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Sermons

Subject 3 : The Gospel of the Water and the Spirit

[3-8] The Baptism of Jesus is the Indispensable Process for Redemption (Matthew 3:13-17)

The Baptism of Jesus is the Indispensable Process for Redemption
(Matthew 3:13-17)
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
 
 

THE BAPTISM OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

 
What is repentance?
Turning back from the sinful life and believing in Jesus in order to be sanctified.
 
So many people in the world do not know why Jesus came to this world and was baptized by John the Baptist. Therefore let us talk about the purpose of the baptism of Jesus and about John the Baptist who baptized Him.
First, we should think about what led John the Baptist to baptize people at the Jordan River. It is explained in Matthew 3:1-12 that John the Baptist baptized people to bring them back to God from sins by confessing their sins.
“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance” (verse 11), and “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight’” (verse 3). John the Baptist, clothed in camel’s hair and carrying a bunch of locusts, cried out in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
He cried out to people, “Repent, the Savior of humanity is coming; prepare the way for Him, make His path of salvation straight. Stop worshiping the gods of the Gentiles and receive the Lord in your heart.”
Return from what? From worshiping idols and all the other evil deeds of a life full of sin. So what do we have to do? We have to be baptized into Jesus in order to be sanctified. John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness, “Be baptized by me. Be washed of your sins. The Savior, your Messiah, is coming to this world. He will take away all your sins as the sacrificial lamb of the Old Testament and wash away all your sins.”
In the Old Testament, daily sins were passed onto the sin offering through the laying on of hands. The yearly sins of all Israel were also passed onto the goat by the high priest on the Day of Atonement, which fell on the tenth day of the seventh month every year (Leviticus 16:29-31).
In the same way, the sins of humankind had to be passed onto Jesus through His baptism all at once so that they could be blotted out through Him. So John urged the people to come back to Jesus and be baptized by him.
The primary importance of the baptism performed by John the Baptist was repentance, which brought the people of Israel back to Jesus who was to come later. Repentance means to turn back from the life of sin and believe in the Messiah in order to be forgiven for all sins.
The people of Israel could be redeemed by hoping for the Messiah who would come later to wash away all their sins. Similarly, we are redeemed by believing in Jesus, who descended from Heaven 2000 years ago and washed away all the sins of the world. But the Israelites in the Old Testament abandoned the law of God, offered the wrong sacrifices and forgot the Messiah.
Because John the Baptist needed to remind them of the law of God and of the Messiah who would come later, he began baptizing people and eventually baptized Jesus at the Jordan.
Many people came to John and were baptized, repenting for worshipping idols and abandoning the law of God. There are three indispensable elements in the legitimate sacrifice―a live animal, the laying on of hands, and its blood. All the people of the world are saved by believing in Jesus.
When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to be baptized, John cried out to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Matthew 3:7-9).
These Pharisees and Sadducees, groups of politicians and idol-worshipers, thought that they were God’s people despite the fact they didn’t believe in God’s word. They believed in other gods and in their own thoughts.
When they came to John the Baptist to be baptized, he told them, “You should not offer wrong sacrifices but turn back from sin and truly believe that the Messiah will come and wash away your sins. You should believe this in your hearts.”
To repent is to turn back from the wrong path. True repentance is to turn back from sin and false beliefs and to return to Jesus. It is to believe in the redemption of His baptism and His judgment on the Cross.
Thus, John the Baptist cried out to the people of Israel, who had abandoned the law of God and the sacrificial system, in order to convince them to return to God. It was the role of John the Baptist to bring people back to Jesus so that they would believe in Him and be saved from all their sins.
 
 

DO YOU BELIEVE IN REDEMPTION THROUGH THE BAPTISM OF JESUS?

 
What do all men have to do before Jesus?
They have to believe in Him to be saved from all their sins.
 
