Baptism By God

There is only one baptism that counts today. That is the baptism by the Holy Spirit. Any other type of baptism today is simply an outward expression of the true baptism that takes place in a believer that has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This regeneration occurs for a person when they come to saving faith in Jesus and what Jesus did for all sinners on the cross. Jesus took away the sins of the world, so that anyone that believes in Jesus and his finished work of taking their personal sins away at the cross, is born again of the Spirit of God.

Prior to believing in Jesus, a person is dead in their sins, because they did not believe. But, when a person repents of their unbelief, and trusts in Jesus, Jesus comes to live within that person and gives them eternal life. This is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit; giving life to the dead, becoming born again in the spirit.

Baptism In The Holy Spirit

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:13).

This is a definitive verse on one of the great themes of the Bible. The preposition “by” is the Greek, en, which can take many meanings (by, with, through, etc.) depending on context, but is most frequently and most naturally rendered simply as “in.” The baptism in one Spirit is the theme of this passage, teaching us that every one of the “brethren” (v.1), those who, “speaking by the Spirit of God” have acknowledged Jesus to be their Lord (v.3), have been “baptized into one body”—the body of Christ Himself. Read more about baptism of and by the Holy Spirit.

If anyone is saying that you need to be baptized with water in order to be saved, they are deceived and the truth is not with them. Many denominations today make many man made rules and regulations for their religion. Catholic theologians wrap up their arguments with single verses of scripture, taken out of context, and approached from the belief that believing in Jesus is only the first step in salvation. They are badly deceived into thinking they have to do something in order to be saved for the long term, so-to-speak. Baptism to Catholics is a Holy Sacrament (not the effective work of God and God alone), that must be done, performed and administered by men, in order to take away sins, completely ignoring the fact that Jesus took away the sins of the whole world. They view water baptism as a step in the process of becoming a Catholic Christian. To Catholics, Jesus was only the starting point of salvation. Catholics are not the only ones that are deceived. Many Protestant denominations place much emphasis on water baptism also. Both Catholics and some Protestant denominations say that infants must or should be water baptized; citing scripture that told about households (Acts 16:15) and families (Acts 16:33) were baptized in the early church. While these scriptures do show baptism, they however do not show that baptism was necessary for salvation. These scriptures showed what was happening in the early church. People were not saved by baptism of water but through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul even placed the emphasis on Jesus Christ as the one who saves and placed very little emphasis on water baptism. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:13-17, "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."

Be Baptized By God

Baptism from God is the greatest miracle of all. Baptism of water, by men, pales in comparison to the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit. Nothing is a greater miracle than a former unbeliever (spiritually dead person) becoming a true believer (born again) and having the Holy Spirit baptize that person into the body of Christ Jesus. Only true believers are baptized into the Body of Christ, and only by God are they baptized into Jesus's body. Repent and believe; place your trust (faith) in Jesus completely as the one who saves completely. Don't add man-made works to salvation. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water though. Baptism by water, if done in the proper context and understanding for the believer, is a wonderful picture of the baptism that is done by the Holy Spirit of God. But, don't ever confuse the two and say that water Baptism is required for salvation.

Simply put, Baptism by God the Father, by the Holy Spirit, Baptized into Jesus's Body, is the most important Baptism that one could ever experience for salvation of their eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Please read the Welcome message.

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Are There Prophets in Contemporary Christianity Today?

History Comes Alive

John Prepares The Way

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' "

John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.

Matthew 3:1-4

A reader asked some questions about Prophet;

Do we have in existence prophets in contemporary Christianity?

If yes, then what are their roles in todays Christianity?

How do we know that one is a prophet?

Before we take a look at those questions, let's look at the last Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist. It's important to note, John was a prophet, but not "The Prophet," who is Christ Jesus.

John the Baptist was telling the people of a redeemer that was to come, that would save the world from their sins. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, John said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be reveled to Israel."

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." John 1:29-34

Now, you might think that John was this cool evangelist and preacher who thought of himself as this great prophet of God. In fact, John's disciples were getting upset that Jesus was taking people away from John. In essence there was a bit of jealousy going on here.

