A good reason

Ovr the next few weeks I will be preaching on the value of being a baptist Christian. So here are some intitial thoughts.


I rejoice in the simplicity of baptism. The symbol of Christian baptism of the believer by full immersion in water, where the man or woman has come to recognise Jesus as the coming of God among us, cannot be overstated.


In some evangelism, there can be a great emphasis on the forgiving power of Jesus' death on the Cross. And this is absolutely right. With some others, the stress is on the Father's love for us. Essential. And for some , there is a stress on how Jesus can and does pour out the Holy Spirit into our lives. Amen!



But none of these, taken by themselves, is a sufficient explication of the Gospel of Jesus, which is the good news of the Kingdom of God come to earth. Each of forgiveness, love and empowerment is a 'primary colour' of the Gospel; but any one isolated from the others is less than the full Gospel. Something else is needed to bring it together. And that is believer's baptism.


The act of Christian Baptism of the new disciple by full immersion in water signifies and conveys, more than any other symbol can, what it means to be fully integrated into the life of Christ. We are called not just to believe about Jesus. We are called into Jesus: into His life through His death and resurrection.


This has certain implications for us. We believe in the responsibility and freedom of every person to make their own response to the invitation to belong to Jesus - the freedom to embrace Him or - tragically - to reject Him. 



But if a person embraces Jesus, we recognise that they are part now of something bigger than themselves, and that discerning the will and way of God together in Christ is very important for us. We believe in discerning and confirming the will of God together, not just individually, trsting all in the light of Scriptural truths and insights.


A resolution to be different by being Christ's ambassadors. Not defined by institution, or ceremony, or traditions, or buildings, or creeds. But walking together with Jesus in our hearts, the Bible in our heads, and our hands held together, embracing a full Gospel. It is good to be a baptist, facing the future with confidence and focussing on our hope through union with Christ.