Yesterday, I talked about the significance of water baptism. While the significance of baptism may be clear to you, are you still struggling with this next step? A lot of people make the mistake of waiting until they feel worthy to be baptized, thinking, “Well, I’d like to be baptized, but I want to have my life together…” If you could wash yourself clean, you wouldn’t need Jesus to cleanse you in the first place!
This is one of the things I love about water baptism! It’s saying, “I trust in You, Lord. I want you to change my life. Here’s my declaration.” Peter thought that it wasn’t necessary for Jesus to die on the cross to save us. How did Jesus respond? He said in Matthew 16: 23, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
If God has called us to be baptized, we have to understand that it is an important part of the faith journey. Don’t let anything keep you from this step. Have you ever had the opportunity be baptized but turned it down? Maybe you were hesitant to be baptized because you didn’t have your family with you. This is understandable because we all want our loved ones there for us! But think about this—when you die, you won’t stand before your family and give an account of your obedience. You’ll stand before Jesus. It’s better to keep someone else waiting that to keep God waiting, because the right time to do the right thing is right now.
If you have made the decision to follow Jesus and are presented with the opportunity to be baptized, take that step! You’re not waiting to become worthy in your own strength. You’re allowing God to do a work in you, to make you worthy through your trust in His Son.