Where the Bible speaks,
we speak;
where the Bible is silent,
we are silent!
That’s what we dedicate ourselves to do and encourage you to do as well!
In Acts 2 we read about the first day of Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and the first day that His church was in existence, Peter and the other apostles encouraged the Jews who had assembled to repent and be baptized.
Acts 2:36-42 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who [m]gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
They had murdered the promised Messiah of God, but it is relevant to us as well.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Repentance is regret for sins that we have committed with a desire to not preform them again.
Baptism is a word transliterated from the original Koinee (common) Greek of the first century.
It means to immerse; bury in water. Not to sprinkle, or to pour. In Acts 8:38, both Phillip and the Ethiopian eunuch went into the water.
Acts 8:26-39 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this:“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,So He opened not His mouth.33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away,And who will declare His generation?For His life is taken from the earth.”34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. ”And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
Much water is required for the process weather it be John's or Christ's.
John 3:23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized.
So why were they baptized?
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Answer: "for the remission of sins" - for the forgiveness of sins.
Baptism is not something that we do because our sins are already forgiven. We need to faithfully do it to have our sins forgiven by the grace and mercy of God.
We are lost before immersion and "added to the church" by Christ (see Acts 2:47) when we come up out of the water.
Romans 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
After baptism for the remission of our sins, we are part of the family of God, the church. Together we are to faithfully live out our lives serving and worshiping God as He directs in His word' the Bible.
I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Acts 22:16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
If you have any questions, the Bible has answers. We can help you find them.
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