Baptism
At RBC we do not believe that baptism saves you. Faith alone in Christ alone saves you from your sins (Rom. 10:9-10). Therefore, baptism is for those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and have experienced the regeneration of the promised Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:5). We do not believe baptism is for infants or those who have not placed their faith in Jesus.
Even though we believe that baptism is not needed for your salvation, this does not undermine the importance of baptism for the Christian. We believe baptism is significant because it is a...
1) Command
"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" (Matt. 28:19).
Disciples of Jesus are commanded to baptize other disciples of Jesus in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
2) Illustration
"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Rom. 6:1-5).
Baptism is an illustration of the gospel and Christ's work. Baptism pictures being buried with Christ in His death and raised to walk in newness of life just as Jesus was resurrected back to life from the grave.
3) Identification
"So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).
Those who are baptized are identified as followers of Jesus and part of His church. Baptism is the first step in identifying oneself as a member of Christ's body.
4) Testimony
Baptism is a visual testimony of God’s saving work to both believers in the local church and to unbelievers. In this way, baptism is a kind of visual gospel proclamation.