I love how Tony leads the men to Christ and how he explains baptism and the meaning of being born again. 

If I can be totally honest, growing up, I never understood what being born again really meant. That is until I began learning God’s Word, studying scripture, and listening to Tony share with the men we disciple inside the prison system what Jesus says in the Bible about baptism and being born again. 

I was raised Catholic, and I – and this may not be true for every Catholic – had always believed that when I was christened as a baby that I was baptized. That my sins were being erased and that I would now be able to go to heaven when I died. As far as I knew, that was it. 

But that’s not it. 

I thought that if my parents did their part, I was going to heaven. And if my parents didn’t do their part, then what? 

These were questions I wanted answers to. I wanted to know the TRUTH, so I dug deeper and asked Tony lots of questions. He always led me to scripture. 

In John 3:5-7, Jesus said, “No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to Spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, You must be born again.” 

My brain was so programmed to think differently, that it took me a while to fully grasped all this. I could sit here and write a lot about what I have learned in the above scripture, but I am going to stick to what led me to write this post in the first place. I’ll save the rest for another post.

So, what is the difference between being Baptized and christened? Did God ask us to be christened as babies?

Here’s what my initial research online showed me when I first began seeking these answers.

Baptism involves immersion of water on an adult or child to atone – the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ – for their sins and pledge their commitment to God. 

A christening is a Christian ceremony where a baby is welcomed into a church congregation. Promises are made by the parents and godparents stating the child will be brought up within the Christian faith. It involves the priest’s sprinkling of water, where the parents accept the baby’s commitment to God.

In a nutshell, christening or baby dedications at a church are a parents commitment to raise their child to know God. Baptism on the other hand, is a decision I must make – it’s my personal commitment to follow Jesus and to build a relationship with Him.

Wow, that was an eye opener for me when I finally realized what that meant! It made me wonder how many people fully understand their decision to be baptized? I do know this, the men we disciple have that understanding before going into the water. 

In order to understand what being born again really means, Tony took me deeper into what baptisms really are – and are not – and what they mean regarding our salvation. 

Let’s start our discussion with the first person who baptized people – including Jesus – John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was not named for his religious affiliation but, instead, because his practice was to baptize those who responded to the message he proclaimed and sincerely repented of their sins. One of those John baptized was Jesus himself. 

There are many significant aspects about Jesus’ baptism but – as it pertains to our baptism – there is one aspect that shows why our baptisms are important. 

Jesus’ baptism was a symbol of giving His will up to His Father and the beginning of His earthly ministry. Our baptism is an outward expression and declaration of our being a follower of Jesus Christ but it also is a symbol of our “pledge” to put aside our agenda in favor of God’s as we begin our ministry – our disciple-making activities – on Earth.

Baptisms are an affirmation, but they are not a salvation. 

Salvation is summed up in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The emphasis is mine to underscore there is one – and only one – way to salvation.

Baptisms are not an entrance to Heaven which may surprise some of you since there are a significant number of people who believe they are. You may have experienced a religion or a church that believes the following about baptizing babies:

• Baptism is a requirement for entrance into Heaven.
• The hope that my child will know God, grow in a relationship with God, and keep God close to him.
• It’s Tradition.

The first belief is flat out wrong. The second and third are not based in Scripture and are actually baby dedications (which many churches do) which affirm the parents – and congregations – commitment to the child’s spiritual growth so that child at some point in his or her life will make the decision to be a Christ follower as well.

Jesus was not baptized as a baby but as an adult, as we all should be. We should not be baptized in hopes of knowing, growing, and keeping with God but to declare those three parts of our walk with God. Traditions are fine but, in this case, are more rooted in legalism than in obedience to and relationship with God.

Tony spends significant time explaining to the men we lead what it means to be born again so that the men we’re discipling fully understand what they are committing to do when they are being baptized. 

Being born again means that we must repent, accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, and be baptized for the remission of our sins. Furthermore, we must confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the grave, and we shall be saved.

So how did we come to the idea of christening as a baby is a baptism?

As churches became religions, we as humans began interpreting Scripture differently which is why different religions have different beliefs and/or worship practices than others. 

Also, during the plagues, when people – including infants and young children – were dying young, the baptism became an “insurance policy” for gaining entrance to Heaven. Parents were terrified that an unbaptized infant would go to hell if dying before being able to accept Christ as Savior as demonstrated by John 3:16. 

As time went on, some religions no longer conducted adult baptisms, electing to baptize babies to cleanse the babies of their sin and to “cement their salvation”. 

By the time the modern era arrived, infant baptisms were accepted practice as making sure everyone who was baptized got into Heaven. However, there is only one person through whom we can be cleansed of our sins and gain entrance to Heaven – Jesus Christ.

In our modern times, it is not out of the ordinary for some people to think that adult baptisms are weird, not Biblical, and unnecessary. But adult baptisms are absolutely necessary for a new creation in Christ in being born again. But the term “born again” is not without controversy and misunderstanding.

To be born again has nothing to do with a second physical birth. Instead, it is a recognition that – due to Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden – every human being is born with a sin nature. 

This sin nature is a stain on our souls, if you will, and can only be cleansed by accepting Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord. 

This is what is meant by being born again as a new creation in Christ – to be cleansed of our sin nature by the most Holy who himself walked the Earth as God and Man and lived a sinless life. 

Through Jesus’ sacrifice we can now lay claim to the Kingdom of God because nothing of sin can be allowed in a place that has no sin.

Christians and non-Christians alike can look sideways at those who profess to be born again and who tell others they must be born again because of the misconceptions and bad teachings passed down through the generations. 

But without this fundamental understanding of being born again from God’s perspective, there are many people who have been deceived by man’s teaching that it may have a bearing on their own salvation.

Tony and I are often asked how we are able to do what we do in all the hours we put in to our ministry, devoting our time and effort in to discipling the men we do in addition to the people we interact within our everyday lives. 

Certainly it is taxing and puts a strain on our bodies and – honestly – we can find ourselves physically exhausted to the point God has said very clearly to rest and recharge. And our pastor, Kyle Idleman, has confirmed that in his recent sermon series, Rhythms of Grace. 

So, yes, there is a cost for any disciple maker who moves with urgency to share and spread the Gospel, to bring people to Christ, and to continue to support new believers in their walk but it is totally worth it. People’s eternal lives are literally at stake.

And as one of our volunteers who serve with our ministry says, “You can’t put a price on saved souls.”

Watch on YouTube as we celebrate the baptisms God has allowed us to be a part of!!