Were you baptised in adulthood?

[SixtiesChild]

I was baptised eight years ago after I gave my life to Christ. For me it was to symbolize that the old me had passed away and that my heart had been renewed by God's Holy Spirit.

So, What does your baptism mean to you? &
What lead you to get baptised as an adult?
And was it all that you expected to be? How has it changed your life? How long has it been?

[poshBecks]

I got baptised when I was 14. I will admit :o at the time I was really only doing it because everyone else was. But I now fully understand the importance of it.

[shinebrite]

I wanted to be baptised the moment I gave my life to jesus when I was 3 and I TOTALLY remeber it!! people say Oh you couldnt possibly remeber when you were that old and I DO! I didnt get baptised until I was 11 on August 5th 1995 even tho I nagged and nagged and nagged my pastor for years on end he let me do it just before the age requirments for aposotolic which was 12 yrs old!

Baptisim for me was just a next step in my relationship with God, some people say the order goes comitment then baptism then gift of tounges but for me I could speak in tongues when I was 9yrs old and i didnt even know what it was until it happened!!! it was definatly a God encounter because I was praying in my bedroom while my parents were having another fight and God blessed me with a deeper desire to push on through with him!!! Being baptised is good but not in the middle of winter in a lake brrrrr :snow:

[pookiesossige]

I can't actually contribute to your thread the way you want, lol, but I just HAD to jump here and say that my DH Mason was baptised 5 years ago at the age of 27 :yelclap: :smiliedance:

Thanks... Carry on then!! :D

[blessedmummy]

i was baptised when i was about 18:thumbsup:

[bambino]

I was baptised 2 years ago....when I was 27 !

The reason behind mine was a little different to what I think you may be wondering.

I was never baptised as a child.

I've been with my lovely man for 10 years now and we finally decided to get married (back in 2005). He is Greek Orthodox, and for us to be married in a Greek church I was advised to be baptised before hand. So I was baptised into Orthodoxy and the priest was happy to perform the ceremony.

I really enjoyed the baptism and the wedding ceremony and also attended a weekly greek youth group gathering at the church to learn more about the religion.

I must say, coming from a non religious home to learning about a completely different thing such as religion, I am totally fascinated by it all.

[borntobemummy]

I was baptized almost 9 years ago when I was 16. At the time I did it to make a public declaration to family and friends about my commitment to Christ.

[♥Heaven Sent♥]

I was baptised when i was about 9-10 yrs old.

It was a long time ago now,I should get a move on and get dd and ds christened.

[Nan]

shinebrite - IKWYM!!! I gave my life to Jesus when I was 3 and I totally remember it, too. I wasn't baptised until I was 13 as my parents didn't really explain it to me until much later. Once I had a good grasp on it & why you do it, I did it when I was ready. I took a few weeks of baptism classes at my church and have never looked back.

For me, it is an outward act to show my commitment and obedience to Jesus. I don't think it has changed my life.....although I've never really known any other way, I guess. It was what I expected.

[Grace3]

yep when i was 27yrs old

[SixtiesChild]

I always get a bit teary at baptisms, no matter who it is being baptised I guess it brings back a lot of memories for me.

[ziggie]

Yep, at 21yo :D

[Ffrenchknickers]

Yes, hubby and I were baptised together about 2 years ago:) Was awesome:)

[Bessie]

Yup, I was 23 and hubby was 24.
It was about 9 months after I became a Christian. I wanted to be baptised as that's what Jesus did and I wanted to follow his example and be obedient. Also, with DH doing it at the same time it was easier as I wasn't doing it on my own! We both gave our testimonies and we wanted to tell everyone about what God had done in our lives, he really did turn things around for us.
Nan and Shine, it was lovely reading that you knew God at such a young age. My DD was baptised at 8 and has known the Lord for some time and it's lovely to think that you guys kept your faith and always knew the Lord ifykwim.

[Susan Mac]

Don't beat me down with a big stick because you disagree...

but I come from an infant baptising curch (presbyterian) that sees baptism as a different symbol to adult baptising churches. DH is from an adult baptism background. We are trying to work through it so we can decide whether or not to get our son baptised.
I'm mostly keen, except that I'm not certain of the importance of baptism anyway, but like the symbolism of infant over adult baptism.

[Ally Jane]

i was baptised at 15 as a public declaration of my faith but had dedicated my life to serving god before that.....

[SixtiesChild]

Susan Mac,
Some churches disagree with each other on the issue of baptism. I have opted to dedicate my child to the Lord instead of baptise. The purpose of a dedication is a sincere promise to the Lord that the child will be raised & educated for God's purposes. It is different in that there is a biblical account of it and it's purely for children.
The mother, Hannah dedicates her son Samuel to the Lord. It was common for a firstborn in those days.
I was baptised as an infant as were all my siblings but I didn't have any awareness of the biblical obligation behind baptism.
What did help though was that I was taught the Lords prayer in 2 languages from a very early age. I clung to this prayer until I was an adult. It was what got me through. I had a strong awareness of Gods presence but knew nothing about what my obligations were.
I felt God calling me on numerous occasions but I would ignore it.
When I met dh, things started to change because he encouraged me to read the bible and things became clearer.
Goodluck with your decision, Susan I know it's not an easy one. If you do choose to baptise your child you could also later encourage your child to make a personal individual commitment to God.