The first thing Jesus did in His public ministry was to be baptized by John the Baptist. All the sins of the world were passed onto Him in this way.
Thus the baptism of Jesus was the beginning of God’s salvation of humanity as well as the righteous act of Jesus that washed away all the sins of the world. God redeems all who believe in the truth that Jesus took away all the sins of the world through His baptism.
When Jesus came to this world and was baptized by John the Baptist, the gospel of the kingdom of Heaven began. The heavens were opened up with His baptism and as described in Matthew 3:15, it was exactly like the sacrifice of atonement described in Leviticus 1:1-5, 4:27-31 in the Old Testament.
Everything in the Old Testament has a mate in the New Testament and vice versa. “Search from the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall fail; not one shall lack her mate” (Isaiah 34:16).
 
 

BOTH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS SPEAK ABOUT THE ATONEMENT OF ALL PEOPLE’S SINS

 
Do we have to repent for our daily sins every day?
No. True repentance is to admit all one’s sins and turn one’s mind back to the baptism of Jesus in order to obtain redemption.
 
In the Old Testament, a day’s sin was passed onto a sin offering by the laying on of hands. The offering would then bleed and be judged instead of the sinner. And the accumulated sins of the whole year were also passed onto a sin offering by the laying on of hands, so that all people could be forgiven for the year’s sin.
In the New Testament, in exactly the same way, Jesus Christ came and was baptized at the Jordan River to take away all the sins of the world. Thus the word of God prophesied in the Old Testament was fulfilled.
John the Baptist, who baptized Jesus, was a servant of God who was sent 6 months prior to Jesus. He testified that Jesus took away all the sins of the world, saying in John 1:29. “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
John the Baptist passed the sins of the world onto Jesus by baptizing Him at the Jordan River. In this way, the Lord made atonement for all the sins of humankind. All we have to do now is believe.
All the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus. The disciples of Jesus said in Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
They were urging us to understand why John the Baptist baptized Jesus, why he told people to follow Him. He said, “Repent and be converted. Believe in the redemption of the baptism of Jesus. Be washed of your sins.”
The Messiah came and washed away our sins all at one time by being baptized. All the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus in this way. Thus the Covenant of God was fulfilled with the baptism of Jesus, as it is recorded in Matthew 3:13-17.
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I have need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
To fulfill the salvation of God, Jesus came to John to be baptized. John the Baptist was a special servant of God. Luke chapter 1 says that John was a descendent of Aaron, the first high priest. God had chosen John, a descendent of Aaron, because He wanted the representative of all humankind to fulfill all righteousness.
So, God had John born in the house of the high priest 6 months prior to the birth of Jesus. John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus by crying out in the wilderness, “Repent, you brood of vipers! Repent and be converted. The Messiah will come. Be converted to Him, or He will cut you down and throw you into the fire. Believe in His baptism and His blood on the Cross. Repent and be baptized, then you will be redeemed.”
The gospel of redemption is described clearly in Acts 3:19. When John the Baptist cried out about the sins of humankind, many were converted.
Because John passed the sins of the world onto Jesus, all the sins of mankind were blotted out at one time. Because John the Baptist testified that Jesus took away all our sins, we know we can be saved by believing in the gospel of redemption, the gospel of the water and the blood.
 
 

THE REASON WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD TO COME BEFORE JESUS

 
What are the meanings of “For thus?”
① most proper
② most fitting
③ necessarily in this way only
(there is no other way)
 
Those whose sins were washed away by believing in Jesus, the Savior, can confirm their salvation through the testimony of Matthew to the gospel of the baptism of Jesus. In Matthew 3:15-16, Jesus came to John and said, “Baptize me.” And John answered, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
It was John the Baptist who baptized Jesus, recognizing who He was. John was the servant of God who was sent to pass all the sins of humankind onto Jesus. Because Jesus came as the Savior to fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament, He commanded John the Baptist to baptize Him in order to take all the sins of the world onto His head.
Why? Because Jesus is the Son of God Almighty, the Creator, and the Savior. He came to us in order to wash away all our sins. So, in order to save all people, He had to be baptized.
“For thus” Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and washed away all our sins. He was judged on our behalf on the Cross. The baptism of Jesus was the testimony to our salvation. As God had promised in the Old Testament that all sins would be passed onto a sacrificial Lamb, the Son of God became the Lamb and took all our sins upon Himself.
So both the laying on of hands in the Old Testament and the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament are the passing on of sins, and salvation and everlasting life are given to those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
 
