God's spiritual family begins at 'birth'
similar to our human families. I'd like to share some Biblical accounts
of conversion from the book of Acts.
First, let’s go to the words of Jesus, prior to Jesus’ crucifixion
and resurrection, as He responded to a Pharisee named Nicodemus, seeking
salvation, John chapter 3.
"Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom
of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to
flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit'" (John 3:5-6).
Practicing the baptism ‘unto remission of sins’, (both Jesus and John
the Baptism, prior to Jesus death, burial and resurrection), notice
that the scriptures point out that there was a reason for the place John
was baptizing:
John 3:22-23
“After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside,
where He spent some time with them and baptized. 23 Now John was also
baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because THE WATER WAS PLENTIFUL THERE and
people kept coming to be baptized.”
Jesus Himself was baptized by going ‘into’ and coming ‘up out of’
water.
This describes immersion baptism as opposed to modes many
religious groups practice such as sprinkling, pouring, etc.
Matthew 3:13-17
“Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be
baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need
to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering
said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being
baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the
heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove
and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said,
“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Likewise was the Ethiopian Nobleman:
Acts 8:36-39
“As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch
said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [And
Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he
answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38
And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the
water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they
came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away;
and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.”
Here I think we can see the manner in which baptism was practiced in
accordance with the Greek meaning of ‘baptizo’ i.e. to dip, plunge,
immerse.
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our
Savior" (Titus 3:5-6).
“Arise, Be baptized, and wash away your sins.” These words were
spoken to Paul, while he was yet in his sins, after he had seen the
Lord on the road to Damascus and after he had fasted for three days but
prior to being immersed for the remission of sins. (Acts 22:16)
Here I want to pause and absorb the import of this verse. Paul, who
confessed ‘Lord, Lord’, having seen the amazing light, mid-day, and
fasting for 3 days, is told by God’s messenger, Ananias, that he is yet
in his sins and he needs to do something purposeful in that regard.
Let’s read the words of Ananias once more:
“Arise, Be baptized, and wash away your sins.”
Paul, who was originally called Saul, was a prominent leader in the
Jewish nation. For many years he did not believe in Jesus. He thought
Christians were violating the Law of Moses and he did everything within
his power to stamp out believers in Jesus.
“As for Saul, he made havoc of the church (‘EKKLESIA’ better
translated ‘called out, congregation, assembly) entering every house,
and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3).
But something amazing happened that turned Saul’s life around.
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples
of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the
synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way,
whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he
journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him
from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to
him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘WHO ARE YOU
LORD?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is
hard for you to kick against the goads.’
So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘LORD WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO
DO?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and YOU WILL
BE TOLD WHAT YOU MUST DO.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood
speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the
ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by
the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without
sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:1-9).
Many years later, Paul recounted what happened next:
“Then one, Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good
testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood
and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same
hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has
chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear
the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what
you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be
baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord’”
(Acts 22:12-16).
Let us examine this last verse: “And now why are you waiting? Arise
and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the
Lord” (Acts 22:16).
Ananias first asked Paul: “Why are you waiting?”
Saul / Paul had seen the Lord and acknowledged Him as such. He had
fasted. He believed in Jesus and realized that he had been terribly
wrong. It was time for action.
Years later, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the
accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Many people who believe in Christ and are sorry for their sins, put
off being baptized, even though they know it is a command of the Lord.
Many religious people do not ‘see’ baptism as a part of belief.
In the book of Acts, which contains many examples of conversion,
people were baptized immediately, as soon as they believed in Jesus.
They did this because the apostles taught that baptism is for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and necessary to become a child of God, a
part of the spiritual body of Christ:
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
If one believes that Jesus is the Son of God and desire Jesus’
Lordship to be saved from sin, in the words of Ananias, “Why wait?
Arise and be baptized!”
The word “baptize” is a transliteration of the Greek word “BAPTIDZO”
which means to dip, plunge or immerse. Bible baptism is an immersion in
water. It would appear that men have been bold to change the scriptural
method of baptism. But this is not all that the apostle Paul teaches
concerning baptism as we’ll note later.
Notice also that it says: “Arise.” A valid baptism must result from a
personal decision to repent of sin and follow Jesus. Peter told the
crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost: “Repent, and let every one
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Repentance means to turn away from sin and dedicate your life to God.
A young child has no such mental ability as to believe with a
commitment or repent. I would contend that they are innocent of sin by
commission and have not transgressed God’s teachings.
Well-meaning parents have their babies “christened,” but this long
standing tradition is not found in the teachings of the New Testament
(or Old for that matter).
When one turns away from sin and dedicates their life to God, that is personal. No one can do that for another.
The Ethiopian Nobleman, after hearing the gospel, asked Philip: “‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’
Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’
And he (Ethiopian) answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God.’ So he (Philip)commanded the chariot to stand still.
