See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceits, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in Him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ; AND YOU WERE BURIED WITH HIM IN BAPTISM, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having cancelled the bond which stood against us with it’s legal demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in Him.
January 2016 - Page 3 of 3 - GraceAndWorks
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode’mus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicode’mus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born ?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, UNLESS ONE IS BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.` The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit.”
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of age.”
Baptism is such a topic of debate in the religious world. It shouldn’t be. As we look at baptism, let’s avoid all attitudes such as “I think”, “I feel”, “In my opinion”, “My grandma felt”, etc. Let’s look at what the Bible says about baptism. There’s two areas we’ll look at today.
1) Examples of baptism in the 1st century. There are so many examples of people being baptized in the New Testament. On the day of Pentecost, after Peter had delivered a convicting sermon, the crowd was cut to the heart and cried out to Peter, “Men and brethren what shall we do to be saved?” Peter responded, “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” (Acts 2:37-38) Peter ‘s response addressed how and why to be saved. We’re 1) Baptized in the name of Jesus and 2) for the remission of sins.
Some of the other examples of baptism in the New Testament include: 1) The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:35-38), Paul (Acts 9:17-18 and Acts 22:16), Cornelius (Acts 10:47-48), Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:30-33) and Crispus (Acts 18:8).
Paul explains the importance of baptism to the Christians in Rome (Romans 6:3-4). He compares our “Death To Sin”, immersion in baptism and us being raised out of the water of baptism to a “Newness of Life”, to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
2) The Example and teaching of Jesus. Everything Jesus did was an example for us to follow. We see Jesus being baptized in Mark 1:9-11. Jesus taught of the importance of baptism 1:9-11. Jesus taught the importance of baptism in Mark 16:16 when He said, “HE WHO BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED WILL BE SAVED.” How can one argue with the words Jesus of Jesus?
We all have choices. We can choose to follow the words of Jesus and the examples of people being saved in the 1st Century, or, we can reject those many examples. The choice is yours, just realize that choices have consequences and this choice is for eternal salvation.
A Big Thank You goes to Bruce Eubank for writing this blog for me. Bruce is a full time teacher and coach at one of the High Schools in Las Vegas, Nv. He also fills the pulpit for the South Valley Church of Christ.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordon to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water, and behold, the Heavens were opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on Him; and lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that He is the one ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name. While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word. And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can any one forbid WATER FOR BAPTIZING these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” AND HE COMMANDED THEM TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.
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