Why Must We Baptize?

The first part of my answer is obvious. Christ commanded us to do so. Mark 16:15 (BBE) says, "And he said to them (his disciples), 'Go into all the world, and give the good news to everyone.'"

But why must people be baptized? Part of the answer is explained in the above verse. Baptism is the first act of outward obedience by a new believer. We see this demonstrated by an Ethiopian eunuch who believed Philip when he explained the gospel to him. Acts 8:36 and 37 (BBE) relates, "And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, 'See, here is water; why may I not have baptism?' And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism."

Baptism is also symbolic of being buried and resurrected with Christ. Romans 6:3 and 4(BBE) says, "Or are you without the knowledge that all we who had baptism into Christ Jesus, had baptism into his death? We have been placed with him among the dead through baptism into death: so that as Christ came again from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, in the same way, might be living in new life."

Then there's Ephesians 4:5 (KJV). "One Lord, one faith, one baptism," By the way, this shows how unifying baptism is in relation to all believers. It would also make a great bumper sticker text.

Some new believers might be confused by the baptism done by John who was the forerunner of Christ. His baptism was done as an act of repentance. But the baptism Christ preached superceded John's as being an act of obedience. Luke 7:29 (BBE) reads, "And all the people, and the tax-farmers, to whom John had given baptism, when they had knowledge of these things, gave glory to God"

By the way, the very next verse shows that the Pharisees were disobedient even to John's baptism. They derided what Christ said, thinking they needed no repentance.

John knew his baptism was inferior to Christ's. He said in Mark 1:8 (BBE)that, "I have given you baptism with water, but he will give you baptism with the Holy Spirit."

I'll be writing more about baptism, particularly the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in my next paperback called You Think You're Going to Heaven? It's something every serious Christian needs to understand.

On Saturday, I'll post about Billy Joel and his brilliantly-written song regarding history.

Jehovah's Witnesses and the Holy Spirit

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, which runs the lives of Jehovah's Witness members, also teaches incorrectly about the Holy Spirit. They claim that he's really an impersonal force emanating from Jehovah. Neither do they believe that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead.

We can easily see from Scripture that the Holy Spirit is an individual by the use of personal pronouns. John 16:13 (KJV) records Jesus saying, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come

Additionally, an impersonal force can't be grieved. Look at what the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:30 (KJV). "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."

And can an impersonal force talk? Check out what Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 4:1 (KJV). "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;"

We have solid proof that the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead in Acts 5:4 (KJV). A man named Ananias and his wife said they sold their property and were giving ALL the money to the church. But they agreed beforehand to keep part of the amount for themselves. That's why Peter said to them, "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

The Watchtower Society and all who follow their errors are in for dire chastisement, according to Hebrews 10:29 (KJV). "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

Even so, we mustn't reject those individuals since they've been deceived. Instead, we must show them how wonderful salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ's atonement alone is. Cults keep their victims running on the treadmill of works and the fear that they won't do enough to be saved. They don't understand that Christ has done it all for us through his death and resurrection.

I'll be writing more about this treadmill of works in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Instead of trying to become righteous on our own, which won't please God, Christ gives his righteousness to cover us with.

How Do People Blaspheme the Holy Spirit?

Worse than grieving and quenching the Spirit is blaspheming him. But what does that mean?

Jesus said that there would be no forgiveness for anybody who blasphemes the Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:28-29 (KJV) he declared, "Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:"

Hank Hanegraaff explained that the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is ascribing to him satanic works. Mark 3:22 KJV) says, "And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, 'He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.'"

Jesus let them know in no uncertain terms that the Kingdom of Heaven had come in their midst because Christ cast out demons. He said so because the scribes and Pharisees refused to acknowledge the power of God in Christ publicly.

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit is the one who calls people to repentance. He does so through believers on Christ's behalf. As Peter explained to the crowd at Pentecost, and is recorded in Acts 2:39 (KJV), "For the promise is unto you, and to your children,  and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall  call."

This is because it's the Spirit who regenerates spiritually-dead sinners. Ephesians 2:1 (KJV) says, "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:" Paul explained in the previous chapter how sinners are saved. It isn't by anything we can do, being dead, but what the Holy Spirit does to raise us up from spiritual deadness toward God.

I'm certainly looking forward to writing my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? I'll have room to explain in depth about such wondrous processes such as salvation and spiritual quickening. Watch this space.

