Doctrinal Arguments

Posted on by korgrocker

“Judge for yourselves. Is it right for a woman to pray to God in public without covering her head? Isn’t it obvious that it’s disgraceful for a man to have long hair? And isn’t long hair a woman’s pride and joy? For it has been given to her as a covering. But if anyone wants to argue about this, I simply say that we have no other custom than this, and neither do God’s other churches.”
1 Corinthians 11:13-16 NLT

Paul writes his final words about the head covering debate, pre-empting an argument and further discussion about the right and wrongs of such an instruction. Why did Paul not just provide written instructions, commandments perhaps, instead of the previous eleven verses in 1 Corinthians 11? Some people seem to need dogmatic and clear guidance in their Christian lives because anything else just confuses them. But instead Paul has been round the houses providing the reasons for why men should not wear a hat when they pray, and women should cover their heads to show that they are under a man’s authority. 

In what we refer to as a non-conformist church, few restrictions are considered “doctrinal” but the Anglican and Catholic Churches have many, and over the years people have tended to get very upset if they are violated. Taking the Anglican Church as an example, doctrinal arguments involve differing views on topics like the ordination of LGBTQ+ clergy, the nature of sacraments, and the authority of Scripture versus tradition. These debates are often centred around a tension between the emphasis on tradition and reason, versus the Scriptures and the need for contextual interpretation. Contemporary disputes include the role of same-sex relationships, the authority of bishops, female roles, and the relationship between different parts of the Anglican Communion. Other arguments emerge over customs such as baptism. The Scriptures are clear that a believer’s baptism is by full immersion in water, supported by verses such as Matthew 28:19, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. How baptism is carried out can be found in Mark 1:9-10, “One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptised him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove”. However, the Anglicans will sprinkle a few drops of “holy” water over a baby’s head, something not supported in the Bible. I can remember my sister being puzzled when I informed her that I was getting baptised by full immersion in the Pentecostal church where I came to know Jesus, because she said that I had already been baptised when I was an infant, showing her ignorance of what the Scriptures say. In the past, when I have challenged the reason for such customs, the main response has been “We have always done it that way”, with no reference to why and supporting Scriptures.

Paul was perhaps correct in his teaching about head coverings, because in the process he laid down theology that made sense. A wise pastor will from time to time teach the church members about theology and the beliefs of the church denomination or movement of which they belong, reviewing such customs as the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) by referring to the verses that support them. In the end, doctrines have to be supported by what is written in the Bible, but that still leaves a few customs that are not, and we must review why we do them. There is no place for following a ritual in our worship of God. But we must remember that what matters to God is not adherence to religious laws, customs and doctrines. Pharisees do that. It is what is in a person’s heart that really matters.

Dear Lord Jesus. You went to Calvary to set people free from their sins. That freedom provides us with the opportunity to worship You in a way that is heart-felt and real, giving You all the glory and all the praise. We bow before You in worship today, respecting Your place as God over all. Amen.

Ancestral Mistakes

Posted on by korgrocker

“I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptised as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that travelled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NLT

We all have ancestors, and genealogists try their hardest to source a person’s origins, even analysing DNA to determine where a person came from. Occasionally, a set of bones emerges from the ground or another burial site, and the owner of the remains is tested for DNA, and even their facial features are reconstructed. Their age and manner of death are worked out, and we end up marvelling about what has been found. But none of that determines the state of the person’s soul, something that will continue to be a mystery. Most people can only look back over two or three generations before their ancestors become lost in time. But one thing can be guaranteed, and that is their choices in life would have determined their ultimate home. Ever since Jesus walked this planet, the importance of making the right decision has been apparent. However, for those of our ancestors who never heard about Jesus, there is no escape clause, because we are all made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). This means that people will instinctively know right from wrong. Paul wrote, “They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right” (Romans 2:15). Paul also wrote, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:20). See also Acts 17:30. Of course, we worship a righteous God who will judge fairly. 

