Many people position themselves as Christians, but at the same time they have not been honored in their lives with the sacrament of holy baptism. This faith is determined by the popular consciousness "faith in the heart", which does not need church "ritualism" at all. Such thinking does not correspond to the worldview of an Orthodox person, because believing in God means trusting Him. Therefore, trust and faith must be manifested in the fulfillment of God's commandments.
The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament clearly speak of the need for holy baptism. The Gospel of Matthew ends with the words of the Lord that the apostles should teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In other places in the Gospels, Christ speaks of the need to be born of water and spirit, which is an indication of New Testament baptism. It turns out that the sacrament of holy baptism was established not by man, but by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
If a person is a believer, then he should show this in specific deeds, position himself as a Christian not only in “his heart”, but also in society.
The sacrament of holy baptism is the spiritual birth of the human person. The Lord spoke about this rebirth for eternal life in a conversation with Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. In baptism, a person is adopted (adopted) by God, becomes a direct member of the Christian Church. This is a prerequisite for achieving eternal life (paradise), provided that after baptism, a person will strive for God. The Lord saves not only each person individually, but also his entire Church. Therefore, depending on what relation a person has to the Orthodox Church, the moment of salvation takes place.
According to Orthodox doctrine, in the sacrament of baptism, an adult is forgiven all sins. Life starts from scratch. The newly baptized one is given the opportunity to leave his former sinful life and begin the renewal of his being. In the baptism of infants who are sinless, one can trace the washing away of the original sin, which absolutely all people who come into this world have.
It is in the sacrament of holy baptism that divine grace descends upon a person, making the newly baptized saint. The pursuit of holiness is the main goal and meaning of earthly life for an Orthodox person. Of course, in the course of life a person loses the grace received in baptism. However, the Lord does not leave those who believe in Him. Having become a member of the Church of Christ (having received baptism), a person can already proceed to other saving church sacraments, for example, confession and communion.
In addition, in the sacrament of baptism, a person is given a holy heavenly patron and a guardian angel.
It turns out that the sacrament of baptism is seen as the fulfillment of the covenant of God Himself. A truly believing Orthodox person must accept this sacrament before entering the Church of Christ. Baptism is accepted not for the sake of earthly material goods, but for future eternal life. In the sacrament of baptism, a person is combined with Christ, rejects the devil, manifests his will for good, renouncing evil.
Holy baptism is the first essential step of a person to his Savior Jesus Christ. Throughout his future life, a believer should strive to improve himself more and more and, if necessary, to cleanse his soul from sins, drawing closer through this to his Creator and Savior.
