What does being Baptized mean?...

[Laconya Clemons]

I came to the Lord about 5 years ago with my mouth but I'm only a
month old in truly surrendering my life over to God with my heart,
mind and soul...putting him in the center of my "everything". I have
never been baptized and to be embarrassingly honest, I'm really not
clear of it's significance in my walk with God. I have simply been
taught that it's an act of obedience. Although, I do feel like it is a
missing piece of the 'puzzle' that's never been connected. All I know
is that my heart desires to be baptized in order to truly move forward
and grow.

I'm curious, is there an opportunity to be baptized at Chosen? ...and
if so, is it for only members of the church? Also, for the people who
do not have a church to call home or are still "searching" out of fear
like myself, what are the proper steps that need to be taken to be a
part of the Chosen family?

Is anyone else curious about baptism or am I the only "baby" in
Christ?

Blessings to all! :)
Laconya

[Pastor AJ]

I want to first thank you for your honesty and sincerity in asking
this very important question.

Baptism is an act of obedience that was even followed by Jesus himself
when He was baptized by John the Baptist. After His baptism, Jesus
began His life of ministry, was anointed by the Holy Spirit, and was
confirmed by the voice of God, proclaiming how pleased He was with His
Son. So I agree that being baptized is a vital element of your
Christian walk. After Jesus' resurrection and before His ascension,
He commanded that those who believed and were baptized would be saved
(Mark 16:16). He followed this statement, however with the retort
that those who didn't believe would be condemned. From this
statement, we can gather that belief is far more important than
baptism itself.

Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward promise and belief that you
are a part of God's Christian family. The physical symbolism of the
baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. So
when you are baptized, you are showing the world that you are dying,
and burying your old life and are resurrected to live a new life in
Christ. Therefore, it is a vital part of your 'rebirth' in Christ.

Baptism is also a way of confirming your commitment to a local Body of
Christ and connection to that church family. And everyone who has a
desire to be baptized at Chosen will have that opportunity in the very
near future. As you may or may not know, I never do anything without
explaining its meaning and importance because we often do things in
church without understanding what we are doing. If you don't know the
significance of your actions, then you can never fully benefit from
doing them. After our study on the Purpose Driven Life, we are going
to learn more about baptism and we will have a baptismal ceremony to
celebrate our new 'Purpose Driven Lives' in Christ.

Thank you again for your question. Hopefully I answered everything
you were wondering about. If not, please feel free to let me know.

Many Blessings!
Pastor AJ

[Seliga]

This is a great question. About three years ago I had came to realize
that baptism was a necessary part of being equiped with the tools that
God will gift to us spiritually. I always thought that having water
sprinkled on my forehead was the true way of baptism when I was a
child. Ramon and I were baptized here in LA with the Horn's and Mama
Suro's support. It was a deep desire God placed in my heart to become
baptized. After the baptism there was a warmness of God's Spirit
correcting me and teaching me at all times. Our God is so wonderful
to offer salvation through Christ and then more.

I have re-dedicated my life to Christ and am born-again, must I
baptize a second time?

God Bless you,

On Apr 7, 8:01 pm, Laconya Clemons <laconya_...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Tammie J.]

I was baptized back when I first came to Christ a few years ago and I
will be honest to say that I did it simply because I thought it was
the "right" thing to do. My Church home at the time didn't explain
what being baptized meant. All I knew is that I was supposed to get
baptized after I received Christ as my Lord and Savior so that's
exactly what I did.....There was no significance nor true meaning for me
then. Now that I've grown and understand what being baptized truly
is, my heart has desired to be baptized again. For me, it will be a
renewing of my walk with Christ...

Thanks for posing this question! Be blessed!

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