I Believe

This weekend at Riverbank Church Chris shared from Acts 8.  He shared specifically about the story of Philip sharing The Gospel with and baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch.  Chris talked about how we have the opportunity to believe that Jesus is who he said he is and we can make the decision to follow him with our lives.  He shared that baptism is simply an outward expression of an inward change in our hearts.  It's a public confession of our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  We see in  Mark 1:9-11 and in Matthew 3:13-17 that Jesus was baptized.  Jesus was a perfect man yet he still chose to set the example for us in our walk with him.  He probably didn't have to be baptized, but yet he chose to show his love for his heavenly Father through this outward act of obedience.  

We see also is Acts 2:38-41 the immediacy of the early believers public display of their decisions to follow Christ.  Just like the Ethiopian eunuch these early followers were baptized upon believing in Christ.  3,000 people were baptized that day.  Imagine what that day was like.

I love being a part of experiencing baptism.  I still remember the day I was baptized by Dr. Young back when I was 12.  I could barely keep my head above the water as I knelled in the baptismal.  I remember Dr. Young pushing my head down so far I thought he might actually be trying to drown me.  Plus the white terry cloth rob was so wet and heavy afterwards I thought I wouldn't be able to get out of the baptismal.   But I also remember that day being the day I went public with my faith in Jesus, and I can always look back to that day and know that there are people who were there to witness that event and who can ultimately hold me accountable to my decision.

As Chris drew his lesson to conclusion he gave people the opportunity to get baptized.  Some had already been signed up.  But others came and were baptized on the spot.  Each person had the opportunity so say out loud that they were being baptized because they BELIEVE in who Jesus is and what he did for them.  It was a great time of celebration, and support of 12 fellow followers of Christ as they displayed publicly their decision to be cleansed of sin and cross from death to life in Christ.

Do you believe in who Jesus says He is?  Have you ever gone public with your faith through baptism?  If not, what's stopping you from saying "I believe"?  It's our first step in obedience as followers of Christ.