WHAT DOES JESUS WANT ME TO DO?

One of the greatest moments in sports warm-ups is not the mental focus or the music you listen to to get ready. It's the moment you put on the uniform. It lets you and everyone else know – you're on the team! The cool thing is you already know you're on the team, but the uniform lets everyone else know which team you are playing for.

In the same way, when you give your life to Jesus, you are added to his family, but baptism by submersion in water is like putting on your uniform. It's showing everyone else you are going public with your faith, and you're in God's family now! Look at what Romans says in the Message translation:

Romans 6:2-4 MSG
"That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus."

Being baptized isn’t what saves us. Baptism is a symbol of our salvation and a declaration of our faith in Jesus. Baptism is a picture of what happens at salvation. When we are saved, we die to our sins and are raised to new life in Christ. Going under the water is symbolic of dying to our sins; coming up out of the water is symbolic of being raised to a new life in Christ.

Not only is baptism a symbol and picture, but it is a public declaration of your faith in Jesus. It is you declaring to others your commitment to follow Jesus with your life!

CLOSING QUESTION: HAVE YOU BEEN BAPTIZED AFTER YOU DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS?