Why Should I Be Baptized?

Church Questions

by Bobby Jamieson

"Baptism is a public sign that a Christian has been brought from death to life. This book unpacks Scripture's teaching on the necessity of baptism for the life and growth of the local church body"--

Genres: Christian, Church, Ecclesiology, Theology

35 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Bobby Jamieson is a Ph.D. student in New Testament and affiliated lecturer in New Testament Greek at the University of Cambridge. He and his wife are members of Eden Baptist Church, and they live in Cambridge with their three children. Bobby previously served as assistant editor for 9Marks.

See also R.B. Jamieson

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything Bobby writes is 5 stars

[John Pawlik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book on baptism! Super helpful for the lay level and walking something through objections against and reasons for being baptized. I used it to write some curriculum on baptism for youth.

[Will O'kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet booklet on baptism. Very helpful for catechizing a new/young believer.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of the bunch so far! This is an incredible resource that I plan on buying more of to keep on my resource shelf!!

[Josh John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I primarily read this booklet to see if it would be a help and resource for believers who are not sure about taking the step of believer’s baptism or may have some reservations.

This book not only lays out why baptism is important, but also answers common objections to baptism that I have already heard from others in my short time in ministry.

I would highly recommend this book be given to any believer who may be confused or struggling with the “next step” after salvation.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book that calls for baptism and obedience to Christ. What I appreciate about this book is that Jamieson connects the dots between baptism and living in a covenant relationship with other believers. While not exhaustive, he does contend and defend a view of believer’s baptism in a way that is helpful and swift.

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jamieson's work, for being so short, is impressively comprehensive and compelling. This is truly a must read for those asking this very question. I argue it should largely be implemented in a baptism class. Very very well done.

[Michael Goforth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very short and helpful book that explains the importance and the beauty of Christian baptism (from a credobaptist perspective).

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a couple issues here and there but they’re not germane to the main point of this book. Jamieson approaches baptism with a focus on the gospel and church membership.

[David J. Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and helpful.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little read by Bobby Jamieson on why one should be baptized. It is part of the 9Marks Church Questions booklets. These are intended to be short answers to practical questions about the church. This one is almost too short as an introduction to baptism. But if you need something to get people over the hurdle of getting baptized, this is a great little booklet to give them.

It is strong on importance of church membership and the ongoing commitment that baptism entails. Jamieson offers three pillars that support church membership:

1. The church has a clearly defined “inside” and “outside” aspect.

2. The images of the church review it committed group that knows one another.

3. The commands to the church presuppose a committed group that knows one another serves to go on mission.

Number 3 could include the “one another” commands, which logically flow from number 2 above .

Surprisingly, Jamieson makes no mention of Act 2:41-42ff., which really should be number 1 of four pillars. Those who repented and trusted in Christ were not only baptized but also added to the Church and were devoted to the Lord and one another as a local body. Consequently, (1) this devoted membership logically leads to (2) the “inside” and “outside” aspect which flows into (3) the images of the church which gather and scatter to carry out 4) the commands to the church and the mission to the world.

Jamieson does a great job of briefly showing how the promises of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31 counters infant baptism. The new covenant, unfortunately is often omitted in discussions of the meaning of baptism.

Yet there is not much explanation about the meaning of baptism in relation to the gospel. A brief three point outline regarding baptism signifying: (1) how I was saved, (2) what happened when I got saved, and (3) why I was saved in relation to the gospel of the person and work of Christ would’ve been helpful. Most of this information is contained in this little booklet, but not neatly packaged to explain the gospel as signified in water baptism by immersion.

The author also answers seven common objections to being baptized which are very helpful. An eighth could be added: “I don’t want to get baptized because I’m disabled or too frail.”

[Bill Forgeard · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accessible & reliable booklet for anyone considering baptism. Recommended.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamieson presents three reasons to get baptized:
(1) to obey Christ's command
(2) to publicly profess faith in Christ
(3) to formally commit yourself to Christ and his people

These three reasons are supported with an extremely brief discussion and minimal supporting scripture. Little is said for why baptism portrays the gospel. Following this discussion is a section addressing seven reasons people give to avoid baptism and why those reasons are fallacious. The booklet is certainly helpful for people who have given little consideration to baptism, but the number of blank pages at the end could have been used to provide just a bit more detail than "Jesus said so, so do it."


