Baptism of Repentance

The Beginning of A New Life

What is the Baptism of Repentance?

The Baptism of Repentance it is not simply a Water Baptism, it is definitive separation of a person from their earthly life and the beginning of a new life as a complete Christian. It is more than a public ceremony of converting a person to the Lord Jesus, it means that the world is completely dead to us through the burial process of Baptism. We no longer have the old sinful nature in us. In other words, sin ceases to rule us when we die to it through the Baptism. After his resurrection, the Lord Jesus taught His disciples about the importance of Baptism, giving them a clear command:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
(Matthew 28:19)

Why there is a need to be baptized?

It is important to be baptized after a sincere repentance, following the decision to forsake a life of sin and accept Jesus as the Only Lord. Repentance is the first condition for Baptism. We usually have cases where people are baptized without repentance; these are not “converted” to Christ, but “convinced” of Him.

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
(Mark 16.16)

Why is Baptism is usually done by immersion?

Baptism in Water means the beginning of a new way of life, as water is the most natural element of purification. Baptism by complete immersion in water represents total burial. For this reason Baptism is done by immersion, when and where possible.

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him.”
(Matthew 3.16)

What is repentance?

Repentance conscience followed by a feeling of sadness or regret for a mistake that has been made. Understanding true repentance is important for every Christian because:

  1. The sinner must acknowledge his sins. This is the first step to sincere and honest repentance: no one can repent for something they don’t recognize.

  2. The sinner must hate the sin. If the sinner does not see his sin as disgusting and hate it, then he will surely commit it again and be enslaved by it.

  3. The sinner has to forsake his sin. If we don’t turn our backs on sin now, we’ll never get rid of it. It is no use thinking that we have triumphed over sin if it is still perfectly within our reach. For example, we sometimes associate with people who do not share our faith, and as such, they usually end up taking us down the wrong paths along with them. So, even if we had to resist, we would eventually fall.

  4. The sinner must completely forget the sins. The last step of total repentance is to forget about the sin committed, as if it had never been committed.

Do I have to become a tither, and return tithe before being baptized?

You are not required to be a tither, or to return tithe before being baptized, but God’s Word says:

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
(Malachi 3.10)

By being a faithful tither, not only will you be honoring God (to Whom you have given your life), but you will also be offering others the same opportunity you had. The decision to be baptized represents you giving 100% of your life to God. So should it really be a problem to give back 10% of what He gives you?
For more information about tithing, see the page of the First Fruits..

Can a person be saved without being baptized?

As God’s Word mentions, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16). Therefore, if a person repents of his sins, accepts the Lord Jesus, but then dies before being baptized in water, he will still be saved.

And we have an excellent example in the Bible itself, as was the case of the thief on the cross, beside Jesus. Aware of his imminent death, he recognized Jesus as the Son of God and asked Him for his salvation. The Lord Jesus immediately answered:

“And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.””
(Luke 23.43)

Can the Baptism guarantee my salvation?

Baptism is the first step to your salvation. However, after being baptized, some people eventually give up on their faith – due to everyday pressures. So the answer is NO, Baptism does not guarantee a person’s salvation. Only those who persevere to the end will be saved. To attain eternal life, we all must fight the good fight of faith, as the apostle Paul mentions in 2 Timothy 4:7:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”.

Other questions

Someone decides to be baptized with the baptism of repentace in waters when realizes that their way of life has not been right before God, and consequently decides to start a new life with the Lord Jesus.

When a person reaches a conscious age to make this individual decision; in most cases from age thirteen onwards.

A person is ready for Baptism only after he is sure that he has repented of his sins and has faith in the Lord Jesus. That’s why we don’t baptize children, because Baptism requires full repentance of sins. How can a child repent of sins he does not have?

If a child has no sin, there is no need for repentance. And if there is no need for repentance, then there is no need for Baptism.

Children must be dedicated to God, according to what is written:

“And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.”
(Mark 10.16)

O Batismo nas Águas é a perceção dos próprios pecados e, subsequentemente, o arrependimento de os ter cometido, e as crianças não têm a capacidade de fazer isso. Conforme mencionado na questão acima, as crianças devem ser apresentadas a Deus. Se você, como adulto, tiver tomado a decisão de abandonar a sua vida de pecado para aceitar o Senhor Jesus, então, terá que ser batizado.

True Baptism happens only once. In some cases, a person can go to the water more than once, because the old nature is still alive.

No, you don’t have to pay to be baptized in water.

Being baptized means that you are now part of the Body of Christ and the Church is the Body of Christ. Your commitment is to keep yourself saved and evangelize the lost for the Lord Jesus Christ, and for that, come regularly to church on Sunday mornings, on Wednesdays to seek the Holy Spirit, and on Fridays to minister authority against evil, in this way, you will live by faith.

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…”
(1 Corinthians 12.13)

The decision of true Baptism only happens once, as it happens with death, for a person can only die once in a lifetime. The question of whether your Water Baptism really happened for you, only you can answer when you examine your life and look at its fruits after that Baptism.

“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
(Matthew 7.18)

One must be very careful when using the term “born-again Christian”. It is observed that many Christians use this term religiously, having therefore lost the true value of what it really means. Water Baptism is the first of many decisions a person will have to make to become born of God. It is important for the person who wants to be born again.

A person must also deny himself and the world, sacrificing his will daily to show his determination to be born of God. She must live according to the Word of God.

If you still manifest with evil spirits, it shows that you are still going through the process of deliverance and that you will have to open your heart to allow God to deliver you. The devil is the accuser and he will always accuse you of your sins. However, when you are baptized, your sins are washed away, which means that the devil has no ammunition to use against you. This is a positive step towards your complete freedom and what you need to do now is believe. This should never prevent you from being baptized, as Baptism is a personal decision to start a new life with the Lord Jesus.

We do not advise people to go clubbing because of the bad influence they are exposed to, such as drug abuse, promiscuity, etc. However, when it comes to parties and music, it is an individual responsibility to weigh or not how much it will benefit your relationship with God. You need to assess whether the type of environment, music or people that will be around you will be a risk (or not) to your salvation.

That shouldn’t be a reason that will keep you from being baptized – there are different circumstances and reasons for people to live together. Instead, this could be an opportunity for you to make a positive turning point in your relationship with your partner, establishing it through marriage, as God commands:

“ For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
(Ephesians 5.5)

If you have gone back to the old life of sin, then you will have to be baptized again, because your Water Baptism was not the true Baptism.

What should I do after the Baptism?

After Jesus was baptized, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4.1) Being IMMEDIATELY tempted by the devil was the last thing we would expect to find, as we surrender our lives to God through Baptism . But that’s exactly what happens. If the decision to be baptized is real and comes from the heart, it provokes a reaction in the devil. That is why:

  1. Develop your relationship with God through prayer, and an effective prayer is the sincere prayer.

  2. Read the Bible. One verse is more than enough, watch the verbs and respect the punctuation. It is the Word of God that makes us spiritually strong, because it is what feeds our spirit – faith.

  3. Develop your salvation by participating in Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday morning meetings.

  4. Give what CHRIST has given you, evangelizing, bringing to others, freely, what CHRIST has given you. “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature…” (Mark 16.15)

This last step reveals that the 3 previous ones were and are being carried out successfully, because if we don’t start and neither strengthen our relationship with God, SAVING, thus, our own soul, how can we have the pleasure of SAVING others?

What proves our LOVE for CHRIST is when we do what HE did: I GIVE!

LOVING is GIVING, is allowing others to have the same opportunity you are having and come to take advantage of it!