Topic: Why must a person be both water and Holy Ghost baptized?
Before we can explain why the water and Spirit baptism is an absolute necessity, we must
determine the purpose for water baptism, and the purpose for baptism of the Holy Ghost.
According to the Word of God the purpose of water baptism is for the remission of sins,
meaning that we go into the water and are immersed, our sins literally are washed away and left in
the water.
Acts 10:43, (KJV) To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever be
believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
Luke 24:47, (KJV) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Having established the purpose of water baptism, we will now study the purpose of Jesus
pouring out His Spirit upon his true followers in the Holy Ghost baptism.
The purpose of Jesus placing His Spirit within us is very basic. Without it, we cannot be holy as
God commands., we cannot understand the written Word of God, and most importantly, we
CANNOT see the Kingdom of God.
Leviticus 20:26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
Luke 24:45 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.
Proverbs 1:23-24 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make
known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
In all of the previous verses, it is clear that God is performing action to reach us, yet we think
that we can sit back, do nothing and that Jesus' blood will cover us, even though we refuse to act
on His behalf. NOPE! Many people allow their pride to rule them, and keep them from experiencing
the fullness of God's blessing ONLY available after the infilling of the Holy Ghost. They really do
not know the power that they are missing out on. Paul said that we try to tell them, but if they be
ignorant, let them be ignorant!
Without the Spirit of Jesus in us, we can never see Heaven. Our flesh cannot mingle with God,
and only through the advocate residing in us, can we come before the throne God.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
When establishing the necessity of both water and Holy Ghost baptism, it is very important that
we establish scriptural references for God's salvation plan.
We live in the a world of fast food, Nigerian money scams, and smooth talking politicians.
The Church faces a much different generation than in years past. This generation is more
technologically savvy, and expects immediate results, therefore the days of tarrying for their needs
escapes them. There is a general distrust of the Church, even if not in the Word of God. Constant
media coverage of some television Evangelist caught stealing money, or real-time video footage of
false healing's and laundered money has left a blemish on the idea of being religious. There are many
people that will say that they are "spiritual", but when questioned on church attendance, or
faithfulness in tithing, they are very quick to point out the false "church is inside of us, we do not
need a building" doctrine.
When we are able to show a prospective new believer in the Word of God, where Jesus and other
men of God specifically address water baptism and the necessity of the infilling of the Holy Ghost, it
is hard for them to argue against the text. This is assuming we are dealing with unchurched people.
Typically, a person that has been raised outside of the Apostle's doctrine, yet is familiar with
scripture will need to have a personal experience with Jesus, before they can fully understand the
basic salvation requirements. (Luke 24:45 KJV)
A person seeking true salvation, can only receive that salvation by following the only biblical
formula for salvation. This formula is laid out very plainly in Act 2:38.
Acts 2:38, 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.
Having said all that, it takes only the Words of God Himself to convince me of that we must be
baptized in Jesus name, and that we must receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost, as evidenced in
speaking with our tongues. Where did He say this?
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That's it, twenty five words that answer ninety percent of every question, ever raised in every
religious doctrinal debate.
This one statement made by Jesus proves many points:
1. We must be born again, no exceptions.
2. We must be baptized to be born again, not baptized for membership, or as a public profession of
faith, but baptized to be born again into the salvation of Christ Jesus.
3. We must receive His Spirit to be able to call ourselves born again. We can just be baptized and
be too embarrassed to receive the Holy Ghost, but that means we just got wet in baptism, because
we didn't get saved. We must be born of His Spirit. What is the Biblical evidence of being born of
Spirit? Speaking in an unknown tongue.
4. Unless we fulfill the two basic requirements as a minimum, we cannot go to Heaven. No if's, and's
or but's. Our Pastor's can say whatever they want, but if what they are saying, does not add up to this
one basic statement (John 3:5), we should be running for the front door of the church.
A person must be baptized by water immersion, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, in order
(the answer and purpose of this essay) to enter the Kingdom of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment