Key Takeaway
Baptism is a sacred moment of rescue, transformation, and declaration—it’s saying before your community, “I’m going with Him.”
Baptism is one of the most meaningful moments in the life of the church. It’s not just a tradition—it’s a sacred symbol, a visible picture of the invisible grace of God. Symbols only matter when we understand what they represent, and baptism tells the story of what Jesus has done for us.
Ben Stewart explained that baptism is a sacrament—a holy moment that brings together several powerful images from Scripture. It’s about rescue, transformation, identity, and belonging.
1. It's a picture of rescue.
Ben pointed to 1 Peter 3 and the story of Noah’s ark. God judged evil but provided a means of rescue. Baptism corresponds to that story—it’s the recognition that “I deserve condemnation, but I got grace.” Just like Noah trusted God’s way of salvation, baptism declares that Jesus is our way of rescue through His death and resurrection.
2. It's a picture of transformation.
Baptism shows that something old is buried and something new has begun. Colossians 2 says we are “buried with Him in baptism and raised through faith.” Baptism is the acknowledgment that we’re leaving behind the old life and rising into a new one.
“It’s not the cleaning of the body,” Ben said, “but a clean conscience—as I recognize what Jesus did.” When Jesus took our sin, He also took our burial, and when He rose, we rise with Him.
3. It's a picture of identity and community.
Baptism is also about belonging. Galatians 3 says that those baptized in Christ have “put on Christ.” Ben described it like wrapping up in a robe after stepping out of the water: “You’re not wrapped up in your failures or your shame—you’re wrapped up in His love.”
It also unites us to a new family. Quoting 1 Corinthians 12, Ben said that in baptism, “Jews, Greeks, slave, free—all were made to drink of one Spirit.” Every person, from every background, becomes part of one body—the family of faith.
4. It's a picture of a wedding.
Ben compared baptism to a wedding—a sacred ceremony that declares your covenant publicly. “Like a wedding,” he said, “you don’t need one to be married—you can just sign a paper. But the wedding is a holy moment because you’re declaring to the world, ‘I’m going with Him.’”
5. It's a celebration.
Baptism is the same declaration as a wedding: a visible, joyful commitment before the family of believers that you belong to Jesus.
6. It's a command.
Baptism is not optional—it’s something Jesus commanded. In Acts 10, Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Ben said, “Sometimes God reserves the right to say, ‘Because I said so.’” Obedience often leads to understanding.
Discussion Questions
Why did Ben say it’s important to understand the symbol of baptism before celebrating it?
How does the story of Noah’s ark help us understand what baptism represents?
Ben said, “Though I deserve condemnation, I got grace.” How does baptism make that truth visible?
In what ways is baptism a declaration that “the old is gone and the new has come”?
Ben shared Sam Houston’s response after his baptism: “God help the fish.” What does that line reveal about grace and transformation?
What does it mean to be “wrapped up” in Christ after baptism instead of being wrapped in shame or failure?
How does baptism bring people from every background into one family of faith?
Why did Ben compare baptism to a wedding? What does that image communicate about public commitment and community?
What did Ben mean when he said, “When I step into the water, the triune God is wrapping around me and saying, ‘That one’s mine’”?
Why did Ben challenge the church not to “golf clap someone coming to life in Christ”? How should we respond to baptism instead?