What is the Holy Spirit's Job?

Now that I've explained the Holy Spirit's job, what does he do in us? I know that whole books could be written on that topic so I'll just sum up a few of his duties to the Father and Christ.

First and foremost, he's our teacher. As Jesus told his disciples in John 16:13 (KJV), "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come."

The Holy Spirit also comforts us by strengthening us. Jesus' disciples felt as if he was about to abandon them so he promised to send the Holy Spirit. As John 14:26 (KJV) states, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Both promises were fulfilled at Pentecost.

And if we must testify in front of officials for our faith, the Holy Spirit will put his words into our mouths. Look at what Mark 13:11 (KJV) says. "But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost."

Additionally, the Holy Spirit emboldens believers. Christ's disciples were suffering horrendous persecution from the Pharisees soon after Pentecost. They wisely took the matter to the Lord in prayer. Look what Acts 4:31 (KJV) describes. "And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."

I could list more verses which outline the Holy Spirit's job description but this post would be far too long. Instead, I'll save that information for my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Far too many Christians know little or nothing at all about this neglected third person of the Trinity. I hope I can partially rectify this deficiency.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

This month, I want to concentrate on the third member of the Trinity. Many people either don't know who he is or have incorrect ideas about him. Some folks don't believe he's a person at all.

The Holy Spirit is the companion who Christ sent to his disciples and to all who repent and surrender their lives to Jesus. In John 15:26 (KJV) Jesus told his disciples, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"

So the Holy Spirit is a comforter of believers but he's also a teacher. Christ said in John 16:13 (KJV), "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come."

Jesus was about to be arrested and sent to the cross so he told his shocked disciples about how he wouldn't leave them comfortless. The Holy Spirit would inhabit them and transform them. We saw an example of this when the day of Pentecost came. Peter, usually the one to stick his foot in his mouth, became a bold and powerful preacher of the gospel. Acts chapter two says that three-thousand people joined the disciples that day.

John also told his beloved believer friends how the Holy Spirit helps them to tell real Christians from phonies. In 1 John 4:6 (KJV)  he wrote, "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."

I'll be writing in greater detail about this third member of the Trinity in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Many Christians, deliberately or inadvertently, are blaspheming the Holy Spirit. I want everybody to know the truth about him, the Father, and the Son. For decades, bogus teachers misled me about the Trinity and their roles in our Christian walk. I don't want anybody making the same blasphemous and stupid mistakes which I once did.

What's the Real Purpose of Pentecost?

Because I was writing to a theme last month, I didn't write about Pentecost which some Christians celebrated on May fourteenth. I'm mentioning it now because it lines up with my next book's theme of who goes to heaven.

As you can read in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit was given to all who believed, and still believe, in Christ. He spoke through the disciples in real languages which attendees of the feast could understand. It was a kind of reversal of the tower of Babel incident where people heard preaching in their native language.

Doctor Steve Wells, pastor of South Main Baptist church in Houston, Texas, made a point in his Pentecost Sunday sermon which I hadn't realized before. Though Jesus appeared to those "lost sheep of Israel," the third member of the Trinity came to dwell in all who would put their trust in Christ. We wandered from God but he came to us through the Holy Spirit.

Sadly, many Christians get hung up on the miracles of tongues of fire and speaking in tongues. They forget about the miracle of the Holy Spirit coming into them and believe that he is just there to make them jabber in a supposedly heavenly language.

The reason people hold to this misguided doctrine is because they misread what the Apostle Paul wrote. Romans 8:26 (KJV) reads, "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered." If those words can't be uttered by us, how then can the Holy Spirit speak them through our mouths?

As John MacArthur pointed out in his Strange Fire series, the jabbering done by Charismatics is mere gibberish and not real speech. What the Holy Spirit does for us is express the longing to the other two members of the Trinity for the new heavens and Earth which God promised.

I used to believe the nonsense which various charismatic sects taught. Now I know that modern day speaking in tongues is bogus. You can read how I was fooled and then helped to see the light in How I Was Razed. Read more about my memoir at Amazon.

What's the Holy Spirit's Job?

How sad that many Christians don't know who the Holy Spirit is or what he does. Some believe he's some sort of force which they can use to speak in tongues. Others think he doesn't matter much in the life of a Christian. On the contrary, he does matter and, as I've posted before, he's a person.

