ISSUE THIRTEEN
Do I Need To Do Anything Else After I Confess That Jesus Christ Is Lord of My Life?
Yes, our salvation process is a four step process
1 Salvation
2 Water Baptism
3 Ask for the Holy Spirit to lead us and grow us into maturity
4 Overcome the wicked oneJude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
EARNESTLY CONTEND for the faith. This phrase is the Greek word epagonizomai and means to use earnest efforts to obtain and preserve. To earnestly contend is to do so with with real desire, with fixed attention and eagerness. To earnestly contend means to press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Chist Jesus.
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The word press is the Greek word dioko and means to flee
To press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, we must flee worldly lusts and be ready for Christian persecution. Read the book "Counting the Cost" by George Kirkpatrick
We must earnestly desire to folow after Jesus' foot steps. He is our example. We must put satan and his deceptive lies and evil tactics to flight, driving them far away. The book of Proverbs will help you in this area
We need to run swiftly towards God as one who contends in a race to reach the goal God has set before us. Don't look backwards to old friends and old habits.
2 - Water Baptism
Do I Need to be Water Baptized?
Acts 2:38 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.
The eunich knew his need to go on beyond simple salvation, and asked Philip:
Acts 8:36-37 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Do I Need To Be Totally Immersed in Water Baptism?
Look closely at the Baptism Chapter in Romans, Chapter 6
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." Romans 6:3-12
It is necessary for us to be totally immersed in water. This represents putting the old man of sin in a place where he must die to self. Being immersed in water puts us in a place where we cannot live. This act shows to the whole world we have buried the old man of sin in the water.
When we arise out of the water we are ready to walk into newness of life because we have left all the old sin of the world in the baptism pool and our sins are washed away. Praise God!
To be continued in the next issue: Asking For the Holy Spirit
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