Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Continuing Pastor Herk's message on baptism: To
be baptized with us, Jesus was baptized for us. To be our Savior, Christ had to
take on our sins, and by His blood, baptized "washed clean" sinners back to God. John baptized
for the forgiveness of sins; Jesus Christ was the forgiveness of our sins. Being
our Savior was confirmed by the Holy Spirit descending upon Him like a dove
after His baptism. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 5:9, “Since we have
now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from
God’s wrath through him!” He also explains in Ephesians 2:8, “For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of
God.” When we pay with less than our best, then we harbor pride, arrogance,
lust, greed, thievery, dishonesty and hate in thought, word and deed. Christ Jesus,
God incarnate (God was skin on), born of the virgin Mary, was tempted as we all are, but
rejected all sinful temptations. So, was Jesus’ baptism by John only a symbolic
gesture? Is there any real power in baptism? Are sins truly forgiven? John said
in Matthew
3:11 “I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose
sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire.” John the Baptist shined the light on Jesus, the true Savior of the
world.
Acts 2:38 Peter
replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of
the Holy Spirit.”
After
Jesus’ death for the sins of the world and His resurrection conquering death,
He sent the Holy Spirit to baptize sinners and regenerate their spirit in his holy
name. Baptizing in Christ is the transforming and sealing unto eternal life work
of the Holy Spirit, who indwells the Believer by “saving” faith. In baptism
we die to sin and are raised unto salvation as a new creation, born again of
the Spirit. It is a baptism by fire because the old sin nature is burned up
unto life in and living for Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, who gathers, guides and guards His flock of
Believers. We are always doing the work of our heavenly Father in pointing sinners to God at the foot of the cross in repentance for their sins unto salvation.
Jesus is our substitute on that cross in Calvary to pay our sin debt and forgiveness. It was
foretold by the Prophet in Isaiah 53:5 “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised
for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and
by His stripes we are healed.” Jesus came to fulfill all righteous of this
prophesy and heal our sin-sick condition unto eternal life.
Mark 16:15-16 He (Jesus)said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved,
but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
The
act of Baptism is an outward confirmation of our inward commitment, therefore, see
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, your Blessed Redeemer, and the loving Lord of
your life. And remember, Jesus was baptized too!
Child
of God, you are in Christ.
Blessings,
Pastor Herk
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