What Baptism Mean And Why it Important?

1. How we know da baptism da important Bible teaching?

WE CAN really be happy when we see people getting baptize! Da the same way the Christian dem way back wor happy when they see plenty people getting baptize on Pentecost 33 C.E. On da day, the apostle Peter give one talk da explain how it really important to get baptize. (Acts 2:​38, 40, 41) Later on, the apostle Paul say “the teaching on baptisms” part of the “the primary doctrine about the Christ.” (Heb. 6:​1, 2) So baptism da one of the main Bible teaching and we need to understand it good-good. Why?

2. Why it important for us to understand baptism good-good?

² Just how the house can be strong when it get good foundation, da the same way when we understand baptism good-good, it can help us to get strong faith. So even if we been baptize for long time or we not baptize yet, it good for us to understand why baptism really important. In this article, we will answer this question dem: What baptism mean? How they can do baptism? And why we can get baptize in the name of the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit?

WHAT YOUR BAPTISM CAN SHOW?

3. When you get baptize, wetin it can show?

³ When you get baptize, it can show to everybody da you na do this thing dem: (1) You na accept the truth about Jehovah God and Jesus Christ. (2) You na repent from your sins. (3) You na make some change dem in your life to serve Jehovah. (4) You also na understand da only through Jesus you can be save. (5) You na promise God in prayer da you will do His will together with His organization. When you make da promise and get baptize, you will start living your life for Jehovah forever.

4. What it mean when they put you under the water and when they bring you back up? (Also see the picture.)

⁴ When you getting baptize, they can put you way under the water and bring you back up.a It can be just like you die, they bury you and then bring you back to life. (Compare Colossians 2:12.) When you get baptize, it show da you na make some change dem in your life to serve Jehovah. How? When they put you under the water, it show da you na stop living the way you wor living before. And when you come from under the water, it show da you na start new life. And da new life da to live the way God want you to live.

5. How the change dem we can make to get ready for baptism looking just like the work da Noah do to build the ark? (1 Peter 3:​18-21)

⁵ Read 1 Peter 3:​18-21. The change dem we can make to get ready for baptism looking just like the work da Noah do to build the ark. If you just start studying the Bible, maybe you will be feeling da all the change dem you need to make to get baptize really hard. Maybe you will even think da it hard just like the work da Noah do to build the ark. But you think you really need to make all this change dem? Yes. Da the same way it wor hard for Noah, because da God hisself tell Noah the exact way to build the ark. And Noah wor suppose to follow all this direction dem step by step for people life to be safe. But because Noah wor having faith and God help him, he wor able to build the ark. So like Noah, you yourself able to do all the thing dem God say you mon do.—Gen. 6:22.

6. What it mean when Peter say da baptism saving you?

⁶ In verse 21, the apostle Peter say da baptism “saving you.” This one not mean da when you get baptize, you already save or da all you need to do for Jehovah to forgive your sin. Da only Jesus sacrifice can make it possible for Jehovah to forgive your sin. (1 John 1:7) But baptism important because da Jehovah say we mon get baptize. And when we get baptize, it show da we asking Jehovah to give us “good conscience.” And Jehovah will be happy to give it to us. So in da sense, baptism “saving you,” or making it possible for you to live forever.

HOW THEY MON DO BAPTISM?

7. How they mon do baptism?

⁷ The Bible tell us da for somebody to get baptize, they mon put them under the water. But it not talk too much about how they mon do baptism. Still, the Bible help us to know what all of us can do when people getting baptize. For example, Bible principles can help people who getting baptize to know how to dress. And it can also help people who will be looking at them to know how to behave. (1 Cor. 14:40; 1 Tim. 2:9) Today, da the elder dem can do baptism but it not mean da we mon be praising them for doing it. (1 Cor. 1:​14, 15) Also, whether plenty people there or plenty people not there to see the people da getting baptize, the baptism still important.—Acts 8:36.

8. What question dem they can ask the people who getting baptize, and why? (Acts 2:​38-42) (Also see the picture.)

⁸ The Bible show da for somebody “to be save, he mon preach God message to other people.” Da one will show da he telling people da he get faith. (Rom. 10:​9, 10) So it important da we do the same thing when we getting baptize, because baptism can also make it possible for you to be save. Da the reason why they can ask the people who getting baptize two questions. The first one da, “You na repent from your sins, give yourself to Jehovah, and accept his salvation through Jesus Christ?” This question focusing on what somebody already na do to get baptize. Da almost the same thing Peter say on Pentecost when he tell the people da they mon repent and get baptize. The second one da, “You understand da getting baptize will show da you Jehovah Witness and you part of Jehovah organization?” This question focusing on what the person promise to do when they get baptize. (1) He say he will follow any direction from Jehovah organization. (2) He will serve Jehovah together with his brother and sister dem. Da the same thing the people who get baptize on Pentecost do. (Read Acts 2:​38-42.) So the people who can answer yes to this question dem, qualify to get baptize.

