Why is confirmation so important to Christians?

Answer 1

It's not.

I am not exactly sure what confirmation is but I know it is not in The Bible.

Baptism and taking the bread and wine are the two rituals/ceremonies Jesus left for believers.

Luk 22:19 Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in memory of me."

Mat 28:19 Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Confirmation is something introduced by the 'church'. It is of no real importance to a christian.

AnswerConfirmation is the 'confirming' of the vows made on your behalf when you were baptised as a baby. It is the opportunity of confirming that decision now you are able to speak for yourself.

Confirmation was only necessary in the Church because of the practice of baptising babies. Biblically, baptism was of adults making a choice to follow Christ and to make a new start in life - by ritual washing away of the old self and being 'born again'. Many churches (especially the Baptist Church) still practise solely adult baptism by full immersion.

However, early in the Church it was believed that baptism was a prerequisite for salvation. In order to be saved baptism was necessary. There is much Biblical evidence for this, but despite this evidence, many people regard rightly that salvation as simply turning to Christ and accepting him as their saviour - whether baptised or not.

Because of this idea that baptism was necessary for salvation, many churches eventually began to baptise babies as a 'precaution' in case they should die before being baptised as an adult - a common occurrence in times past when infant mortality was higher than it is today. However, for a baby to be baptised, Godparents were necessary to make the vows of belief in Christ and turning to Christ on behalf of the baby. Therefore confirmation was introduced in order that the baptised infant could reaffirm those vows when he or she was adult enough to make them and know what they actually meant.

Therefore confirmation in some churches is of great importance as it is the only time when most Christians can stand up and declare their faith in Jesus Christ in a public way.