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Do You Know That We Are Commanded to Be Baptized in The Name of The Lord?

baptism born again jesus christ saved Dec 05, 2019

The word baptism in the new Testament comes from the Greek word Baptizo and it means to dip or immerse. In the New Testament baptizo is used in terms of religious rituals using water; water baptism. Water Baptism after Jesus' death designates a ritual of Christian initiation (Acts 2:41 "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.") The person is baptized in the "name of the Lord" or "Christ" (Acts 10:48 "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.")

Water Baptism

We are commanded by Christ Jesus to be baptized in water. Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Now what did baptism symbolize? Water baptism is an outward profession of you faith. Paul explains that in baptism a believer is united to Christ in his death and resurrection. When he enters the water he dies to his old sin nature, and he rises out of the water to share a new resurrected life of Christ. When a person enters the water he dies to his old sin nature, and he rises out of the water to share a new resurrected life of Christ. Peter's answer was, Acts 2:37 "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy[Spirit}." this verse is God's plain command to "be baptized"! not only is this instruction in your Bible but the Bible also says repentance must precede baptism or one will not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This verse proves that there is at least one condition that MUST PRECEDE baptism itself...repentance!

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Jesus Christ Took Our Sins

1 Peter 3:21, "The like figure where unto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." As you can see in this scripture, it is a confession of your inward death, burial and resurrection in Jesus Christ. We are accepting and announcing the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself, and in Him we were crucified. John 1:29 "Behold the Lamb of God that take-th away the sin of the world" In Him we died and in Him we are resurrected to walk in the newness of life. Peter said repentance and baptism would lead to the receiving of God's Holy Spirit. A Christian is someone who is led by the Holy Spirit.

Baptized by the Spirit of God

It is through this sacrament Romans 6:4, "Therefore we are buried wit him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." that our faith is fortified and completely erased to God. There is no other significance other than the portrayal of the actual experience of being born again and baptized by the Holy Spirit of God into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:13, "for by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit," with an operation not made by human hands, Colossians 2:11-15, "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 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. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcised of your flesh, hath the quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of the them openly, triumphing over them in it." Jesus Christ had to be resurrected after His Crucifixion. If Jesus Christ had NOT been resurrected He could have not transcended into Heaven and he could not have sent His Holy Spirit to live in the mind of a Christian, there would be no hope of eternal life. Recall once again that Peter said repentance and baptism would lead to the receiving of God's Holy Spirit. Paul wrote, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" Romans 8:14

Total Immersion

Total immersion is the proper New Testament procedure for baptism after one believes, Mark 16:16, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," and symbolizes being buried with Jesus Christ in His death. In essence, we are saying we believe that old man of sin is dead and we are going to walk a new walk of victory through the resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:11 says, "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you." We as Christians are merely just heirs waiting to inherit eternal life. A Christian life is like that of a baby in womb waiting to be born. The birth of a baby comes 9 months after conception. Christian birth is much the same way, we do not enter God's kingdom until way after the conversion.

There is an important reason that God does not allow, or accept, sprinkling or pouring. He commands us to obey without question, it is important to understand why God says to do something HIS way. This is also true of baptism. The symbolism of being completely immersed in water has extremely great meaning, it symbolizes death, burial and rising, or resurrection, from a grave. This is the exact way of Jesus' Christ's crucifixion, burial and resurrection, from the grave. Neither pouring or sprinkling reflects this symbolism. Romans 6:3-5 "Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. for if we have been planted together in the likeness of His resurrection." All true Christians will be resurrected at the time of Christ's return to earth.

New Way of Life

Once a Christian has been converted to a new way of life, He begins to transform the Christian to be more like Jesus Christ everyday. The Christian begins to seek God on a daily basis and begins to develop his character through scripture. God's qualities are reflected in the Christian when the Holy Spirit is present in the human being. By renewing our faith each day, the Holy Spirit begins to give us Christian maturity. Galations 5:22-23 lists the nine "fruit[s] of the Spirit," identified as love, joy, peace long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. "Christians know that joy is more than a feeling or an on-again, off-again sentiment that changes according to the circumstances they face. Followers of Jesus Christ distinguish between lasting joy and situational happiness. Fun and joy are not necessarily synonymous. We believe we can experience inner joy with no special external stimulus to make us happy." George Foster

When a Christian has repented his sins and been baptized, he then accepts that his old life is dead and gone and he has started his life over. He is a changed person and all of his past is wiped away, he has a clean slate and his past is now buried and gone. Now the Christian is accepting and expressing the faith in him and the Holy Spirit will help the new Christian change and grow with this acceptance of faith. The goal is to be Christ like in all we do. Our character is to fulfill His work on earth and then meet Him in Heaven for our greatest gift of all...ETERNAL LIFE!

Concluding with Three Steps

As we wrap up this blog post we could sum up all that we need to do to be a Christian according to the Word of God. One, repent and believe. The Bible first records directly from Jesus Christ's mouth in Mark 1:15 "Repent you, and believe the gospel." It is made perfectly clear the repentance is tied to baptism and conversion, but is also tied to believing in the Gospel and in the Kingdom of God. These are our conditions, requirements and commands from the Lord to become a Christian. The word, repent, means to stop sinning. The words, believe in the gospel, means to believe that the Bible is the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Two is water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. Christ grants His authority to certain actions...baptism in one of them. Look at this important scripture. John 4:1 "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)." Why is this scripture so important? How did Christ Jesus baptize so many, yet He actually baptized no-one, simply because Jesus Christ authorized His disciples to carry out the physical work of baptizing in His name. They did this by His authority.

Receiving the Holy Spirit is the third step to becoming a Christian according to the Bible. You cannot receive the Spirit of God unless you are baptized. you cannot be baptized unless you have repented. Remember, God's command is "Repent, and be baptized," and only then"you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Society, men, and women may have their own ways, methods, traditions or beliefs when it comes to baptism...my advice to you is...read it for yourself and follow God's instruction just the way that it has been written in the Word of God.

Accepting Christ

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior, by asking Him into your heart, confessing your sins, believing that He died and rose 3 days later so that we may be saved and have eternal life, then I would ask you to read my blog post, The Beginner’s Guide to Accepting God as Your Savior. Romans 10:9-10, "That if thous shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thous shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." simply pray from your heart:

PRAY

Father in heaven, I know that I have sinned and need to be born again. I offer you my life and ask for cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ. I confess Jesus Christ as Lord and I believe in my heart that He willingly died for my sins and was raised from the dead on the third day. Holy Spirit, I ask you to come into my heart and make me born anew. Thank you Father for doing it through the person of the Holy spirit, In Jesus' name. Amen.

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