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Early in life, I was fortunate to have a family that provided me a firm foundation for my faith. At about age 13 or 14 at Rawlinsville Camp Meeting during a hot August evening service, I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. At that time standing at my pew near the end of the service, I made no public confession of faith. I just accepted that He would save me from my sins.
In the ensuing 35 years or so, I didn’t live as though Jesus was at the center of my life. Instead, my wife, children, parents, siblings, extended family and friends all were relegated to second place or worse. It was all about me.
God was like a vague speck on the radar screen of my life. Jesus was merely an expletive. I had no clue where the Holy Spirit fit in, and sadly, I didn’t care.
About four years ago, my wife Joyce mentioned there was a new Sunday School class she had started attending and she thought I might like it. I thought it might be a good idea to attend something like that. I didn’t get excited about going, nor did I resist. I just went along.
Simultaneously, there were some really difficult times in our home life and financial life and they, of course, impacted our marriage.
Some folks at the church helped us with some of those difficulties and that got my attention. But…I had seen Christians in operation before, and I was a little skeptical about what they might be looking for in return. I soon found I had nothing to fear.
In a strong but gentle way, I felt drawn to this church and to the Sojourners ABF in particular. One day someone mentioned in the ABF that church members were volunteering their help to build a new church building across the street and were looking for more help. I thought, “Sure, I’ll help, but don’t expect me to get too involved.”
But slowly, almost imperceptibly, I was feeling a shift toward acceptance of these church folks. They seemed like a nice bunch--even the preachers seemed almost normal. I couldn’t quite figure out why my attitude toward these church folks was changing so much. I found an increasing interest in the Bible, those who preached from it and the music inspired by it.
I was so intrigued and baffled by this that I sought out Pastor Jeff to see if I could get an explanation of what was going on. He, of course, was glad to explain to me that God was working in my heart.
That all brings us to today, and my baptism…
In a conversation with Dave and Vicki Garber (our Sojourner ABF Shepherd Leaders), I mentioned that I really didn’t see what the big deal was about baptism. Vicki quickly, and somewhat indignantly, replied that it was a matter of obedience. For me, that was all it took to get the wheels turning.
I knew that I wanted to be obedient, but I wasn’t about to be baptized just because it was fashionable or because “everybody else was doing it.”
So if there really was more to baptism than I was aware, I would need to dig to find the reasons. And find them I did--all concentrated in a 30-minute sermon by Alistair Begg, complete with scriptural references.
I found that there are four things that baptism means:
First—It is a confession of faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance is integral to that confession.
Second—Baptism expresses our communion with Christ, displaying that our lives are irrevocably wrapped up in Jesus Christ.
Third—It is indicative of our consecration to Christ.
Finally—Baptism looks forward to our consummation with Christ.
All through the book of Acts, we see example after example of believers being baptized. In fact, Jesus found it necessary to be baptized as an act of obedience to His Heavenly Father.
So as a reasonable person, can I deny that a practice of the New Testament Church was to baptize those who professed faith in Jesus Christ?
So where am I in relation to all of this?
First of all, I can say with certainty, I have come to faith in Jesus Christ and have repented of my sins. Faith is submission to His lordship. If we love Him, we obey His commandments, and it is a commandment to be baptized.
Baptism is like a soldier’s oath of loyalty upon entering the service of his commanding officer.
Therefore...
I do accept the terms of service to my Lord.
I accept the privileges and promises.
I am prepared to undertake its responsibilities and demands.
I also wish to express my gratitude to the many of you here who have touched my life and that of my family in so many ways—may God bless you richly.
Brad
March 29, 2009
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