 

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS WASHED AWAY ALL OUR SINS

 
How can we put on Christ?
By being baptized into Christ
 
When Jesus wanted to be baptized, John the Baptist tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
But Jesus answered and said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Permit it to be so now. Permit it. He told John, “You must pass the sins of all people onto Me so that I can bring to Me all those who believe in the gospel of the water of redemption. I will then be judged for all their sins so that all who believe in My baptism will be redeemed of all their sins. Pass onto Me the sins of the world through baptism so that all who come later will be redeemed of their sins all at one time. Therefore permit it to be so now.”
Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and the baptism of Jesus was in accordance with the righteous law of redemption of God. Because all sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized, we can be redeemed all at one time when we believe in Jesus and are baptized. Because He took on all our sins through the laying on of hands, died on the Cross on our behalf and now sits at the right hand of God, we can be saved by believing in the redemption of the water and the Spirit.
He is Jesus, who saved us from all the sins of the world. We can be saved by believing that Jesus took away all our sins and paid the wages of all our sins on the Cross. The baptism of Jesus was the beginning of the gospel of redemption.
The baptism of redemption is mentioned often in the Bible and the apostle Paul also says in Galatians that he was crucified with Christ because he was baptized into Christ and put on Christ. The apostle Paul talks about his faith in redemption through the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross.
 
 
“PERMIT IT TO BE SO NOW”
 
What was the role of John the Baptist?
His role was to pass all the sins of the world onto Jesus as the high priest of all mankind.
 
Jesus said, “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” All righteousness means to blot out all sins through His baptism and make all people sinless in their hearts. “Then he allowed Him.” Jesus was baptized at the Jordan.
Just as the high priest laid his hands on the head of a goat, John the Baptist laid his hands on Jesus’ head and passed all the sins of the world onto Him. John the Baptist was the high priest whose task was to pass all the sins of the world onto Jesus as the representative of humanity. “God, I pass all the sins of the world onto Your Lamb, Jesus.” Thus all the sins of humankind were passed on to Jesus.
John the Baptist laid his hands on the head of Jesus, immersed Him into the water, then took his hands away when Jesus came up out of the water. The baptism of Jesus made for the righteous salvation. Thus Jesus saved all humankind who believe in His baptism.
 
 
THE HEAVENS WERE OPENED AND A VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN
 
From what time was the kingdom of Heaven opened?
From the days of John the Baptist (Matthew 11:12)
 
“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17).
When Jesus took away all the sins of the world with His baptism, the heavens were opened to Him. Thus the Covenant of God which had been made several thousand years before was fulfilled through the baptism of Jesus at the Jordan River.
Thus Jesus, as the Lamb of God, saved all the people of the world from their sins. All the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus and He fulfilled the will of God.
It is testified in John 1:29, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Because all sins were passed onto Jesus, the Lamb of God, He walked toward the Cross at Golgotha after three years with that burden on His shoulders. After He took on all sins with His baptism, everywhere He went, He told those who received Him by faith that all their sins were forgiven.
In John 8:11, He told the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, “Neither do I condemn you.” He could not condemn her because the One who had to be judged was Jesus Himself, who had taken on all sin. Thus He told all people that He was the Savior of sinners.
Because He, the Son of God, took away all our sins, every believer in the world can become sanctified. The heavens were opened up when He was baptized. The gates of the kingdom of Heaven were opened up and whoever believes in the baptism of Jesus can freely enter.
 
