10. New Life

Spend approximately one-third of your time on each section. Move on to the next section at the designated time even if you have not answered all the questions. You can focus on the questions you missed the next time you meet.

LOOK BACK

How have you experienced God this week?
What are you thankful for?
Is there anything which has been bothering you since we last met?
What have you put into practice since our last Discovery Bible reading?
Were you able to share the Discovery Bible passage or a God experience with anyone?

Pray together:

Thank God for the experiences, ask for God‘s help.
Pray that you may get to know new aspects of God and that your friendship with God would be strengthened and become deeper

LOOK UP

+ Context

The focus of this Bible study is baptism, but because the term “baptism” has many different uses today, it’s essential to clarify what is meant by “baptism” in the context of this study.

What People Often Mean by Baptism

The word “baptism” can have various meanings for different people. Some examples include:

Asking God‘s blessing for a child
Washing off original sin
Defining your religious affiliation
Naming a child
Ceremony for instating godfather / godmother

While these practices have their own significance, they are not what is referred to as “baptism” in today’s Bible passage.

The Biblical Meaning of Baptism

Baptism is about definitely ending your life without God and entrusting yourself to God completely. Going under water symbolizes dying and being buried, coming up again symbolizes the resurrection to a new life with God.

Celebrate the Decision

Important milestones in life deserve to be celebrated—birthdays, weddings, and other significant moments. Baptism is no different. Why not organize a baptism celebration? Invite your family, friends, and community to honor this moment.

A baptism celebration not only gives the occasion the significance it deserves but also creates an opportunity for your friends who don’t yet believe in Jesus to encounter Him.

Read the text out loud (you may want to take a break periodically to be successful with the next two steps)
Have one person retell the passage in their own words with the group’s help.
Was there anything missed or added from the retelling of the passage?
Now see if someone can tell the whole passage in their own words.

³Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.⁶For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—⁷because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

What stands out to you in this passage?
What does this passage say about people?
What does this passage says about God and Jesus?

LOOK FORWARD

If this passage is from God, what difference would it make in your life? Is there:

A behaviour to change?
A promise to claim?
An example to follow?
A command to obey?

+ Suggestions

Think about whether you are ready to get baptized or not. Keep in mind that the process of forgiveness from Basic Conversations 9 should be completed before baptism.

Plan a party!

Share with the group what you will put into practice for this week. Make sure it is a SMART goal (specific, measurable, achievalbe, realistic and timely). A template that you can use is:

By (specific time) I will (action) so that (result/application)

Who will you share this passage with this week?
Pray for each other.

With this lesson we have reached the end of the Basics.

Multiply is a great next step to take in your faith journey. Multiply will help you grow together, go together and transform your communities together with Jesus!

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