WATER BAPTISM
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS
PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS WATER BAPTISM STUDY.
MOST ARE AWARE OF WHAT WATER BAPTISM IS BUT MANY ARE NOT AWARE
OF THE SPIRITUAL WATER BAPTISM AND THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST. THE
WATER BAPTISM WHICH WAS STARTED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS JUST A PHYSICAL FORM OF
CLEANSING. IT WAS A PHYSICAL FORM OF PREPARING THE WAY FOR THE SPIRITUAL CLEANSING OF THE LIVING
WATER BAPTISM WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST. COME AND LET'S SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF
WATER BAPTISM, SHALL WE?
Many write and ask ... "Must one be "water baptized" to go to Heaven
and/or to receive the Holy Ghost" ... They tell me that there are
Religious leaders out
there that have suggested that if one is not "water baptized" ... They
cannot accept the Holy Spirit and/or enter Heaven.
These Religious leaders say ...
If you are not water baptized, you cannot be saved.
Wow ... Why
would a Religious leader tell God's children this?
They use this
single scripture ...
|
Acts
2:38
Then Peter said unto them,
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the
Holy
Ghost. |
To begin with ... I did not see the word "water" before the word
"baptized" in that scripture. He actually said ...
"Be
baptized every one of you
in
the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins"
...
But, to be fair
to these Religious leaders ... Let us assume that Peter was referring
to "water baptism" for now as we look at a few other scriptures.
Let us look for the
WHOLE TRUTH together ...
John the Baptist shares part of the TRUTH that we seek ...
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Matthew 3:11
"I baptize you with water unto repentance:
BUT,
He that cometh after me (Jesus) is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear:
He shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost
and with Fire" |
Jesus echoes this TRUTH
just before He rises to Heaven.
|
Acts 1:4-9
And, being assembled together with
them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem,
but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have
heard of me. For John
truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him,
saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom
to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own
power. But ye shall receive power,
after that the Holy Ghost is come
upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth. And when He had
spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a
cloud received Him out of their sight. |
Peter again shares this
same TRUTH that we seek,
AFTER he REMEMBERED what Jesus had said just before rising to Heaven ...
|
Acts 11: 15-17
And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the
beginning. THEN ... remembered I the Word of the Lord, how that He
said, John indeed baptized with
water; BUT ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could
withstand God?
|
HEAR with your mind and
heart what Peter meant when he said THEN REMEMBERED I ... The Word of the
Lord. As though he had forgotten.
Then he said ...
What was I that I could
withstand GOD. Meaning ... Who am I
to say that they must be water baptized when God is placing the Holy
Spirit on them at will.
So we see CLEARLY that
Jesus had told all of His Apostles, including Peter in Acts 1:4-9
that John baptized with water BUT
that His followers would baptize with the Holy Spirit.
Peter made his statement about baptism in
Acts
2:38 ...
THEN in
Acts 11: 15-17
Peter REMEMBERED what Jesus had said.
John indeed baptized with
water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost
Here are a few other
questions that come to mind.
IF "water baptism" is mandatory ...
Why did Jesus Himself NEVER "water baptize" anyone?
|
John
4:1-2
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that
Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, (Though
Jesus himself baptized not,
but His disciples,) |
Paul said he was
NOT sent to "water baptize" ...
|
1 Corinthians
1:17
For Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the
gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ
should be made of none effect.
|
"Water baptism" did not always have the Holy Spirit come upon a person.
|
Acts
8:14-17
Now when the
Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received
the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when
they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive
the Holy Ghost: (For as
yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in
the name of the Lord Jesus.)
THEN ... Laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Ghost. |
The Holy Spirit came upon many just by hearing God's Word
without being "water baptized"
|
Acts
10:44-48
While Peter
yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which
heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were
astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For
they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.
Then
... answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should
not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as
we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the
Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. |
Let's do a lil simple math here ...
John the Baptist, Paul, Peter and even Jesus say that John baptized with water
...
BUT,
Jesus baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And Jesus said His followers would
baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus NEVER
"water baptized" anyone. Paul says he was NOT sent to "water baptize"
...
The Holy Spirit came upon many without being "water baptized"
So the next time one of
those Religious leaders shows you that scripture to prove why everyone
must be water baptized or they are not saved ...
Know and share TRUTH with all present.
Those against this TRUTH
... WITHSTAND GOD.
