READ: LUKE 23:32-43; ROMANS 10:9-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:10-17
The first time I met Freddy, we were locked in a small concrete room with no windows, no chairs, and sticky floors.
He started plainly telling me about the first of two men he had killed in his lifetime. He was only twelve when it happened. He had saved his mother’s life.
Growing up without a father had had a profound effect on the man before me. His face, covered in obvious gang signs, told the stories of many hardships beyond his years.
Later, as one of our services at the correctional facility concluded, Freddy stepped up and asked how he could be baptized while in jail. Freddy’s only religious background had taught him that baptism was essential for salvation.
Baptism, however, is more like a uniform that we put on as Christians. Putting on a police uniform doesn’t make you a police officer, but if you are a police officer you will wear the uniform and it will have meaning. Once we explained these truths to Freddy, we read Romans 10:9-10 with him: “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”
The moment we were done reading, Freddy was on his knees. “Right now,” he said. “I want to pray right now.”
The Bible is clear that Christ paid the price in full for our sins, and He paid it once and for all (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 10:10). A Christian baptism publicly identifies us with Christ, but it’s not required for salvation.
I will never forget Freddy, and I know that the Lord will not either, even if he never gets an opportunity to be baptized. • Harry Brown
• Why is baptism important? What does it show us about Jesus Christ and our relationship to Him? (If you want to dig deeper, read Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Colossians 2:12-14; Titus 3:3-7; 1 Peter 3:18-22.)
• Christians do have different understandings about the timing, methods, and specifics of baptism, but we agree that Jesus is the one who saves. If you have questions about baptism, who is a trusted Christian in your life you could talk to—such as a pastor, parent, or youth leader?
For Christ did not send me [Paul] to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect. 1 Corinthians 1:17 (CSB)