Walk Your Talk
It’s been said that Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven. That’s true! However, God does want His children to learn to walk in the new nature His Spirit has given us (see 2 Cor. 5:17) by consistently receiving, believing, and obeying God’s word. This step in your faith journey is about embracing the Lord’s ongoing process to grow you into maturity. I call this “walking your talk.”
First, I encourage you as a new believer to begin “walking your talk” by following Jesus in water baptism. This is not an option; it’s a command from the Savior! The New Testament opens with John the Baptist baptizing scores of repentant people in the Jordan River. The Bible describes this unusual, intriguing man.
“John’s clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. For food he ate locusts and wild honey. People from Jerusalem and from all of Judea and all over the Jordan Valley went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.”
(Matthew 3:4–6, NLT)
Before starting His earthly ministry, Jesus himself went to John to be baptized:
“Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized there by John. John didn’t want to do it. “This isn’t proper,” he said. “I am the one who needs to be baptized by you.” But Jesus said, “Please do it, for I must do all that is right.” So then John baptized him. After his baptism, as soon as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God coming down in the form of a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am wonderfully pleased with him.””
(Matthew 3:13–17, The Living Bible, Paraphrased)
The Lord testified that He did everything in obedience to His Father’s will.
““I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.”
(John 5:30, NRSV)
Before returning to heaven, Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize new believers in water.
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
(Matthew 28:19, NLT)
Likewise, His disciples commanded new believers to be baptized. One example is found in Acts 2.
“Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
(Acts 2:38, NLT)
The Bible is clear about the importance of water baptism. So at your first opportunity, you should obey the Lord’s command to be baptized in water as a confession of your repentance and faith in Him.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF WATER BAPTISM?
Water baptism does not save you or wash away your sins. Only the shed blood of Jesus does that. Water baptism is a symbolic act showing that you have died in your old sinful life and have risen in the newness of the life of Christ. The Apostle Paul describes water baptism this way:
“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
(Romans 6:3–4, NLT)
Remember, when you were saved, God rescued you from the treacherous sea of sin, which symbolizes Satan’s kingdom, and brought you into His glorious kingdom, His eternal ship of safety. Following the Lord in water baptism symbolizes the death of your old way of life. When you go down into the water, you are essentially testifying to the world, “My old life is buried with Christ Jesus.” When you come out of the water, you are testifying, “I have been raised from spiritual death to li e a brand new life!” When you are baptized at Turning Point Church, the one baptizing will say, “Buried with Him by baptism into His death; raised to walk in the newness of life!”
Since the Bible teaches water baptism and Jesus commanded it, even submitting to it Himself, every new believer should happily follow the Savior and be water baptized. Now take a few moments and work through the following exercise. It will help prepare you for the next chapter!
• Read the story about Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26–38. What does this tell you about receiving the Lord Jesus and being baptized?
• Read Matthew 28:18–20 and Mark 16:15–16. What do these passages reveal about the importance of water baptism in God’s process of bringing you to spiritual maturity?
• Read Luke 7:36–47 and John 14:23–24. What do these passages reveal about “walking your talk?”
If you haven’t obeyed the Lord’s command to be baptized in water, I encourage you to move forward in faith and find out when our next water baptism is! www.tpcfamily.org/events
Let’s close in prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for submitting to the Father’s will in water baptism. Thank You for the blessings that follow this public demonstration of our faith. I thank You that as our old lives are buried with You in baptism, we are raised to walk in the newness of life. Amen!