If you have made the decision to place<\/a> your faith in Jesus as your Savior and to follow Him as Lord, your first step in obedience to Him is to be baptized. Just as a wedding ring is an outward sign of marriage vows that have been made, water baptism is a visible sign of the dedication of your heart to Christ; a public declaration of a private decision. As you are immersed in water, you identify with Christ in his death and burial, symbolizing the washing away of sin and the old way of life. As you are raised out of the water you identify with Christ’s resurrection, symbolizing that you are now raised to life as a new creation. Baptism is a sign to the church<\/a> that you are now one of God’s holy people and these are the decisions we love to celebrate! If you are ready to take this next step fill out the form below.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is a public declaration of a private decision.\u00a0 Just like a wedding ring is an outward sign of your marriage vows, baptism is an outward sign of the dedication of your heart to Jesus.<\/p>\n As you are immersed in water, you identify with Christ in his death and burial, symbolizing the washing away of sin and the old way of life.\u00a0 As you are raised out of the water you identify with Christ’s resurrection, symbolizing that you are now raised to life as a new creation.<\/p>\n In Matthew 3:13-17, Jesus Himself was baptized by John before He entered His public ministry; He was publicly declaring His wholehearted devotion and surrender to God that He was now going to live out in front of the eyes of the world.\u00a0 Jesus’ baptism is a model for us to follow.<\/p>\n In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus tells His apostles, “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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” If Jesus commands it, our first step in obedience as a follower of Christ is to do what He said and be baptized.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t We believe that those who should be baptized are those who have come to saving faith in Christ and have dedicated their hearts to Him as Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n We see in the book of Acts that the natural progression to baptism is for a person is to hear the gospel, believe the gospel, and to then be baptized as a symbol of surrender and dedication to God.<\/p>\n Nowhere does the Bible command or forbid a specific manner of baptizing.\u00a0 Some churches sprinkle, some churches immerse.\u00a0 But because the word “baptize” in the New Testament is “baptizo” meaning to “submerge,” implying immersion in contrast to sprinkling, and because we recognize examples in scripture of baptism by immersion, this is how we choose to practice baptism at Citygate.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t No.\u00a0 The Bible clearly teaches us that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.\u00a0 No works can earn you acceptance with God, including baptism (Eph 2:8,9; Romans 3:21-28).<\/p>\n\t\t\t WATER BAPTISM Water Baptism If you have made the decision to place your faith in Jesus as your Savior and to follow Him as Lord, your first step in obedience to Him is to be baptized. Just as a wedding ring is an outward sign of marriage vows that have been made, water baptism is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":756,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"wp_social_preview_title":"","wp_social_preview_description":"","wp_social_preview_image":0,"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n\n\t\tFrequently asked questions\n\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
WHAT IS BAPTISM?<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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WHY BE BAPTIZED?<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED?<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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HOW ARE WE TO BE BAPTIZED?<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t
DOES BAPTISM SAVE US?<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t
Sign Up for your Next Step<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\tready to be baptized?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClick Here\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"