Baptism, The Beginning Of A Persevering Life
Colossians 3:1-17
Christians, in accepting the ordinance of scriptural baptism, are entering into covenant with God and the local church, “…to rise to walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Thus, we are saying we are going to continue to walk with the Lord, in spite of difficulty, opposition, human failure (both our own and that of others), and that we will be steadfast in purpose and persistence, in proving God’s will to be good, acceptable, and perfect for our life.
1 Peter 3:20-21 teaches us that to walk with the Lord, we must have a good conscience in carrying out God’s will for our lives. This necessarily involves loving and serving Him with all our heart and soul.
Baptism pictures that we understand and will do our best in the way we live, to respect the sufferings and death of Christ for us: “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2.
Just as we know it took the authority and power of God, over all things, to bring Christ forth triumphant from the grave, we know it will take our honoring the will, the authority, and the power of God, to produce the victorious Christian life.
Thus, baptism is the pictorial ordinance of a resurrected life. The ultimate reason for resurrection is to live unto the One by whom we are raised up. It is to have our lives live out the Divine plan and purpose, “not my will, thine be done.” Proper maintenance is essential to anything being in good working order. A farmer could go bankrupt with a barn full of equipment in tip top shape, unless he uses them for the purpose for which they are designed. Good, clean living falls short of everything, unless it is coupled with the work God has called us to do.
Baptism preaches that a victorious life comes by walking with Christ, according to the will of the Father. This is done by keeping our eyes on Christ, and off of the world. We may see failure in men, but Jesus never fails. We are to not only look unto Him, but also live our lives by means of waiting upon Him. We are never to grow weary in our devotion to Him.
We must set our affections on things above, not on things in this world. It is not the struggles that defeat us, but when we allow ourselves to lose interest in God’s will and we become indifferent. We don’t serve God due to legal obligation only, but we must have real interests that are fixed on things above. How successful are you in Christianity? Christ defined it this way, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21
SHARING
About Our Messages On “The Identification Of God’s House”
“But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine” Titus 2:1
“And he gave some…pastors…for the perfecting of the saints…Till we all come in the unity of the faith…That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…” Ephesians 4:11-16
“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God…” 2 Corinthians 10:5
That which is of man is to be rooted out of a person’s thinking, and that which is of God is to be planted in its place. God’s Word is not rude and presumptuous. Clashes and repercussions occur because self-will is strong and rebellious.
People develop opinions about church that are comfortable to them, and congenial to those around them. Man savors a position on church that is “workable” with self and others.
Never has human conclusion equalled the righteousness of God. There needs to be conviction and faith on the hearer’s part, to abandon human consensus, and seek unto Divine wisdom and understanding, without becoming offended by the pastoral challenge unto doing so.
One needs not guess about the religious community’s position on establishing the Biblical truth about the New Testament Church. The plurality of doctrines, practices, and denominations full well testifies that man have chosen human philosophy over the singularity of Divine Truth.
Man finds sound doctrine unworkable and unendurable in his defined religious arena. Man wants to profess to believe enough to convince himself that he is alright. But he wants to believe in enough uncertainty, to allow the doing of what is right in his own eyes, without being prosecuted by any “absolute truths.”
Men seek to establish a general rule, that no one knows for sure. Thus they want you to think that anyone who declares doctrinal singularity is merely doing it from unfounded prejudice and bigotry.
A pastor’s role, according to the role God has for him in the church, is to overturn all opinion and philosophy, and establish everything from the Bible perspective. The identity of the New Testament Church is established on the volume of facts found in the doctrines of God’s Word, and is not left up to the threads of human speculation.
We invite you to see that the doctrines of God’s Word are non-offensive and precious to the Bible believer, while being aggressively devastating to the religious opinions of men. God’s Word is clear and straight forward, for the inclusion of men into the fullness of God’s covenant promises. Thus, God’s Word comes down clearly against all the opposites, unto the exclusion of that which deludes and deceives.
SHARING
The Calendar Of Events Surrounding The Death Of Christ
Note: In Biblical days, the 24 hour daily cycle was divided into two equal parts: night and day – the night preceding the day, Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31. The sun controlled the day, and the moon the night, John 11:9. In Biblical days, the day started at 6:00pm (in the evening) and ended at 6:00pm the next evening. Our days are reckoned from 12:00 midnight to 12:00 midnight.
SATURDAY: Mark 11:1-11: Jesus entered Jerusalem. The world says He entered on Palm Sunday. He entered the Temple as His custom was on the Sabbath. Mark 11:11, He returned to Bethany.
SUNDAY: Mark 11:12-19: He returns to Jerusalem. On the way, He curses the fig tree. Mark 11:15-19, He cleanses the Temple. Mark 11:19, Jesus goes back to Bethany.
MONDAY: Mark 11:20: Jesus returned to Jerusalem by the same route and sees the withered fig tree. Mark 11:27–Mark 14:1, Jesus teaches and answers questions. Mark 14:1…In 2 days (Wednesday) would be the Passover.
TUESDAY: Mark 14:12-16: The day before the Passover, the Preparation Day. The Jewish Passover began on the 14th day of the month Abib or Nisan, by killing the lamb that was caught on the 10th day of the month, Exodus 12:3-6. The Passover is a type of Christ – 1 Corinthians 5:7. The Passover lasted 7 days. The first day of the Passover (the 15th) and the last day were High Sabbaths (annual). – Leviticus 23:4-8.
WEDNESDAY: Their Wednesday began at 6:00pm…our Tuesday (see above note.) During this time, Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples, and instituted the Lord’s Supper, Mark 14:22-25. Mark 14:26-52, Tuesday evening (Wednesday Jewish time) they go out to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Christ prays and is arrested. Mark 14:53-72, The trial of Christ before the Sanhedrin, in the night hours (our Tuesday, their Wednesday.) Mark 15:1-25, The trial before Pilate and the crucifixion in the third hour of the day, which would be 9:00am Wednesday, our time. Wednesday, He is on the cross. Mark 15:33, There is darkness from the sixth to the ninth hours (12:00 noon to 3:00pm.) Mark 15:42-47, In the afternoon before 6:00pm, His death and burial, which would make it before the beginning of the next day, which was a High Sabbath (not the weekly Sabbath)…see John 19:31. So, before 6:00pm Wednesday, Christ was placed in the tomb.
THURSDAY: Matthew 27:62-66: Guards are placed at the tomb.
FRIDAY & SATURDAY: He is in the tomb. Saturday ended at 6:00pm.
SUNDAY: The tomb is visited, Matthew 28:1-7. Matthew 28:1 – as it begins to “dawn,” speaking of daylight. NOTE: Sunday (the first day of the week) had begun at 6:00pm Saturday, our time. Matthew 28:6, The tomb is already empty. He was in the tomb Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights…three nights. He was in the tomb Thursday, Friday, and Saturday…three days, just as He had said – Matthew 12:39-40. This is essential to have the gospel according to the scriptures – 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. He arose after 6:00pm Saturday evening, which was the Jewish first day of the week. So, we observe the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day. It is to be observed weekly on the first day of the week, rather than on an annual basis, just as the Old Testament Sabbath was observed weekly. If it were an annual observance, God would command it and it would fall on a different day of the week every year, just as any other annual holiday does…see 1 John 2:21.
SHARING
