What Now?

Tim Sevilla   -   April 10, 2024

So you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ.  You’ve got our emails, our text messages, you may have even received a phone call from one of our pastors.  You’re feeling pretty good!  However, you may be asking yourself, “What now?  What are my next steps?”  Putting your faith in Jesus Christ is a big deal.  It’s a life changing decision.  Once you’ve put your faith in Jesus Christ it’s a one and done deal.  The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 1:13-14

In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory.” – Ephesians1:13-14

You don’t have to work for your salvation.  Once you’ve made that decision you are sealed with the Holy Spirit.  Think of it in the same way a king puts his insignia on a law.  Once that’s there not even the king can undo that law.

So with that in mind, there is something that is required of us after conversion, not for salvation, but out of obedience.  If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ you need to be baptized.

Why do you need to be baptized?  Because the Bible commands us too.  Jesus commands his followers to baptize those who place their faith in him

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. – Matthew 28:19

The Apostle Peter, in his response to the crowd at Pentecost, commands those who repent of their sins to be baptized.

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness or your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:37-38

I love this passage because it gives us a clear and concise response to hearing the gospel.  This passage also helps us to understand the importance of being baptized when you may have been baptized as an infant.  When you are an infant, you are not capable of placing your faith in Jesus.  Trust me, I’ve been an infant and have also raised one of my own.  Faith in Jesus Christ and baptism is not something that can be passed on passively like our genetics or ethnicity, it is an active choice and action made by the individual.

If you’ve placed your faith in Jesus Christ, your next step is baptism.  It’s part of the commanded order of salvation.  Again, baptism is not required for salvation but it is an act of obedience to Christ.  If you’ve made that decision and would like to get baptized go talk to a pastor on the weekend at one of our 3 sites.  We would love to get you signed up for a baptism class where you can learn more about what it means to be baptized.