Our First Baptisms:
“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
– Acts 22:16 –
On September 14, 2021, River Westlake Baptist Church had our first baptisms. We had five church members get baptized after giving their individual salvation testimonies, and a brief sermon on the beach about the meaning of Biblical baptism.
We went over the fact that baptism does not save anyone from their sins, rather it serves as an illustration of their death to their old sinful self as they go down into the water and are “buried,” and then they are raised up again illustrating their new life as a born again believer in Jesus Christ, linking themselves to Jesus death and resurrection.
We also discussed how infant baptism never occurred anywhere in the Bible, including when Jesus Himself was baptized. Baptism is for believers, never for unbelievers, and baptism does not wash away sins.
In Acts 22:16 “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
The action that saves us from our sins is calling on the name of the Lord in belief, for salvation, not being baptized.
If baptism washed away sins, Jesus would not have had to die on the cross to forgive our sins, He could have just stayed in Heaven.
