BAPTISM is the fundamental requirement to a Christian’s salvation. MARK 16:16 states, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be SAVED; but he that believeth NOT shall be damned.”
For the emergence of false doctrines and lack of revelation in the word God given by the Holy Spirit, many people are confused about what the true and right Bible baptism is. And because we have been deceived for so long a time we have rather accepted the false as truth and even if God should be kind to us and let someone come with the truth we rather see him as a heretic or false preacher. We don’t have enough patience to sit down and consider or judge from the scripture point of view whether it is the truth or not as the Bible says we must do. And we end up saying this is what we believe, this is our faith. Forgetting that we have no other faith apart from the Bible.(Eph 4:4-6) And anyone who teaches or holds unto any other thing apart from what the Bible teaches is proud and for that matter doomed for he is an accursed.(1 Tim 6:3-7; Gal 1:8,9).
Beloved, Christianity is not, “I feel, I think or I suggest” No! WE have a standard, a measuring rod that we must use in judging everything we do. The foundation has been laid by those who were before us and the Bible warns that we follow their steps and have the same faith that they had. (1 Co 3:10-15; Heb 13:7; Ju 1-5; 1 Jn 1:1-3; Lk 1:1-4). Jude says we should “earnestly contend”, that is fight, strive for and hold unto the witness and testimony, the teachings and the beliefs of the apostles, who walked with, heard, saw and knew the word perfectly than anyone else and were given the power to teach the truth about the kingdom of God.
For it was told them “teach men to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” How then can the disciples be disobedient? They had no option than to teach the truth for He said I shall be with you unto the end and he added Amen, that is, “so be it”. Unless you can prove by the Bible that Christ, the Holy Spirit, left the disciples one time in their mission. Else, you are bound to believe whatever they believed and do what they did and had commanded us to do, otherwise you are an accursed and an antichrist, against the word, no matter who you are, whether a pope or whatever. Yes, no man is above the word of God.
So about this subject we are going to look at the way the apostles baptized and see if we are doing the same or otherwise. And don’t forget, doing otherwise makes you a “worker of iniquity” and an “antichrist” and you would be told by Christ, “I never knew you: depart from me”. This is because, you didn’t do the “WILL OF THE FATHER”. No matter the number of miracles or the great work you might have done in His NAME. There is a WILL he is looking up to us to do or keep Matt7:21-23. And baptism is one of such wills that we must do as he had ordered us to do through his disciples, in the Word. So if your church believes in baptism by sprinkling, infant baptism, passing under a flag ,being flogged by a pastor as you roll in the sea sand. Baptism of any kind just ask yourself “does the Bible really teaches so?” let’s go into our subject now.
The word baptize comes from the Greek word “baptizo” meaning “to be immersed or put under water or to be covered or buried under water.” See? That is why throughout the Bible, people were baptized where there was much water (Jn3:23;Acts 8:36-38), not a cup or spoon full of water that a priest sprinkles on you or passing under a flag but to be buried under water. This is to say it is a symbol of being dead and buried and resurrecting as Christ was. So the image of the picture must be as the true object. I hope you understand this. Just the mere meaning of baptism makes vain and knocks out, all the beliefs and concepts that many churches have about it. So if we don’t know how the apostles did it, the word itself is self explanatory. So don’t allow yourself to be deceived by anyone. You must be immersed, put under water and nothing else. Note that, carefully.
Yes, it is. Then the question arises “will or does baptism save me or washe my sins away?”. Oh, no. Baptism doesn’t, it is your faith that saves you and the word, blood of Jesus that cleanses your sins. Baptism is a sign that you are witnessing to the congregation that you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is why you must be baptized right. It is an answer of a good conscience towards God. It means you are ready to live all behind and take up your cross and follow him. (1Pt 3:21; Eph 5:25-27). It is very important and you must be baptized, whether you have received the Holy Spirit or not. (Acts 10:44-48)You may ask, why? It is one of the wills of GOD and it is an order, that must be carried out, because God can’t say be baptized and then turn around and say it doesn’t need to be done. You must do it for it is an order forever with God. Num 23:19. If it wasn’t important Jesus wouldn’t have added it to the great commission. Peter being aware of the importance, though, Cornelius and his household receive the Holy Ghost while he preached the word to them, he COMMANDED, that they should be baptized. See?
