THE FACTS ABOUT WATER BAPTISM
Baptism is an outward show of an inward experience if you don't have the inward experience then you are just coming out of the water a wet sinner still lost without the Holy Spirit. 1 Peter 3:21
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, 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 Ghost./// Peter said repent and then be baptized, baptism without repentance, without the inward experience first is of no use.
Romans 6:3-4 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. /// Unless you die to self you cannot live for Christ in Newness of life.
Galatians 3:26-27
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you
Jesus commanded his disciples to teach all nations not just Israel and to baptize them also.
BAPTISM JOHN'S AND JESUS'
Acts 19:1-6 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
John's baptism didn't lead to salvation as baptism into Christ's does. John's baptism was like giving people a new lease on life, his was a baptism of repentance which means a change of direction in life.
Acts 19:4
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.
This verse tells what the act of water Baptism represents, it states the phrase "washing of regeneration", the washing represents the work of the Holy Spirit in the believers life bring them from faith to faith regenerating them thus growing them up into Christ in all ways.
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: This is the mark of the high calling (Philippians 3:14) that all believers should persue.
WHY WAS JESUS BAPTIZED?
First of all Jesus had to fulfill all prophesies and it was prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. /// Malachi Chapter 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:
Jesus' Baptism was the start of Jesus' ministry, it is customary in Jewish tradition that men start there ministries at age 30 which Jesus was.
Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus wasn't baptized for the same reasons that us believers need to be baptized. Instead, his baptism confirms his identity as the Messiah, and demonstrates his willingness to take on humanity to be the perfect atonement for all sin and death. Jesus modeled a key step, baptism, in the life of every believer.
TRINITY AT JESUS' BAPTISM
The father spoke to Jesus at his baptism, unless Jesus was a ventriloquist.
Matthew 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
In these verses we can see the Godhead or Trinity if you call it that, but in any case Jesus, the Father and Holy Spirit are clearly seen.
BAPTISM AFTER SALVATION?
In this verse the believers who recieved the Holy Spirit of promise before they were baptized in water, proving my point once again that Baptism is an outward show of an inward experience. When one is baptized they are making a public proclaimation that they have entered the Kingdom of God.
1st Corinthians 12:13 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?/// In this verse they received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized in water, so the kingdom was already in them.. Luke 17:[21] Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
IS BABY BAPTISM BIBLICAL?
BABY BAPTISM IS A SYMBOLIC GESTURE! The Bible says repent and be baptized babies can't repent or beleive. The New Testament nowhere commands us to baptize infants.
There is no certain evidence of this practice earlier than the 2nd century, and the ancient baptismal liturgies are all intended for adults. There is, however, extensive testimony suggesting the introduction of infant baptism as early as the 1st century.
The protestants are the ones that brought back baptism to it's original state. In the Protestant Reformation, baptismal regeneration was denied by Ulrich Zwingli, but was affirmed by Martin Luther.
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