© 01 Colin Melbourne
Introduction
Four hundred and fifty years of Divine silence between the Old and New Testaments ended with the cry of God’s Spirit pressing through John the Baptist. He proclaimed a new thing, a water baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Holy Bible Mk. 1:1-8 KJV;
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophets:
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild-honey. And preached, saying:
There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
“Where did John’s baptism come from?” Jesus probed the dithering religious phonies. “From Heaven or from man?”
Halleluia! It came from the mouth of Almighty God who sent John to shake up the corrupt religious crowd, and alert Israel to the first coming of The Messiah. His mission perfectly completed, John stood aside, pointing humanity to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, The Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God in the Flesh.
I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
Mk. 1:8 KJV
A statement John the Baptist was created to deliver, a sentence that thrills the hearts of all true believers, and stuns the angels in Heaven. Oh how dearly God loves His creation, how much He has invested to have you holy, righteous, and blameless in His Presence forever.
Baptism is a vital tenet of Christianity, a pillar of the message of Christ, and essential for every Christian today. The enemy of your souls has tried to pervert, and subvert baptism to keep you from the truth. Satan has sent false-teachers who have endeavoured to use demonic baptismal doctrines to lead people into error and idolatry.
For example, the major pseudo-Christian cults; Roman Catholicism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Latter Day Saints (Mormons), Seventh Day Adventists, and the newer International Church of Christ (ICC), all teach profound falsehoods concerning the purpose, practice, and significance, of baptism. Many traditional denominations such as; Anglican, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Presbyterians, have also fallen into ecumenical apostasy concerning this topic.
To help you to achieve a balanced scriptural comprehension, here’s a series of articles covering the basics of Christian baptism.
An outline of the most important baptism of all; The New Birth, which occurs when a repentant sinner genuinely receives Christ as Lord and Saviour. They are baptised BY the Holy Spirit INTO Christ, instantly becoming a child of God, righteous, blameless, and saved through simple heart-faith in Christ’s finished Sacrifice. This is the actual Spiritual rebirth of the believer that is performed by God, not by man.
The public symbolic outward representation of the Born Again Baptism, identifying the newly born again believer with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is done in obedience to Christ, by believers, to a born again believer signifying their prior spiritual new creation in Christ.
The baptism of believers by God in the Holy Spirit enduing them with power to be effective witnesses of Christ’s resurrection. It can only occur subsequent to genuine salvation, but may precede or follow water-baptism.
Some people misunderstand Eph. 4:5 “One Lord, one faith, one baptism …” The New Testament refers to at least seven baptisms. We discuss them here.
Biblically sound answers to common questions concerning baptism.
© 02 Colin Melbourne
You were not Created for religion and mediocrity