H2O Baptism

Water baptism is this Sunday! We will meet at First Baptist Church at 2:30. If you have not been baptized you really should be. Let me know ahead of time so we know how many to be ready for on Sunday.

If you have children in children's church you need to talk to them about water baptism. This week Ben said he wanted to be baptized so he could have his sins washed away. I had to explain to him that baptism does not wash your sins away. I reminded him of all the times we had prayed for forgiveness at bedtime devotions, "Did God not forgive you when we prayed?" I asked. Of course he knew that God had already forgiven him.

I asked Gabe about baptism later and he wanted to be baptized so that he could, "Get the Holy Spirit in him." Again I asked him, "Did Jesus come to live in your heart already when we always sang Come Into My Heart Lord Jesus?" He said, yes he did come to live in my heart. So, baptism does not make the Holy Spirit reside in you.

For my boys, we are going to wait till the next baptismal service in a few months. They are really moving forward in understanding what God has been and is doing in their lives. I have instructed them to watch and listen to what is happening at the baptism service and learn. I want them to keep their desire for being baptized, but I also want them to understand what they are doing and cherish that memory for the rest of their lives. It is a great event and passage toward maturity for any believer.

Monday morning our family devotions were about water baptism to clear up the confusion. Jesus was baptized, "...to fulfill all righteousness..." We have already taught the boys what righteousness means, to do things right. So, baptism is an act of obedience. Did Jesus need to be baptized for his sins to be washed away? No. Was he baptized to get the Holy Spirit in his life? No. He was baptized to do everything right before his Father in heaven.