 

JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED AFTER HE TOOK AWAY ALL THE SINS OF THE WORLD THROUGH HIS BAPTISM

 
How did Jesus bruise Satan’s head?
By being resurrected from the dead after accepting the judgment for all our sins
 
Because all sins were passed onto His head, Jesus had to be judged on the Cross. He was deeply sorrowful and troubled when He thought about the agony He would suffer on the Cross. He prayed until His sweat became like great drops of blood. When He went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, He cried out, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Matthew 26:39). “I was baptized and took on all the sins of the world, but let Me not die for it.” But God didn’t answer.
On the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament, the sin offering had to be killed so that its blood might be sprinkled before the mercy seat by the high priest. In the same way, Jesus had to be crucified and God decided He could do it no other way.
The altar is the judgment of God and the blood of the sin offering is life. To sprinkle the blood seven times before and in front of the mercy seat means that all judgment is passed on (Leviticus 16:1-22).
Jesus prayed to God to let the cup pass from Him. But His Father didn’t allow Him and Jesus finally said, “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). He prayed to God to do as He saw fit. He finished praying and followed the will of His Father.
Jesus gave up His own will and obeyed His Father. Why? Because if He had not been judged after taking away all the sins of the world, salvation would have not been completed. He was crucified because He took away all the sins of humankind through His baptism. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
God fulfilled the Covenant which said that He would send the Savior and save humanity through the laying on of hands, the baptism of Jesus. Jesus obeyed God’s will and accepted judgment for us.
It was also the fulfillment of the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” God promised Adam to send the Messiah, a Seed of Eve, and He would defeat Satan’s power that made humankind a sinner and go to hell.
When we know and believe in the baptism of Jesus and His death on the Cross, all our sins are washed away and we are saved from judgment.
We have to have sound belief in our hearts when we consider the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. Believe it in your hearts, and then you will be saved.
 
 

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE HEAVENLY GOSPEL

 
What was the last commandment of the Lord before He ascended to Heaven?
He commanded His disciples to make disciples of all nations by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
 
The baptism of Jesus was the beginning of the gospel, and He saved all sinners with His baptism and blood. In Matthew 28:19, it is recorded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus told His disciples to testify that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit had saved all humankind from their sins and washed them all away through His baptism and His blood.
Jesus gave them the power to make disciples of all nations, to teach them about the baptism of Jesus, the baptism of redemption, the baptism that washed away all the sins of the world.
About 2000 years ago, Jesus came to earth in the flesh and was baptized by John the Baptist. With the baptism of Jesus, all the sins of the world, including all our sins, were passed onto Him.
How much sin was passed onto Him? How about the sins of tomorrow? He tells us that even the sins of tomorrow were passed onto Him. The sins of our children, those of all the generations, past, present and future, even those of Adam were passed onto Jesus.
How can there be no sin? How can we be without sin? Because Jesus took away all our sins and all the sins of the world with His baptism so that all believers could free themselves from sin and gain access to the Kingdom of Heaven.
“But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:21).
Jesus washed away all our sins with His baptism, His blood on the Cross, His death, and His resurrection. Therefore to believe in His baptism and His death on the Cross is to be saved from all sin. This is the faith of redemption.
When we believe in the baptism and the blood of Christ, we are saved. When we believe in Jesus correctly, are we the righteous or sinners? We are the righteous. Are we without sin even if we are incomplete beings? Yes, we are without sin. To believe in the baptism of Jesus and the judgment on the Cross is to have complete and proper faith.
 
 
TO BAPTIZE AND BE BAPTIZED IN THE NAME OF JESUS
  
What is the beginning of the heavenly gospel?
The baptism of Jesus
 
Because people are incomplete beings, ministers baptize those who believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood to make them confirm their faith. The born again make sure their being saved by being baptized in the same manner of the baptism of Jesus as the proof of their faith.
The minister first prays with his hands on the head of a born again person, asking for the blessing of God so that this person will worship Him well until the end of his days. Then he baptizes him in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We are baptized on the basis of our faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood. This baptism is to show that all sin was passed onto Jesus, that the baptized person died with Jesus and was resurrected with Him.
To be baptized is to proclaim one’s belief in the passing of sins onto Jesus through His baptism, in being judged for one’s sins alongside Jesus and in being resurrected with Him. It is to proclaim one’s faith before the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, Satan, and one’s brothers and sisters. It is to confess that one has been born again of water and the Spirit.
Those who believe in Jesus, knowing the true meaning of the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross, are saved from all the sins of the world. Therefore they are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our old things have passed away and we have been born again as people of faith. To make it sure in our hearts, we are baptized. We are baptized into Jesus by believing in the baptism of Jesus.
 
