I, Michael Richter, being of sound body, mind, and spirit, hereby request water baptism as practiced by my community of believers,
being fully convinced that it is neither necessary nor sufficient for salvation, the power of my Father’s grace as granted first to my mother’s faith and then to mine being alone necessary and sufficient,
having received a water baptism and having confirmed it in repentance and belief,
having already God’s Holy Spirit at work within me—called a baptism in scripture—in advance of water baptism, as in the case of Cornelius,
and having experienced trial—called a baptism of fire in scripture—not always successfully but having persevered as a burnt stick (Zech. 3:2) and knowing that, until my baptism is complete, more is to come.
I request baptism of repentance not for the sake of winning salvation (which it can’t do), nor for accommodating Church doctrine or tradition (which are not being imposed on me), nor to please any man or woman but because I wish to neglect nothing in my struggle against sin, shedding the blood of my Self (Heb. 12:4), the only thing that God accepts as a live sacrifice, in order
that it and I shall be separated as by a gulf as deep as death,
that my appeal to God for a good conscience (1 Pet. 3:21) may not be based on a sacrifice that cost me nothing (2 Sam. 24:24),
that no one will be able to accuse me of the sin of Aachen, holding back part of God’s share (of all of me) for myself,
that, having seen God’s power over evil and corruption (Ex. 4:1–8), having had the River of Life spilled as blood upon the ground (Ex. 4:9) to atone for evil I have committed there (Gen. 9:5), and having believed in God’s power and love and having worshipped (Ex. 4:31), I may not pass through the sea turned to blood for me (Ex. 14:30) only to reject His Spirit at the mountain (Ex. 20:19) or receive the Living Word of His Spirit (Num. 11:25) only to fail to receive what was promised (Num. 14:30, Heb. 3:16–19) but to be found standing (1 Cor. 10:1–13) after I finish receiving the baptism of Christ (Mark 10:38–39) as he experienced it (Mat. 3:11–4:11) and promised it to those whom he loves (Deu. 8:5, Luke 12:49–51[1]), for from the time of his coming many have followed him who do not also deny themselves, so intentionally or unintentionally they follow him in vain.
In sum, I follow the One who by his begotten holiness didn’t need to be baptized yet was. Although he was the one person in existence who could have grasped righteousness by his own merit, he chose to be baptized with water for righteousness’ sake, preferring granted righteousness over earned righteousness. Similarly, I have no necessity to seek further water baptism, but nevertheless, greedy for the Father’s pleasure and glory, I ask. If I truly seek to do everything in my power not to run this race in vain (1 Cor. 9:27), surely this act of worship is simple enough!
I request to be baptized by my pastor, Jon Pennington, and my wife, Sandra Román, as these are the two who will bear the brunt of calling me to the many mini-baptisms of repentance that I will no doubt warrant in the future. (John 13:5–10, Gal. 6:1–3).
[1] The NIV is slightly misleading here. The word it translates “undergo” is actually a passive version of the verb “baptize.” Hence, “But I have a baptism to be baptized with.”