First of all, this third member of the Trinity is our teacher. As Jesus comforted his disciples before he ascended to heaven, he said in John 15:26( KJV), "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will  send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which  proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"

Jesus also elaborated in John 16:13 (KJV), "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he  will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but  whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show  you things to come."

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit helps us discern true followers from false ones. Look at what scripture says in 1 John 4:6 (KJV), "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us;  he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of  truth, and the spirit of error."

The Holy Spirit likewise reminds us of what Christ said. John 14:26 (KJV) states, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,  whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all  things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I  have said unto you."

The Holy Spirit also comforts us but not exclusively in the modern understanding of the word. He strengthens our faith and assures us of what is true. Acts 9:31 (KJV) states, "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied."

This post is getting lengthy so suffice it to say that the Holy Spirit has much to do with genuine Christians. May he open your spiritual eyes to all the Lord's truth.

HOW TO STOP BEING A ZOMBIE

Believe it or not, many of the people in this world today are zombies. Worse yet, they don't know that they don't know that they are. Fortunately, there is a way to become unzombied, if there is such a word.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus that "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:" Unless a person is born again, as Jesus told Nicodemus, they can't see the kingdom of heaven. This means that non-Christians are dead to the spiritual truth of God and therefore need to be born of the spirit.

All this means that people aren't truly alive without becoming adopted into the family of Christ. All the good works in the world won't get people to heaven because they are done with wrong, often self-centered, motives.

Because Christ was raised from the dead physically, we who believe in him also have the assurance of physical resurrection. But first we need to be made alive spiritually. By repenting of our sins and surrendering our lives to Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit. This third person of the Godhead helps us understand the Bible and become steadily more like Christ. This process is called sanctification.

God has made the good news, called the gospel, so easy that even a child can understand it. Yet theologians spend their lives plumbing the depths of this wonderful offer from the Lord. If you wish to be made alive spiritually, admit to God in prayer that you're a sinner and you need saving from the eternal death sentence all humanity inherited from Adam and Eve. Jesus said he would never turn away anybody who came to him and asked for forgiveness.

The next step is to find a church where the pastor teaches from the Bible and explains what each verse means in context with the rest of Scripture. Since so many churches have ministers who would rather give moral advice than explain what God has said, it's a good idea to pray for help in finding a well-balanced church.

I wish I had known all of this when I surrendered my life to Christ at a home-based vacation Bible school in 1969. Because nobody helped me understand my new life, I ended up in a cultic house church. I wrote how the Lord led me to freedom in How I Was Razed: A Journey from Cultism to Christianity. You can find out more about this wonderful story at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Virtual Bookworm Publishers.

PUSHING A ROPE

Have you ever wondered why certain religious individuals won't take 'no' for an answer? Many believe that it's up to them to 'save' people. To them, rejection of their message only indicates that the message didn't get through.

I was one of those 'pushy' people back in 1973. I believed it was up to me to convert people. Now I know better. Scripture actually says that the Holy Spirit is the one who opens the minds of those who hear the gospel.

In my How I Was Razed memoir, I wrote about how my wrong-headed desire to share my faith upset the caretaker at my high school.

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I offended the cleaning staff too. Since few students wanted my tracts and I often received taunts from my peers, I assumed that pasting the messages onto the door of my locker would be a more effective way to let people know about Christ. When I came to school the next morning, somebody had removed all the tracts. I replaced them but those vanished too. "What do you think you're doing? Don't you know that's not allowed?" the cleaning woman demanded as I pasted more tracts on my locker's door the third day.

"Isn't it? I didn't know that."

"You're not allowed to paste anything on your locker. It doesn't matter what it is. That's the rule."

"I thought it was just some mean kids who were taking them off."

"No. We have to remove them and it's a lot of work too. Imagine how ugly the place would look if we let you kids paste whatever you felt like on your lockers."

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't realize."

As I shuffled toward my next class, I hung my head. My evangelical zeal resulted in wasted tracts and extra work for the cleaning staff.

The rule extended to lamp posts by the school as well. Someone had removed the tract I pasted on it when I looked for it the next day.

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How I Was Razed is the testimony of the way I was mislead by a cult church, how I turned my back on God after I felt he perennially failed to heal my eyes, and how he graciously brought me to my senses.

My previous books are now available for purchase online by clicking here. You may click here to e-mail me directly as well.