4/2026

PLEASE RETURN completed packet to Bethel. We will contact you when the next Water Baptism Service is scheduled.

When we think of The Death and Resurrection of Christ, many images and thoughts invade our minds.
The Negative: Whipping, torture, death, separation, sin, spilled blood, and the cross
The Positive: Forgiveness, repentance, grace, love, joy, fulfilled, and a new life.
Our savior endured the most incredibly cruel and shameful punishment known to man at that time; death by crucifixion. It was a sentence reserved for slaves and the worst criminals. Jesus was guiltless of any crime deserving of this punishment, but it was the Will of the Father, and Jesus would not consider any other option but to submit to His Will. His death removes our sin and guilt. The wrath of God, that we justly deserved, was removed and replaced by the favor of God through His sons sacrifice. We were once alienated and separated from our creator, but Christ reconciled us back to God. We were once captive to sin, but those in Christ, are set free from the bondage of sin. We are redeemed by the "blood of the lamb." He also defeated the "Powers of Darkness" and currently is sitting at the right hand of the Father "interceding" on our behalf.

John 12:24 "I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels".

Without the death of Jesus, there can be no supernatural resurrection. He died so that we may live. His work was a significant game changer for mankind. It birthed new life for all who would follow His path of redemption. He endured rejection, betrayal, abandonment, pain, torture, and death that birthed freedom for all who would believe and receive Him. His death and resurrection opened a door to many who would experience the same things he experienced in the way of rejection, betrayal, abandonment, pain and torture to arise to a new life in Him.

The following pages will take you through a short Bible Study to learn about the meaning and significance of Water Baptism, and why Christ commands his disciples to be baptized.

Once the Study is complete, we invite you to write your Story—a testimony of where you were before Christ, how you came to recognize Him, what He's done for you, and your future life in Christ.

We all have stories of loss, disappointment, and pain that God somehow manages to use, turning it into something beautiful and new. It’s a glorious thing; He’s a GOOD God. Welcome to the journey!

When we turn to Jesus, repent of our sins, and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we enter into what the Bible calls the "born again" experience. We experience a "new birth" and receive a new heart. Jesus comes to dwell in our hearts by faith. We become partakers of eternal life, for eternal life is in the Son. When we depart from this life, we will go to be with Jesus.

We come now to our second vital truth, water baptism, in which we bury our old nature and rise to walk with Christ in newness of life. If you have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior you will want to be baptized. Both Jesus and the Apostles command it. Why? Because water baptism is a supernatural experience that is imperative for experiencing new life in God's kingdom.

The Amplified Version says it this way:
We know that our old un-renewed self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that our body, which is the instrument of sin, might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.

In the Old Covenant, circumcision is the cutting away of the foreskin of the male reproductive organ. In the New Covenant, circumcision is cutting away of the whole body of sins, the sin-loving nature. Even more, baptism is a burial and resurrection—a burial of the old sin-loving self (the heart of stone) and a real and present rising again of the believer in union with Christ to a new life and new nature.

Therefore, baptism today is the equivalent of circumcision under the Old Covenant. (Genesis 17:10-11)

Before the Israelites could go up and possess the Promised Land, they had to be circumcised so that the reproach of Egypt might be rolled away from them. The circumcision was a sign in their flesh of their covenant with God.

Likewise, under the New Covenant before we can go up and possess our promised inheritance, we must receive what the Bible calls the circumcision of Jesus.

The New Testament circumcision is supernatural; it is made without hands, in putting off the "sin loving nature". Through this circumcision, the spirit of God uproots us from the world, of which both Egypt and the wilderness of wandering is a picture, and the reproach of the world is rolled away from us.

We may wonder why the apostles and the early church did not baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul told the Colossians about Jesus: "For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form." (Colossians 2:9)

Jesus' disciples understood this; for having His command, they went everywhere baptizing new believers. They were baptizing the Name which is above all names in which all authority of heaven and earth is invested, and that name is the Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ demons are cast out, the sick are healed, and the lame walk. We are saved in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of His blood.

Once you have completed this short lesson, please answer the questions below and click SUBMIT.

Once your packet has been reviewed, we will contact you with details regarding the next baptism service.

If you have any questions about this information, please call us at 232-1136 or email info@bethelcf.com.