Considering Baptism

[baconisgood23]

I have only been a christian for a year, and I feel that I should be baptised. I have been asking God if he wants me to be baptised, and I'm going to talk it over with my parents tomorrow.

[ccgr]

Awesome! Let us know how it goes, prayin'

[Sstavix]

It's certainly a big decision to make. I was skeptical about it as well... until God told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to do it. And I didn't want to tell God "no."

Just pray to Heavenly Father, and you'll get the guidance you'll need to make your decision. I'll add you to my prayers as well, that you'll receive the answer you need.

[baconisgood23]

Thanks. I really feel like God is calling me to do this.

[ScotchRobbins]

My apologies for getting to you about this so late.

I say, absolutely! Although confessing Jesus Christ as Lord is key to salvation, Baptism is a sign, a signal with which you say "I belong to the Lord, and I will begin to center my life around Him." It's a sign of your want to change for His Glory.

It's also rather symbolic, your old self going under, and your new self emerging. You're essentially drowning your old and sinful ways, and surfacing a new man (or teenager, or even child) in Christ.

Two things I would say: For starters, it doesn't have to be fancy. There doesn't have to be lots of people. Nobody has to know except you, the person who will baptize you, and God. Of course, you can tell others, but this is not an event that has to have publicity, as it's meant to be between you and God most importantly. I was baptized by my mother before school one morning, on Rosh Hashannah of last year, in fact. This may seem crude, but I really felt that God wanted me to be baptized, my mother was willing to do so, so I just up-and-did-it.

Second: it has to be genuine. Don't just get baptized because "___________". You say God wants you to get baptized, then I say go for it.

And sorry if this is late and you've already been baptized. If so, how did it go?