Total Surrender and Baptism
Awakened at 2 am one night with a strong sense of spiritual need and urgency, Russ surrendered his life to Jesus Christ. Soon after, Russ became aware of his need to take a first step of obedience by being baptized.
As an outward expression of an inward reality, baptism by immersion symbolizes a believer’s identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – the beginning of a new life in Christ. And if a believer’s new heart’s desire is to become more like Jesus, then making this declaration of faith before others is an act of obedience modeled by our Lord himself when he submitted to public baptism.
Since taking this step of faith and obedience, Russ has seen gradual and yet profound changes in his attitudes toward others – a shift from selfishness to service. “Being baptized gave me that extra little “kick” to start living differently.”
As Russ experienced, very often following Jesus is as simple as taking the next “first” step.