 
LIFE AFTER BEING BORN AGAIN OF THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS
 
What do the born again live for?
They live for the kingdom of God and His righteousness, preaching the gospel all over the world.
 
Life after being redeemed and born again must involve faith in the word of God. It should not be an emotional life in which one has to repent for daily sins every day. Rather, it has to be a faithful life in which we are assured every day that Jesus took away all our sins with His baptism.
All our sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized. He then lived for three years with this burden until He accepted the judgment for all our sins and was crucified.
Therefore we believers should have faith in the written word, not in mere emotions. If we fail to do so, we will only worry about our daily sins after we are redeemed and born again.
We have to discard the subjective viewpoint of sin and believe only in the gospel of the water and the blood. This is the life that the redeemed person should lead.
What did John the Baptist say about Jesus? He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He testified that Jesus took away the sins of today, tomorrow, and yesterday, all the way back to original sin.
Didn’t He take away all those sins? Were not all those sins passed onto Jesus? The sin of the world includes all our sins of the past, the present, and the future. We have to confirm the gospel of redemption through the baptism of Jesus.
Those who believe in the truth of the baptism of Jesus and His blood shall be saved. Whoever believes in the baptism of Jesus has no sin in their heart.
However, many people think they still have sin because they are not aware that all their sins were already passed onto Jesus through His baptism. They are deceived by Satan. Satan whispers to them through their carnal thoughts. “You sin every day. How can you be without sin?”
They only have to believe in God to be without sin. But Satan tricks them into thinking they are sinners because they still sin. No one is with sin if he believes in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross.
Because we live in this world as insufficient and weak beings, we can never say we become righteous through our works and deeds alone. But we can say with faith that we are saved by the truth of the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross. Once we understand that by believing in the baptism of Jesus and His blood, our hearts become sanctified, we know for sure that we have no sin.
“♬ I have been redeemed. You have been redeemed. We all have been redeemed ♬” It is such a joyous and happy feeling to live with the desire to preach the gospel to all and know that we are led by the Spirit.
Of course we believers sin every day but we have no sin. We have the baptism of Jesus and His blood in our hearts. Our hearts used to be filled with sin, but now that we believe in the baptism of Jesus, how can we remain sinful.
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” (Hebrews 10:16).
Our hearts are free of sin. Jesus made it possible for us to be redeemed completely with His baptism and His death on the Cross. Salvation from sin stems from belief in the word of God.
 
 
WHOEVER BELIEVES IN THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS CAN NEVER BECOME A SINNER AGAIN
 
Do we become sinners again when we sin?
No, we never become sinners again.
 
When we did not believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood, no matter how often we prayed for forgiveness, there was sin in our hearts. But when we came to believe in the true gospel, all our sins were washed away.
“Hey, how come you are so bright and cheerful these days?”
“You see, I don’t have sin in my heart anymore.”
“Really? Then I guess you can sin as much as you want now?”
“You know, man cannot help but sin. That’s what man is. But Jesus took away all sins with His baptism and accepted the judgment for them on the Cross. For this reason I now devote myself to serving the gospel in church. Romans chapter 6 says all of us should live like this. Since I no longer have sin in my heart, I want to do the righteous thing. We have to believe in the baptism of Jesus and in His blood on the Cross and preach the gospel throughout the world! When we believe in Jesus, our Master of redemption, we can never become sinners again. We have to believe in the eternal salvation of the baptism of Jesus and of His blood on the Cross. I am so full of gratitude!”
 
 

WHO RECEIVES THE SPIRIT?

 
What did John the Baptist testify about Jesus?
He testified that Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away all the sins of the world, namely, sins of the past, the present and the future, even original sin.
 
