So those who received his word were baptized... (Acts 2:41)
Why should I be baptized?
- To follow the example set by Christ. (Mark 1:9)
- Because Christ asks us to. (Matthew 28:19-20)
- It demonstrates that I really am a believer. (Acts 18:8) (1 John 2:3)
What is the meaning of baptism?
- It is a public demonstration that I am a follower of Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20)
- It symbolizes spiritual cleansing. (1 Corinthians 6:11)
- It pictures the true meaning of salvation. (Romans 6:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9)
- Baptism doesn’t save me - it shows that I am already saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
Baptism as instituted by Jesus is the right and public confession of faith by all believers in Jesus Christ. It reminds and assures us that “as surely as water washes away dirt from the body, so certainly Christ’s blood and his Spirit wash away all our sins” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q. and A. 69). And because “infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people,” they, “no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin” and thus “by baptism . . . should be received into the Christian church. . . . This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q. and A. 74).
In the Christian Reformed Church, baptism is performed by an ordained minister of the Word or commissioned pastor. The usual method of baptism is by the sprinkling of water on the forehead of the person to be baptized, but other methods (such as immersion) may also be used.
At Cornerstone Church, we practice infant baptism (for children of believing parents), adult baptism (for adults who join but have not previously been baptized in a Christian church), and confirmation (for adults who were baptized as infants and now called upon to confirm their faith through a public profession of his or her faith in Christ.)
In the Christian Reformed Church, baptism is performed by an ordained minister of the Word or commissioned pastor. The usual method of baptism is by the sprinkling of water on the forehead of the person to be baptized, but other methods (such as immersion) may also be used.
At Cornerstone Church, we practice infant baptism (for children of believing parents), adult baptism (for adults who join but have not previously been baptized in a Christian church), and confirmation (for adults who were baptized as infants and now called upon to confirm their faith through a public profession of his or her faith in Christ.)