IS "BAPTISM BY WATER" A COMMAND OR NOT?

Through baptism, we publicly declare that we are renouncing our old sinful life and starting a new life with Jesus. Have you ever wondered why some Christians do not last long on the path of faith? The main reason is that many never truly understood, that through the baptism they “died to self and were buried” with Christ and coming up out of the water, were “resurrected” with Him to live a new righteous life. We no longer belong to ourselves anymore; we are no longer the masters of our lives, but Jesus is, as He paid the price to redeem us. The fact that many who get baptized, do not really realize who they are in Christ and that sin is no longer their master, is one of the main reasons why some Christians fail in following Christ. I am very happy that I am not in charge of my life anymore! With the limitations of the human mind and emotions, I made many bad decisions that I regretted and had to pay the price for them. The more I learned to ask the Lord for direction and obey Him, my life became better and better. And I would never change it for anything. God loves me more than I can ever love myself and He wants the best for me, more than anyone else. Sadly, many people believe that they are better off trying to direct their own lives, even when they have a long list of failures. My parents raised me with the fear of God and we never ate a meal, left for a trip or went to bed without praying. But I was praying because I feared God, not because I belonged to Him. I knew nothing about having a true relationship with the Lord. But, since I learned that it is possible and how wonderful it is, everything changed and my life started to make sense and became infinitely better! Thank You my dear Lord! I wish so much that all people could understand what Jesus did for them and find new life in Jesus, which is the only life that is really worth living! 

Through biological birth, we inherited Adam's sinful nature. But when we believe upon Jesus, repent of our sin and become born-again, we inherit the righteous, sinless nature of Jesus Christ. All this is only possible by the work of the Holy Spirit. If we do not know our rights and “...what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:18), then we will continue to be vulnerable to the devil. The benefits and blessings that follow a life lived right with Jesus, are exceedingly greater than any “short lived” pleasures offered by sin. The more we study the Scripture and understand what we have in Jesus in this life and what is prepared for us in heaven that will last forever, we will no longer want to return to what we had before conversion. We will be free from our past as Jesus says “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). 

The enemy knows people's weaknesses and best ways to get Christians to fall into sin. Once they've sinned, the devil tells them that they cannot be forgiven and that God does not love them anymore. Sadly, many fall for his tricks and lies. But the truth is that as long as one regrets the sin and is looking for forgiveness, he can find it! God never ceases to love us, not even for a second! His love is unconditional, meaning that it is not based upon our performance, but because of who He is! If you like, you may read more on the subject of forgiveness being available to those who repent - Return To The Lord!. Does this mean that we can sin as much as we like, because God is love and we are forgiven anyway? No way! If we know something is a sin and still do it, then it means that we love the sin more than we love Jesus. This is a harsh reality and means that we value the sin more than all the Lord's suffering that was taken in our behalf. In John 14:21, 23, Jesus makes it crystal clear to us, that we cannot say we love Him, if we do not live right, keeping His commands. The life lived right, in obedience to God's Word is followed by amazing promises! Father God and His Son, Jesus Christ come and dwell in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit! This is an amazing love! Nothing could be greater than to have God in and with us all the time!

It is no wonder, that the devil tries so hard to stop new believers from being baptized. Jesus would not command us to do so if it was not important. Being baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is a public confession of faith, showing the disconnection to the past and the beginning of a new life in Christ. When one refuses to get baptized, after receiving Jesus as Lord, he has a problem. Most of the time, the problem is the fear that their family or friends (who are against God) will find out about their conversion. Those of us who love God and live for Him, are always thrilled to hear that new believers want to be baptized, most of the others are either neutral or against it. No matter the reason, the enemy will do its best to make things look worse and more serious than it really is. In almost all the cases I've heard of over the years, once the person went ahead and got baptized, those who really loved them accepted it and did not act upon their threats. 

God is bigger than any threat and can turn any oppression against His child, into something beneficial for him at the end. When Jesus is our Lord, we do what He tells us to do and by doing so, we are blessed in long term, even if the short term seems costly. Losing relationships with those who do not want to hear about God is actually a plus for us. We love and pray for them to find the truth and repent, but we cannot continue to spend our time with them, without the temptation to go back to our previous life style. We cannot continue to do what they do, or go where we used to join them in the past, because now our goal is to please God and glorify Him through our lives. Paul says: “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”” - 1 Corinthians 15:33. If you want, you may read more about the lies of the enemy in the following articles: Six Lies The Devil Tells Teens and Recognizing The Devil's Strategies.

The water baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” is not just a religious tradition or custom. It is a commandment of Jesus Christ and not a suggestion. When Jesus appeared to His disciples, after His resurrection, before ascending to Heaven, He said:

• Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

 

• Mark 16:15-16 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”

Carmen Pușcaș


For more about what the Bible says on this subject, you may read here: Baptism By Water.