📝 Baptism and Spiritual Growth
📝 Baptism and Spiritual Growth About obedience, discipleship, and Christian maturity The meaning and significance of baptism Baptism is a public dedication of faith. Through immersion in water, a believer openly declares a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a decision to follow Him. The water represents spiritual cleansing. Baptism symbolizes the washing away of sin and the believer’s entrance into a new life within the family of God. Baptism pictures death and resurrection. Going beneath the water represents the death of the old self. Rising from the water represents a new life in Christ. The declaration is both personal and public. The believer announces to the world—and to the devil—that he or she no longer belongs to the kingdom of darkness but has entered the kingdom of God. Feeling unready should not prevent obedience. Dr. David Ewen identified “I’m not ready” as a powerful but flawed excuse. Readiness does not come from reaching personal perfection; it begins with...