Two Ordinances: Baptism And The Lord's Bapper

Rituals and ceremonies are the practical aspects of Christianity, which involve customary acts of special, deliberate and repeatable patterns of behaviour through the use of words, actions and symbols (Coleman, 2006). Rituals and ceremonies solidify the relationship between Christians and God as they present a practical, symbolic and comprehensible expression of their underlying beliefs (Morrissey, 2010). Baptism is the ritual of initiation into Christianity, which in essence, is initiation into a life of positive living modelled on Christ. Baptism is held within a congregation of the body of Christ where they vow to spiritually nurture the child or adult being baptised (RCA, 2012). The symbology of the water in baptism encompasses the cleansing of an individual, and it is a practical element of the ritual, which underpins a broader idea of initiating a living adherent into the religion. Another ritual present in all Christian denominations is prayer, which the baptised

Ultimately, when an individual responds to their baptismal call, a community of Christian believers are united under the goal of guiding the initiated. Thus, this attained unity allows the faith to prosper like a living religion. Furthermore, re-birth from sin is intrinsically connected to the death and resurrection of Jesus. This is a fundamental belief throughout Christianity, though it is practiced differently. “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word.” (CCC, 1213). Regardless of the denomination, all baptism rituals symbolise beliefs in the Christian faith, all involves water. Some denominations, like Lutheran practice the sprinkling of water over the head of an initiate, while Pentecostals, practice immersing the head of the initiate in the water. Thus a reminder that, “Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”, for individuals who have been initiated that they made a commitment to the teachings, practices and life of of the community. The baptised should live a life of faith as modelled on the example of Jesus, who forgave their sin. The last belief derived from Baptism, is the believed in the Trinity. Through the guidance and support of the Holy Spirit, an individual's is able to carry out God’s word, and evangelise and spread the message of Jesus. “One will come more powerful that I, and he

For Anglicans Baptism can be a source of great joy for family, friends and priest as well as for the person being baptised. When someone is baptised they are incorporated into the body of Christ, the Church. Coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a real relationship through baptism, prayerfully and sincerely entered into, is the only way to a fulfilled and joyful life.

Centuries ago, the Bible was written when God gave his only son who died on the cross for our sins. “Our” is standing for everyone in the world that God calls his children. Jesus Christ died on the cross with active and passive obedience. This means Jesus actively kept Gods Law for us, which we live by today. Jesus passively took away all of our sins, he died on the cross to take them away and we receive righteousness. Even if we are un-deserving, when Jesus died on the cross for everyone, it gives everyone the opportunity to have everlasting life with God. Baptism is one of the few things that God asks of everyone. The purpose of Baptism is to cleanse your sins and you will be forgiven. With the blessing of God, the Holy Water cleanses the person’s sins and they are given everlasting life.

Baptism has many inextricable ties to the beliefs that are held so very tightly by the Christian church and its adherents. It is one of the many traditions of the faith that seeks to express aspects of the religion that are essential to its practice. Baptism is linked to beliefs about: spiritual rebirth through Christ who seeks to cleanse and purify each individual from their sins, admission into the Christian Church and its mission, faith in the Holy Trinity, particularly in the power of the Holy Spirit which seeks to bring knowledge of God to the world as well as the need for salvation from eternal damnation as emphasised in Lewis Sperry Chafer’s book Major Bible Themes which states that: “...baptism when practiced can be no more than an expression of faith and the hope...that the child will ultimately be saved.” Baptism also highlights the Christian beliefs based on faith and repentance-reconciling with God and accepting one’s role as His son/daughter, participation in the life, death and resurrection of Christ by being able to partake in celebrating His sacrifice for mankind, and finally the forgiveness of sins- turning towards a life filled with God’s guidance and righteous presence.

Connection: The biblical story, Jonah and the Whale, is an example of Baptism. God gave Jonah a job, but he set off in another direction. Suddenly, there was a storm. The boat was tossing in the middle of the sea. No one on the boat knew what to do. Jonah knew that the storm was because of him. God was with him. Everyone prayed for forgiveness and they threw Johan into the water. The storm immediately stopped. God heard Jonah’s prayers and sent a fish to rescue him. Jonah lived in the fish’s stomach for three days. He prayed to God for help. When it was safe, the fish spit Jonah out onto the land. Jonah was cleansed when he returned back to the land. Being tossed into the water was symbolic. He was reborn after the incident.

