Into What Are Alien Sinners Baptized?
The New Testament writers state that there are five things into which alien sinners are baptized.
- Matthew 28:18-20 - "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in [Greek eis and ASV of 1901, literally "into"] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." When alien sinners are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then they are showing that God has complete ownership over lives because they have become a disciple and are not their own (1 Corinthians 6:19,20). When Paul was reprimanding the church at Corinth because of the divisions that they were creating, he asked them this rhetorical question in 1 Corinthians 1:13: "Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" No. Paul does and never did own them. Jesus is the One who has true ownership over His people (Acts 20:28).
- Galatians 3:26-29 - "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." When penitent, alien sinners are immersed into Christ, they are likewise raised with Christ out of the water and have put on Christ. They are showing that they have become identified with Him and are committing to being a daily reflection of Him in their Christian walk (Galatians 2:20).
- Romans 6:1-4 - "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." When penitent, alien sinners are baptized into Christ, then they participate in the saving benefits of the blood of Christ (which He shed at His death for the purpose of forgiving our sins, Matthew 26:28). Therefore, baptism is not a work of human merit (Titus 3:5-6), but a participation in the work of God (Colossians 2:11-12) as we place our full trust in and obedience to His will (Hebrews 5:8,9).
- Acts 2:38 - "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for(into) the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Both repentance and immersion are for the purpose of receiving the forgiveness of sins. Is there anyone that believes that we must repent because we have already been saved? The word "and" (a coordinating conjunction) is attached to water baptism, which is also for the purpose of receiving the remission of our sins (at which point we come in contact with the blood of Christ, the actual element that cleanses us of our sins, Revelation 1:5,6).
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 - "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free-and have all been made to drink into one Spirit." When an alien sinner obeys the true plan of salvation as taught in the Scriptures, then he/she is placed into the one body for which Jesus died (the church that He purchased with His own blood, Acts 2:47; 20:28; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 4:4; 5:23).
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