What is Baptism?
Baptism is an ancient Christian rite used to show that someone has decided to change their life and to start following Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The rite consists of ‘covering’ the person with water - in some traditions that may mean being fully immersed in water or, as is often done in the Anglican Church, pouring a small amount of water over the head.
What does Baptism do?
A baptism is a symbolic act. Baptism only has value to the extent that it reflects the reality of a person’s decision to be a follower of Jesus. Baptism symbolises that you accept what Jesus has done for you and that you want to commit your life to follow him.
What does it symbolise?
The act of baptising a person with water draws on what Christians believe Jesus has done for them.
The going down into the water and then coming out again reminds us that Jesus descended into death, but that in doing so conquered death and evil, and so he rose again to a new life, a life without death and suffering.
The water also reminds us that the death and resurrection of Jesus washes away our status as sinners before God and enables us to be forgiven by God and to have a relationship with God.
“Passing through” the water also symbolises a crossing over into the Kingdom of God, so that, because of what Jesus has done, we are now citizens of God’s family. We will now commit ourselves to strive to live the way God wants us to live.
Who should get baptised?
Baptism is appropriate for anyone who is a Christian and who has not already been baptised.
What is a Christian?
At its most basic, a Christian is someone who trusts in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. By trusting in Jesus as our Saviour we are recognising that we need to be saved - that we need to be saved from the consequences of the way we have treated God - ignoring him and his authority over us. We admit that we need to be saved from an existence that is characterised by sin, suffering and death. We are trusting that Jesus conquered sin and death in his death and resurrection, and now provides us with the opportunity to be forgiven. We are trusting that Jesus will ultimately deliver us into God’s kingdom.
By trusting in Jesus as our Lord, we are recognising that we need to change our lives and that we need to listen to the teachings of Jesus and to seek to apply them to our lives. We are also recognising that God has appointed Jesus as the Lord of everyone and everything – that he will judge all people for the way they have treated God and others. And that he will return to renew and recreate the earth and all who follow him.
If you are unsure of your faith, we would encourage you to put off getting baptised (or getting your child baptised) until you are able to clarify your understanding. If you would like to know more about the Christian faith or have questions that you would like to discuss, we’d love to help you in your investigations.
What do Godparents do?
Many parents appoint Godparents for their children when they are baptised. Godparents make promises in the baptism service that they will take an active role in the Christian upbringing of the child - that they will support the parents, and that they will pray for the child and seek to teach and model the Christian faith to the child. Godparents should be active and mature Christians.
What if the parents or Godparents are not Christians?
Each person must make their own decision about whether they will entrust their life to following the teaching of Jesus – no one else can make that decision for them.
However, where a child is being raised by at least one Christian parent who is committed to teaching and modelling the Christian faith to their child, then it is appropriate for that child to be baptised. The baptism is not a guarantee that the child will grow up to be a Christian, nor is it a ritual that ‘gets the child into heaven’. The baptism of the child is symbolic, that they will be raised as part of the Christian family. As the child grows older, they will decide for themselves whether they will remain in the faith.