19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -- Matthew 28:19-20

Make Disciples: Mobilize. Mark. Mold. (Matthew 28:19-20)

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This past Sunday, Mike Continued our GAME CHANGERS series, where we investigated the importance and role of baptism as the way to "put on the uniform of faith." Here is a working definition of baptism:

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). In obedience to Christ, baptism publicly proclaims that a person is united to Christ by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection(Romans 6:3-4), and is a member of His body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:13). Essentially, baptism visualizes what God has accomplished in us through the gospel.

Our scripture for today, Matthew 28:19-20, describes Jesus commissioning his disciples to MAKE DISCIPLES. Jesus' command is made up of one verb with 3 modifiers. Another way to think about it is one command with three instructions.

We Make Disciples by:

• going (v. 19)
• baptizing (v.19)
• teaching (v. 20)

To say it another way: We MAKE disciples by MOBILIZING (going), MARKING (baptism), and MOLDING (teaching) people.

Today, we are going to look specifically at why baptism is included in Jesus' "Great Commission." A baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, marks someone as one who belongs to the one true God as and as a follower of Jesus.

Imagine a wedding ceremony. What aspects are included:

• Public
• An exchange of Vows
• Pronouncement that two are becoming one
• A covenant is made to live together, forever

In a similar way, baptism is a public declaration, where we confess our allegiance to God, in which we are united with God and commit to follow Him forever.

‍Our baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality that we are bound to Christ. In our baptism, we confess that He is our highest allegiance and our deepest devotion. Our plunge beneath the water symbolizes our old self is dead and buried, and our ascent out of the water is symbolic of the new person who is risen with Christ.

As we depart those waters, we are new because our lives are explicitly bound with Jesus Christ.