At The Shepherd’s Church, we love baptisms! Baptism is an act of faith and obedience for all who have professed faith in Jesus (Acts 2:38; 8:36). Their immersion into water symbolizes their union with Christ in his death and resurrection, their death to sin and new life in Him (Rom. 6:3–4), their cleansing from sin (Acts 22:16), and their initiation into the body of Christ, the Church (1 Cor. 12:13).
Q & A
Q: Does baptism save?
A: Baptism does not save; it is the outward demonstration of an inward transformation. In Scripture, it consistently follows a work of the Spirit in the individual’s heart (Acts 2:38–41; 8:12–13, 36–38; 9:18; 10:47–48; 16:14–15, 31–33; 18:8). Yet, baptism is also a God-ordained means of grace that confirms our faith and strengthens us in the salvation already granted through Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 3:21, Rom 6:1-5).
Q: What about other sacraments?
A: At The Shepherd’s Church, we believe in only two ordinances instituted by the Lord Jesus: baptism (Matt. 28:19) and the Lord’s supper (also known as communion; Matt. 26:26). Fittingly, we call them ordinances for that reason—they are those rites which the Lord Jesus Himself ordained for His disciples to perform in perpetuity until He returns (Matt. 28:20; 1 Cor. 11:26).
Q: Where do you stand on the position of baby baptism?
A: At The Shepherd’s Church, we hold to the credobaptist position, meaning we believe baptism is to be performed only after a person has demonstrated discernible faith in Jesus Christ.
Q: What if I hold to the position of baby baptism?
A: Where there is agreement on first-level doctrinal matters (those foundational doctrines which are necessary for salvation in Jesus Christ), and where there is like-mindedness on other key secondary doctrines, we are pleased to extend membership to paedobaptist believers (those who hold to infant baptism). In such cases, the past infant baptism of professing believers will be accepted without requiring re-baptism.
Q: What about baby dedications?
A: While we affirm the heart behind dedicating children to the Lord and committing to raise them “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), we want to be careful to protect our worship services from anything not ordained in Scripture. As stated above (see What about other sacraments?), there are only two rites ordained by Jesus (the Lord’s supper and baptism) and we are not free to add any others. Moreover, the worship service is a sacred gathering of the local body of believers, to be conducted with order and intentionality (1 Cor. 14:40).
If you are interested in becoming baptized, please fill out the form HERE.
Hear Pastor Max share our heart and biblical view on baptism and the ordinances in our In This House We… series HERE.