A: Baptism is a sacrament. Baptism is a washing with water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, signifying and sealing us into Christ. In it, we receive the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our relationship to be a child of the Lord.
"The promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off even as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:39)
There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism." (Ephesians 4:5)
Thoughts: there is a washing, the making of a sign, and the giving of a seal in baptism. The washing with water symbolizes the cleansing away of our sins by the blood of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. There are those who do not believe they need cleansing- just as surely as there are those who cannot see their dirt or smell their odor because they have become desensitized to it.
Baptism is full of promise and promises. There are promises in faith by the participants (or made on their behalf by their guardian). Promises to believe, to follow for adult believers; or to live a godly example, pray for and teach the faith to their child. Baptism is a sign that God the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives- that we are not alone-but are claimed and are a part of the family of God. But the washing with physical water is a symbol that we will be cleansed of our sins in the end.
Baptism is individually done, and we are individually named and called a "child of the covenant." In baptism we recognize we are brought into relationship with the living God. There is a sense that once we have had the water on us, it cannot ever be taken off. It is in this sense that we are sealed. In this sense baptism is like a brand or a tattoo that is always on us- similar to the number on the forehead described in Revelation (14:1). It is a joining, an "ingrafting" similar to a branch grafted into a tree- with the promise of growth and the hope of nourishment. When we are made part of the one living organism of Christ we are not only "one" with Him, but we are "one" with each other. It is a major experience in life that is shared only by those who have undertaken it. There is always a tie to Christ for those who have been baptized.
Prayer: Lord you were baptized giving me an example of its importance. Help me not to take it for granted.
WSC Q. 94- What is Baptism?
A: Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the washing with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, doth signify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagement to be the Lord's.
Q. 94. What is baptism?
A. The sacrament of baptism is a washing with water in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, which is a sign and seal that we are joined to Christ, that we receive the benefits of the
covenant of grace, and that we are engaged to be the Lord’s.
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