Hello Clawson Family!

Song: 

Scripture:

Matthew 28:19 New Living Translation

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2:12 New Living Translation

12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Matthew 28:19 New Living Translation

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38 New Living Translation

38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Devotional:

There are lots of questions surrounding baptisms. Questions like why do we need to be baptize? How do we baptize?  Is it important? If I have been baptized before as a child should I get baptized again? 

Why do we baptize? 

One of the very last things that Jesus told his followers to do before he ascended into heaven was to go make disciples of all nations, and baptize them.

We baptize because Jesus told us to.  We baptize because we are following the example of Jesus. In Matthew chapter 3 we see Jesus go into the river and get baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus gave us this example to go by. We get baptized to make a public declaration to those who are watching that we are dying to ourselves and being raised up with Christ. Being baptized, is you prophetically saying, I am leaving my old self in the water. It is dying today and when I come up out of the water I am coming up fresh and new in Christ Jesus. And when you are making that prophetic statement with your actions God supernaturally does a work on you while you are in the water. 

So, if you have been contemplating getting baptized, I want you to know that if you are ready to make that commitment to follow Jesus with your whole life, die to yourself and give everything to him. Then your next step is to give your life to Him and get baptized.

How do I get baptized?

First of all to be baptized is to be completely submerged in the water. Not sprinkled. We don’t see anyone get sprinkled in the bible with water for baptism. To be baptized is to be buried and resurrected, so you are completely submerged in the water to be buried, and brought out of the water to be raised up in Christ.

In our church we baptize in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit. There are people and denominations of churches that believe that if you are not baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ only you can’t make it to heaven. First of all there is nowhere in the bible where it even indicates that if you don’t get baptized you can’t go to heaven. Baptism is not required for Salvation, it is a celebration of Salvation. The thief on the cross is a good example here. 

Baptism is your first step of growth and maturity in your walk. It is you declaring to the world who you now are. So, why do we baptize in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit?  

This is what Jesus told us to do, and if Jesus told us to do it, then I am going to do what he told us to do. Why do people argue that you need to be baptized in Jesus name only.

In Acts 2, Peter wasn't leaving out the father or the Spirit. These were Jews that he was addressing. They knew who the father was already, what he was making clear to them is that the path to the father to receive the spirit is through Jesus Christ. So the emphasis here was Jesus, because Jesus is who they had not received. But If I was going to chose to follow someone's directions it is always going to be Jesus, and Jesus told us to “Go make disciples and baptize in the name of the father, son, and Holy Spirit.” and if he said it… then we are really dumb to try to say that we know better than Jesus or it is a sin to do what Jesus told us to.

Is there a biblical reason to get water baptized more than one time, or for something other than publicly declaring my allegiance to Jesus.

I will say the significance of baptism is declaring my faith in Christ, and signifying the death of josh and new birth of Josh. Biblically there are no other reasons to get water baptized so every time we have baptisms there is no need for you to get baptized. It really should be a 1 and done thing as far as reasons to get water baptized in the bible.

But I always tell people, you do what God is telling you to do. I am not going to argue with God. 

Journal: 

Have you been baptized since asking Jesus into your life? In your journal take some time to remember that day, how you felt, and how your life is different now. If you’ve never been baptized, what’s holding you back?

Training:

If you are ready to take that next step today is the day! Get signed up for our next celebration Sunday by filling out our application. 

https://clawson.churchcenter.com/people/forms/804668