The world is full of adults who professed faith, underwent the waters of baptism upon that profession, only to have the memory of their baptism fade into the recesses of their minds. The world is also full of adults who were raised by Christian parents, were presented for baptism, were washed in the water, and yet their baptism isn’t even a memory. They have forgotten the sign and the seal of who they were to be.

When were you baptized? Do you remember it? Are there pictures or a recording of it? When is the last time you thought about your baptism? Have your parents ever told you of your baptism? How meaningful is your baptism to you?

Clarifying the Focus

Let’s be clear here. This article is about Christian living and not a debate between credobaptist (baptism upon confession) or paedobaptist (covenant infant baptism). You can find good debate on that topic elsewhere. But this article is a challenge to you, the reader. So please keep reading.

A Personal Anecdote

To be honest, when I was growing up in a Baptist church, I wanted to play in the pool. Only baptized kids were allowed to play in the pool. So, seven-year-old Bryan took the plunge. But my baptism wasn’t meaningful to me at the time.

Years later, when the Lord regenerated my heart, I looked back with shame over those squandered years. See, baptism, whether you are credobaptist or paedobaptist, is at least an initiation. Both sides of the paedo/credo baptist argument recognize that baptism is: a sign of our being engrafted into Christ, or being born again, of the remission of sins, and of giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life. (Refer to the 1689 London Baptist Confession and the Westminster Confession of Faith and see the similarities.)

Baptism: The Beginning, Not the End

Here’s the rub. Baptism isn’t the end of the story, though. Our baptism is a sign and a seal, but it is not the end goal.

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