Why Should I be Baptized
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Saying Yes to Jesus: Repentance and Baptism
Sometimes what we wear says something about who we identify with.
Put on a Boise State hat, and people around here immediately know something about you. Maybe you've followed the Broncos for years. Maybe you remember exactly where you were during the unforgettable 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Wearing the hat is a simple way of saying,
“That's my team.”
We're usually not embarrassed to identify with a team we love.
Jesus never talked to His disciples about football, but before He left them, He gave them clear instructions about what it looks like to identify with Him.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV)
Make disciples. Baptize them. Teach them to obey Jesus.
And that's exactly what the early church did.
At Pentecost, people heard the Gospel, received the message about Jesus, and responded.
“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized…”Acts 2:41 (NKJV)
They heard about Jesus. They believed. And then they were baptized.
The command hasn't changed.
But why is baptism so important?
To understand that, we need to head into the wilderness and meet a man named John.
Prepare the Way
John the Baptist wasn't exactly what most of us picture when we imagine an influential preacher.
He lived in the wilderness. He wore clothing made from camel's hair. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
And yet Jesus would later say:
“Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist…”Matthew 11:11 (NKJV)
John had been given an incredibly important assignment.
Hundreds of years earlier, Isaiah had prophesied about a voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord (Isaiah 40:3–5).
John was that voice.
He was a herald—something like an ancient town crier announcing that something incredibly important was about to happen.
Except John wasn't announcing an event.
He was announcing Someone.
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”Matthew 3:2 (NKJV)
After roughly 400 years without a prophetic voice in Israel, John arrived with an urgent message:
The King is coming. Prepare yourselves.
And preparing meant repentance.
Repentance Is More Than Being Sorry
We often confuse repentance with regret.
They're not the same thing.
Being sorry can simply mean wishing something hadn't happened. Sometimes we're mostly sorry because we got caught, because there were consequences, or because our choices created pain.
Biblical repentance goes much deeper.
Repentance is a changing of your mind that leads to a change in direction—from sin toward God.
That's why repentance eventually becomes visible.
When Paul described his ministry, he said people should:
“…repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”Acts 26:20 (NKJV)
Good works don't purchase forgiveness.
They demonstrate that something inside us has actually changed.
John said essentially the same thing to the religious leaders who came to see what was happening:
“Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance.”Matthew 3:8 (NKJV)
Real repentance produces fruit.
It changes attitudes.
It changes priorities.
It changes behavior.
It changes the direction of a life.
Not perfectly and not instantaneously—but genuinely.
Everyone Has to Decide How They Will Respond
People traveled great distances to hear John's message.
Matthew 3:5–6 tells us that people from Jerusalem, Judea, and the surrounding region came to him, confessed their sins, and were baptized.
They heard God's invitation and said yes.
Others didn't.
That same choice still exists today.
Scripture tells us that God is:
“…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)
God's desire is for people to turn to Him.
But He doesn't force us.
Every person must decide how they will respond.
Some of the religious leaders came to John apparently wanting to be part of what was happening without genuine repentance. John saw straight through it.
He didn't care about their religious credentials, family history, reputation, or excuses.
There are no “what abouts” that substitute for humble repentance.
Eventually, every one of us must personally answer the question:
What will I do with Jesus?
John's Message Had Urgency
John wasn't preaching as though people had unlimited time to make their decision.
“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees…”Matthew 3:10 (NKJV)
In Matthew 3:10–12, John uses several pictures to describe coming judgment, including wheat being separated from chaff.
His message was uncomfortable, but it was important.
There is a distinction between the repentant and rebellious, forgiven and unforgiven, saved and lost.
God's grace is freely offered, but God's judgment is also real.
John was preparing people for the arrival of Jesus because the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand.
And then one day, the One John had been talking about appeared.
Why Would Jesus Need to Be Baptized?
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.”Matthew 3:13 (NKJV)
Jesus traveled roughly 70 miles to reach John.
And He came for one reason:
He wanted John to baptize Him.
John immediately saw the problem.
“I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”Matthew 3:14 (NKJV)
John's baptism was associated with repentance.
But Jesus had nothing to repent of.
He was sinless.
So why be baptized?
Jesus answered:
“Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Matthew 3:15 (NKJV)
At the very beginning of His public ministry, Jesus chose baptism.
He went beneath the water and came back up.
Three years later, what baptism pictured would become reality.
Jesus would die.
He would be buried.
And He would rise again.
The innocent One would take the place of the guilty. The price for sin would be paid. Justice would be satisfied, and God's righteousness would be fulfilled.
Jesus' baptism pointed toward what He came to accomplish.
But it also showed us something beautiful about the character of Jesus:
Before Jesus asks us to identify with Him, He identifies with us.
Baptism Says, “I'm With Jesus”
Christian baptism is an outward expression of an inward reality.
The water doesn't save us.
Jesus saves us.
Baptism publicly expresses what has already happened inside:
I have repented of my sin.
I have trusted Jesus.
I believe in His death, burial, and resurrection.
I belong to Him.
It's a little like putting on that Boise State hat and saying, “That's my team”—except infinitely more important.
Baptism says:
“I'm with Jesus.”
Jesus doesn't ask His followers to do something He was unwilling to do Himself.
He led the way.
And what happened when Jesus came out of the water?
“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”Matthew 3:17 (NKJV)
There is something powerful about obediently saying yes to God.
What Is Keeping You From Saying Yes?
That brings this message directly to each of us.
There are three questions worth answering honestly.
Have I repented of my sin and asked Jesus to forgive me?
Yes or no?
Have I been baptized by immersion since placing my faith in Jesus?
Yes or no?
And if the answer is no:
What would I need in order to say yes?
Maybe you need more information.
Maybe you have questions about baptism.
Maybe you've been making excuses.
Maybe you've simply never understood why baptism matters.
Those are things we can talk through.
But eventually, there comes a point when we know what Jesus has asked us to do and have to decide whether we're going to obey.
John's message carried urgency because eternity matters.
That hasn't changed.
There is a day of God's grace, when forgiveness is freely offered through Jesus Christ.
Scripture also tells us there will be a day of judgment.
So don't keep postponing the most important decision of your life.
If you need forgiveness, repent and ask Jesus to forgive you.
If you've trusted Christ but haven't followed Him in baptism, take that next step of obedience.
Imagine being able to look back at August 29, 2026, and remember it as the day the excuses ended.
The day you stopped standing on the sidelines.
The day you publicly identified with Jesus.
The day you simply said:
Yes.
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