On Baptism....

Our Precept Ladies class is studying "The Sermon On The Mount" right now. Last week we did our overview which basically included Matthew chapters 1-7.

We camped for a while in Matthew 3. Here's the text, so you can follow along with me as I share what I learned:

Mat 3:1
Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,
Mat 3:2
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Mat 3:3
For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, 'MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!' "
Mat 3:4
Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Mat 3:5
Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan;
Mat 3:6
and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
Mat 3:7
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Mat 3:8
"Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance;
Mat 3:9
and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.
Mat 3:10
"The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Mat 3:11
"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Mat 3:12
"His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Mat 3:13
Then Jesus *arrived from Galilee at the Jordan {coming} to John, to be baptized by him.
Mat 3:14
But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?"
Mat 3:15
But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit {it} at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he *permitted Him.
Mat 3:16
After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove {and} lighting on Him,
Mat 3:17
and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

First I want to challenge you to find the answers to a few questions...

1.) What was John telling the people to do before he baptized them?
2.) How many were baptized that didn't first do as he was emploring them to? Or, to use the words straight from Scripture, that he was "preaching" to, to do so?
3.) Why was he telling them to do this?
4.) What was his response to the Pharisees and Sadducees who were coming for baptism?
5.) Why was John not baptizing them, too? What were they lacking that had to come first?
6. ) What were the Pharisees and Sadducees banking on to give them entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven?
7.) What were they missing?

Here's the biggie...the thing that God showed me through His Word, which is so powerful. I hope and pray that you will see it too.

If there was something special in the water that would have saved people, John would never have kept anyone from being baptized. John's whole reason for being, was to make ready the way of the LORD, and to proclaim to the people their need for repentance.

There are people today who think of baptism in much the same way that the Pharisees thought about having Abraham for their father. They believe that baptism is what saves.

If baptism saves, in and of itself, then Jesus died in vain.

Do you see it? If water was all that was needed for salvation, why then didn't John baptize the Pharisees? Why in the world would he refuse them?

What was required of them FIRST? It's the same thing that is required of anyone who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

There is another place in Scripture, where Paul actually says that he is thankful that he didn't baptize any of a particular group in the church of Corinth...read this:

1Cor 1:12
Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."
1Cor 1:13
Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
1Cor 1:14
I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,
1Cor 1:15
so that no one would say you were baptized in my name.
1Cor 1:16
Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other.
1Cor 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

Now, if baptism alone saved, do you really think the Apostle Paul would have been thankful that he didn't baptize people?

So, I'm guessing that you're wondering if I believe in baptism? Do I believe it is important?

You betcha! I believe that it's a Biblical precept, and an act of obedience on the part of the believer.

Just as I don't believe that someone can say, "I went under the water, so I'm all good", and live however they choose..not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance; I also don't believe that someone who truly belongs to Jesus Christ would refuse the first act of obedience that He asks of us.

In Him,
Jesica

The Pharisitical Spirit and the Clanging Cymbol

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Before you start reading, I beg you...leave a comment below and commit to call me on it if you ever hear me starting to act like this monkey again! All you'd have to say is, "Monkey Girl!" and I'd get it!

As you may know by now, our Precept study group is working through "The Sermon On The Mount". This has been a special time of preparation for me this go 'round. So sweet. I feel more ready than I ever have before, and so excited!

God keeps waking me up EAAAAAAAAAAAARLY telling me that we've got a date for love, and I don't want to miss it!

It's precious to me, really.
Have you ever had that in your life...a time when you just knew that the Father was BECKONING you to come and sit at His feet, and soak in HIM. It's like the best date in the world, and I really don't want to miss even one! I invision getting to crawl up in His lap and hug on Him once I get to heaven. Wouldn't that be the COOLEST?!

Through this time, He is graciously molding me. (I'm hoping He'll take off about 30 pounds of external clay, but I think what He's really doing is carving on my heart.)

You see, I love the Lord dearly. I love studying His Word...I cherish it. Yet what I have found in my life, hiding deep down where not many could smell it out, has been pride.

YUCK! I hate having to tell you this, but it's true. I think pride is all too often the sin that is crouching at our doors, ready to devour us, especially if we allow the evil one to puff us up with how much we know, due to our time spent in God's Word.

In our culture today it has been sugar coated in some cases, and called "self esteem". However, I don't think we're supposed to esteem ourselves. Scripture makes it pretty clear that we're to esteem God...so when we put the focus on ourselves, and on how "learned" we are, we run the risk of finding ourselves full of ugly pride.

One would think that the natural progression for a believer who is growing in grace and in the knowlegde of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, would be to find themselves DAILY humbled before His holiness and graciousness....broken, not trying to figure out how to elevate themself.

Why then, is it such a temptation to judge others in their walk with God?


OOh..THAT sounds like a friend I'd want to hang out with! (not!)

Repeat after me....there's ONE GOD and ONE JUDGE of MAN...and it's not you or me!

It's so subtle how satan can take that which was meant for good and try to twist it to honor himself, by tempting us to allow it to honor ourselves! And how we let it happen due to our own selfish pride.

I was reminded recently about what my first love is...my first love is my Jesus and God's Word....my second love is to my family, and my third love is teaching women who want to know how to, to "Discover Truth For Themselves" using the tools of Precept Bible Studies.

But you know what? It doesn't end there...I want to be known as the Christian in town who loves at all times. I don't want to use Scripture to allow me to be a clanging cymbal. A monkey with bad teeth, an irritating voice, and those annoying cymbals!

I want to be the person who willingly lays my life down for my friends, AND ENEMIES...and that starts with my pride. For to do so, I must walk a life of total humility.

I want to be the person that others know will act in love, no matter the infraction, and will be quick to forgive.

Simply put, I want to love people...genuinely love them.

That's it. That's how I want to live the rest of my life. I want to be known as she who loved much, forgave quickly and often, and pointed people to Jesus.

I'm donating my clanging cymbals to a drum line. ;)

God has been using my study of Matthew 4-7 to show me the areas that I have failed in this endeavor, and it breaks my heart.

Doesn't it stink when you finally find the rancid rat that's been stuck under your stove for 3 months?! So with this. It's not fun. And action is required.

But, I praise God that He loves us enough to point out our failures to us. If our lives are to be lived to His Glory, and not to our own, it's quite important that we follow His lead on things.

For those of you not familiar with the clanging cymbals reference, here are the verses:

Corinthians 13:1-10
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind {and} is not jealous; love does not brag {and} is not arrogant,
does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong {suffered,}
does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if {there are gifts of} prophecy, they will be done away; if {there are} tongues, they will cease; if {there is} knowledge, it will be done away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

I'm starting this week with my children on that passage...we're all going to learn it. A life lived loving people second only to God. What a simple, but perfect guide for life.

Love you all!
Jes