An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." John 3:25-26 (although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. John 4:2)

Now, John had a bottom line. John told his disciples about Jesus being from above. But, he had this one key item to say about Jesus and himself, "He must become greater; I must become less."

Wow, can you imagine it, A preacher telling the followers of himself to go to Jesus instead of himself. Just think of all the mega churches today that have leaders that are constantly striving for more accolades and more attention. With their cute smiles on their faces, their health and wealth gospel, and telling their followers that they can all have smiles on their faces too, and financial prosperity for every Christian with a pocket full of dollars, if they just follow the simple guidelines to Christian wealth, health, and happiness. Give me a break. All of these leaders must become less, and he, Jesus must become greater.

So, John goes on to tell more about Jesus.

"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." John 3:31-36

So, we can see that this prophet of God was pointing to Jesus as the one who gives eternal life. This is the key to both the New and the Old Testaments. The Old Testament writers wrote about the One to come. The New Testament writers wrote about the One who had come. In fact, the New Testament didn't begin until after Jesus was crucified on the cross. That is why, John the Baptist is viewed as the last of the Old Testament prophets.

So, with that in mind, let's look at the word Prophet and Prophecy.

Prophesy prof'i·sê v. [Gr.propheteuo]
A divinely inspired utterance or writing which is attributed to God. To speak as an ambassador or representative of God. A foretelling of some event or thing which is to come. To explain or interpret religious writings or subjects. To speak as a messenger of the gospel. The act of discharging the prophetic office.

Who are the prophets of today?

The bottom line, a prophet in contemporary Christianity today must match up to what the Word of God has to say. If a person or group is adding to the Word of God, in what they say and do (as in what more you must do to be saved), then they are not a true prophet of God. Can a Christian be wrong in their interpretation of the Bible today? Yes, they can. That is why, like the Bereans of the Apostle Paul's day, we should all check the scriptures on everything to make sure that what is said, always matches up to the Word of God.

As John stated many years ago and goes for us today, "He must become greater; I must become less."

Please read the Welcome message.

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What Do I Do After I Sin?

Thank You Jesus; You Paid The Price For Me!

Great article, but I have a question: so what do I do after I sin? How would I pray? How would I settle it?

Good question. First off, we need to understand what sin really is.

Anything not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) We sometimes get it in our heads that there are little sins, and big sins, and in between sins.

For example: Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

* In essence getting angry with someone and saying a bad word to someone is the same as committing murder in God's eyes.

Another example of sin is Matthew 5:27-30 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

* So, we don't see too many people cutting off their right hands or plucking out their right eyes today (nor their left eye or hand either).

* Additionally, Jesus commands us not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

* So, if Jesus tells us NOT to worry, and we worry, it's important to understand that worry is sin...

Once a person understands what sin really is, this brings a person to the end of themselves, of trying to make themselves righteous in the sight of God.

So, if you understand that you need Jesus and his righteousness, and his free offer of grace, a person comes to understand that God did it for us and forgave us of all our sins. Forgave is a past tense of forgive. This is the key. If a person understands that his or her sins have been forgiven, then there really is only one thing we can do, and it is to accept the forgiveness found in Jesus and say, "thank you." How much sense does it make, to keep asking for something that I already have?

Colossians 2:13-14 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

The debt has been settled.

This is only one side of the good news story of the gospel message. The other side of the coin is, once a person believes that Jesus did it all for them and receives (accepts it), then Jesus wants to give a person eternal life. When a person receives Jesus, and the forgiveness that is in Jesus Christ, Jesus comes to live within that person. Nothing can separate a person from Jesus once they come to him by faith. Not even a person's own sins that he or she commits in the future prevent separation from God.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here is an excellent link overview of Christ's FINISHED Work on the Cross.

Be sure to download and listen to the audios at BobGeorge.net - Bob George Ministries.
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Also, take a look at this article about understanding the "Lord's Prayer" after the cross.

In Jesus's name,

Jim W.

Please read the Welcome message.

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