Whoever believes in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross receives salvation. How do we receive the Spirit? Acts 2:38-39 tells us the answer. “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’”
To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ means to believe in the baptism of Jesus and be redeemed. Then the Spirit shall be given as a gift from God.
To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ also means to become sanctified by believing in Christ’s baptism and blood. When we embrace this belief, we are redeemed and become righteous. Believers become white as snow through the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross.
“And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When we firmly believe that all our sins were passed onto Jesus through His baptism and that He was judged for them with His death on the Cross, our hearts are washed clean. Our new lives begin when we believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and become children of God.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). We should know the true meaning of the Lord’s judgment on the Cross. The truth is that Jesus blotted out all our sins with His baptism and His death on the Cross. Redemption is given to us when we believe the truth.
 
 

THE BAPTISM OF JESUS REDEEMS US

 
Who receives the Spirit?
He who is redeemed of all sin through belief in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross
 
The atonement for sin through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament represents the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament. The baptism of Jesus is the very core of all the prophecies of the Old Testament. The counterpart to the laying on of hands in the Old Testament can be found in the baptism of Jesus in the New Testament.
All the sins of the world were passed onto Jesus through His baptism just as the sins of Israel were passed onto the scapegoat through the laying on of hands.
Do we have to believe in the baptism of Jesus to be saved from all our sins? Yes! We do! We have to accept the truth of the fact Jesus took away all the sins of the world through His baptism. If we do not believe in the baptism of Jesus, our sins cannot be passed onto Him. We must believe in order to make our salvation complete. Otherwise, we cannot become righteous.
Jesus saved all the sinners of the world in the most fitting and righteous way with His baptism. It could not have been done in a more fitting way. Because the baptism of Jesus was the process by which all sins were passed onto Him, we have to believe in it to have our hearts permanently cleansed of sin.
We should also believe that the blood of Jesus was the judgment for all our sins. Thus, all who believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood on the Cross are saved from sin.
We have to believe in the baptism of Jesus in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven. This is the only way we can be delivered from all sin and escape just punishment.
The baptism of Jesus in the New Testament and the laying on of hands in the Old Testament are mirrors of each other. They are the connecting clasp and loop between the Old and New Testaments.
In the New Testament, John the Baptist came 6 months before Jesus. When Jesus was baptized, it was “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). The gospel begins at the time Jesus took away all the sins of the world through His baptism.
The ministry of salvation of humankind was carried out through a chain of events: the birth of Jesus, His baptism, His death on the Cross, His resurrection, and His ascension to Heaven. When we know and understand and believe in the process of salvation in this chain of events, we are saved from all our sins. The baptism of Jesus was the beginning of the gospel while the blood on the Cross was its completion.
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). We cannot omit any one of His righteous deeds ―His baptism, His blood on the Cross, His resurrection, His ascension, and His Second Coming― from the gospel of the Son of God.
Jesus came to this world in the flesh and washed away all the sins of humankind with His baptism. This was the beginning of the heavenly gospel. If even one of these were missing, the heavenly gospel would not be complete.
Therefore, if someone is to be born again, he has to believe in Christ’s baptism and His blood. These days, many people do not believe the truth of the baptism of Jesus and His blood. They think the baptism of Jesus was merely a ritual. This is a serious misconception. Anyone who believes in Jesus must also believe in His baptism and blood.
How can our sins be washed away simply by praying for forgiveness? All our sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized by John the Baptist. There was no other way for Him to take on the sins of humankind.
We have to be born again of water and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of Heaven. There can be no redemption without the water of baptism, the blood on the Cross, and the Spirit. Only someone who has been born again can see God, as Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:5. True salvation comes to us only when we believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood.
 
 

CAN WE BE SAVED WITHOUT THE BAPTISM OF JESUS?

