Baptism is one of the most significant moments of faith in the Christian life. It is far more than a symbolic ritual; it is a gift from God, a divine promise, uniting His people to Christ and to one another. Through baptism, we are assured that we are part of God’s covenant people, His Church, and that we share in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Yet the question of who should be baptized has been debated for centuries. Does baptism belong to anyone born into a Christian family? Is it only for those who profess faith in Jesus? And what about children? To answer these questions, we need to examine what Scripture teaches about the recipients of baptism.

God’s People in Baptism

At its core, baptism is a sacrament that unites to with Christ and identifies us with Him. But it also identifies us together as God’s people and unites us with His body, the Church. The Church is described in Scripture as the body of Christ, with Jesus as the head and every believer as a member. This unity is both a gift and a calling.

Baptism is God’s public declaration that we are His and and through it, He marks us as His own. But this raises an important question: who should receive this sacrament?

The Biblical Pattern: Faith Before Baptism

The New Testament consistently shows that baptism follows faith. Time and time again, baptism is administered to those who hear the Word of God, believe in the Gospel, and receive the Holy Spirit.

For instance, in Acts 8, Philip preached the good news of Jesus Christ to the people of Samaria. Those who believed were baptized. In Acts 10, Peter baptized Cornelius and his household after they received the Holy Spirit. Even in cases of “household baptisms,” such as Lydia’s in Acts 16, the context suggests that faith was present before baptism was administered. Lydia believed the Gospel, and as a result, her household was baptized.

The Priority of Preaching

Seen within the New Testament pattern of baptism is the centrality of the proclaimed Gospel – or preaching. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ, as Paul explains in Romans 10. Baptism receives the promise declared in the preaching of the Gospel.

This is why the Church has always prioritized preaching as the primary means of building and gathering God’s people. Baptism follows the proclamation of the Gospel as a visible sign and seal of an invisible reality: the work of God in the heart of a believer.

For those who worry about whether they are truly saved if they haven’t been baptized, Scripture offers comfort. The thief on the cross, for example, was promised eternal life by Jesus even though he was never baptized. Salvation comes through faith in Christ. However, though baptism is not necessary for salvation, it is God’s chosen means of signifying and sealing His promises to us in response to the Gospel. Through baptism, God assures us of our union with Christ and promises us all of His saving grace. In this way, baptism is can be talked about as saving (1 Peter 3:21).

What About Children?

The question of whether children should be baptized often stirs strong opinions. While the New Testament doesn’t explicitly address infant baptism, it does provide guidance on the role of children in the Kingdom of God. Jesus welcomed children and pointed to their faith and humility as a model for all believers.

Children who make a reasonable profession faith in Christ should be baptized. Baptized children should also be nurtured in the faith, welcomed into the sacramental life of the church and taught to rely on God’s promises rather than their own efforts. Children who have been baptized should not be made to doubt the efficacy of their baptism on the basis of their ongoing doubts or struggles with sin. They should be constantly pointed back to the promises of God in their baptisms in order to feed their faith and cause them to grow (Romans 6:1-12). They should be reminded often that Baptism is not primarily about what we do for God; it is about what God has done for us in Christ.

What If Baptism Wasn’t Done “Right”?

Sometimes, people question whether their baptism was valid—whether it was done at the right time, in the right way, or with the right understanding. These are important questions, but they shouldn’t lead to anxiety as if baptism is all about us and our doing.

Baptism is ultimately God’s work, not ours. Even if our understanding was imperfect at the time, God’s pact of baptism remains true. If the minister who administered your baptism fell into sin, that does not negate the power of God’s promise. Even if you fell away from the faith after being baptized and are now desiring to trust Christ again, your sin does cancel the covenant of God in Christ given to you in your baptism.

For those considering rebaptism, it’s important to remember that baptism is a one-time sign of God’s covenant. Just as God’s promises never change, there is no need for re-baptism if it was done in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and is received by faith.

The Mode of Baptism

How should baptism be performed? While immersion best reflects the imagery of death and resurrection with Christ, other modes, such as sprinkling or pouring, are also valid. The power of baptism doesn’t lie in the amount of water used but in God’s Word and promise attached to it. What’s most important is the promise of Christ in baptism: our identification with Him, our cleansing from sin, and our union with His body.

At Good Shepherd, we believe that baptism by immersion most clearly proclaims the realities of the Gospel and it also seems to fit the ordinary interpretation of New Testament practices. Therefore, immersion is our normal practice.

Unity Through Baptism

Baptism is not only a personal act of faith; it’s also a communal act of unity. Through baptism, believers are united to Christ and to one another. This unity is a gift from God, and it comes with the responsibility to pursue peace, humility, and love within the Church.

Paul reminds us in Ephesians 4 that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” While Christians may differ on the details of baptism, we are called to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Conclusion: God’s Work in Baptism

Baptism is God’s gift to His people—a sign and seal of our union with Christ. It is God’s promise of our participation in His death and resurrection, the washing away of our sins, and our inclusion in His Church.