Here is an
interesting question asked by our Lord ...
|
Mark
11:30
The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. |
The answer is HEAVEN
...
Who "water baptized" John the Baptist? The answer is NOBODY ...
But wait just a second ... Did he not have
the fire of the Holy Spirit in His words?
Is he not going to Heaven?
Of
course he did and of course he is.
Despite the fact that he was not "water baptized"
He was Baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
The point is ...
That the purpose of "water baptism" represented a physical symbol
of washing away sins. John
did baptize with water because, Jesus had not died for ours sins at that
time.
NOW ... ONLY
repenting and Believing in Jesus, gives us forgiveness of our sins ... Not
plain water or some water someone claims is holy water but rather ...
JESUS IS THE LIVING WATER
|
John 7:38-39
He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
living water.
(But this spake He of the Spirit,
which they that believe on Him should receive:
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified.) |
|
John 4:9-14
Then saith the woman of
Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,
which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of
God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest
have asked of him, and he would have given thee
living water.
The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the
well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou
greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof
himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto
her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. |
So we see that Jesus
is the LIVING WATER and that He cleanses us from the INSIDE.
GOD'S GRACE
by way of JESUS BLOOD
is the new way to be forgiven of our past sins. We are now baptized
with the Holy Spirit, just as John the Baptist had predicted.
WHY HAVE THIS
STUDY
Some Christians
absolutely adore to debate on specific topics. I seek not debate, but to
share TRUTH. The reason I have gone to such extremes, to prove this point
is because ... A mother wrote to the Oasis and said that her little boy
had died in a car wreck at age 12 and the lil boy had never been water baptized and
that the pastor of her Church told her that her little boy could not get
into Heaven and was going to Hell referring to
Acts
2:38
because
THE CHILD was never water baptized ...
The Mother of the
child was crushed.
But, is what she
was told TRUTH?
Let me tell you a
story and you tell me what you think ...
|
There was an
innocent little 10 year old girl named Chelsea who went sailing on the
ocean with her parents. It was a beautiful day and the winds were perfect.
They had traveled very far out when the sailboat had some problems and
began to sink. The little girl was placed on to the only small lifeboat by
her parents, which could only hold one person's weight. They threw in as
much food and water as they could before the sailboat and her parents
submerged into the sea. The little girl was horrified at the sight and was
screaming and crying until she drifted off to sleep. She floated for days
and awoke one day to find the lifeboat had come ashore on an island. She
was stranded. Alone and afraid. Among the items that her parents had
thrown in the lifeboat was a New Testament Bible. She had little to do, so
she began to read from the Bible. As the days and weeks passed, she read
that Bible front to back many times and believed in Jesus so very much.
She would pray several times a day and would commune with the Holy Spirit
all the time. Then there came a day ... She died. |
Now ...
When she
gets to Heaven, do you truly BELIEVE that God will say ... "Whoa there lil
sister, where do you think you are going ... I see in my records that you
have never been water baptized ... Despite your Faith in and Love for my
Son Jesus, you will have to go to
HELL"
...
Let me see now ... This response, from our God, who sacrificed His own
Child to get ALL of His Children into Heaven? ... I THINK NOT !!! You
decide for yourself.
Get water baptized if you choose to, there is nothing
wrong with it. Just remember above all things ... God is a righteous,
merciful, loving and forgiving God, which committed the ultimate sacrifice
to show His love for us. Jesus is the living water by which we are to be
baptized with for forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit is the FIRE John spoke
of when he said ... "I
baptize you with water unto repentance:
BUT,
He that cometh after me (Jesus) is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not
worthy to bear: He shall
baptize you with
the Holy Ghost
and with Fire".
BE BAPTIZED WITH
THE HOLY GHOST !!!
The point is,
let us allow GOD to decide who goes to Heaven and not go around telling
people they or their loved ones are in hell or going to hell because they
didn't let some guy pour water on their head when these souls were in
TRUTH ...
Christians that believed in and loved Jesus.
I am certainly not against "water baptism" or anyone who has been "water baptized"
...
I am only sharing the TRUTH that JESUS is the living water that our souls are
to be saturated with.
I am in harmony with what Paul said ...
PARTAKE OF JESUS ... THE WORD OF GOD
THE ONLY TRUE LIVING WATER
BAPTISM
THAT CLEANSES YOU FROM WITHIN
Take
care and have a SON-derful day.
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