedding ring doesn’t make them single. It is simply a symbol to show others that a person is married. Baptism doesn’t make anyone a Christian. It is simply a symbol to show others that we want to be recognized with Jesus.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 