One Baptism
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
God our Father, His Son our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have revealed to us the words of salvation that will help lead you home to the new heavens and new earth to live with them in all eternity in peace, love and joy. The one simple act to hear with your heart the gospel of our Lord Christ Jesus will give you the faith and belief of the good news of our Lord Christ Jesus. Believing in the Gospel should bring about the change of mind and actions to be repentant of your sins, the confession of your belief in our Lord Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, the desire to be baptized and be faithful unto death. This act of faith, your belief and your obedience being baptized will reward you with a newness in life as a Christian, saint, disciple, and a child of God and set your feet on the right path for all eternity.
Being baptized for the remission of your sins, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), to receive the Spirit of our Lord Christ Jesus into your heart (Galatians 4:6), an appeal to God our Father for a good conscience (1 Peter 3:21), to begin a walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4), to be able to speak to God through prayer knowing that your prayer is being interceded to God through His Son our Savior Christ Jesus our Lord (1 Timothy 2:5) and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26) is pretty amazing and wonderful. To find peace with God (Romans 5:1-2) through our Lord Jesus Christ can only be measured with the love that God the Father, Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have for our lives for now and all eternity (Matthew 25:34). What an unmeasurable gift of salvation and love they have for us!
These scriptural references are but just a few of the ones that address how important life, love and God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit are.
The Creation of the World
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice,
and let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”
32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
34 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!
17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Acts 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
Conclusion
Baptism is the door that has been opened by the grace of God that we need to enter by faith to begin our walk as a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ, to become a Christian, to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, to be forgiven for our sins and washed in the blood of our Lord Christ Jesus, an appeal to God for a good conscience, to begin a newness of life, to be born again. Thank you, God!
Related Articles
Church of Christ Articles "An appeal for a Good Conscience"
Apologetics Press "13 Objections to Baptism"
Apologetics Press "Baptism and the New Birth"
Apologetics Press "Who can Baptize Another Person"
Apologetics Press "Modern-Day Miracles, Tongue-Speaking, and Holy Spirit Baptism_ A Refutation--EXTENDED VERSION"
Christians who need to be re-baptized?
"What authority is there for re-baptism" La Vista Church of Christ
"James Harding on (Re) Baptism" Liberty Church of Christ
"Acts 18:1-19:7, When Rebaptism is Necessary" West Palm Beach Church of Christ
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