 
How did Jesus become our Savior?
By taking on all our sins through His baptism
 
If we were to omit from the Lord’s public ministry the fact that Jesus came to this world and took away all our sins through His baptism, or overlook the holiness of Jesus, who was born to the Virgin Mary, or neglect to believe in the Cross of Jesus, Christianity would become merely a superstitious religion that leads believers to chant “forgive me, forgive me, forgive me” as Buddhists do in their temples.
To omit the baptism of Jesus would mean that our sins were not passed onto Him. Our faith would be worthless, making us no different from the debtor who claims that he paid off his debts in full when in fact he paid nothing at all. It would make us all liars. If a debtor said he had paid off all his debts when in fact he had done nothing of the sort, he would still be a debtor, in fact, also in his conscience.
Jesus washed believers clean with the water of His baptism and made them children of God. Jesus took away all the sins of the world through John the Baptist, so that all believers could be sanctified. When we know and believe this, our hearts become clean forever.
Thank God for His grace. Luke 2:14 says, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Our faith in the water and the blood of Jesus brings us complete salvation and makes us children of God. The baptism of Jesus and His blood saved us and whoever believes in these two things is saved.
Nothing can be omitted from His works. Some only believe in the blood, saying the apostle Paul boasted of nothing but the Cross. But the baptism of Jesus was included in His Cross.
We can see in Romans chapter 6 that Paul was baptized into Christ and died with Christ. And also in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
And in Galatians 3:27-29, “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.”
To be baptized into Christ means to believe in all the things He did in this world, His baptism and His blood on the Cross. To believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood is to believe in the truth that Jesus already blotted out all our sins nearly 2000 years ago. There is no other way that brings us salvation.
 
 
WE ARE SAVED BY GOD WHEN WE BELIEVE IN THE BAPTISM OF JESUS AND HIS BLOOD ON THE CROSS
 
Can our sins be washed away just by praying for forgiveness?
No. Forgiveness of sin is possible only through our belief that all sins were passed onto Jesus when He was baptized by John the Baptist.
 
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).
“For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). Our faith leads us to be baptized into Christ, to put on Christ, and to become children of God. When Jesus came to this world and was baptized, all our sins and the sins of the world were passed onto Him.
Our faith has led us to be one with Christ. We died when He died. We were resurrected when He was resurrected. Now because we believe in the baptism of Jesus, His blood, and His resurrection, His ascension, and His advent, we can enter the kingdom of Heaven and live forever.
When people believe in the blood of Jesus alone, they cannot but suffer from the sin that remains in their hearts. Why? Because they neither know nor accept the meaning of the baptism of Jesus, which took away all their sins and cleansed their sinful hearts, making them as white as snow for all eternity.
Do you believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood that saves you from all your sins? Please believe in this unalterable truth. Without belief in the baptism of Jesus, your faith is in vain. Without faith in the baptism of Jesus, you cannot be redeemed of your sins; you are engaged in unrequited love.
Those who only believe in the Cross say, “Jesus is my Lord, my Savior, who died on the Cross for me. He rose again from the dead and testified to His resurrection for 40 days before ascending to Heaven and now sits at the right hand of God. I believe that He will come a second time to judge us and I pray that Jesus will change me completely so I can meet Him. Oh, my beloved Jesus, my Lord.”
They ask for the forgiveness of their sins and hope to be without sin, but there is sin in their hearts. “I believe in Jesus but I have sin in my heart. I love Jesus but I have sin in my heart. I cannot say, ‘Please come to me, my bridegroom’ because I have sin and I cannot be sure of my salvation. So I hope Jesus will come when I am well prepared and only after I pray harder and repent harder. I love Jesus with all my heart but cannot dare to face Him because of the sins in my heart.”
If Jesus were to ask such people, “Why do you think you are not complete?”
They would answer, “Lord, I know I am not righteous because I sin every day. So please call me when you call the sinners.”
They do not know that God, the Creator and the Judge, will neither accept sinners nor make them His children.
The Bridegroom came and solved all the problems of sin for the bride, but because the bride was not aware of this fact, she was tormented. When we think we are sinners because we have sinned with the flesh, we do not have faith in God. When we neither know nor understand the truth of the word of God, the sin in our hearts keeps multiplying.
 
Why do some people suffer from the sin that remains in their hearts?
Because they neither know nor accept into their hearts the meaning of the baptism of Jesus, which took away all their sins.
 
