“Go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them” is the digest version of the Great Commission. It would be incomplete without this vital second command. Why then is the act of immersing in water integral to fulfilling the call of Jesus?
Follow Jesus
First of all, baptism is vital because we are following Jesus. Jesus Himself was baptized, overcoming John’s objections by stating that it was necessary “to fulfill all righteousness.” For the believer, salvation begins with believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. This is a private, inward act between a person and God. Baptism is a public, outward act through which a believer declares commitment to follow Christ.
I was baptized in a cattle tank in Nebraska. Yet I sensed the same impartation of God’s grace and peace that my son experienced when I baptized him in a church sanctuary baptismal in Cleveland. The King who was born in a manger asks us to follow Him in acts of obedience that are both simple and profound. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Obey God
Jesus Christ, our Lord, commanded all who believe in Him to be baptized in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Creation was an act of the Trinity in harmony, and the new creation that occurs in salvation is no less so. Therefore, the agency, action and authority of each is honored in baptism.
This obedience in faith is contagious. I recall baptizing 56 people in a river one cold January day in Bulgaria. One of those people was a woman whose unsaved husband drove her to the river. As he stood watching his wife and other believers making public confession of their faith and being baptized in that frigid river, tears began to flow down his face. Crushing his cigarettes beneath his heel, he walked into the river…and walked out a new man.
Enter the Mystery
As with salvation, this act of obedience and faith is more than meets the eye. In many parts of the world where the church is persecuted, the authorities do not persecute those who pray or even those who attend church. However, when believers are baptized, all hell breaks loose…literally. Hell’s response towards this act of obedience is revealing, but so is heaven’s.
I have personally witnessed miracles of healing, deliverance from addictions, and Holy Spirit baptism occurring while believers were baptized in water. My brother rededicated his life to God after watching videos of baptismal services during the Brownsville revival. There is power and mystery in this act of obedience!
Connect with God’s Heart
In dying to self and coming alive to God, we follow Jesus to the grave and into the power of His resurrected life. We are baptized to join the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the mission of God…seeking and saving that which is lost.
Jonathan Augustine
Regional Superintendent
Hungary/Czech Republic/Poland/Slovakia
Project Number 0600094
© 2009 Church of God World Missions