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The meaning and significance of baptism for Christians today
The meaning and significance of baptism for Christians today
Essay on christian baptism
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Calling on the Lord’s Name
On the first Pentecost Sunday following the Lord’s ascension, the apostles preached to the people who had gathered in Jerusalem from all nations. In Peter’s sermon, he quoted Joel’s prophecy: “And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21)
Although, it is evident from the lips of Jesus Himself that simply calling on the Lord’s name is not sufficient to result in salvation, various pulpits have espoused such a doctrine, and they commonly urged sinners to just call on the Lord in a simple prayer for salvation. Nonetheless, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
The same apostle in the same sermon in which he said, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” also said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” Therefore, since “shall be saved” is the equivalent of “remission of sins,” it necessarily follows that ‘calling on the name of the Lord’ includes both repentance and baptism.
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After Saul of Tarsus became a believer on the Damascus road, he asked the Lord what he needed to do and he was told to go into the city where he would be told. Saul spent the next three days praying as he waited. Upon the arrival of Ananias, he found a believing, penitent man who had confessed that Jesus is ‘Lord’ (Acts 9:6-11); therefore, Ananias said to Saul, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts
continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-3) Therefore, the disciples
Paul, also known as Saul, was an apostle of God who wrote the book of Ephesians and was sent to set up churches for Him. He changed his name from Saul to Paul because he wanted to start his life over, follow God, and live for Him. He wanted to start over because he was known as a man who persecuted Christians. Saul did not even notice he was doing wrong until he started to reach Damascus and a voice yelled from the Heavens saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Saul answered back, “Who are you, Lord?” then the Lord answered, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But, rise and enter the city, and you will be told what to do.” For three days Saul was made blind by Jesus and did not eat or drink. Then, Ananias walked into where Saul was staying and restored his sight, something like scales fell off his eyes and he could see. After being in Damascus with the disciples he proclaimed that Jesus is the one true God. Then, he fled to Jerusalem where he joined the disciples with the help of Barnabas, changed his name to Paul and became a missionary to Christ. He set out on three missionary journeys where on his third, he was put under house arrest in Rome for two years where he wrote the book of Ephesians. After his release, he left, went to Spain, and was eventually persecuted and martyred by Nero.
Ananias was instructed by God to tell Saul this. Afterwards, Saul's sight was restored and was filled with the Holy Spirit.
Background: The history of Saul is thought to have ended at the battle at Mount Gilboa, but summarized as follows: after falling in battle the evil spirit that God set upon him became his Beast, in horror and shame he pulled himself from the wall Beth-shan and fled into the night. History would have you believe that his body had been burned. Convinced that he had fully fallen out out of God’s grace, he turned to prayer and a path of redemption. He had hoped that meditation, prayer along with other abnegation techniques could quell the Beast, however nothing could for long.
...tle. Which is, “THAT YE SIN NOT”? What the Scripture is saying here in verse 1 is that if by any reason you should fall into sin, because of the lack of consecration and watchfulness you do not have to remain in the state of sin. God will grant unto you by His mercy another opportunity to be redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, for the removing of your sins. Jesus is the advocate for those who fall in the temptation of their flesh and sin. The word advocate in the Greek parakletos, pronounced par-ak’-lay-tos, meaning an intercessor, counselor: comforter. Jesus Christ is represented as the mediator that counsels you unto strength, showing you the way back unto God. Once you have returned unto the Father, He will comfort you and keep you, only if you allow Him. The Lord will never console you in the state of your sins, for He finds no pleasure in you sinning.
“In baptism every Christian has enough to study and to practice all his life. He always has enough to do to believe firmly what Baptism promises and brings – victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, God’s grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit with his gifts. In short the blessings of Baptism are so boundless that if timid nature considers them, it may well doubt whether they could all be true.”
(From the Greek expository dictionary)- ?It is used in the NT in Luke 11:38 of washing oneself (as in 2Kings 5:14, ?dipped himself,? Sept.); see also Isa. 21:4, lit., ?lawlessness overwhelms me.? In the early chapters of the four Gospels and in Acts 1:5; 11:16; 19:4, it is used of the rite performed by John the Baptist who called upon the people to repent that they might receive remission of sins. Those who obeyed came ?confessing their sins,? thus acknowledging their unfitness to be in the Messiah?s coming kingdom. Distinct from this is the ?baptism? enjoined by Christ, Matt. 28:19, a ?baptism? to be undergone by believers, thus witnessing to their identification with Him in death, burial, and resurrection (e.g. Acts 19:5; Rom. 6:3-4; 1Cor. 1:13-17, 12:13; Gal. 3:27; Col 2:12). The phrase in Matt. 28:19, ?baptizing them into the Name? (RV; cf. Acts 8:16), would indicate that the ?baptized? person was closely bound to, or became property of, the one in whose name he was ?baptized.?
