Baptism

The BLOOD of Christ does not finally save any man. The death of Christ merely paid the penalty of sin in our stead -- it wipes the slate clean of past sins -- it saves us merely from the DEATH PENALTY -- it removes that which separated us from God and reconciles us to God.But we are SAVED -- that is, given immortal life -- by Christ's LIFE,not by His death (Rom. 5:10). Christ is a living Saviour! He is not dead -- He rose from the dead! We could never be saved by His blood alone, if He had not risen from the dead (I Cor. 15:17-18).We are mortal, without immortal life inherent in us, under penalty of eternal DEATH from sin -- unless saved. To be saved, we must be born of God, who is a Spirit. We were born of human parents, and therefore we are human -- flesh -- dust -- of the earth, earthy (John 3:3, 6;Gen. 2:7; 3:19; I Cor. 15:47-49). To be born of God, we must, first,now in this life, receive the impregnating LIFE -- the Holy Spirit --from God. We are then merely begotten, spiritually -- comparing to an unborn human babe still in its mother's womb -- not yet really BORN.We then become merely HEIRS of the Kingdom -- not yet inheritors.It is only those who, during this Christian Spirit-begotten life, have grown in knowledge and grace, have overcome, have developed spiritually, done the works of Christ, and endured unto the end, who shall finally be given IMMORTALITY -- finally changed from mortal to IMMORTAL at the time of the second coming of Christ (I Cor. 15:53-54).Romans 8:9 Do not live as your human nature tells you. You live as the Spirit tells you.Baptism is an ordinance symbolizing FAITH in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.What shall we do?" they cried out to Peter and the disciples. "HOW SHALL WE BE SAVED?"Peter was now inspired. The answer came straight and direct!"REPENT"! shouted the inspired Peter in great power, "AND BE BAPTIZED,EVERY ONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT"! (Acts 2:38.)There are the conditions -- JUST TWO -- the same as Jesus gave them at the very beginning of His Gospel -- REPENT, and BELIEVE! For onecannot be rightly baptized except he believe (Acts 8:37). Baptism is an ordinance symbolizing FAITH in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.Once these conditions are complied with, God stands bound by a PROMISE to put within the repentant believer HIS SPIRIT -- which means HisLOVE, faith, understanding, gentleness and goodness, power, etc. --His attitude of mind -- the Spirit of a sound mind -- His very LIFE --the impregnation and begettal of eternal life, and the very characterof God! The HOLY SPIRIT in one CHANGES one!Jesus in all things set us an example, that we should follow His steps. He was the example for Christian living for the individual, and also the living example for His called ministers (I Peter 2:21).Jesus, though He had committed no sins to be remitted, was baptized,setting the example for us. You'll read of it in Matthew 3:13-17. In being baptized, Jesus was immersed in water (not sprinkled or poured upon) because "Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out ofthe water." Immediately the Spirit of God descended upon Him, in this case visibly, and a voice from heaven said: "This is my beloved Son,in whom I am well pleased." God help us, that by His help, power, and grace, we may be enabled to live such overcoming lives that He may finally say the same of us!Since some today are being baptized over again "in the name of Jesus ONLY" in order to eliminate the Father, and the Holy Spirit, this should be considered here. The contention of these people is that this passage in Matthew 28:19 is the only place in the Bible where the names of the Father and the Holy Spirit are commanded. They argue that a thing must be established "in the mouth of two or more witnesses,"and since they claim there is but this one witness to this command, itmust be rejected. All other passages mention only the name of Jesus.The explanation is that two or more witnesses are required only in the case of HUMAN testimony -- where one accuses another. That instruction does not apply to the divine Witness, as inspired by the Holy Spirit,and to assume it does is surely close to blasphemy against the HolySpirit! On the contrary, "ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable ...." And, THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE BROKEN! Ifyou can break, disprove, reject, or throw out this one scripture, youcan reject all the rest!In this passage, the word translated "in" should properly betranslated "into." The meaning, then, is that repentant believers arebaptized INTO God the Father, and into Christ the Son, and into theHoly Spirit. But the one who plunges the new believer under the water performs the act IN THE NAME OF -- that is, by authority of, JESUSCHRIST. Why? Because Jesus said "ALL POWER" -- and that includes all authority -- "is given unto me in heaven and in earth." He has ALL authority! Either we do it by His authority, or else we are doing it without any authority.The principle is that IT IS CHRIST WHO IS BAPTIZING YOU. The man who puts you under the water is merely performing this physical act for Christ, in His stead. You are not to look to the human man, further than to conscientiously try to go to one you honestly feel is a man of God, called of Christ, and used of Him in the work of His true Church.And if later he turns the wrong way, your salvation does not depend on that man or any other mortal man, BUT SOLELY UPON CHRIST! There is no cause to be baptized again by another man.Jesus also set the example for ministers. Did you know that Jesus baptized more disciples than John the Baptist?Listen: "After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized .... When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples) ... " (John 3:22 and 4:1-2).There is an important meaning here. Actually Jesus did not do the physical work of baptizing these people Himself -- He had His disciples do it for Him! And what they did, by His authority and command, is attributed to Him! So it was considered as if Jesus Himself had baptized them.Here is a most important truth. His disciples did the baptizing IN HIS NAME -- that is, in His stead -- they did it for Him, by His authority-- and that was considered just the same as if Jesus had actually done it Himself! In fact, the Holy Spirit actually inspired the direct statement that Jesus baptized more disciples than John. When, at His direction, and by His authority, His chosen disciples, chosen by Him,did it for Him, it is considered that JESUS did the baptizing. He did it, in other words, by and through His disciples!To ask for anything in prayer, or to do or perform anything, IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, is to ask or do it BY HIS AUTHORITY. It is to act for Him. To do it for Him, in His stead. It is acting as if by power of attorney to act FOR Him. It implies He has delegated that authority to us. And indeed He has! For we are commanded to do all things IN THE NAME OF CHRIST!"