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Is getting baptized a big deal? It all depends on what it means. To get an idea of its importance, think about the following.
What if you’re attending a wedding ceremony, and the pastor asks the groom, “Will you take this woman to be your wife? If so, say ‘I will,’” and the groom responds, “Do I really need to say that?”
Or, let’s say you’re at a ceremony for new citizens, and the judge says, “Please rise to take the Oath of Citizenship and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution,” and a non-citizen immigrant says to the judge, “I want to have the benefits of being in America, but I really don’t want to be called an American citizen. Can I…
Racial divides and cultural conflicts have been the cause of human tragedies around the world for millennia. Ethnic cleansing is but one horrific example of one group’s attempt to completely expunge another from the face of the earth. The root of such atrocities isn’t mere preference, not even prejudice, but what the Bible calls “partiality”, the looking down on one group while looking up to the other. Taken to its extreme, mixed with fierce pride, hearts of people seethe with anger and resentment towards others. Devastation and destruction, enmity and hostility––sometimes raging for hundreds of years––are the results.
What is powerful enough to break down the entrenched barricades separating people, and at the same time build up strong…
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28:19 NASB)
So then, those who had received His word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:41 NASB)
On June 25, 2005, I placed a ring on the hand of my new bride as an outward, symbolic expression of an inward commitment that we made to each other before God and all our witnesses. This imagery helps us understand the symbolism and significance of baptism. Jesus’ command in the Great Commission to baptize all disciples in the name of God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) was designed to…