When a foreigner wants to become an American citizen he must go through a special ceremony, raise their hand and pledge allegiance to the U.S.A. To pledge means to promise. To pledge allegiance means to promise to be loyal and faithful.

     Did you know that every person who begins a relationship with God also becomes a citizen of a new country. They become a citizen in what Jesus called the "Kingdom of God" or "Kingdom of heaven." Listen to what the apostle Paul wrote about this . . .

Ephesians 2:13,19

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ . . . Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God"

     To have a relationship with God the first step is to be born again. After you do this God wants you to pledge allegiance to the king and kingdom of which you became a citizen. After salvation this step is THE most important one in our walk with God.

     When someone becames a citizen of the U.S. they have to participate in a ceremony and pledge to be loyal to their new country. Amazingly the New Testament describes both a ceremony and a pledge when we become citizens of heaven.

1. THE CEREMONY OF BAPTISM
     A. It is a Public Declaration of Our Faith. The first thing new believers did in the New Testament was to be baptized. They publicly told everyone that they had put their faith in Jesus Christ. They were saying, "Hey everybody, I'm pledging my allegiance to Jesus." Now the tradition of some churches is to have a first communion or confirmation service where they publicly declare their faith for the first time. The tradition that I'm from has people "walk down the isle" at the end of a church service. There is nothing wrong with these activities. But in the New Testament the way we are instructed to declare our faith is through baptism.

     B. It Happens After Believing in Jesus. Every place that Jesus' baptism happens in the Bible happend after they believed in Jesus, never before. In Acts 2:38 Peter was preaching and he said, "repent and let every one of you be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Then verse 41 says, "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized."

     Acts 8:12 says, "But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning . . . Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized." Verse 13 continues, "Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip.

     In Acts 8 Philip is with the Ethiopian eunch and in verse 35 it says, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may."And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunch went down into the water, and he baptized him.

     In Acts 9 after Paul was converted verse 18 says, "He got up and was baptized.

     Acts 16 tells about a lady named Lydia, who in verse 14 "the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul." And then the next verse says that "she and her household were baptized."

     In the same chapter in verse 25-33 we read about the Philippian jailer who asked in verse 30, "What must I do to be saved?' So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." The jailer and his house believed "And immediately he and his family were baptized."

     Acts 18:8 tells how then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing believed and were baptized."

     So you see that every time that Jesus's baptism happens in Scripture happend after they believed in Jesus, never before.

     C. It Unites Us as One. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 says, "Moreover brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea." What does he mean by "baptized unto Moses"? There were many Israelites that Moses led out of Egypt. And before they came to the Red Sea they were still a large mob. They had no organization, no government; they were simply a mass of people who were following a leader out of slavery, into what they hoped would be freedom. All they had to unite them was the fact that they were fleeing from something they didn't like. But then they went through the sea and as they came out on the other side they were no longer a mob. They were a unified nation under the leader of one man. They didn't just all leave and go their separate ways. No, even though they complained they stayed together. They belonged together. Moses was their leader. All that Moses stood for they stood for. From that time on Moses was the recognized auithority and God's spokesman for the children of Israel.

     The interesting thing is that this is what baptism accomplishes. It unites us as one. When someone gets baptized he is saying I am joining Jesus's team. He is my leader. I am not going to do my own thing and go my own way. I am with Jesus. I belong to Him.

2. THE OATH IS "JESUS IS MY LORD"
     Over 150 times in the New Testament, Jesus is called, "Lord." Throughout the centuries, these words, "Jesus is Lord" have represented the essence of Christianity. For many followers of Christ, especially in the first and second centuries, this also also meant death. It was a question of allegiance. "Who is Lord?"- they were asked, "Jesus or Caesar?" The wrong answer sent you to the lions.

     At our baptism we are obeying Jesus. We declare that Jesus is our Lord. What does that mean? It means Jesus leads and we follow. It means we put His interests ahead of ours. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness . . ."Baptism says to the world "I am with Jesus." Have you been born again. Have you pledge allegiance to Jesus alone, through baptism? If not, why don't you think about it?

by Steve Nicholes
LINKS TO . . . Other Bible Messages Genesis Esther Daniel Philippians James James Complete Discipleship Topics