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach THE GOSPEL" (the Message God sent and Christ proclaimed) "TO EVERY CREATURE. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15-16). Note these points: The GOSPEL to be preached was not the present-day message ABOUT the Person of Christ, but the Message He brought and preached --the Good News of the GOVERNMENT of God. What is it necessary to BELIEVE to be saved? That which is preached -- the GOSPEL! When even the preachers today do away with God's LAW, and therefore the government (Kingdom) of God -- for there can be no government without law -- they deny that which must be believed to be saved -- and their followers cannot be saved, but are deceived! And, also, it is "he that is baptized" that shall be saved. It's part of the divine Commission-- a required ordinance for salvation!The word "baptize" is not an English word. It is a Greek word. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. In translating it into English, the translators left this Greek word untranslated. Literally,in the Greek, the word is "baptizo". The definition of this word is"IMMERSE." It means to plunge into, put into, dip. It does not mean"to sprinkle" or "to pour." The Greek word for "sprinkle" is"rantidzo", and "to pour" is "cheo" in Greek. The Holy Spirit did not inspire the use of these words, but baptizo, meaning IMMERSE, PUT INTO.Therefore sprinkling or pouring IS NOT BAPTIZING!Baptism is a BURIAL, and a RISING from a grave. Notice Colossians2:12. "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are RISEN with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Neither sprinkling nor pouring is a burial, and one rises up out of neither. They do not picture the symbolic meaning of baptism, and therefore are meaningless.When one is plunged INTO the water, he is in a watery grave. He would not live ten minutes unless brought up out of the water -- unless RISEN from this watery grave. Therefore a person immersed in water is in a literal grave.Going down into the water pictures the DEATH of Christ, and of the old self. Burial in the water pictures the BURIAL of Christ, and of the old self. Coming up out of the water pictures Christ's RESURRECTION,and a spiritually resurrected person walking henceforth "in newness of life."Water baptism is the ordinance ordained of Christ by which we expressour FAITH in Christ as Saviour -- our ACCEPTANCE of His death, burial,and resurrection for us, and our repentance of the old life and burial of it, rising to new and higher life henceforth. It is a beautiful ordinance, full of meaning!Notice carefully, too -- we are "BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST" (verse 3,above), or, as Jesus expressed it in Matthew 28:19, into the Father,Son, and Holy Spirit -- NOT INTO SOME CHURCH ORGANIZATION OR DENOMINATION. We are to be baptized into the DIVINE FAMILY -- thefamily of God. And it is to be done "in the name" -- by the authority-- of Jesus Christ.Paul says God's Law "IS SPIRITUAL," and that the carnal (unconverted)mind is not subject to the Law and CANNOT be (Rom. 7:14 and 8:7). The order of God is: 1st) preach the Gospel, leading to a conviction of sin in the hearts of those God calls, leading to REPENTANCE and FAITH in Christ; 2nd) BAPTISM; and 3rd) they shall receive the HOLY SPIRIT,which renews their minds, teaches them, reveals spiritual truth. Since one cannot spiritually understand God's spiritual Law or spiritual things UNTIL he receives the Holy Spirit, and he must be baptized before he has a promise of the Holy Spirit, he should be baptized first. EVERYONE knows he has sinned, and lived contrary to God's will,though he may not have spiritual understanding of God's will. God can grant repentance to a carnal mind before the conversion of that mind.One does not need a spiritual college education in Bible knowledge torepent and be baptized into Christ. Jesus' order of events was, 1st)PREACH THE GOSPEL, 2nd) BAPTIZE repentant believers, 3rd) TEACH THEM THE COMMANDMENTS (Matt. 28:19-20).Therefore, how long should baptism be put off?The answer is, just as soon as one has been convicted in his heart ofhis past sins and sinful life -- just as soon as one realizes his own way of life has been WRONG, and becomes sick and tired of it, and turns from his own ways and wants to find GOD'S WAYS and live them,truly REPENTS of his past life of sins, and BELIEVES in and ACCEPTS Jesus Christ as personal Saviour, and the One whom he must obey henceforth, and WANTS TO TURN TO THE CHANGED, DIFFERENT, NEW AND HAPPY LIFE OF FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS, and to become a child of God -- then that person should be baptized IMMEDIATELY if possible -- and if this is not possible, then AS SOON as a true servant of God is available to perform the baptism.In every case recounted in the New Testament, repentant believers were baptized IMMEDIATELY.Consider now Christ's teaching. Those who go forth teaching, orpreaching, His Gospel (most popular denominations preach a differentgospel) are the ones He commanded and commissioned to do the baptizing(Matt. 28:19-20).Consider the example of the inspired early Church. Philip was not an apostle, or a regular minister, but merely a deacon commissioned by the Church only to perform physical acts, such as waiting on tables(Acts 6:2-5). Yet he went down to Samaria and preached Christ and His Kingdom, and the people who believed were baptized (Acts 8:5-6, 12).The text does not even state that Philip did the baptizing -- he may have had some of his new converts do it.If you study the New Testament on the point, you will see it does not appear to attach great importance as to which man puts the believer under the water, since it is considered by the one baptized that CHRIST does it. The Holy Spirit sent Philip later to baptize the eunuch (Acts 8:26-39).However, notice that the one performing the baptism ceremony was a representative (though not necessarily an ordained minister) of the true Church of God in every New Testament case. This was the Church Jesus founded (Matthew 16:18).