And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized
him” (Acts 8:36-38).
One is ready for baptism if they believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God and if they are willing to turn their life from sin, to
Christ, the incarnate son of God.
“For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10).
The glorious conclusion of the Ethiopian Nobleman’s conversion is expressed in Acts 9:39:
“38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the
eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they
came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip
away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way
rejoicing.
If you like, we can go further and follow Paul as he taught the
believers at Rome concerning baptism. Interestingly, Paul compared
baptism (Romans 6:1-6, 17) to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection,
i.e. a reference that re-enacts Jesus’ own death, burial and
resurrection, as we studied in I Cor. 15:1-4.
Romans 6:1-23
1. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may
increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in
it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into
Christ Jesus have been BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?
4 Therefore WE HAVE BEEN
BURIED WITH HIM through baptism INTO DEATH, so that AS CHRIST WAS RAISED
from the dead through the glory of the Father, SO WE TOO MIGHT WALK IN
NEWNESS OF LIFE.
5 For IF WE HAVE BECOME UNITED WITH HIM IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH,
certainly WE SHALL ALSO BE IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION, 6
KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN WAS CRUCIFIED, WITH HIM, in order that
our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be
slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is
never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death
that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives,
He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but
alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you
obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body
to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God
as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you
are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under
grace? May it never be!
16 Do you not know that when you present
yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one
whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience
resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though YOU WERE
SLAVES OF SIN, you became OBEDIENT FROM THE HEART TO THAT FORM OF
TEACHING to which you were committed, 18 and HAVING BEEN FREED FROM
SIN, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms
because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your
members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further
lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness,
resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to
righteousness.
21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the
things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is
death.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you
derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome,
eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “
NOTE: Rom. 6:17) What form of doctrine had the Christians at Rome
obeyed?
A form is a likeness. Baptism is a likeness to Jesus’ death,
burial and resurrection.
A dressmaker might compare baptism to
following a ‘pattern’ of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to change
from the ‘old man of sin’ to the ‘new spirit man’ of God.
I think that
makes baptism enormously important to the believer.
The blood of Christ is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25).
Spiritually, baptism is the method of God’s choosing to access Jesus’
atoning blood. By the efficacy of His sacrifice, our sins are washed
away at baptism. The substance, water, has no magic power to wash away
sins.
“There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not
the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good
conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1
Peter 3:21).
The power is from God. We call on the Lord for salvation by being
baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). “In the name of” means “by the authority of.”
“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful
and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our
Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified
by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life” (Titus 3:3-7).
God calls to add sons and daughters to His family.
Galatians 3:25-29 25 “But now that faith has come, we are no longer
under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ
Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed
yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you
are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
I hope these scriptures are helpful to this study concerning baptism
(and that they are not ‘too much’). Many of our friends and family
members question baptism, its purpose, who is an appropriate candidate
to be baptized, and the scriptural manner by which one must be baptized.
The Bible is abundant in examples of baptism. These are but a few.
God bless you for the excellent contributions you’ve made to this study.
First, let’s go to the words of Jesus, prior to Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, as He responded to a Pharisee named Nicodemus, seeking salvation, John chapter 3.
"Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit'" (John 3:5-6).
Practicing the baptism ‘unto remission of sins’, (both Jesus and John the Baptism, prior to Jesus death, burial and resurrection), notice that the scriptures point out that there was a reason for the place John was baptizing:
John 3:22-23
“After this, Jesus and His disciples went into the Judean countryside, where He spent some time with them and baptized. 23 Now John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because THE WATER WAS PLENTIFUL THERE and people kept coming to be baptized.”
Jesus Himself was baptized by going ‘into’ and coming ‘up out of’ water.
This describes immersion baptism as opposed to modes many religious groups practice such as sprinkling, pouring, etc.
Matthew 3:13-17
“Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. 14 But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?” 15 But Jesus answering said to him, “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he permitted Him. 16 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, 17 and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.”
Likewise was the Ethiopian Nobleman:
Acts 8:36-39
“As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.”
Here I think we can see the manner in which baptism was practiced in accordance with the Greek meaning of ‘baptizo’ i.e. to dip, plunge, immerse.
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3:5-6).
“Arise, Be baptized, and wash away your sins.” These words were spoken to Paul, while he was yet in his sins, after he had seen the Lord on the road to Damascus and after he had fasted for three days but prior to being immersed for the remission of sins. (Acts 22:16)
Here I want to pause and absorb the import of this verse. Paul, who confessed ‘Lord, Lord’, having seen the amazing light, mid-day, and fasting for 3 days, is told by God’s messenger, Ananias, that he is yet in his sins and he needs to do something purposeful in that regard. Let’s read the words of Ananias once more:
“Arise, Be baptized, and wash away your sins.”
