Subject: what is baptism |
Bible Note: I like to use the example in 2 Kings 5. Although it has nothing to do with salvation, it has a lot to do with faith and illustrates a good point. Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy." Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing.The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elishas house.Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed." But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, Wash and be cleansed!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant." Point to make is this: Naaman went on the word of the servant girl to be healed. When arriving at the prophets house he didn’t get what he expected and went off in a rage. Would he have been healed if he didn’t go to the Jordan and dip himself seven times as he was instructed? Was it the water that healed him? Or was it faith, accompanied by obedience that healed him. It was his faith that the prophet could heal him and his obedience to go into the water that healed him. It is the same with baptism. Does the water save you? Or is it the faith accompanied by obedience that saves you? It is the faith that Jesus is the Son of God and obedience to the command to be baptized that saves you. Without faith your just getting wet; without obedience you are disobeying God. As John states “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says I know him but does not do what he commands is a liar and the truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:3-4 Or as Paul states in Col. 2:12-“Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.” Rom. 6 is the potrayal of what happens to the person at baptism. That is why he address the Christians, Don’t you know? Of course they do, baptism was a given back then. Kin |