Believers Baptism

The sacrament of Believers Baptism is at the core of what a Baptist Church is. Unlike some other churches who baptise a child shortly after birth, we believe that baptism should be reserved for that time in life when each individual comes into a personal faith in Jesus Christ as their Saviour & Lord. This is not 'adult baptism' as children can enter into a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ just as easily as an adult can

Why Be Baptized?

Just as Jesus ascended into heaven he left His church with what we call 'The Great Commission'. In this commission the Church is charged with the responsibility to 'make disciples' and then to 'baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...' It is important that everything be done in the order that Jesus commanded, people are to be made disciples then baptised, not be baptised and then hopefully they may become a disciple'.In the Early Church baptism was seen as following shortly after belief & repentance ...
Peter replied,
"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" (Acts 2:38)

What Does Baptism Signify?

In going under the water we are identifying with the death of Christ. We recognise that his death was a substitutionary one, i.e.. he died in our place - for our sins. As we come up out of the water we identify with the resurrection of Christ through which we receive new life.
We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. (Rom 6:4-5)
The fact that water is so evident in this sacrament also helps to symbolise the fact that we have been cleansed from our sin. The act of baptism does not cleanse us, but rather it symbolises what happened to us at that moment of repentance which preceded the act of baptism.
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)
Baptism is also a sign of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives. It is His presence which is the source of our new life in Christ
For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (Cor 12:13)
So we practice the sacrament of baptism because God has commanded us to, and because it describes what God has already done in us through His Holy Spirit better than any other form of symbolism.