Believer s Baptism Lesson 1

Transcription

1 Believer s Baptism Lesson 1 Before Jesus came to fulfill the Law, by giving Himself as the once for all perfect sacrifice for sin, the Jews alone were in Covenant relationship with God. They were God s peculiar people, whom He honored above all other peoples of the earth. Exodus 19 : 5 * Now, therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine. God required obedience and faith. The children of Israel had to obey God s word and keep His Covenant, which meant having no other gods before Him. He was to be their God, and they were to be His people. God would be their provider, healer, deliverer, vindicator and their assurance. Provided the children of Israel obeyed God s word and kept their side of the Covenant, they lived in good health, peace and prosperity. The sign and seal of the Old Covenant was circumcision. Genesis 17 : 9-13 * And God said unto Abraham, thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. * This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; every man child among you shall be circumcised. * And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. * And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not thy seed. 1

2 * He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. Those who refused to be circumcised, or have their children circumcised were rejected by God. Genesis 17 : 14 * And the uncircumcised man-child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. Contempt for circumcision was willful disrespect towards God and His Covenant. It is dangerous to make light of divine instructions, or to live in neglect of them. Circumcision gave way to baptism, under the terms of the New Covenant. Baptism is the outward sign and seal of the New Covenant. The word baptism derives from a Greek verb meaning to go under. Jesus Himself was so baptized, to signify that believer s baptism by full immersion was the outward sign and seal of the New Covenant. Matthew 3 : * Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. * But John forbad him saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? * And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. * 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. * And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2

3 And there we have the Holy Trinity in its fullness! Jesus, God the Son, coming up out of the waters of baptism. God the Holy Ghost lighting on Him in the form of a dove, whilst the voice of God the Father was saying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, a perfect picture of the Holy Trinity. Jesus Himself came up out of the water, having been submerged under the water. When Philip baptized the Ethiopian eunuch, he went down under the water. Acts 8 : * And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. * And he commanded the chariot to stand stll: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. * And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. There is not one reference to baptism by mode of sprinkling with water in the entire Bible. Baptism by mode of infant or adult water sprinkling is not Scriptural. This mode of baptism has its roots in Babylon. Admission into Babylon s ancient cult was by mode of water sprinkling, and a mark placed in the candidate s forehead by the initiating priest. Babylon s ceremony of initiation into its religious cult was remodelled into infant baptism. When water is sprinkled upon the infant, the symbolic mark of a Latin cross is placed upon the forehead by the officiating priest. Most denominations who practice sprinkling baptism use an adapted form of this mode of baptism. One is either baptized into Christ by full immersion, as was Jesus, or baptized into the Babylonian cult by water sprinkling, as does the Chruch of Rome and other established churches. The sign and seal of the Old Covenant was circumcision. Those who refused to be circumcised, or have their children circumcised, were not protected by the terms of the Covenant, but were rejected by God. It is indeed a dangerous thing to refuse to obey Divine instructions. 3

4 The Lord Jesus Himself said, He that believes and is baptized shall be saved (Mark 16:15-16). God required obedience in Old Testament times. Those who rejected circumcision were themselves rejected by God. He has not changed. He requires obedience from His people today, just as He did in Old Testament times. Peter s sermon on the day of Pentecost concluded with the call that everyone repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Scripture teaches repent and be baptism. Babylonian tradition teaches; first be baptized; repentance comes later. That tradition of baptism by mode of water sprinkling, stands in stark opposition to the Lord s clear instructions to repent and be baptized. Babylonian religion teaches; first one must be baptized as an infant, and repentance will follow in later years. As individuals we have free choice, we can choose to obey Jesus Christ the High Priest of the New Covenant, or Babylon s false priesthood, who dress themselves up in religious vestments. No one can serve two masters! Matthew 6 : 24 * No one can serve two master: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. You cannot serve both Jesus Christ as the one and only High Priest of the New Covenant, and Babylon s false priesthood. You cannot serve both the Pope, the Cardinals, the Priest, the Vicars and Jesus Christ; for the traditions which the Pope, Cardinals, Priest and Vicars promote, stand in opposition to the clear instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, Repent and be baptized! The Pope, bishop, priest and ministers require infants to be brought for baptism, in order to bind the infant to their particular religion. There is a spiritual binding involved in baptism. All who have been baptized into Babylon, by mode of infant water sprinkling are held 4

5 in bondage to Satan inspired religious tradition, which stand in opposition to the plain teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing could be plainer. Jesus said, he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Where do our loyalties lie? With our religious leaders or with the Lord Jesus Christ? Believer s baptism by full immersion following repentance and regeneration; is the outward sign and seal of the New Covenant. Those who refused to be circumcised under the terms of the Old Covenant were rejected by God: those who willfully refuse to be baptized by mode of full immersion, in obedience to New Testament Scripture, may also be rejected by God. Believer s baptism by full immersion is actually identifying with Christ in His death and His Resurrection. Romans 6 : 3-7 * Know ye 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 death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: * Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. * For he that is dead is freed from sin. Baptism signifies and seals our union with Christ. We are buried with Him in baptism. As Jesus died and His body was laid in the tomb, that He might arise again in immortality, so we are buried with Christ in baptism. Our old man of sin and corruption is symbolically put to death; sin can no longer damn or condemn us, we arise out of the waters of baptism to newness of life; to live a new life of faith we are the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus. We were healed by the Lord s stripes; our God is 5

