Two Ordinances: Baptism And The Lord's Bapper

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

I am going to start off with what it feels like to live among God’s faithful people. Such as you. It feels like a family that all have the same beliefs in God and all are always welcomed. Everyone also looks after and cares about one another, and always helps them in the time of need.

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.

According to the theologian Michael Horton, baptism is not only a sacrament of Christians’ union with Christ; it is also a sacrament of their communion as the body of Christ. Baptism is a public declaration of one’s faith, symbolizing purification, regeneration, and admission into the catholic church. Baptism is a wide held belief throughout Christianity, with nearly every denomination practicing the custom. However, the tradition has different meanings for different denominations within Christianity, which leads to highly controversial practices such as infant baptism and believer’s baptism. These disparate traditions have been a source of many heated debates as the denominations have grown further

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.

Lutherans and Baptists are both Christians who are also Protestants. They share many beliefs and have more similarities than differences. Both happen to be reformists within the fold of Christianity. However, there are many different branches of Baptists with differences between them too. In Lutheran, baptism is seen as a work of God and so even infants are baptized. On the other hand, baptism is only for believers among Baptists, and this is the reason why infants are not baptized in Baptists.

Despite many Christians, such as Patriarch Batholomew from the Greek Orthodox church who states that ‘For humans to contaminate the Earth’s waters, its land, its air, and its life, with poisonous substances. These are sins’ in an attempt to encourage prioritising environmental protection, climate skeptic Calvin Beisner states that “the Bible teaches that earth and all its subsystems… are the product of a God who is an infinitely wise designer”, reflecting that his personal interpretation of God’s revelation has led to his understanding of the Earth being intelligently design, so that humankind could not potentially destroy it, consequently leading to him not placing priority on the protection of the environment.

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.

Throughout the course of organized religion both present and past, ritualistic acts of praise and worship have been practiced as a sign of both love and honor to God. Catholicism refers to these rituals as sacraments. As Christians and members of this faith, the first sacrament received by each member is Baptism. This sacrament has not only been practiced since the beginning of our faith, but has deep meaning and symbolic ties to the start of creation with Adam and Eve. I hope to prove through both illustration and published works how Baptism as a sacrament is both a sign and symbol of humanities desire to become closer to God by cleansing them of original sin through this ritual and rite of passage.

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

Baptism is often understood to symbolise the resurrection of Christ-the revival of the sinner to a life of righteousness. Romans 6:3-11: “Do you not know that all of

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.

Baptism is the first sacrament of the seven. It helps understand god’s love and compassion by showing how he would except anyone to become catholic. This sacraments symbols are Dove, oil,

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

When Nakirra was a little girl in church she did not understand what getting baptised meant. Her church school teacher use to explain to her what the values of getting baptised was and how it was important for her to get baptised. She said ,”That baptism was their personal identification with Jesus Christ”. In the bible found in Ephesians 2: 8-9 it states that “For by grace you have been saved through faith”. And this is not their own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,so that no one may boast.”