Baptism

What We Believe About Baptism

What baptism means. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. When someone trusts in Jesus Christ, they're united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism pictures that change: dying to sin, burying the old self, and rising to walk in new life. It also points ahead to the day God will raise His people from the dead. (Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12)

What baptism doesn't do. Baptism doesn't earn salvation. Only God, through His Spirit, can give new life to someone who is lost. Because baptism is a picture of the gospel, we baptize people who have personally believed it. That's why we don't baptize infants or children who are too young to understand and believe. (Ezekiel 36:25–26; Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:4–6)

How we baptize. At Faith Bible we baptize by immersion, because going under the water and coming back up best pictures being buried and raised with Christ. We gladly make accommodations for people who are elderly or ill.