Is it really important how a person is baptized?
Yes, water baptism by immersion in the name of JESUS for the
remission of sins is very important.
It is by baptism in Jesus name that our sins are
remitted/washed away/buried, because by the name of Jesus the blood of Jesus is
applied to a person. (Matthew 26:28, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:43, 48, Acts 22:16,
Revelation 1:5, Exodus 12:5-7, 13, 1Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 12:11, Romans
6:3-4, Colossians 1:14, Colossians 2:11-12. 1Corinthians 6:11.)
Water baptism in Jesus name is a blood covenant. It is
compared to circumcision, which is also a blood covenant. In circumcision, the
flesh is cut off, the person is given their name, blood is shed, and the person
is joined to God’s people. (Genesis 17:14, Colossians 2:11-12, Luke 2:21.)
Water baptism in Jesus name is the New Covenant fulfillment of circumcision in
the Old Covenant. In baptism in Jesus name, it represents Jesus’ cutting off of
His flesh by death, and His blood was shed. It represents our cutting off the
lusts of our flesh and sin by repentance and baptism, and applying Jesus death
and blood to us personally. We are given the name of Jesus in water baptism in
Jesus name, just as in circumcision the name is given. The name of Jesus is
called upon us. (Acts 22:16, Acts 15:17, Acts 9:21, James 2:7.)
Water baptism is one of the two ingredients of the New Birth
of John 3:3-5 which Jesus said is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. Our
spiritual life lines up with the natural, from conception to adulthood. Just as
there is a mother and father involved with natural birth, there is a mother and
Father involved with our spiritual birth. Only the mother – the church – can water
baptize a person in Jesus name. Only the Father – Jesus – can Spirit baptize a
person with His Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost). It takes mother and Father and they
cannot be interchanged in their roles. Jesus gave authority to the church to
remit sins in His Great Commission found in the gospel of John 20:21-23, and
this authority was used on the Day of Pentecost when the church first began.
(Acts 2:38-41.) The church is responsible for baptizing souls in Jesus name. On
the other hand, only Jesus can fill a person with His Spirit. No man can do
this. When a person is filled with the Spirit of Jesus, the person speaks in
other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance. (Acts 2:4, Acts 19:6, Acts
10:45-46.) Just as when a baby is born from its mother, there is water that
comes forth, then the baby takes its first breath of air and lets out a cry,
letting everyone know he has taken his first breath. (The sound of the
infilling of the Spirit is spoken of by Jesus when He is speaking of being born
of the Spirit. Jesus compares the Holy Spirit with the wind. He said the wind
blows where it lists and you hear the SOUND but can’t tell where it came from
and where it is going – so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8.)
When a person is born of the Spirit, they too let out a sound. What is heard is
the sound of the Spirit that has just filled them. It is speaking in tongues as
the Spirit gives the utterance.) Both births, water and the Spirit, are
necessary to enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5.)
The Bible says we are saved by baptism. (1Peter 3:21.) Water
baptism in Jesus name is compared to Noah and the flood. The sin of the world
in Noah’s day was washed away, while Noah was saved by the water, safe in the
ark. Our sins are washed away, while we are saved by water baptism in Jesus
name. The ark is a type of the church. (i.e. One door – Jesus is the door.) We
enter into the church by water and Spirit baptism.
Water baptism in Jesus name is an essential part of
obedience to the gospel. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus. (1Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 6:1-23.) We must obey the gospel in order
to be saved. (2Thessalonians 1:8, 1Peter 4:17, Romans 10:16.) Obeying the
gospel is by repentance and water baptism in Jesus name, and receiving the gift
of the Holy Ghost, which follows Jesus’ death (crucifixion), burial, and
resurrection. (Romans 6:1-4, Colossians 2:11-12, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke
9:23, Acts 2:38.)
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