Bible Question:
I am getting baptized in a couple of months after I begged my parents to let me. My family are not Christians, and I made the decision myself but my Mum and Dad are really reluctant about it all, and they won't get involved or give me any support......How can I let them know what baptism is all about and that it means a lot to me?
Bible Answer:
Welcome to the family! It is wonderful to welcome you and to see that you desire to be obedient to our Lord Jesus by being baptized. May I suggest that you pray for your parents. I am sure they are only trying to do what they think is best. Ask God to have the Holy Spirit draw your parents to Jesus Christ through this experience. Show your parents the love of Jesus.
Ancient Meaning
First you may want to just explain the meaning of baptism or show them this answer to your question. So let me explain what baptism is all about. Baptism was a symbolic act that was practiced during the time of Jesus. The gospel of Mark gives us an example from the life and ministry of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (NASB) Mark 1:10
John the Baptist was encouraging the crowd of listners to repent of their sins, that is, they were in need of spiritual help that only God could give. They needed their sins forgiven. God is holy, and they needed to confess their sins and desire to stop sinning. That is repentance. John encouraged them to be baptized after they confessed their sins. It was merely a symbol of an inward heart attitude. In the gospel of Matthew we read that people were baptized after they confessed their sins.
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand . . . and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. (NASB) Matt. 3:1-2, 6
Christian Baptism
Christian baptism includes more. It is about the confession of our sins, but it is also about trusting Jesus, and only Jesus, to forgive our sins. Sometimes we say “believe in Jesus.” This is the same as believing, trusting, depending, having confidence, having faith, having conviction entrusting, or abandoning ourselves to Jesus. No one else can forgive our sins – only God. The Jewish scribes were correct when they said,
. . . who can forgive sins but God alone?” (NASB) Mark 2:7
After we start trusting Jesus, Christians are commanded to be baptized (Acts 2:38) as a symbolic act of a changed heart. This is the first step of obedience to Jesus. Listen to Romans 6:3-4,
Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. (NASB) Romans 6:3-4
Conclusion:
Baptism is a symbolic act of faith in Jesus Christ. It symbolizes a changed heart, a dependence on God to forgive our sins. It is the first step of obedience. It is nothing more and nothing less. It means someone is no longer depending on himself/herself; he/she is depending on Jesus to forgive sins. He/she is going to heaven.