Be Baptized: Entering the New Life

Scripture Focus: Acts 2:38

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (NIV)

Devotional Thought

Baptism marks the visible beginning of an invisible grace. The waters symbolize both burial and birth—death to sin and rising to new life in Christ. It is the believer’s embodied “yes” to God’s saving work.

Interpretation

Peter’s command links repentance and baptism as twin responses to grace. Many people try to distance baptism from salvation. However, Acts 2:38 does not allow that distance. It is correct that Baptism does not earn forgiveness. Yet, it is more than the outward sign of inward renewal. It is the act of God in our rebirth. We do not “do” baptism. We submit to God’s gracious activity in our lives as suggested by the passive nature of the verb (be baptized). In baptism, believers publicly identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, testifying that their old life has ended. It seals the covenantal promise that salvation belongs to those who call upon the name of the Lord. The Spirit’s gift confirms that baptism belongs not to human ritual but divine relationship.

Definition

Baptism: Is the action of God to which we submit in repentance as we participate in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

Contemporary Relevance

In modern life, baptism still declares where our true identity lies. It signals a break with the past and belonging to a new community of grace. For those already baptized, it calls to live daily in the reality of being raised to new life. Every day becomes a baptism remembered — a renewal of surrender to Christ.

Quote of the Day

“Baptism is faith in action—an obedient step that declares: I am His, and He is mine.” — Louie Giglio

Reflection Question

How does remembering your baptism shape the way you live as one made new in Christ?

Prayer Prompt:

Ask the Spirit to help you to live as one buried with Christ and raised in newness of life.

• Copyright 2026 by Steven Chapman. Used by permission.