John the Baptist’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. John the Baptist did not baptize in the name of Jesus.

In the book of Acts, which describes the beginning of the church with the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost and the spread of the gospel, Apostle Paul re-baptized disciples of John the Baptist.

"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?

“And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

“And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

“Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

“And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." - Acts 19:1-6 KJV

If you aren’t baptized in Jesus name, you need to be re-baptized, just as they were in the Bible! (Acts 2:38)

John the Baptist’s mission included a very important act in the life and death of Jesus. He was to fulfil the Law which required a sacrifice to be washed by a priest before it was offered.

John the Baptist’s father was a priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia while his mother was of the daughters of Aaron. John was thus also of the priestly lineage. (Luke 1:5, 57, 59-60).

Jesus chose John the Baptist to do his part as a priest to fulfill the righteousness of the Law. Jesus, before He was offered as our sacrifice on the cross as the sinless Lamb of God and sacrifice for our sins, asked John the Baptist to wash Him by water baptism.

The priests, Aaron’s sons, washed the sacrifices before they were offered.

"And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD... And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: but his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD." - Leviticus 1:5a, 8-9 KJV

John the Baptist called Jesus, “the Lamb of God.” He came as a sacrifice for our sins.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." - John 1:29 KJV

"And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!" - John 1:36 KJV

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

“And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer [allow] it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." - Matthew 3:13-15 KJV

Christ’s sacrifice - an offering of a sweet savour.

"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." - Ephesians 5:2 KJV

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. ... The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish,... but that all should come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:3-4, 9

"Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." - Mark 1:14-15

On the Day of Pentecost Peter preached the gospel of the kingdom of God.

"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." - Acts 2:38

This is the message for us today! Repent by turning from sinful ways to God’s ways, be baptized in Jesus name for the washing away of our sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost!

Jesus commanded the disciples to not depart from Jerusalem. It would soon be the birth of the church!

"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." - Acts 1:4-5

...Jesus opened the understanding of His disciples so that they would understand the gospel – the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus – and how to obey the gospel – repentance, remission of sins by water baptism in Jesus name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the power from on high. It would begin at Jerusalem, when the church first began.

"Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." - Luke 24:45-49

Peter preached how to obey the gospel:

"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." - Acts 2:38

*This chart is from the Bible Study, "Exploring God's Word". The manual is available as a downloadable, FREE eBook at: http://mychurchwebsite.s3.amazonaws.com/.../exploring... Color charts are available at: http://www.riveroflifeupc.org/our-beliefs.php The Bible study and charts are also available at: Pentecostal Publishing House: [https://pentecostalpublishing.com/products.aspx?categoryid=158&layout=List&pagesize=20&sortcolumn=Date&sortdirection=DESC]

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." - Isaiah 45:22-23

"Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me." - Hosea 13:4

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." - Isaiah 9:6

"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." - Acts 4:12

"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. ...

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

“And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." - Acts 2:38, 41-42

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD." - Psalm 122:1 KJV

One of the things we need in living for God is self-control. Self-control is temperance. It is the fruit of the Spirit. A person that has accomplished self-control in his life has mastered his desires and lusts. He has crucified his evil emotions and sinful nature.

When we were a child, our parents recognized the areas in our life that needed to be corrected and gave us discipline. In our walk with God, our heavenly Father steps in to correct us.

Self-control and discipline are necessary in anyone’s life to function in society, and absolutely necessary for a child of God to belong to Christ and to serve in His kingdom.

Jesus corrects us by His Word, by the preaching of His Word, and by His Spirit within.

With His Holy Ghost, God’s Spirit in us, Jesus can further guide us in areas that we need self-control. As we grow, we learn to recognize His voice.

The Holy Ghost also gives us divine strength we didn’t have before that we can call on when we need self-control of temper and self-control to refrain from lusts.

As the Lord reveals the areas we need to discipline, and we repent, the blood of Jesus that we applied to our life when we were baptized in Jesus name cleanses us in these areas.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." - Galatians 5:22-25 KJV

"My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: for whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." - Proverbs 3:11-12 KJV

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." - Revelation 3:19 KJV

"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." - James 4:17 KJV

"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." - Acts 2:38 KJV

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." - Philippians 4:13 KJV