The sacrament of baptism is typically interpreted as a ceremony that accepts you into the church, however, it also gives us grace. Our job in the process is to accept the grace bestowed upon us in order to ease the pain we feel, gradually. Baptism cleanses us of Original Sin and gives us a clean slate because we will sin throughout life many times. Vaz explains the symbolism behind specific parts of the sacraments’ process. Infants are supposed to wear a white garment due to tradition.

The importance of “baptism” scenes is very clear in a lot of literature. It symbolizes a washing away of the old, a new start. A good example of this is in the book “Fahrenheit 451” by Thomas C. Foster. This book is not only about burning, it is also about rebirth. Guy Montag is in the middle of running away from his rebellion, being hunted for reading books that he is supposed to be burning and killing a man. Montag reaches a river and jumps in to protect himself from being caught. He quickly changes his clothes so the mechanical dog’s do not find him and hides, floats, and waits in the water. As he comes to land on the other side of the river and we see him change as a person. He was stripped of his old life burning books and started a fresh

Often held as a rite of passage and entrance into the Christian church, baptism is much more than just symbolic ritual. Baptism was commanded by Jesus Christ in the Great Commission recounted in the book of Matthew. Even though we are simplistically called to be obedient by being baptized the Christian church has long debated the aspects of this ordinance. Denominations are divided on the basic meaning, types and modes of baptism even two thousand years after the founding of the Christian church. Just as the other ordinance, the Lord’s Supper, congregations find themselves at odd with tradition, biblical interpretation and even individual understanding. However, the simple message of this awe inspiring act can be explained out of the

Baptism is a highly significant practice for most Christians as it is the rite that marks the admission of an individual into most of the Christian churches. It is through this practice that candidates (commonly infants in Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity) hand themselves to God whilst receiving a promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Baptism is significant to the individual and also to the wider church community as it is through this introduction of a new person into the community, that adherents are able to live out their principal beliefs in different ways and therefore fulfill their relationship with God. Within the sacrament of baptism, all three aspects of the principal belief of the Trinity is revealed, “Go, therefore, make disciples of all

In a contemporary Christian environment one of the most prominent practices to have a significant contribution to Christianity as a living religious tradition is Baptism. Baptism is of utmost importance for most Christian denominations. It has profound significance for the individual who is baptised and is also important for the Christian community as a whole. As a sacrament of initiation, Baptism calls its adherents to become missionary Disciples of Christ. It is through baptism that one’s faith journey begins and Christians are called to follow and live their lives in the light of Christ.

Baptism is the sacramental rite that admits an adherent into the Christian Church community. It has origins with of John the Baptist as described in the Gospels, available through the recounts from Paul.

Wesley pictures baptism as essential for the Church and baptism is a holy observance for

In conjunction with water being a sign of initiation into the church so are the symbolic acts of the priest during the sacrament. “The symbolic act of laying hands by the priest, parents and godparents during the anointing of the initiate with chrism emphasizes the sacrament’s communal character.” (Mueller 139) As all of the parties involved are members of the church, baptism is the first act of initiation of us into our own Christ filled community known as the church. Involving various active member of the church brings together the church of past, present and future alike. The priest acts as Christ, who through his own

All Christians know about 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. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20, English Standard Version). In that command, Jesus tells us to baptize in the name of the Trinity. What does the word “baptism” mean? Baptimsa and sometimes baptismos, the Greek word origin of “baptism”, can translate to “immersion” or “bathing” without any religious implications (McGowan, 2014). Nearly every Christian church practices baptism with a religious implication; however, they do not agree on God’s activity in, the qualifications for admitting a person to, and methods of administering baptism. For instance, many churches do not baptize people until they become adults and make a profession of faith, while others encourage baptizing an infant soon after they are born. The practices and philosophy for baptism changed throughout its use in the New Testament, the Early Church, and the Medieval era.