The Bridegroom took away the sins of the world. Where? At the Jordan when He was baptized. Those who do not believe this are still sinners. They remain defiled brides.
The Groom asks the bride, “How can you love Me when you are not My bride? Before you call Me your Bridegroom, all your sins must be washed away.”
Can we be redeemed without the baptism of Jesus? No! We are created in the image of God, so we seek justice in our hearts, and our consciences try to be just, also. But it is impossible for us to think we are sinless if our hearts have not been cleansed. Only when we accept and believe in the baptism of Jesus can we truly say that we have no sin and we are righteous.
Our consciences can never become sanctified if we consider ourselves to be without sin when in reality we have sin in our hearts. Nor can God accept us under these circumstances. God never lies.
God told Moses to take a census of the Israelites to count them and pay Him a ransom for their lives. The rich were not to give more than a half shekel and the poor were not to give less. Everyone had to pay a ransom.
Therefore, how can someone become sanctified if he does not believe in Jesus who paid him a ransom for his life? Such a person continues to have sin in his heart.
When we believe only in the blood of Jesus, we have sin in our hearts and have to confess that we are sinners. But when we believe in the gospel of His baptism and the Cross together, we can truly state that we have no sin. Salvation and eternal life are ours.
 
 

THE BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE SPIRIT

  
What kind of sin condemns man to hell?
Sin against the Spirit, in other words, not to believe in the baptism of Jesus
 
Romans 1:17 says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” The righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. Jesus Christ came to this world and washed away all our sins with His baptism and His death on the Cross. The baptism of Jesus and His blood is the power of the gospel. Jesus washed away our sins once and for all.
To believe means salvation and not to believe means eternal hell. Our Father in Heaven sent His only begotten Son Jesus to this world and had Him baptized for the atonement of our sins. Thus, he who believes in Him can be cleansed of all his transgressions.
The only sin remaining in this world is the sin of not believing in His baptism and blood. Not believing is blasphemy against the Spirit and a sin that shall be judged by God, condemning the non-believer to hell. It is the gravest sin of all. Any of you who commits this sin must repent and be redeemed by believing in the baptism of Jesus. If not, you will be ruined forever.
Are you saved with the testimony of redemption through His baptism and blood? Have you received the testimony of John as it is written in John 1:29, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Do you believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood as it is written in Hebrews 10:18, “Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.”
God certifies those who believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood in their hearts. God makes them His children. Those who believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood are redeemed through the righteous love of Jesus.
Whoever God sent speaks the words of God, but those who are of the earth, who have not been sent by God, preach in accordance with their own thoughts. There are many on this earth who preach the word of God, and those who have been sent by God speak of the baptism of Jesus and His blood.
But those who preach their own words are only expressing their own thoughts. They say, “We are redeemed of original sin, but each has to repent his daily sins.” They say we have to become sanctified gradually.
But can a person be sanctified on his own? Can we become sanctified on the strength of our own merits and through our own efforts? Are we sanctified because God washed away all our sins, or because we tried to achieve redemption on our own?
True faith is what sanctifies us. Can we make coal white by washing it a thousand times? Can we make black skin white with lye? No amount of soap or lye can wash away our sins, and our own righteousness is like a dirty rag. Do we become righteous by believing in the baptism of Jesus and His blood or by believing only in the blood on the Cross?
True faith comes out of the water of Jesus’ baptism and the blood on the Cross. Salvation does not come as a result of our own efforts. Only our faith in the baptism of Jesus and His blood frees us from sin and makes us righteous.
The Father has given all people into His Son’s hands, and those who believe in Him shall have everlasting life. To believe in the Son means to believe in redemption through His baptism and blood. Those who believe shall have everlasting life as a child of God. Those who are saved live on forever at the right hand of God.
Faith in the baptism of Jesus and His oneness with God is also faith in the Spirit. The word of truth allows us to be born again. We are saved by believing in the baptism of Jesus and His blood.
Have faith. To believe in the baptism of Jesus and His blood is to earn redemption. Have faith in the true gospel and obtain the forgiveness of sin.
 
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RETURN TO THE GOSPEL OF THE WATER AND THE SPIRIT