According to the Baptist view, baptism is a symbol of Jesus’s saving work. The Roman Catholic Church continues to teach that upon baptism a man then begins the process of regeneration, making it a necessary act to receive salvation. Lloyd Jones expresses that, “No sacrament is essential to salvation: if you say it is, you are aligning yourself with the Roman Catholics. Protestants have always said that while baptism and the Lord’s Supper are commands of the Lord, and we should therefore practice them, they are not essential. They do not add grace, they simply point to it and bring it to us in a special way.” (Lloyd-Jones 1998) When ...
He carries with Him the transcendence that comes only with God Himself. Therefore, His work on our behalf makes our salvation sure. Jesus, the God-man, has atoned for our sins. We can place our confidence in Him because of His divine nature” (7). This is the ultimate application of the gospel of John. John is a book that Christians need to read and gather as much information out of it as possible to share with others who do not believe in or have not heard of Jesus. The applications written in this book are for all to hear and for all to reap the benefits of. Jesus is the only one who can save humanity from the sin that we have brought upon ourselves in which the consequence is death. Jesus died on the cross so that we would not have to pay for our sins. God sacrificed His one and only son so that we may live eternally with Him in Heaven. According to the lesson on John, the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to provide the gospel message to others and share the love of Christ (Lesson 7.23.3). We are to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our actions so that the Lord might save as many as
Is it possible to understand the gospel message, serve as an officer in a church, be sure of your salvation, and yet still not get into heaven when you die? Matthew, one of the original twelve disciples, answered this question clearly. Yes, on “that day”, many will stand before God and hear Him say, “I know you not; depart from me.” (Matthew 7:23 KJV)
Actually, baptism is recommended for the new believer after they enter a saving relationship with Jesus, for the purpose of making a public statement regarding their commitment to Jesus. Paul explains what salvation is in his letter to the Romans in chapter 10 verse 9: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved” (NLT). Douglas Moo discusses the meaning of this verse in his commentary. He states “The confession that Jesus is Lord is one of the most basic distinguishing marks of being a Christian. With the heart one believes that God raises Jesus from the dead. The fulfillment of these two conditions brings salvation” (Moo, 2000). To stay that the work Jesus did on the cross was not enough to complete salvation is to discount the sacrifice that Jesus made. In John 3.16 God made it clear that Jesus’ sole purpose for coming to earth was to provide salvation...
First major theme of the book of Acts is the work of the Holy Spirit in the apostles and the early church. Jesus appeared to his disciples and commanded them not to leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift, the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:3b-5) As they gathered together and prayed in one place, the Holy Spirit came to rest on each of them (2:1-3). The disciples who were filled with the Holy Spirit boldly proclaimed God’s word and performed miracles (2:14-42, 3:1-10). Throughout the book, the author focuses on how the Holy Spirt ministers the apostles and the believers in their lives and the community.
In Acts 4:12, we are told that there is no other name that we can accept salvation by, except by the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before me, him I will confess also before my father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). After you have spoken with the pastor and repented of your sins, he usually brings you to the front of the church and lets the members know you have confessed your faith in Christ. After your public profession of faith you follow the pastor to the door where all of the members can greet you and show their joy for you becoming a brother or sister in Christ. This simple, yet critical confession is the final step to gaining salvation and eternal life with
There are many views of the assurance of salvation. Most current denominational systems are based on one of these views of salvation. This research will only look at three of the most popularly held views.
The biblical book of Acts is an interpretation of the early discoursing regarding Jesus Christ, the development of the ancient Christian people, and sharing the good news of the Christian message. When Jesus was raise from the dead he went to see his disciples to my understanding, respiring on the disciples and stating, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost” (John 20:22, NKJV). On the contrary even though the disciples had obtained the Holy Ghost after Jesus respired on them, my studies revealed that Jesus expressed to the disciples to pause for the satisfying or fulfillment of the Holy Ghost that was in Jerusalem.