We don’t wash our hands before washing our hands. We don’t scrub the dirt off before stepping into the shower. We bring the mess with us—that’s the point.
Too often, people think baptism is for those who have “got it all together.” They feel they need to stop sinning, clean themselves up, prove they’re good enough, and then step into the water. But that’s not what Scripture teaches.
Romans 6:4 says, “We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead… we too may live a new life.” Notice the order: burial first, new life after. We don’t bury what’s already alive—we bury what’s dead. Baptism isn’t about showing off your perfection; it’s about surrendering your old, broken self to Jesus and letting Him raise you to something new.
Jesus Himself made it plain: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). If you’re waiting until you’re “good enough,” you’ll never step in. None of us are.
The water isn’t magic. What makes baptism powerful is Jesus. It’s His blood that washes us, His Spirit that renews us, His promise that secures us. Acts 22:16 says, “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.”
You don’t rinse off before you shower. You don’t stop sinning before you come to Christ. You come dirty, weighed down, lost—and He makes you clean, alive, and free.
If you’ve been putting it off because you think you’re not ready, hear the invitation of Jesus today: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Bring the mess. Step into the water. That’s where the new life begins.
Last night, I took my family to see Anne Wilson in concert, and she sang her song Living Water. It was a reminder that Jesus is the spring that never runs dry. We don’t come to Him to prove we’re worthy—we come to be filled. Baptism is simply stepping into that river of grace. Once you taste the Living Water, nothing else satisfies.