Whether you’re a new believer, a child professing faith, or someone with questions about baptism, we want to ground your heart in the assurance-giving realities of baptism. We certainly are here to help you take the next step – whatever that is. We are here to help you believe, grow and hope in Jesus.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.

In churches today, there is a lot of confusion about what baptism is and isn’t. While there’s a broad range of denominational expressions of baptism, even among baptistic, non-denominational churches like ours, there can be significant differences in meaning and practice. Many churches frame baptism as “going public for Jesus” or as a “visual testimony of individual faith.”

Some even tie baptism directly to local church membership, using it as a means of church discipline. At Good Shepherd, we take a different—or perhaps more historical—approach. Rather than seeing baptism as “our thing” or something primarily about us and what we’re doing for God, we view it as entirely “God’s thing,” focused on Him and what He has done for us.

In light of our upcoming baptism class in mid February, here is part one of a two part series of blog posts on baptism, God’s gracious gift of water and the Word.

God’s Promise in Baptism

What is baptism? At its core, baptism is God’s pledge (or promise) to us of our union with Christ. It is a visible and tangible declaration of the gospel, impressed upon our bodies through water and the Word. Baptism assures us that we have been united with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection. It is the “gospel in water.”

Through baptism, God assures us of all of the blessings of salvation: the washing away of sin (Acts 22:16), regeneration and renewal by the Spirit (Titus 3:5-7), and newness of life (Romans 6:4). These promises are not just spiritual concepts—they are made tangible through water and the Word in baptism.

As Good Shepherd Bible Church’s Statement of Faith says:

“Baptism is God’s pledge to us, through water and the Word, of our union with Christ. It is a sign and seal of our participation in His death and resurrection, of our sins being washed away, of our incorporation into His body—the Church, and our being filled with the Holy Spirit.”

A Gift from God, Not a Work of Man

It is crucial to understand that baptism is not something we do for God—it is something God does for us. Through baptism, God acts and speaks on behalf of His people. While the water and the human agent are visible elements of baptism, the true work belongs to God. This is why baptism is administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). Baptism rests entirely on God’s authority, will, and power, not on human invention or effort.

The Protestant Reformers emphasized this point to counter the idea that baptism is merely a symbolic human action. Martin Luther called baptism a divine work, saying: “God stakes His honor, His power, and His might on it.”

Because it is God’s work, baptism is more than just a symbol or memorial—it is a sacred act in which God uses ordinary elements (like water) to give us all of His extraordinary grace.

Baptism as God’s Command

Jesus commanded His followers to baptize as part of the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

This command underscores the divine origin of baptism. It is not a human invention but a practice instituted by Jesus Himself. To obey this command is to trust in God’s promises and submit to His authority. Obedience is all about faith in the promise. Peter declares this in Acts 2:38-39: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to Himself.”

Faith and Baptism

Baptism and faith are inseparably linked. While the water itself has no inherent special power, the Word of God gives baptism its efficacy as the water is applied. Faith is the means by which we receive the promises offered in baptism. As Augustine once said, “The Word is added to the element, and it becomes a sacrament.”

Faith clings to the promise of God in baptism. It is not the act of being baptized that saves, but rather trusting in the God who works through baptism. This faith rejects any notion of human merit and rests entirely on the grace of God.

Baptism as a Sign and Seal

Baptism is a sign and seal of the gospel. As a sign, it points to the realities of Christ’s work: His death (being submersed into the water), resurrection (being brought up from the water), and the cleansing of sin (the wholistic wetness that comes from the water). As a seal, it guarantees that these realities belong to those who believe in what it promises. Paul writes in Galatians 3:27: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

This means that baptism is not just a reminder of God’s grace—it is a means by which God gives us faith, strengthens our faith, and sustains our faith in His promises.

Baptism and Daily Repentance

Though baptism happens once in the life of a believer, its significance endures throughout the Christian life. In speaking about sanctification (or growth in the Christian life) Paul reminds us in Romans 6:3-4: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Baptism calls us to daily repentance, to embrace the promise that we have died to sin and are now alive in Christ. Remembering our baptism stirs our faith and reminds us of our identity in Christ. Luther famously said: “Our whole life should be baptism, and the fulfilling of the sign or sacrament of baptism, since we have been set free from all else and given over to baptism alone, that is, to death and resurrection.”

Conclusion

Baptism is one of God’s greatest gifts to His people. It is His pledge of grace, a visible sign of the gospel, and a means by which He strengthens our faith. Through water and the Word, God assures us of our union with Christ, our cleansing from sin, and our new life in the Spirit. Through baptism, we are His and He is ours.

At Good Shepherd Bible Church, we baptize in obedience to Christ’s command and in faith that He is at work through this sacrament. Baptism is not just a ritual or ordinance—it is a divine sacrament, a gift through which God proclaims and accomplishes His saving work.

If you have questions about baptism or would like to learn more, we invite you to reach out to us or join us for worship as we believe, grow and hope in Jesus. Together, we can rejoice in the promise of new life in Christ that baptism gives.

Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.

We invite you to explore our website to learn more about GSBC, consider connecting at our church, or read about our core beliefs.