What you must do before baptism is to repent from all your sinful ways, whatever you were in that you have realized by the preaching of the word that it is not good, like Moses you have to refuse and forsake them all. Repentance is to feel sorry for the wrongs you have done and not to do them again. Not just by a mouth confession but a deep real confession from your heart. Else don’t allow yourself to be baptized, you must be ready to confess and leave that evil way of living. Otherwise you go into the water with a dry sin and come back with a wet sin, worse of than ever.
You must not be pushed by someone to do it, and not to just do it because they say you have got to the baptismal age, no, you must see the need for it. That is why infant baptism is wrong, because they know no better and has nothing to repent of. You must have the knowledge of the step you’re taking and the reason why you are taking that step, because it’s an answer of a good conscience towards God. Before the people came to be baptized they were asked to repent, first. If you can’t or don’t repent, you can’t or don’t be baptized.
And you must be ready to “bring forth the fruits meet for repentance”, that is why the gospel preaching started with the preaching of repentance, so that baptism can take place. It’s not to keep a Sabbath day or eating and not eating certain meat, but REPENTANCE! If you believe, then you’ll repent also.(Matt 3:1-17; Acts 2:37,38; Mk 1:4,5; Mk 1:14-15; Lk3:2-8; Acts8:36,37).
This is where the problem arises. For some say Father, Son and Holy Ghost, others just in the name of Jesus, yet, others just do it without any name. Are they all right? No! Because we are following a footprint and we must do it as those before us did. The true Christian baptism is baptism in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.
And no other way apart from that, any other way is false. You will say but Jesus said to be baptized in Father, Son and Holy Ghost? (Matt28:19)Yes really that’s what he said but that was not what he really meant, for he said in the “NAME OF”, not titles, for we all know and believe that father, son, holy ghost are not names but titles. And what Jesus meant was that all these titles only belong to one name, so baptize the people in that name. For there is only one true God which is The Lord Jesus Christ, 1Jn 5:20; Rom 9:5; 1Tim 3:16, see? Lord- Father, Jesus- Son, Christ- Holy Ghost. One God manifesting Himself in three offices, just as the three states of matter, water or Liquid, solid and gas. Isa7:14; 9:6
God as the Father, God as the Son and God as the Holy Ghost. Liquid, solid and gas. Isa7:14; 9:6
The disciples weren’t wrong for they were told to tarry for the Holy Ghost, which shall lead them into all truth and teach them all things. Jn14:15-18,23-26; 15:26,27; 16:13,14. And did the disciples receive the Holy Ghost? Acts 2:1-4.We all know that they did. How can they then be wrong? Because, no man can say that Jesus Christ is the Lord unless he has the Holy Ghost, 1Cor 12:3. You blaspheme the Holy Ghost if you say they were wrong and that is an unpardonable sin. Look at the number of Christians and pastors who have done that. Baptism in the name of Jesus proves that Jesus is God almighty, the Jehovah in the Old Testament. And it is not a new thing or doctrine.
The baptism in the titles Father, Son and Holy Ghost is a Catholic dogma and a false doctrine established at the Nicene council to prove that there is a trinity. This caused a separation and people who didn’t believe were killed, no wonder it is coming up to be a mark of the beast. Everybody in the Bible was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ until the Catholics came to change it. Acts2;38; 8:14-17, 36-38; 10:44-48. Even the first Pope was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yes, sir, their own books proves that. Listen to Paul preaching in Rome, “…so many of us that were baptized into Jesus Christ…” he did not mention those titles but the name, see? It is so important until people who weren’t baptized that way have to be re-baptized. Acts 19:1-7. Don’t forget to be baptized that way else no matter what you do Christ doesn’t know you for you are not kept under his name, for every rich man keeps his properties under his own name, Col 3:17. If you are not, then you are not yet in him. And you don’t even know the God that you are serving
Let us then be true and faithful to the pure and unadulterated Word of the Hour, saying only what the Bible has said. God will not accept any new added revelations, especially revelation that’s contrary to God’s Word.
