Symbol of our experience

Baptism is the symbol or picture of our identification with Christ and an outward sign of our inner experience. It represents a change of heart and lifestyle.

In Romans 6 Paul writes of our being “buried with Him through baptism into death" when our “old self was crucified with Him." Then he adds “that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life".

• In baptism we associate ourselves with Christ's death and resurrection. We are saying that we believe in Christ's death to save us from the consequences of our sin and that we believe in His resurrection. He is alive and has become a part of our lives today.
• We also declare something has happened to us. We have died to our old lifestyle. We don't want to live our self-centred life anymore. We want to be new people following the new directions Christ has for us. Now we want to live His way and do His will.

It must be understood that there is nothing magical in baptism. Baptism is the symbol of a change of heart – it does not cause a change of heart—Jesus does that!