6 providing all our needs according to His riches in glory. In the fullness of time we shall be clothed in immortality, (Galatians 3:26-29). Those who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. It was sin that made our bodies mortal. Our mortal body of sin and corruption is symbolically put to death in baptism. We die to sin; recon ourselves dead indeed unto sin and live unto righteousness, clothed in the imputed righteousness of Christ by faith. Those baptized into Jesus are baptized into His death. In His death He paid the full penalty for sin. We arise out of the waters of baptism, having symbolically put the old man of sin, corruption and death to a watery grave, in order to walk in newness of life. This new life we live, is a life of faith. Faith in all that Jesus has freely accomplished for us in the atonement. Biblical baptism by full immersion after we have been regenerated by the Holy Ghost binds us to our spiritual head; the Lord Jesus Christ. In believer s baptism we are baptized into Christ s death. In His death He paid the full penalty for sin, one for all, and removed from us the curse of the Law. In baptism we are identifying with all that Jesus accomplished for us through His sufferings and sacrificial death. Believer s baptism follows repentance and regeneration. When a believer obeys the scriptures and is baptized by full immersion, one is justifying their profession of faith in Christ by an act of obedience. Believer s baptism has been commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. If we neglect His divine instructions and instead choose to obey man; Babylon s religious teachers, and follow their religious traditions, and rites we put ourselves back under the curse of the law and the enemy is free to attack us. All in Christ are God s chosen people of New Testament times. 1 Peter 2 : 9-10 * But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 6

7 * Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Praise God! By merit of His sufferings sacrificial death and resurrection, the way to God was opened for all mankind for Jew and Gentile alike. We can only be God s peculiar people, if we live by faith in the provisions of the Everlasting Covenant. In Old Testament times, when the children of Israel were unfaithful to God, and looked to false gods; God took away His hedge of protections, and the children were plagued by fiery serpents (Numbers 21:4-6). God who said, I am the Lord, I change not (Malachi 3:6). Requires faithfulness from His Covenant people today. When we choose to submit to man, and man ordained men dressed in priestly clothing, and obeyed their religious rites and traditions, rather than obey Christ our appointed Head and Leader, God takes away His hedge of protection from us too, and the enemy is free to plague unfaithful children. 7

8 Believer s Baptism Lesson 2 The Greek word for redeemed is EXAGORAZO, which means, to buy out of slavery by paying a price. Those who whole heartedly accept the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, and believe in the power of Jesus blood to cleanse of all sin, have been bought out of Satan s kingdom, into the kingdom of God. We are not living under the curse of Satan s dominion. Jesus Christ became a curse for us. He took our sins and guilt, bought us back, paid the full penalty for sin. Not only has He set us free from the guilt of sin, but he also freed us from the consequences of sin; sickness, pain, disease, depression, oppression and spiritual death. All of which came upon mankind as a result of sin. Praise God, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law. He bought us back; bought us out of Satan s kingdom of darkness, into His marvelous kingdom of light and life, through His suffering, sacrificial death resurrection and ascension. Galatians 3 : 13 * Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. Believer s rise out of waters of baptism to live unto righteousness; clothed in Christ s imputed righteousness by faith. Our righteous state does not depend on our good living performance, good works or religious law keeping. The true believer s right standing with God depends wholly and only in appropriating by faith all that Jesus accomplished for us, when He died as the sacrificial Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Appropriate means; to take possession of or to make ones own. We take our eyes off self, and fix our faith in what Jesus freely provided for us in the atonement. Atonement means; make reparation, give satisfaction. 8

9 Jesus sinless life and death satisfied Divine Justice, on the sinner s behalf. When we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into His death, that is all that Jesus freely provided for in the atonement Romans 6 : 3-12 * Know ye 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 death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: * Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. * For he that is dead is freed from sin. * Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: * Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. * For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. * Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. * Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Jesus has redeemed us from all the evil, which Adam brought upon the human race. We rise out of the waters of baptism having symbolically put the old man of sin, sickness, disease, corruption and spiritual death to a watery grave. To walk in newness of life, as new creatures in Christ Jesus, we take by faith the righteousness Jesus blood freely bought for us. 9

10 We take by faith the healing his stripes bought for us. By grace through faith we receive our forgiveness and eternal life. Galatians 3 : * For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. * For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. * There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male or female: for ye all one in Christ Jesus. * And if ye be Christ s, then are ye Abraham s seed, and heirs according to the promise. We are God s children through faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore we must put on Christ that is live in all the benefits Jesus has freely provided for us by faith. Colossians 2 : * And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. * In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcisor 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. We are complete in Christ, or perfect in Him. Old Covenant saints were circumcised in the flesh, New Testament saints are circumcised in the heart. This is a circumcision made without hands. It is the regenerating power of God the Holy Ghost, when we are born of God s Spirit; spiritual circumcision of the heart. The price of sin is fully paid, we are dead to sin, sin can no longer condemn or damn God s blood washed people, therefore we put off the sins of the flesh, and live in the complete righteousness of Christ our Saviour. Circumcision of the flesh was the seal of the 10

11 Old Covenant; circumcision of the heart is the seal of the New Covenant. Baptism by full immersion is the outward sign that we are dead to sin, and alive and complete in Christ. Christ s death is our life. Just as Jesus died and rose again by the operation of God s Spirit, we who were dead in trespass and sin have been regenerated, made alive, born again, by the operation of the faith of the Son of God, and the indwelling Holy Ghost. Baptism is not essential to salvation (Luke 23:39-43). The repentant malefactor who was crucified alongside Jesus had no opportunity to be baptized; yet the Lord promised him a place in Paradise. Nevertheless, Christ expects us to follow His example and instruction, repent and be baptized! 11