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Emphasis On Baptism Baptism Eph 4:5 “There is… ONE Baptism” (4 P’s) Person; WHO SHOULD BE BAPTIZED? Acts 22:16 A sinner Mk 16:16 A sinner who believes Acts 2:38 A sinning believer who repents Rom 10:9, 10 A sinning believer who repents and confesses Procedure: HOW SHOULD BAPTISM BE DONE? Acts 8:36 Water Jn 3:23 Plenty of water Acts 8:38 Going into water Mt 3:16 Up out of water Rom 6:4, 5 Burial Purpose: WHY SHOULD A PERSON BE BAPTIZED? I Pet. 3:21 It saves us Acts 2:38 To receive remission of sins Acts 22:16 To wash our sins away Rom 6:3-6 To get into Christ; To have unity; To get a new life; To crucify self; To be resurrected Rom 6:4, 5 To receive a new birth; To become free from sin I Cor. 12:13 To get into the body Col 2:11, 12 So sin can be circumcised from our heart Punctuality: WHEN SHOULD WE GET BAPTIZED? Acts 22:16 “Why do you wait” How many years did he wait before he was baptized? Acts 8:35-39 “Same time” How many months did he wait before he was baptized? Acts 19:5 “When heard” How many weeks did he wait before he was baptized? Acts 2:38-41 “Same day” How many days did he wait before he was baptized? Acts 16:31-33 “Same hour” How many hours did he wait before he was baptized? Born of water: Jn 3:3 “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” Jn 3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus who would have naturally thought of baptism because: 1. Nicodemus would have understood “born of water” to mean baptism because of all the baptisms being performed at that time. Mk 1:5 “All of Jerusalem & Judea” were baptized Mt 3:5, 6 “All around Jordan” (Five provinces) Lk 3:7 “Multitudes” were baptized Jn 4:1 “Jesus baptized more than John” 2. Nicodemus would have understood “born of water” to mean baptism because of the Jewish practice of baptism. (William Barclay p. 115) “Now this was not an idea which was in the least strange to the people who heard it in New Testament times. The Jew knew all about rebirth. When a proselyte came into Judaism, when a man from another faith became a Jew, when he had been accepted into Judaism, by prayer and sacrifice and baptism he was regarded as being reborn. “A proselyte who embraces Judaism,” said the rabbis, “is like a new - born child.” So radical was the change that the sins he had committed before his reception were all done away with, for now he was a different person. ...The Greeks knew the idea of rebirth and knew it well.” (Pulpit Commentary pp. 112, 115) “...it may be proven that the rabbis regarded proselytes as a “new birth,” and one produced or brought about by circumcision and baptism.” (Adam Clarke p. 531) “Of water and the Spirit. To the baptism of water a man was admitted when he became a proselyte to the Jewish religion; and, in this baptism, he promised in the most solemn manner to renounce idolatry, to take the god of Israel for his God, and to have his life conformed to the precepts of the Divine law.” Notice again Rom 6:4 KJV. “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.” 1. Nearly everyone was being baptized 2. The Jews practiced baptism and considered it the point of beginning a new life. 3. Nicodemus was one of the top religious leaders of his day, undoubtedly baptizing many himself. 4. This coupled with Paul’s clear statement that from baptism we walk in a new life should convince us all of the necessity of baptism. The birth process: Since God carefully paralleled the spiritual birth experience to the physical birth experience I think it worth while to analyze them both and notice the remarkable events. INTERCOURSE: When a person truly sees his own sins in light of God’s grace and determines to live a life for God (repentance of sins and accepting Christ as one’s personal savior) a wonderful feeling is experienced. People often mistake this wonderful feeling for the rebirth experience. When we make the comparison to the physical birth experience we find that the parallel is not there. In the physical birth experience not only is the mother in extreme pain but the child experiences a tremendous trauma to his body as well. What a shock! This experience in many ways parallels the death experience. There is the death to the time in the womb. There is the going from the warm comfortable nest of the womb to the harsh realities of the world. The blinding lights, loud noises, and hunger pains are only a few of the uncomfortable experiences. If the child could only look at himself covered with blood and amniotic fluid he would certainly say this was NOT A WONDERFUL FEELING. When a person is born into the Christian life often his best friends turn against him. He is faced with new and awkward experiences. Sometimes becoming a Christian is very costly. What then does the wonderful feeling compare to in the natural realm? INTERCOURSE! An exhilarating, wonderful feeling should always accompany the planting of a seed. When God’s seed is planted into our hearts and we begin to change and grow we have a wonderful experience. This experience generally precedes rebirth by several months. SPERM: God’s word is Sperm. Luke 8:11 “The seed is the word of God.” James 1:18 “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth.” John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” 1 Cor 4:15-16 “...in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.” OVUM: Our spirit is the ovum. After our spirit is penetrated by God’s word it begins a wonderful growth/change process. WOMB: Man’s heart is the womb. Acts 5:4 KJV “...why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?” AMNIOTIC FLUID: Baptism is the water of the fetal sac. John 3:5-6 “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.’” BIRTH: The new life comes at baptism. Rom 6:4 “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Is a baby alive in the nine month period before his birth? Yes, but it is only after his birth that he has real life. Now he is able to start his journey that will teach him to see the beauties of the world, smell the fragrances that God provides, savor wonderful tastes and learn of the God who made him. BABIES IN CHRIST: 1 Cor 3:1 “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” Gal 3:29 “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Study Guide Chapter Eight 1. What must we do to be saved according to Rom 10:13? 2. Name at least five different events to which people say was the point at which they became a Christians. 3. Did Paul see a vision? (Acts 26:19 KJV) 4. Did Paul become a Christian when he saw the vision? 5. When Paul asked Jesus what he should do what did Jesus tell him to do? 6. Did Ananias tell Paul to pray the sinner’s prayer? 7. Did Ananias tell Paul to just believe in his heart and he would be saved? 8. What did Ananias tell Paul to do in order to get his sins washed away? 9. Rom 10:13 KJV “For whosever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Does this mean that every individual that says “Lord” will be saved? If so how do you harmonize that with Matt 7:21? 10. What three things does a sinner need to do before he is baptized? 11. What is necessary for a baptism to be scriptural? 12. List seven scriptural reasons to be baptized. 13. In relationship to our learning about how to become a Christian when should we get baptized? 14. Why would Nichodemous immediately think of baptism when Jesus said he needed to be born of the water? Give two reasons. 15. In the birth process what would a parallel to sexual intercourse? 16. At what point in our spiritual birth process do we receive an exhilarated, wonderful feeling? 17. In our spiritual birth process what would correspond with sperm? 18. In our spiritual birth process what would correspond with ovum? 19. In our spiritual birth process what would correspond with the womb? 20. In our spiritual birth process what would correspond with the amniotic fluid? 21. At what point in the spiritual birth process does the scripture say we get the new life? 22. Is the physical birth experience a wonderful peaceful experience? 23. When a person points to a wonderful feeling coming all over him, what is he probably referring to in the spiritual birth process? 24. Is a wonderful feeling proof that a person is born again? See Proverbs 28:26 KJV. Now please click on "I Baptized None of You."
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Twenty Four Parts To Salvation
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