Jesus gave his followers a practice, a lived out picture, that shows what it means to trust in Jesus who died and rose again to save them from their sin. Baptism was appointed by Jesus after he had died and been raised from the dead. In Matthew 28:18-20, we read that Jesus said to his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Baptism is a picture of the meaning of Jesus’s death and resurrection for those who trust in Him. He wants you to remember that by trusting in Him you now are joined together with Him (Jesus) in his death and resurrection for sin, so that you now live a new life in Him (Jesus). The term baptize means “to dip underwater”, “to submerge”, or “to immerse”. Baptism is a beautiful picture of what it means for someone who trusts in Jesus to be joined together with him in his death for sin and in his resurrection to newness of life. Being dipped underwater is meant to picture that you are now so closely connected to Jesus by faith that Jesus’ own death has become your death. As you go under the water, then, you see your sin being paid for and your own death taking place as you are joined to Jesus who died and paid for your sin. As you are brought up out of the water this shows that you are joined as well to Jesus’ resurrection life. To be clear, baptism does not save you, but it does provide a living picture of what happened when you trusted in Jesus with your life. Baptism gives an outward picture of what is true of your own inner life.

Baptism is important because it is the practice that Jesus gave to be carried out publicly when a person first puts their trust in Him for their salvation, at the beginning of their new life in Him (Jesus). Generally speaking, it is someone’s first act of obeying Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Rome, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him and order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” (Romans 6:3-7) While Paul says a lot there, one of the main things he is saying is when someone is baptized they are saying publicly they now identify with Jesus. They believe Jesus is God and that He died on the cross for their sins. They believe that He rose again three days later. They will trust in Him (Jesus) and what He says for their life. They believe what is true about Jesus is true of them. And while they will not do it perfectly, they believe their life is now a reenactment of Jesus’ own life. While someone might not understand everything fully about Jesus and His teachings, it is important they understand what they are saying to everyone when they are getting baptized.

To learn more about the importance of baptism, watch Justin's message about baptism HERE.

Below are the steps we feel are important for someone to take to be baptized at RockPoint:

1. Read the content under “What is baptism?” and “Why is baptism important?” on this page.
2. Watch Justin's message on baptism.
3. Fill out the application at the bottom of this page.
4. Meet in-person with a mentor to gain clarity about baptism, receive encouragement, and prayer.
5. Prepare to be baptized (resources, instructions, and logistics given for your baptism day).
6. Get baptized.
7. Meet in-person with a mentor for additional encouragement, prayer, and next steps of engagement with RockPoint.