Quotes:

"Baptism is important precisely because baptism is about the gospel. Baptism is attached to the gospel and depicts the gospel. If the gospel is important to you, baptism should be too"

"baptism publicly identifies someone as a disciple of Jesus."

"Baptism is a church's act of affirming and portraying a believer's union with Christ by immersing him or her in water, and a believer's act of publicly committing him or herself to Christ and his people, thereby uniting a believer to the church and marking off him or her from the world."

Referencing Colossians 2:11-12: "Paul assumes that faith was present at the time of baptism."

Referencing Jeremiah 31:34 and arguing against pedobaptism: "Membership in the new covenant comes by new birth not physical birth"

[Cassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This booklet took less than an hour to read, even while taking notes. What I liked was 1) the argument from Scripture for baptism by immersion and 2) the emphasis that baptism is about the gospel, but it isn’t itself the gospel (in other words, baptism, while important, isn’t necessary for salvation). Jamieson builds a strong case for why baptism should be public (even if it’s intimidating or risky) and why it should also formalize your commitment to a particular church. However, I am a little unclear on the book’s target audience. Is it mainly for people who are already connected to a church? If so, then the emphasis on finding a church is unnecessary. Or is the book mainly for people who are unconnected to a church? If so, then addressing infant baptism and arguing that churches practice formal membership might raise more questions. I read this looking for a book that a church can give to its people who are interested in baptism, but I wonder if an article or another pamphlet that doesn’t talk so much about finding a church would make more sense for that purpose.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short booklet covers the basics on baptism. It is meaty, even though it is short, at 44 pages. It would be a great primer to share with someone wrestling with whether to be baptized, or "re-baptized". It dicusses 7 reasons people consider of why not to be baptized. Scripture references are included and discussed. I will definitely recommend and share this book with friends. If you want a more in-depth explanation, you might want to read this author's other book, Understanding Baptism, which is longer and a bit more technical.

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful little resource for those with the question. I wish someone handed me this book upon my conversion in 2011. I didn’t understand why baptism and church membership went together. This book would’ve cleared that issue up for me.

Praise God for baptism! It’s the shape of the Christian life (20). Remember your baptism. Grateful to have found out my baptism date a couple months ago. I was baptized 08/22/12 at Calvary Baptist Church in Russellville, AL.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, practical, and comprehensive. This is a strong resource for anyone curious about or considering baptism. Jamieson’s explanation of what baptism is and why it’s important give sufficient information without being overly repetitive or hyper-detailed. A great resource for churches to give baptism candidates.

[Jason Keel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very brief, but well done case for credo-baptism by immersion. Whether you hold this position or not I recommend you give this little book a chance. It is not all there is to say, but if you want the short version this is a good option.

[Cody Jenison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful and Accessible

This booklet is a great start on the topic of baptism. The explanation of baptism adds the neglected element of being baptized into a local body. Also, some great practical and pastoral wisdom is offered for those that have hang ups with baptism.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinct and helpful. Definitely easy enough to hand to someone wrestling with the question, so highly recommended for that purpose (or as an easy refresher for a pastor having this conversation with someone).

[Daniel Mann · Rating 4 out of 5]

We distributed this book to our church. It is a short booklet that can be read in 30-45 minutes, but it does an excellent job of answering the most important and frequently asked questions.

[Ben Emberley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick, helpful read for anyone asking this question.

[Brett Monge · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most concise and helpful book I’ve read on believers baptism.

[Nicholas Abraham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief summary of the biblical foundations of believers baptism, along with a number of helpful answers to various questions about baptism and its relationship to church life.

[Ben Clouston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for pastors to give to those who are wanting to be baptized or do not understand baptism.

[Hopson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful little booklet to give away to someone interested in baptism.

[Tim Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great booklet that lays out the importance of baptism. Bobby is clear, concise, and convincing.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short booklet explaining the commands of Jesus to be baptized and defending credobaptism.

[Xan Sibley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, simple, informative

[Simon Field · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pointed and persuasive.