Why You Should Be Baptized
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http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Friend to Friend
Why You Should Be Baptized
by Phil Sanders
Jesus walked more than 75 miles from Nazareth to
the Jordan River, so that he could "fulfill all
righteousness" (Matthew 3:13-17). If Jesus
believed baptism to be that important, certainly
we should.
Jesus told Nicodemus, "Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).
Every early Christian understood this to refer to
baptism. If Jesus demanded baptism to enter the
kingdom of God, how can we excuse ourselves or
anyone else from what Jesus requires?
At the beginning of the church in the very first
sermon, Peter responded to convicted hearts who
wanted to know what to do. He said, "Repent, and
let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts
2:38). That day 3,000 people understood him and
gladly responded; the Lord added them to His
church (Acts 2:41,47).
When guilty, blind Saul of Tarsus learned that
Jesus was Lord, he prayed and fasted for three
days (Acts 9:9,11). He did not find salvation,
however, until Ananias came to him and told him
what he must do (Acts 9:6). Ananias said, "And now
why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash
away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16).
When the careless Romans began to take the grace
of God for granted, Paul reminded them that they
were not to live in sin any longer. He told them,
"Or do you not know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into
His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him
through baptism into death, in order that as
Christ was raised from the dead through the glory
of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of
life" (Romans 6:3,4).
You should be baptized for the same reasons they
were: to fulfill righteousness, to enter the
kingdom, to have forgiveness of sins, to wash away
sin, and to walk in newness of life. What a great
God we have.
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