9. Wetin all of us mon do to get good friendship with God?

⁹ Even before you start learning the truth, maybe you wor living good life and you not commit any serious sin. Or maybe your parents bring you up in the truth and they help you to love Jehovah. You think you still need to repent and get baptize to get good friendship with Jehovah? Yes. No matter our background, all of us mon know da we born with sin, and this sin make us to be far off from God. (Ps. 51:5) But when we get to know Jehovah, we decide to put his will first in our life. After da one, we can repent from all the bad-bad thing dem we do before. From there, we can change our way and start doing the thing dem da can make Jehovah happy. Then we can get baptize now.—Acts 3:19.

10. What you mon do if you already na get baptize in different religion?

¹⁰ If you already na get baptize in different religion, you still need to get baptize to be Jehovah Witness. Why? Because da time you not understand the truth about Jehovah God and Jesus good-good. And even if you pray to God and give your life to him da time, your promise wor not base on the correct understanding of God will. When the apostle Paul went to Ephesus, he meet some men dem who get baptize before but they not understand the truth about Jesus. So he make arrangement for them to get baptize again.b (Acts 19:​1-5) Da the same way today, Jehovah can only accept somebody baptism when da person understand good-good what Jehovah want him to do.

“IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT”

11. What it mean to get baptize “in the name of the Father, the Son and the holy spirit”? (Matthew 28:​18-20)

¹¹ Jesus say da his new disciple dem mon get baptize “in the name of the Father, the Son and the holy spirit.” (Read Matthew 28:​18-20.) What he mean? Most of the time, when the Bible use the word “name” it can mean somebody ways or behavior. It can also mean the position and the power the person get. So when we get baptize in the name of Jehovah and Jesus, it mean da we know da they get the right and the power to tell us what to do. And when we get baptize in the name of the holy spirit, it mean da we allowing the holy spirit to direct us. Let talk more about how we can do it.

12. What it mean to get baptize in the name of the Father? (Revelation 4:11) (Also see the picture.)

¹² In the name of the Father. This one mean da we convince da Jehovah da our Father in heaven, who give us life. We also convince da he almighty God and da him make everything. (Read Revelation 4:11.) We know da he can hear our prayer and we can use his name when we praying to him and when we talking to other people about him. (Ps. 65:2) But da not the only thing we need to be convince about. For example, the people who wor listening to Peter on Pentecost already knew about Jehovah. But now, they suppose to be convince da only through Jesus, Jehovah can give everlasting life.—Rom. 5:8.

13. What it mean to get baptize in the name of the Son? (Also see the picture.)

¹³ In the name of the Son. This one mean da we convince da Jesus da God only Son who he make by hisself. We also convince da Jesus da “the road.” Da mean da only through him we can get good friendship with Jehovah. (John 14:6) We believe da Jesus die for us so da we can get life. Da the reason why we want follow his example throughout our life, and not just the day we get baptize. (1 John 2:6) So like Jesus, we can’t allow anything to stop us from preaching. (Luke 4:43) We even willing to go through persecution because we want continue serving Jehovah. (2 Tim. 3:12) And because we respect Jesus as the “head for the congregation,” we can be happy to follow the direction from the people dem he using to take the lead.—Eph. 4:​8, 11, 12; 5:23.

14. (a) What it mean to get baptize in the name of the holy spirit? (Also see the picture.) (b) What other way dem the anointed can get baptize? (See the box “Other Way Dem the Anointed Can Get Baptize.”)

¹⁴ In the name of the holy spirit. This one mean da we accept da the holy spirit not person and it not part of the Trinity, but da God active force. We know da Jehovah use the holy spirit to help his prophet dem to know what to say. And we also know da he use the holy spirit to help the people who write the Bible to write what he wanted them to write. Da the reason why we can always read the Bible and do what it say. (2 Pet. 1:​20, 21) And we can try our best to not commit serious sin. Because when we do it, God will take his holy spirit from us and even take it from the congregation.—Eph. 4:30.

15. Wetin we mon try our best to do?

¹⁵ If you already baptize Jehovah Witness, try your best to continue reminding yourself about why baptismc important. And also try your best to live by the promise you make to Jehovah when you give your life to him and get baptize. But suppose you not baptize Jehovah Witness yet? Da something stopping you from getting baptize? In the next article, we will talk about some thing dem you can do to get baptize.