Baptism has held an important role throughout church history and the Christian faith. While practices can vary across denominations, baptism continues to represent a public expression of faith for many believers.
One of the earliest examples of baptism in the New Testament appears in Matthew 3, when John the Baptist baptized people as part of his ministry of repentance and preparation for Jesus.
Jesus was later baptized by John, and after his death and resurrection, his disciples were instructed to baptize others as they made disciples.
Dr. Adamson Co, professor of theology, provided a theological perspective on baptism.
“In its most basic sense, it symbolizes the washing away of sin. In going into the water of baptism, it symbolizes that the person’s life now is buried with Christ as He died on the cross, and then as he comes out of the water, Jesus rose to life, resurrected life, so is the believer’s. It’s a beautiful symbolism of our union with Christ,” Co said.
Baptism is a personal decision through which believers publicly express their commitment to Christ in front of friends, family and members of their church community.
Patience Taft, senior elementary education major, described baptism as an important step in her faith.
“To me personally, I feel like it was a public statement of my faith. Just being able to publicly get baptized and so many people being a witness to that,” Taft said.
The experience can also represent an ongoing process of spiritual growth.
Alyssa Dias, freshman pre-nursing major, also shared her experience with baptism.
“My baptism was a declaration that I wanted to give my all to Christ, but it was also the proclamation of what Christ had already done and was going to continue to do,” Dias said.
Dias also reflected on the growth that continued after her baptism.
“I wasn’t perfect going into it, I certainly wasn’t perfect after… but I still got the opportunity to tell everyone around me, ‘Look at who God is,’” Dias said.
Baptism can represent different parts of a believer’s faith journey, from publicly declaring faith to recognizing spiritual growth and identification with Christ. It also provides an opportunity to share that testimony with others.
