Baptism

Baptism is not…
The best way to explain baptism is to first explain what it is not. Baptism is not salvation. In other words, the act of baptism will not forgive your sins & give you an eternal relationship with God. The only way to be forgiven of sin & to be given the free gift of eternal life is by trusting in Jesus as Lord & Savior (Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 16:31). To be clear, baptism & salvation are not the same things.

Baptism is…
Baptism is a public declaration of Jesus after a private decision to follow Jesus. After a person decides to trust & follow Jesus the Bible commands the believer to be baptized (Matthew 28:19-20). Baptism is the first step of obedience after deciding to follow Jesus.