Baptism

Baptize is from the Greek word "Baptizo" which means immersing.

Chronologically, one of the first mentions of baptism in the Bible is in Matthew 3:
⁵ Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ⁶ and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. ...
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.

Here John the Baptist is baptizing Jews prior to Jesus beginning His ministry. This baptism was a symbolic washing away of sins committed. It was similar to the washing the high priests did before offering the prayers of the people up to God in the Temple.

Later in that chapter, John the Baptist baptizes Jesus:
¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
¹⁶ When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ¹⁷ And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus did not need to have the cleansing from sins - as He was sinless. Instead, He was baptized as an example for us. (These verses also give us evidence of the Trinity in that all three parts of God are described individually).

Later, at the Great Commission, we are instructed to go and baptize:
Matthew 28:
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

It is clear that baptism is something the saved should partake in. But, is it required for salvation?
I do not believe it is. First, salvation is by faith and not works. Baptism is a work. Second, one of the thieves at Calvary was saved but not baptized (Luke 23:39-43). There are verses that state baptism and salvation in the same sentence, but if you look at the sentence structure in the Greek, it seems clear that it is not a requirement of salvation (I don't remember the exact verses for this, but if you would like, I can look it up).

Now, for the method of baptism: If you read the first line of the post, baptism should be an immersion, because that is what baptism means. Also, that is how it was done in the New Testament - submersion in the river. So, I do not agree with the sprinkling form of baptism. I also don't agree with infant baptism. I believe baptism is something you do in response to faith. It should be done by the saved as an act of obedience to God. It is a form of public confession of our faith. An infant is not able to make that statement of faith, and therefore I don't believe an infant should be baptized. I know some parents do it as a sign they are going to raise the child in the nurture and ammunition of the Lord, but I think a dedication service is a better fit for this statement.

Questions? Comments?

Sanctity of Life

Thirty-six years ago, Roe v. Wade was decided, allowing abortion on demand in the United States. I have already posted my views on abortion, but after suffering a miscarriage at the beginning of the year, I have an even greater feeling for babies aborted at six weeks or later. I have ultrasound pictures of our Junior #2 that measured him/her at 6 wks 5 d (although now we feel that the baby may have been old gestationally). It looked like a baby. It is our baby. Our AJU5 is a big sister, with a baby brother or sister in heaven waiting for us. Focus on the Family has a campaign to get women considering an abortion an ultrasound to see their children. I hope this helps these women see what they are doing...

Today in the local university's student newspaper, a letter to the editor claims that those of us who are pro-life want to return to the back alley abortion days. This is not the case! We want no child to be aborted (with the exception of to save a mother's life). I wish we lived in a world where sex was saved for marriage. I wish no child was conceived to parents that would consider to abort it. I wish we lived in a perfect world. But, we live in a human world. And our human sin nature is always causing problems. Children are conceived to parents who aren't ready and willing to raise the child. They are conceived to women who aren't wiling to allow the chld to grow inside of them and then give the baby to two adults that are willing to raise it. Instead, we live in a selfish society. We live where what "I" want is more important than what is means to others around me.

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Romans 13:1-7
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. 7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Valleys and Mountains

As a Christian, we go through mountains and valleys in our faith and walk with God. On te mountain tops, we are spending regular, daily time studying His Word, praying, and worshiping Him. In the valleys, we tend to ignore God and spend little to no time with Him.

Where are you right now?

I think I am just leaving a valley. I have spent time in pray and worship, but my Bible study is greatly lacking. Luckily for me, Faith Bible Institute starts up next week, so I will have to get back into reading my Bible. Hopefully I will do the reading daily and not cram it all into a day or two like I have done some in the past. With the exception of some Psalms that I just didn't get to reading, I have read the Bible cover to cover in the past three years. Next week I will start over, reading Genesis and the Gospels. With the course there are verses to learn for exams. I hope to actually spend time learning them instead of cramming for the exams and forgetting them soon.

Abstinence Only Education

Based on the increase in teenage pregnancies, many have blamed abstinence only education. They are claiming it doesn't work. I say that we have never really given it a shot!

If a school teaches abstinence only but the media, family, and friends don't support it, then there is no way it is going to work. When kids see everyone around them having relations out of wedlock, why would they consider waiting? So, the programs in schools don't work, but it isn't the program's fault. It is the fact that they are getting a mixed message. For abstinence only education to work, they have to hear the same message from everyone (or at least from most avenues).

I do feel abstinence is the best practice. No other method of birth control is 100%. Plus, there are the sexually transmitted diseases that are spread even with many of the methods of birth control.

Personally, I wish the schools would just stay out of it. I think it is the parents' responsibility to teach their children about these things. This is especially the case up until high school. I think the schools should spend their time working on reading, math, history, science, etc and less time on these things.

Does that mean it shouldn't ever be mentioned in school? I would say yes until high school. A high school health class is a perfectly fine place to give students some information from a scientific/medical perspective. A biology or anatomy and physiology class can talk about some of it too.

Why do I think teenage pregnancy is on the rise? I think it is because kids are being bombarded from every direction with sexually explicit material. Adults are engaging in relations outside of a committed relationship (marriage I think it best, but I would hope people would be at least in a committed relationship...). So, kids are doing as their role models are doing. So, we as a culture need to show them a better example. We need to show them that we can resist the temptation and wait. We need to show them that it is not okay to have casual relations. Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to happen any time soon...

You Are God Alone

Chorus:
You are God alone
From before time began
You are on Your throne
Your are God alone And right now
In the good times and bad
You are on Your throne
You are God alone

We sang this song at church yesterday. It really reminded me that He is on the throne and is over all of the good AND bad in this world. I had been giving lip service to this over the past week and a half, but I don't know how much I had let it fill my heart. If we let Him, He will guide us through the valleys and over the mountains. He will show us the straight and narrow path we are to take. He won't protect us from all sorrow or heartache, but He will be with us through these times comforting us.

Verses I am Trying to Memorize Now:

Psalm 139:13
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.

Mark 10:14
But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

Facebook Button

Please see my other blog for the reason behind this. Here is hte text of the button I just added to my flair in Facebook. It tells how I am feeling right now.

God, I never got to hold my baby and tell him (or her) about You. So, can you hold him and tell him about me?