Who Should Baptize Me?

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Who Should Baptize Me?

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Baptism is a serious, life-long commitment. For this reason, being baptized by a minister of God is an important and valuable part of the process. Through the minister’s experience and knowledge, he will not only perform the baptism but also help you understand how to more effectively prepare for it yourself.

A true minister of God is one who understands that God gave humanity His laws to show us His way of love. Those laws define how we demonstrate love to God and our fellow man (Deuteronomy 30:15-16; Matthew 22:35-40; 1 John 5:3). Sin is violation of that law of love. God showed us a way to live in peace and harmony with Him and with mankind and defined this way of life by His law. When we sin, we violate or transgress that boundary and break God’s law.

A true minister of God understands that when God calls a person, He expects a twofold response expressed by Jesus in Mark 1:15: “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Faith and grace are gifts of God (Ephesians 2:8). Likewise, God grants repentance, especially when a person prays for it (Acts 8:22). And Paul said, “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4).

Jesus Christ Himself gave us a pattern to follow when He sought out John the Baptist to conduct His baptism

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him” (Matthew 3:13-15).

John was not only called by God to ministry in this way, but he was also a man who understood the seriousness with which we are to approach the Christian life. John was a representative of God who came proclaiming a baptism of repentance. John’s message regarding baptism differed from contemporary religious teaching in that he taught that baptism was much more than simply a symbol of ceremonial cleansing. He taught a baptism of repentance, confession of sin and the need for moral cleansing (Matthew 3:5-8).

After Jesus Himself was baptized, He encouraged His disciples to be baptized and, on His behalf, to baptize others. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit'” (Matthew 28:18-20).

The book of Acts is a key historical record of what the early Church believed and practiced regarding baptism

The Acts of the apostles records the disciples beginning to do exactly what Jesus had told them to do. And this pattern we see over and over again in the baptism stories recorded in Acts. God’s ministers are sent to not only guide those called by God, but to also baptize them upon their repentance, and lay hands upon them asking God that they might receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 8:14-17 records one such account: “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Later in Acts 8, we have detailed the wonderful baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch by Philip. The Ethiopian struggled with Isaiah’s writings but God sent Philip to help with understanding the scripture. “So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him . . . Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him . . . So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:30-38).

Sent by God, Philip was not only able to teach the Ethiopian about Jesus Christ and His dying in place of sinners. But he was also able to baptize him upon his acceptance and belief in Christ.

Likewise in Acts 16, we have the remarkable baptism stories of Lydia and the Philippian jailer. God’s representatives, Timothy, Paul and Silas were traveling through the city of Philippi when they encountered a certain woman named Lydia. She worshiped God and “the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.” And she and her household were baptized (Acts 16:14-15).

Paul, representing God, not only spoke the good news about the Kingdom and about Jesus Christ, but was also able to baptize Lydia and her household.

We read that soon after the baptism of Lydia and her family, Paul and Silas were thrown into Jail. While there, the jailer was inspired by the gospel message they brought, and “they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:32-33).

Since the days of the disciples, we see a pattern of God’s representatives being sent to baptize those who have come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Paul wrote: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15).

Do you believe God is leading you to a fuller understanding of Him and His Word? If the answer is yes, then you should seriously consider acting on the steps God is telling you to take.

Today the United Church of God has ministers in most parts of the world who are trained to counsel with and baptize those who turn to God in true repentance. If you perceive that God is calling you and you would like to counsel with one of God’s ministers, then please contact us and we will put you in touch with our ministerial representative nearest you.