Paul, who was originally called Saul, was a prominent leader in the Jewish nation. For many years he did not believe in Jesus. He thought Christians were violating the Law of Moses and he did everything within his power to stamp out believers in Jesus.
“As for Saul, he made havoc of the church (‘EKKLESIA’ better translated ‘called out, congregation, assembly) entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3).
But something amazing happened that turned Saul’s life around.
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘WHO ARE YOU LORD?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘LORD WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and YOU WILL BE TOLD WHAT YOU MUST DO.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:1-9).
Many years later, Paul recounted what happened next:
“Then one, Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord’” (Acts 22:12-16).
Let us examine this last verse: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
Ananias first asked Paul: “Why are you waiting?”
Saul / Paul had seen the Lord and acknowledged Him as such. He had fasted. He believed in Jesus and realized that he had been terribly wrong. It was time for action.
Years later, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Many people who believe in Christ and are sorry for their sins, put off being baptized, even though they know it is a command of the Lord. Many religious people do not ‘see’ baptism as a part of belief.
In the book of Acts, which contains many examples of conversion, people were baptized immediately, as soon as they believed in Jesus. They did this because the apostles taught that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and necessary to become a child of God, a part of the spiritual body of Christ:
“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13).
If one believes that Jesus is the Son of God and desire Jesus’ Lordship to be saved from sin, in the words of Ananias, “Why wait? Arise and be baptized!”
The word “baptize” is a transliteration of the Greek word “BAPTIDZO” which means to dip, plunge or immerse. Bible baptism is an immersion in water. It would appear that men have been bold to change the scriptural method of baptism. But this is not all that the apostle Paul teaches concerning baptism as we’ll note later.
Notice also that it says: “Arise.” A valid baptism must result from a personal decision to repent of sin and follow Jesus. Peter told the crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Repentance means to turn away from sin and dedicate your life to God. A young child has no such mental ability as to believe with a commitment or repent. I would contend that they are innocent of sin by commission and have not transgressed God’s teachings.
Well-meaning parents have their babies “christened,” but this long standing tradition is not found in the teachings of the New Testament (or Old for that matter).
When one turns away from sin and dedicates their life to God, that is personal. No one can do that for another.
The Ethiopian Nobleman, after hearing the gospel, asked Philip: “‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’
Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’
And he (Ethiopian) answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’ So he (Philip)commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him” (Acts 8:36-38).
One is ready for baptism if they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and if they are willing to turn their life from sin, to Christ, the incarnate son of God.
“For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans 10:10).
The glorious conclusion of the Ethiopian Nobleman’s conversion is expressed in Acts 9:39:
“38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
If you like, we can go further and follow Paul as he taught the believers at Rome concerning baptism. Interestingly, Paul compared baptism (Romans 6:1-6, 17) to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, i.e. a reference that re-enacts Jesus’ own death, burial and resurrection, as we studied in I Cor. 15:1-4.
Romans 6:1-23
1. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?
4 Therefore WE HAVE BEEN BURIED WITH HIM through baptism INTO DEATH, so that AS CHRIST WAS RAISED from the dead through the glory of the Father, SO WE TOO MIGHT WALK IN NEWNESS OF LIFE.
5 For IF WE HAVE BECOME UNITED WITH HIM IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, certainly WE SHALL ALSO BE IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION, 6 KNOWING THIS, THAT OUR OLD MAN WAS CRUCIFIED, WITH HIM, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though YOU WERE SLAVES OF SIN, you became OBEDIENT FROM THE HEART TO THAT FORM OF TEACHING to which you were committed, 18 and HAVING BEEN FREED FROM SIN, you became slaves of righteousness.
19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “
NOTE: Rom. 6:17) What form of doctrine had the Christians at Rome obeyed?
A form is a likeness. Baptism is a likeness to Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
A dressmaker might compare baptism to following a ‘pattern’ of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to change from the ‘old man of sin’ to the ‘new spirit man’ of God.
I think that makes baptism enormously important to the believer.
The blood of Christ is the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25).
Spiritually, baptism is the method of God’s choosing to access Jesus’ atoning blood. By the efficacy of His sacrifice, our sins are washed away at baptism. The substance, water, has no magic power to wash away sins.
“There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21).
The power is from God. We call on the Lord for salvation by being baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). “In the name of” means “by the authority of.”
“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:3-7).
God calls to add sons and daughters to His family.
Galatians 3:25-29 25 “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
I hope these scriptures are helpful to this study concerning baptism (and that they are not ‘too much’). Many of our friends and family members question baptism, its purpose, who is an appropriate candidate to be baptized, and the scriptural manner by which one must be baptized.
The Bible is abundant in examples of baptism. These are but a few.
God bless you for the excellent contributions you’ve made to this study.