Baptism Saves! Yes it does!
(Written by
Kevin A. Hall 04.23.17)
Today I witnessed the power of God's spiritual kingdom upon
this lady... Without a doubt, she experienced Pentecost. She received the
Promise - ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour
forth of My Spirit on all mankind’ (Acts 2:17). She’d been attending the church for a few weeks now and last Tuesday, decided she wanted to be baptized.
We were so excited for her. God is moving upon the hearts of the people of this
island. So, here we are. Today was her BIG day. You could sense the anticipation
of a blessing in her spirit. She was hungry. She wanted God. I saw her on
Wednesday night at the annual convention where she told me she couldn’t wait till Sunday!!
Sunday has come...Last week we celebrated 'Resurrection Sunday'. Today is her "Resurrection Sunday'. Bless the Lord!! Those who respond to the Gospel message have new life in Christ!
It wasn’t long after she was “immersed” into the water that
she came up stuttering…she began to worship God…the intensity of her worship
increased…and then…she began to SPEAK IN TONGUES!! Just like on the day of Pentecost.
The Day of Pentecost
Acts 2 When the day of
Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there
came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing
themselves, and they rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was
giving them utterance.
Keeping in mind the significance of the moment, I thought I
would pen my thoughts on Baptism. What happens when a person gets baptized?
Well, Baptism now saves! The Apostle Peter describes it this way: “Baptism now saves you—not the removal of
dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good
conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”. Baptism takes
care of the legal problem of guilt for sin. It satisfies the penalty. Through
the process of Baptism, the Holy Spirit regenerates the sin sick heart, taking
away the guilt through the power of the blood. In response to the Apostle Peter's message on the day of Pentecost the people asked “What shall we do?” Peter said to them “Repent, and each of you be baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
REPENT > The
turning away from
BE BAPTIZED >
An outward act of receiving God’s grace for the forgiveness of sins
Drawing close to the time of His death, during the Passover
meal, while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He
broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when
He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this
is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness
of sins” (Matthew 26: 26-28). Jesus here was describing what He was about to
accomplish for us with His death.
In Colossians 2:12 the Apostle Paul states “having been buried with Him in baptism,
in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of
God, who raised Him from the dead”.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He issues the Great
Commission mandate to His disciples to Go, Baptize, Make disciples and Teach
them the Kingdom. For all who are baptized in response to the Gospel, baptism
symbolizes submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a willingness to live
according to God’s Kingdom principles. The believer is now under a new
government – a spiritual government. It is the public identification that he or
she has now become a member of God’s kingdom,
The believer is now under a new covenant. What covenant you
ask? Great question! Let me take you back for a bit. Historically, every
morning and evening, a lamb was sacrificed in the Jewish temple for the sins of
the people. Isaiah prophesied (53:7) that the Messiah, God’s only Son, would be
led to the slaughter like a lamb. To pay the penalty of sin, a life had to be
given – God chose to provide the sacrifice of His own Son. Jesus’ death was a “once
for all”. There would be no need for anymore animal sacrifices. On
the cross when Jesus said, “My God, My
God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34), this was the point at which
He was temporarily separated from God, taking upon Himself the sins of the entire
world (past, present and future). A little later before He gave up His Spirit He
said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That was it. The end of the old covenant
of animal sacrifices. Jesus paid the penalty for all sins. We call this the Propitiation for sins. If you believe in
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ you too can receive forgiveness
of sins through Baptism in Jesus name. I must add one more to this – John 1:29: “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the
sins of the world”. Jesus was the sacrificial lamb. He died, was buried and
became the firstborn from the dead. This means this young lady who was baptized
today, as will all who remain in-Christ, will defeat death and rise again to
live eternally with Jesus. The same God that raised Jesus from the dead has
become her Lord – God is now her Help (The Lord is my light and my salvation…she
has nothing or no-one to fear now). Baptism not only saves you, but you become
a part of Christ’s kingdom having access to all that is His.
Now this lady, my new friend, once an outsider is now family. I can call her "Sister". She is now part of God's universal church. While her baptism was a physical act that records entry into this local assembly, it also has recorded her entry into God' spiritual church. She is now separated, holy, a priest unto God. She will now be called to be a witness - to her family, her work, her world. Now she will be one "sent" to make more disciples, starting with her own home. David said "I love the Lord, because He heard my cry". You should have been there as she cried unto the Lord in the water. And the Lord heard her cry. The Lord God saved her soul from the grip of Satan. Now she has the Holy Spirit as her comfort, her guide, her provider, her protector. She believed and received. How about you? Born Born Born Again, Thank God I'm Born Again!
Praise The Lord!!
Reference:
NASB Life Application Study Bible
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