Promises
Dear Auntie Agony,
Several people at my church were baptized last Sunday. Why do people get baptized anyway?
When I got married, I stood before a hundred people who knew me and my husband, and I said important things. I said that I would love and honor my husband-to-be and that I would not be interested in any other men from then on. I would be set aside only for him. My old single life was over – my married life was now beginning. My husband said that he would love and take care of me and would not be interested in any other women from then on. He would be set aside only for me. Everyone in the room heard us make those promises. When the going gets tough and I’m angry with my husband or he is angry with me, we remember those vows and we keep them.
In the same way, when you are baptized in front of people, you are telling them that your old life as a non-Christian is over and your new life as a Christian is beginning. You make a statement in front of all of the people there and in front of God that you are beginning a new life, making promises to live as a Christian, even when you’re mad or angry or confused. It’s a public promise, a public celebration, and the way to show just what is most important in your life. Some people are baptized as babies – if so, their parents promise to raise them as Christians until the babies grow into people old enough to make their own decision for Christ.
Because baptism is so important, Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize other believers. Baptism is one way to honor Him and show others around you whom your life is centered on.
Therefore, go 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 NLT