Those committing to Christ must repent of sin, confess their faith, and be baptized by immersion into Him. (Romans 6:1-8; 10:9-13; Acts 2:38)
· The word for "baptism" in the New Testament is the Greek word bapitzo, which means "to immerse in water."
· Therefore at Cumberland Road Christian Church, we baptize individuals by immersing them in water to identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
· A person needs to be baptized at the time he or she trusts in Christ. The Bible teaches we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), and in the New Testament church, a person’s baptism was always an immediate expression of faith.
· A person needs to be baptized to express trust in Christ, to obey Christ’s command, and to receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-20; John3:3-5; Acts 2:38; 22:16; 8:12-13, 26-38; Romans 6:1-8; Galatians 3:27;
1 Peter 3:21; Hebrews 9:27-28, Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:3-8)
· Being humble and submitting to baptism combats human pride which is one of the biggest obstacles between God and mankind. Anyone who understands Christ’s command to be baptized and refuses to obey should not consider one’s self to have surrendered to God’s will.
· Baptism by immersion is also encouraged for those who lack confidence in their initial conversion experience because they don’t remember it, they were coerced, or their heart was not sincere at the time. Everyone who sins after having been immersed needs to repent and confess to God. (Acts 19:1-5; 1 John 1:9)
· Paul exhorts all believers to unite, for we are all of “one Lord, one
faith, one baptism”. (Ephesians 4:5) It is important for all Christians
to seek unity as members of Christ’s body. We believe the
source of unity is the truth of God’s Word; therefore, we pray
that baptism by immersion is unifying, not divisive, among
believers. (John 13:35; 17:17-23)