Title: Faith in God and Baptism
(31) Faith in God and Baptism
(Heb 61-3)
One of the reasons the members of the church receiving the book of Hebrews were not able to eat milk or solid food was because they did not have faith in God. Without faith in God, we cannot grow in faith. The growth of faith is because faith in God is the source of it. There are some people who come to church well even without faith in God. What kind of person is this? They are the people who live the church life with habitual beliefs. It is not the faith given by the Holy Spirit, but the faith that has grown out of carnal habits. A person who has this faith is not interested in spiritual matters and falls away from the faith when faced with difficulties. People who have this kind of faith grow only with their heads, not through the right faith in God. This kind of faith is like an old tree without roots, like a flower arrangement in a vase, it looks like faith on the surface, but it is a dead faith without growth and fruit.
1. True Faith in God
What is true faith in God? Hebrews 11:6 says we must believe that God exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He tells us that without this we cannot please God.
We must have faith in God the Creator who created all things. We must have faith in a loving God who sent His Son for our sins. Before the foundation of the world, you must have faith in God who chose you as a child of God in Christ and redeemed you. This kind of faith is not a faith that can be tempered by flesh and blood. It is not obtained through human wisdom, knowledge, theology, or experience, but is possible through God's grace. Upon hearing Peter's confession of faith, Jesus praised him and said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven."
Faith in God can only be realized through the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. Faith that listens and obeys with earnest heart is the way to grow into right faith in God. If you do not have faith in God, you cannot experience the word of righteousness and use your senses, so you cannot live a life of discerning good and evil through refinement. will be
2. The Doctrine of Baptism
A Christian must have correct biblical knowledge about baptism in order to have correct faith as a baptized member. First, we must have the correct biblical knowledge of baptism and salvation. Catholicism and some denominations within Christianity undermine the merits of the Lord's cross by tying baptism to the condition of salvation so that God's salvation is redeemed by baptism. We must first know that baptism has absolutely no effect on salvation. If you are shaken by this fact, when a certain Presbyterian member transfers his/her membership to a Baptist church, he or she will be baptized again.
Man's salvation is neither through good works nor through baptism. You can only get it by accepting Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In other words, salvation can only be obtained through faith in Jesus Christ.
This is the knowledge of God that leads to salvation. To believe in this fact is to believe in Jesus Christ. Even if you believe in the same Jesus, if you believe in the human Jesus as a social revolutionary, there is no salvation. There is no salvation for those who serve as the symbol of love that kindled the fire of love in a parched world. Believing in all the events that Christ has accomplished for our salvation is the way and way to achieve salvation.
Baptism is a ceremony of confession of faith received as a sign that one has repented before God. If this kind of faith is not followed by baptism, it is of no use. Baptism itself has no saving power. Baptism is not a guarantee of salvation.
Repentance is not a sign that we are now cleansed from sin. It is not a sign of union with Christ. It is only through the precious blood of Christ that we are cleansed. So, what is the true meaning of baptism? 1 Peter 3:21 says this: “Water now saves you through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is baptism, not the removal of impurities from the flesh, but an appeal to God of a good conscience.” So, if we are baptized, we should think like this. Now that we are dead to sin in union with Christ, we can no longer live in it. I have been united with Christ and lived for righteousness, so my life is to be imitation of Christ and to live in obedience to His Word, so that I must enter into a life of faith in which I will die to sin and live to righteousness. This is the religious attitude in which we are baptized. This knowledge is the correct Baptistry.
Conclusion: Because we do not have this kind of faith, our faith does not grow further in the place of a baby who is always breastfed. True baptism is spiritual union with Christ through the Holy Spirit. The Christian who received this baptism must bear this fact in mind and enter into the life of true baptism and become a spiritual union with Christ.