Another common misconception concerning Christianity, is that you MUST be baptized in water to go to Heaven or enter into Christ's Kingdom. This is simply....NOT TRUE. I will not patronize you. If you believe in Christ, what ONE THING will save you? Yes, it is accepting HIM as our Father's son and the Savior of humanity. What did Christ do to save us? He shed His perfect, innocent, Holy blood..that we might not die an eternal death. So what exactly IS water baptism? It's plainly an outward symbolic profession of one's desire to follow in the footsteps of Christ. Those that choose to be baptized, should be led from within their heart to do so.....not from a Church that says you must be baptized to be a member or you MUST be baptized to be saved.
Let's look at some verses that describe exactly what I have relayed above.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Matthew 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentance, but the One who is coming after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to take off His sandals. He Himself will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."
Acts 4:12 "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved."
It requires enlightenment via the Holy Spirit to understand why Water Baptism is not a requirement of Salvation. Being Baptized is not a golden ticket to Heaven because it is the condition of the heart is what truly matters. Being Baptized with water is only a symbolic and outward declaration that we wish to walk in Christ's footsteps.
"For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body" This is why the water baptism is no longer necessary if you are Sanctified by the Truth of Christ. Don't let money hungry power crazed Shepherds pull the wool over your eyes.
Children pass over without water baptism. Some die at birth or are aborted. The children have special status with the Creator. They are not doomed and neither are adults that are not water baptized. What would happen if you were shipwrecked for the remainder of you life? How could God justify not giving you a chance to learn His Sovereign Will at transition? The only requirement for Christ’s salvation is that of a humble heart. Once you are with Christ, he knows your humble heart will accept him. When you passed through his Light, you were then baptized as a Holy Ghost. The water baptism would be nil in Christ's eyes. It is the HEART that Saves. Nothing else can get you into the Kingdom unless your heart is of Positive energy. Yahweh Himself reveals this at Jeremiah 17:10.
“I, the LORD, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.”
The baptisms performed here on this planet are just a facsimile of what you would experience if you gained Christ's approval to be in his Kingdom. The REAL baptism MUST come by passing through the Light. If you had to be baptized to be saved, there would be NO NEED to read your heart. The baptism would be the determining factor and NOT your heart condition. If the heart were not the thing of importance, He would not search it. It is not the outward appearance that Saves, but what is hidden deep within the heart.
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Yahweh's Word is Truth. His Word reveals things as they truly are. He presents His attributes, purposes and rules (Commands) that are to be followed, as well as giving us insight into mortal Mankind's true state of affairs. The Truth Yahweh shares gives us insight into what is required of a person to be deemed worthy of the Ransom Sacrifice, and what it takes to be sanctified (made holy in His eyes), which also sets apart those he chooses for use in His service in this spiritual war; and reveals what one must do in order to remain in a sanctified state. That's why Jesus Christ prayed concerning his Chosen Ones: John 17:17 "Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth." The ones Chosen were Set apart for special use. They, like Jesus, would become examples for people that followed in Christ's footsteps. Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands. Deuteronomy 7:9 Fear. It’s a small, four letter word. But for a small word it’s also a word that packs a huge bang for its buck. We are afraid of many things. There’s a phobia for nearly anything these days. The number one fear among people is the fear of speaking in public, but there’s many others like heights, water, spiders, snakes, growing old, staying single, pain, failure, etc. etc. etc. You would be amazed at the amount of diagnosed phobias there are. The other night I was thinking about all the past events of my life thus far. They were mainly the events that took place in which I encountered a crossroads – where I had or chose to make a decision that altered the course of my life. And, I was thinking about how through the majority of them God did not play a part in the decisions I made. Not because He didn't want to, but because I didn't let Him. Never once did I ask Him via prayer what He might want me to do and never once did I take into consideration what Christ Jesus would have done while he lived on this earth. I have to wonder now, how different my life might have been had I made God a part of my every decision making process. Who do you place your faith in; our Father in Heaven or fallible man? It should be Father and I'll tell you why. Since Christianity was borne through Christ's ministry during his time here on earth, man has not changed. We are all products of secondary sin, which is why our savior Christ Jesus laid down his perfect life for us; to save us from the eternal death sentence that awaited all of us had he not done so. "For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 All my life, and I'm sure other's can attest to being the same way, I've been in a hurry. Hurry up and eat. Hurry up and get dressed. Hurry up and get to school or work. Hurry up and finish school or work. Hurry up and drive home. Hurry up and eat, do dishes, clean, pay bills. It goes on and on and on. And I guess my question is…what in the world are we hurrying for? To make it to our next birthday? Well, that's life in the fast lane. You hurry so much that you look back and wonder where all the time went. Then perhaps you wonder what you have to show for it; which might lead you to wondering what the purpose of life even is. "Lord, happy is the man you discipline and teach from Your law to give relief from troubled times until a pit is dug for the wicked. The Lord will not forsake His people or abandon His heritage for justice will again be righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it." Psalm 94:12-15 Recently I was listening to some Christian music and a song came on with lyrics (and I’m paraphrasing here) that basically were asking our Father in Heaven to take complete and total control of their life. To turn it upside down and inside out in order to be a true servant of the Lord. And I couldn’t help wondering, “Okay, that’s all fine and good to say something like that, but, are you truly ready for that? To completely surrender yourself and everything and everyone in your life to the Lord?” And I don’t mean ready in the sense of thinking it’ll never happen to you, I mean ready in the sense that it can happen to you. Or better yet, that it WILL happen to you. It’s easy to say, but is it so easy to do? Because, woe to those who speak but do not do. |