Why Baptism is Essential to Salvation: Kye’s Baptism

Kye has been asking for a couple of years now about baptism.

It’s something we’ve studied together with him and read over scriptures and have known for a while that he fully understands what baptism is and why it’s essential.

Baptism is an extremely personal decision and is THE most important decision of our lives!

Choosing to love God with all your heart and give your life to Him is HUGE.

Zach and I have talked often about how to handle this tender time with Kye (and all of our other children as well).

First, we want to make sure we are teaching our children.

Raising them in a home that focuses on Jesus.

Reading scripture. Attending worship and Bible Study with fellow Christians.

Being an example for them of what Christianity is all about.

Next, we want to give them the opportunity to study.

Not only do we study as a family, but we especially make sure to set aside study time with each individual child.

It’s important to us that our kids know it’s okay to question things and to know they can always turn to God’s Word for any answer they may seek.

Along with studying with us, once they are able to read we also do our best to give them lots of valuable resources to study on their own.

Each of our children have their own bibles to keep by their beds to read anytime they desire.

We also seek out reliable resources that can explain scripture on their maturity/age level.

Most importantly, we don’t put pressure on our kids.

The decision to become a Christian has to come from our own hearts.

If you don’t understand WHY you’re getting baptized and don’t understand the value and importance of it then all you’re doing is getting wet 😉

I’ve heard of so many adults who made the decision to get baptized as children only to decide to get baptized again in adulthood because they looked back and realized they didn’t truly have that full understanding the first time around.

Our hope is that none of our children enter into adulthood with any concerns regarding their baptisms.

It’s a very tender thing because on the one hand, you don’t want to discourage your child if they say they are ready but on the other, you don’t want to be putting pressure on them to do something that they may not truly be ready for!

Whenever Kye brought up baptism I’d do my best just to LISTEN.

I’d ask questions in response to the things he’d say and then I’d be silent and just let him do the talking.

About a week or so prior to Mother’s Day we were in the car listening to music and the song “I Am Redeemed” came on. 

(And yes this moment has totally made me a HUGE Christian music lover ha!).

Tess is at an age where she asks a lot of questions about what words mean and she asked me what “redeemed” means.

I talked to her about how when we sin we are separated from God because He is perfect and can’t be in contact with sin.

But Jesus died so we are able to have our sins washed clean and He is the one that does that cleaning through baptism.

Redemption means that we get our sins washed away and are forgiven and have a fresh start.

Kye chimed in and added to what I said and talked about why we need to be baptized and how he really needs to get baptized soon.

I didn’t say much only that he can do it whenever he’s ready!

That Sunday during Lord’s Supper he asked me some questions about Lord’s Supper and what it means and said he thought he was ready to be baptized.

I told him if he’s ready, go for it!

Kye is SUCH a planner (wonder where he gets it ha!) and said he didn’t want to do it that morning because he felt too rushed (ha!) but that he was going to get baptized the next Sunday.

This was a tad tricky for us. I naturally wanted to tell Zach’s parents and other family so they could all be there to see Kye take this HUGE step.

But Zach and I talked about it and decided to spend the week being super low key about it.

We didn’t tell ANYONE as we didn’t want Kye to EVER look back and think he was pressured in ANY way.

We also didn’t mention it at all to Kye.

Zach had one talk with him during the week just to go over things and answer any questions Kye had and that was it.

Even the morning of (May 13th…Mother’s Day!) we didn’t say anything.

As we were getting ready for church that morning Kye said “it doesn’t really matter how my hair looks since it’s going to get all messed up when I get baptized!”

I just laughed and, again, didn’t say anything.

During services, Kye said he was ready and wanted to do it so we let him know to just walk on down front during the invitation song.

What was SO awesome was that on that morning the lesson was on Jesus’ love for children and the invitation song was Jesus Loves Me. How perfect is that?

Our family followed Kye to go down front so he could make his public confession before being baptized.

I debated about Spear. He’s at an age where he gets fussy and I wanted to be able to fully focus on Kye and this HUGE moment in his life.

Our sweet “pew mates” Dawnee and Gail offered to keep Spear so I handed him off to them as we went down 🙂

But then I had huge mama guilt when our preacher, John, had our whole family stand up with Kye. I felt bad that Spear wasn’t part of that moment!

I put together this video showing Kye’s public confession as well as his baptism from both views (from my view back behind the altar area and from the view of our church family too).

We went back for Kye and Zach to change and the girls and I were able to sit in the perfect spot to see everything take place!

Britt was BEAMING.

She was so excited and it made my heart so happy to see her “get it” that this was such a huge moment.

I always BAWL crying when kids at church decide to get baptized.

I always assumed I’d be a hot mess when it came time for my own babies to make that decision but, shockingly, I didn’t shed a tear!

I think the adrenaline just took over and I was focused.

Kye got a little emotional when he was up in front of the church making his confession and Zach got super choked up when it came time to baptize his first child.

Such a special moment none of us will EVER forget!

Zach getting emotional was THE sweetest thing ever. Made me love him even more. Such an awesome Daddy and incredible Christian example for our babies. 

As soon as I saw Kye the first thing he said was “I feel SO GOOD!” 

It is truly THE best feeling.

I was baptized at age 19 and I remember just feeling so pure and like my conscience was truly wiped clean.

