I had been baptized as a child, so it was difficult for me to wrap my head around doing it AFTER I made the decision to follow Jesus Christ. My pastor at New Life Community Church, where I invested almost 30 years, taught me about the Greek word for Baptism, which means immersion.He taught me what the function of Baptism was and how, according to Acts 2:37 and Mark 16:16, it was the way I outwardly respond to God’s offer of eternal life.
I fully understood at that point that baptism was a public demonstration that I had accepted Christ’s message (Acts 2:41) and that it was a visible way to show I believed in Jesus Christ(Acts 8:12). Essentially, baptism is an outward act that shows my inward commitment (1 Peter 3:21)
Baptism opened my eyes and it became symbolic of putting to death my old way of life, and starting a new life with Christ (Romans 6:4; Acts 22:16) and that I’m included in Christ(Colossians 2:11)
I found that I had plenty of reasons to be baptized. Christ commands it (Matthew 28:19; Matthew 3:13) and I would be making a public statement about my faith (Matthew 10:32). I knew there were other ways to publicly acknowledge Christ, but this was my starting point.
BUT I had to make a decision first. Before I was baptized, I fully understood that apart from Christ I am lost and without hope, that salvation is a free gift from God – That nothing I can do will give me eternal life, and that Christ’s death on my behalf pays the complete price for eternal life.
I was ready to turn away from my life of sin and ask Christ to forgive me. I was ready to ask Jesus Christ to come into my heart and control my life. I was ready to start living for Christ. I knew I would falter and fail because of my humanity, but every time I did, I would turn to Him and diligently seek Him.
I was baptized with other people, but it was a personal experience. I heard many questions from others, but I relied on what I knew…that Baptism should be a personal decision, not a parental decision. Baptism should happen after personally believing in Jesus Christ. As a Christian you will always be learning more about Christ, so more information alone is not a reason for being re-baptized. We’re not required to be re-baptized each time we sin. Ultimately, being re-baptized is a personal issue – You have to determine whether or not it happened subsequent to you accepting God’s free gift of eternal life and being born again.
The church was closely following a Biblical model where Jesus was dedicated as a child, and baptized as an adult (Luke 2:21; Luke 3:21)