“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 15:16

In many places, summer ushers in warmer weather. That means people like to be outside and enjoy the warm temperatures and cool down in refreshing waters. It might be seaside, a backyard or community pool, the lake, or even a lawn sprinkler. Whatever the method, people love to cool off and enjoy the water.

Water is part of baptism for followers of Jesus. Baptism is a wonderful gift of God where water and God’s word are spoken as Jesus commanded, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). When those words and the water are combined like this, according to Jesus’ promise, baptisms take place. Through this special means, God creates faith in people—infant or adult. Sins are washed away, and by faith in Jesus God makes them members of his family.

After baptism, learning continues so that people grow in their faith and grow closer to God for the confidence and joy of life with God both now and forever. There is much to learn and know in the Bible. It guides us. It refreshes us. And its message saves us! It is the “living water” (John 4:10) that Jesus gives us. Much more refreshing than any pool or beach or sprinkler! It quenches our thirst for belonging to God, for truth about God, and for true peace with God. The Word of God creates and strengthens faith in Jesus as our Savior.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”

Without faith in Jesus, people will be “condemned,” that is, lost forever in hell when they die. As Christians, we seek to invite everyone to hear Jesus’ message and be baptized, so hell is not their destiny. This is because Jesus told us to baptize and teach, so that people can have saving faith and will enjoy heaven when they die.

Many people think of summer as a gift, when we have rest and relaxation. But the real gift that lasts forever—no matter the weather—is the gift of faith in Jesus that comes through baptism and God’s Word!

Bible Verses about Baptism

• Matthew 3:11, 16: John the Baptist states, “I baptize you with water for repentance…”, and following Jesus’s baptism by John in the Jordan River, He immediately “went up immediately from the water”.
• John 3:23: Notes that “John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there.”Acts 8:36–38: After Philip shares the gospel with the Ethiopian official, they come to some water, and “he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.”
• Acts 10:47–48: Peter asks regarding the Gentiles, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people…?” and orders them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
• 1 Peter 3:21: Connects the water of the Genesis flood to Christian conversion, stating that “baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience.”