Of course, we’re humans and we sin frequently but what a blessing to know we’re always forgiven and washed clean by Jesus! 

A funny moment happened as well when Tess saw Kye get baptized.

As we walked out from that area she started getting upset and saying “I don’t want to get baptized! I don’t want to get baptized!”

Haha I think seeing Zach “pushing” Kye under the water freaked her out a bit and I think she thought she was going to have to go next!

This moment couldn’t have been more perfect and made for the BEST Mother’s Day gift EVER!

He’s not only my son, but now my brother in Christ!!!!

Zach baptized me and has now baptized our first child! 

THE best honor a father can ask for 🙂 

Aunt Karen and Uncle Barry came running down to join our family when Kye went down front!

Love their support and all the amazing Christian influences our children have in their lives. 

It was also super sweet of Aunt Karen to run down back to the auditorium and get Spear so we could have a complete family photo together 🙂 

We are all so beyond proud of Kye and thankful for his decision.

Truly THE biggest decision of his life. I joked with him that it’s all downhill from here as far as the level of proudness I can be of him because of no other decision matters as much as this one.

I told him the next biggie is who he marries 😉 Better start praying for that now! 

If you’re reading this you may have some questions and I’m hoping to answer them here! 

I have talked about baptism before on the blog but it’s been many years since I went into detail about it and I think this is the perfect post to explain things a little further and use as a reference when it’s mentioned in the future on the blog 🙂

I’m using Introducing the Church of Christ for my research and am referencing it below as well as the NIV Bible. 

First you may be asking “what is baptism?”

In this day and age baptism seems to have three different meanings: sprinkling, pouring, or immersing.

Here are some places in the New Testament that discuss means of baptism that should be reviewed as evidence on how to properly baptize someone. 

The baptism of John, which involved the same action as the baptism commanded by Christ and preached by the apostles, required “much water” (John 3:23).

A case of baptism is described in Acts 8:38-39: “And they both went down into the water, both Phillip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water…”

The apostle Paul twice uses the term “burial” to describe what takes place when one is baptized (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12).

This evidence points to one action – immersion. The word “baptize” was originally the Greek word “baptidzo” which literally means to dip, plunge, submerge or immerse.

Second, you may be asking “why is baptism essential to salvation?”

Baptism is the final act of obedience one submits to be saved (forgiven of all past sins).

A person is not saved until he is baptized and he is added to the church at this time because it is the time he is saved.

Jesus told the apostles that as they preached the gospel, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). Note the order: (1) believe, (2) baptized, (3) saved. In Acts 3:28 baptism is made a condition of salvation, as is faith: “repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins…”. Saul of Tarsus was also commanded to “…be baptized and wash away thy sins…(Acts 22:16).”

To become saved and to know you will have an eternal home in Heaven you must:

1. hear the word of God: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

2. believe that Jesus died on the cross for the remission of our sins: “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

3. repent: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

4. confess: “whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 10:32-33) 

5. be baptized: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. or as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal 3:26-27)

Yes. It is THAT simple.

So often our human nature is to complicate things…but that’s truly all it takes.

The Bible is very clear on this topic and how awesome is it that it’s so simple to understand and act upon?

Not a bunch of hoops to jump through, just hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized! 

I love that Kye always says at the end of listing those steps of salvation: “and be faithful.”

Because that’s true too.

Just because you are baptized doesn’t mean you’ve got a “get into Heaven no matter what” card!

Becoming a Christian is a beginning, not an end.

We must live our lives in full faith and strive to be as Christ-like as possible throughout our time here on Earth. 

Entering the Lord’s body is the “easy” part of the process…now is a time where I know Kye really needs our prayers.

The devil is going to try hard to get him off the track of Heaven.

I remember when I first became a Christian it seemed like so many things kept happening to tempt me away from the Lord.

The devil doesn’t work hard to get those people who he already has, ya know?

But when you give yourself to God the devil knows he no longer has you and tries to get you back!

It’s important for all of us to build each other up in our faith, help teach newer Christians about God’s Word and (ESPECIALLY!) help spread God’s Word to others. 

I did the best I could with this entry as I know it’s a “touchy subject” for some and I hope I didn’t offend anyone.

I have said it before and I’ll say it again: I believe the Bible.

It’s my guideline for how to live my life and my rule book for what to follow.

Everything in this blog post comes from God’s Word and I hope that each of you really go and look up these verses and check them out for yourself!

I especially recommend pulling out a NIV version as it’s so much easier to understand and digest.

I’d be more than happy to help anyone who wants to talk about the Lord, the Bible and the path to salvation.

If I can’t help answer any questions then I can easily get you in touch with people who can.

I am SO excited to have Kye as a brother in Christ.

I know he will do amazing things to help lead others to the Lord and it’s such a great feeling to KNOW that our son will be spending eternity in Heaven with us.

As a parent, it’s my #1 goal and very top priority. I want to raise my children up to love the Lord, do their best to honor Him, lead others to Him, and spend eternity in Heaven with Him!

“Go ye therefore, and teach all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt 28:19-20)

Wondering if your child is old enough to be baptized? Wanting to know how to help guide them through this decision? Here is my post on what to do and when to know if your child is ready for baptism!