Matthew 3

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Read Matthew 3.

I’m always surprised whenever I meet a Christian who has never been baptized. Years ago, the other elders in a former church and I met a woman who had never been baptized because she had a fear of water. With a lot of patience and God’s grace, she did get baptized.

But her case was an unusual one. It is more common that a believer will struggle with a form of stage-fright that keeps them from getting baptized, especially if the church requires those getting baptized to share their testimony first or make some affirmation of faith. Stage-fright and fear of water are personal issues that are not connected to someone’s desire to follow Christ in obedience, so they don’t surprise me. A person with those feelings just needs some help and encouragement.

The kind of resistance to baptism that surprises me is when a Christian has no real reason not to be baptized, they just don’t want to do it. Since baptism is symbolic of salvation rather than required for salvation, some believers may think it is optional.

It isn’t optional. It is commanded by Christ.

Here in John 3, even Jesus got baptized! His baptism was the baptism of John which is not precisely the same as Christian baptism. John’s baptism was symbolic of a changed mind about sin, in other words, it symbolized repentance (vv. 6, 11). Jesus had no need to change his mind about sin because he never sinned; therefore, there was no need for him to be baptized with John’s baptism.

Yet, Jesus did get baptized. When John balked at his request to be baptized Jesus told him, “it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). In other words, Jesus told him, “It’s the right thing to do.”

If you haven’t been baptized after becoming a believer in Christ, you need to be baptized. Christ commanded it and the church needs to know that you belong with us by faith. Jesus DIDN’T need to be baptized, but he got baptized anyway.

If Jesus was willing to be baptized even though he didn’t need it, what’s stopping you from being baptized?