Water Baptism
Jesus commanded all those who believed in Him to be baptized in water.
"Then 5 came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
"Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... ''' ( Mathew 28:18,19). See also Acts 2:38-41).
To be "baptized" means to be "totally immersed." When a person repents from his sin and believes Jesus died for him, before many witnesses, he (or she) is to be taken to water, put to right under it and brought up again. Why would Jesus command that His believers do such a strange thing?
A. UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF WATER BAPTISM
Understanding what water baptism is all about is the key to a victorious and liberated Christian life.
The act of going under the water and rising up from it again is a picture demonstrating what has happened to the Christian believer.
B. FOUR STAGES OF CHRIST'S WORK PICTURED
1. He Died... I Died to Him
"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin _ because anyone who has died has been freed from sin" (Roman 6:6,7).
