Baptism at PRCC

We receive salvation by placing our faith in Jesus Christ—repenting of sin, confessing Him as Lord, being baptized, and committing to a life of allegiance and obedience to Jesus as King. Salvation is by grace through faith, and our response flows from trust in Christ, not an effort to earn salvation. (Ephesians 2:8)

In the New Testament, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism consistently appear together as the response to the gospel, expressing a person’s full surrender to Jesus Christ. (Luke 9:23)

Baptism is an integral part of responding in faith to Christ and the Gospel. Following our understanding of Scripture, we practice baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The New Testament uses the word baptizo, which means to plunge, dip, or immerse. This was the form of baptism modeled by Jesus and practiced by the early church. (Matthew 3; Acts 2:38; Colossians 1:13-14)

Baptism by immersion unites the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In baptism, the old life is put to death and the believer is raised to walk in newness of life in Christ. (Romans 6)

Scripture repeatedly connects baptism with God’s saving work, presenting it as the God-appointed way believers personally participate in what Christ has accomplished through His death and resurrection. (Matthew 28; 1 Peter 3:21)

Because baptism is closely connected to faith and conversion in the New Testament, all who place their trust in Jesus Christ are encouraged to be baptized at conversion or as soon as possible thereafter. (Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 10:44-48)