[Susan Mac]

The purpose of baptism in a reformed protestant church such as the presbyterian denomination is as a promise by the parents to bring their child up as a follower of God, and a sign of the future joining of the child to the family of God. It's not a sure and certain thing that the child will grow up to be a Christian, but it is the parents responsibilty to teach them about God and what it means to be a Christian.
Proponents of this view say that baptism is now used instead of circumcision.
My issue is more that I'm not entirely convinced of either position, but more swayed towards infant baptism and think we will go ahead with it because we are at a church that practices infant baptism.

Ethereal, is there any other biblical reason for dedication?

[warriorPRINCESSdaughter]

Shinebright what an great testimony you are a light in this place keep shining girl.

I was baptized as a baby but it was when i gave my life to Jesus that i then was baptized in water and will never forget the feeling i had when i came out i was clean the old life had been washed away forever and the new life had begun. I also dedicated my son to the Lord when he was a baby although i was not a christian i had read a book while pregnant called Roots by Alex Hayley anyway the slave women would hold their babies to the sky and say "behold, the only thing greater than yourself. The Lord!" I did this the night he was born and since becoming a christian i have come to relise that i dedicated him to Christ. Now 16 years later my precious son is about to embark on a path to Bible College and become a pastor, he has prayed in tonges since the age of four and has always believed he would be in the ministry. It blesses my heart to see him shine in a dark world for the Lord

Jodie:angel:

[SixtiesChild]

It might be wise, but not necessary for a parent to "officially" present their child to the Lord in a public service. That is between the parents and God. Personally, I felt a sort of prompting by the Holy Spirit, and I felt that God really wanted us to present our first child at a young age to Him. I haven’t felt that prompting with my second child yet and I can’t explain why.

I hope I don’t sound disrespectful as that is not my intent, but I am someone who asks a lot of questions so, I am wondering if what some churches are calling an infant baptism is really what is in scripture, presenting a child to God? Here are some scriptures in the bible regarding children being presented to God by their parents.

Baby Presentation (dedication) Implied In The Scriptures.

Luke 2:21-22, "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;"

Mary presented Jesus, her first born son to the Lord in Jerusalem. Jesus was not baptized till He was 30 years old, but was presented when he was eight.

Hannah, the mother of Samuel dedicated her son to the Lord in this story:
I Samuel 1:24-28, "And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there."

Presenting a child to God might be a very important step for some parents to take for their child but scripturally is it the same as a person who wants to follow the steps that Jesus took to be baptized and to be His disciple?
If one reads the account of Jesus at the time of His baptism, there really is an awful lot of supernatural stuff going on and I think there is a strong message to the person that wishes to follow in His footsteps.
IMO, so I don't expect everyone to agree. :)

And I also must say that there are some beautiful testimonies appearing on this thread.

[kymmy]

I was baptised at 8 and still remember it. My husband was baptised at 19.
Our daughter wants to get baptised next year. We really want her to understand what it means. I don't think I understood what it meant as I was just following my Mum (she was baptised a couple of months before) My girl seems to understand.

[kymmy]

It might be wise, but not necessary for a parent to "officially" present their child to the Lord in a public service. That is between the parents and God. Personally, I felt a sort of prompting by the Holy Spirit, and I felt that God really wanted us to present our first child at a young age to Him. I haven’t felt that prompting with my second child yet and I can’t explain why.


[FONT=Georgia]Baby Presentation (dedication) Implied In The Scriptures.

Luke 2:21-22, "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;"

Mary presented Jesus, her first born son to the Lord in Jerusalem. Jesus was not baptized till He was 30 years old, but was presented when he was eight.

Hannah, the mother of Samuel dedicated her son to the Lord in this story:
I Samuel 1:24-28, "And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with three bullocks, and one ephah of flour, and a bottle of wine, and brought him unto the house of the LORD in Shiloh: and the child was young. And they slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli. And she said, Oh my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the LORD. For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there."

[SIZE=2]Presenting a child to God might be a very important step for some parents to take for their child but scripturally is it the same as a person who wants to follow the steps that Jesus took to be baptized and to be His disciple?
If one reads the account of Jesus at the time of His baptism, there really is an awful lot of supernatural stuff going on and I think there is a strong message to the person that wishes to follow in His footsteps.



Wow that is interesting. Babies are brought before the Church where I go. They are blessed and numbered as a part of the Church though not baptised.