Paul reminded the Corinthians that the Israelite slaves followed Moses out of Egypt, and were effectively “baptised” as they passed through the Red Sea on dry land, and were then led through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Paul used the analogy of the cloud and the sea as baptismal indicators, but regardless of that, most of the Israelites did not please God. He was warning the Corinthians that just ticking all the liturgical boxes did not mean that they were then behaving as Christians should. Baptism is all about making a public declaration of faith, a faith that displays the belief that when a person is baptised, their “old man” is left in the baptismal tank, and their “new man” rises up to start their journey as a born-again believer. However, just because a person is baptised does not mean that God will always then be pleased with them. Their subsequent behaviour could be sufficient to make Him displeased, resulting in some form of discipline, because God loves them and wants what is best for them. 

The message to us pilgrims is the same. When were we baptised? Are we now growing in the faith day by day, reading our Bibles, praying to our Heavenly Father, witnessing to our friends and families, and anyone else who stops to listen? Are we dealing with sin in our lives through confession and repentance? The Christian walk of faith is not one of grumbling and sin, as displayed by those ancestors long ago in the wilderness. The Israelites had remarkable indicators, miracles performed before their eyes every day, but they still failed to walk in the shadow of God’s provision. As a consequence, most of them failed to enter the promised land that God had prepared for them. The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land should only have taken a few weeks at the most, but our patient God allowed them to wander around the wilderness for four decades, due to their disobedience and lack of faith. 

Of course, we pilgrims would claim that had we been with them at the time, then we would have behaved differently, but this would not necessarily be the case. Are we disobedient sometimes? How is our faith in challenging times? Do we grumble too much when things don’t go our way? Of course, we are guilty of such things, but thanks be to God, He forgives all those who come to Him in repentance. He dusts us off when we fall and stands us back on our feet. That’s what we call God’s grace. Through Jesus, we have a Friend and Saviour who, by His Spirit, is with us on our journey through life. And so we are so grateful. We may not have a pillar of fire leading us, but we do have God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. 

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your grace and mercy, always there, packaged with Your love. We worship You today. Amen.

Baptism

Posted on by korgrocker

“For some members of Chloe’s household have told me about your quarrels, my dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.” Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not!”
1 Corinthians 1:11-13 NLT

After the introductions, the first topic in Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church was about divisions and a lack of unity, which were leading to quarrelling and the factional support for certain church leaders. But Paul brought them back on track, reminding them of their roots, back to their baptisms. I am assuming of course that all us pilgrims have been baptised at some time, but if anyone hasn’t then it is an essential requirement for believers everywhere. Baptism isn’t an option because it is an outward declaration of the spiritual conversion that has happened inside of a new believer. It usually takes place in front of witnesses who observe the public proclamation of a person’s faith. In some denominations, baptism has become a “Christening”, where an infant, a new baby, is dedicated to God through a simple service involving the wetting of the baby’s head. At this time the parents and “godparents” make promises to raise the child in the Christian faith, but a bit later, when the child has grown up a bit, there is an opportunity for them to “confirm” the vows made over them in a ceremony that involves a public affirmation of the original promises. The Biblical act of baptism involves full immersion in water, and that is the practice adopted for adults in more fundamental Bible-believing denominations and movements. But however we think of baptism, it is in the end a public declaration of our pilgrim faith. 

Baptism hasn’t just been a Christian requirement. There are examples of ceremonial cleansing in the Old Testament, such as in Leviticus 16:4, and referring to the requirement for a priest’s (in this case Aaron) spiritual cleanliness, “He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on“. This was a practice common in Judaism. But we will be more familiar with passages in the Bible such as Luke 3:3 and the preaching of the man we refer to as John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin. “Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven”. It seems a bit of a leap to go from a priestly ceremonial cleansing to a general public demonstration of repentance, but God knew what He was doing. His plan, in the build up to Jesus’s entry into this world, involved the preparation of people’s hearts and expectations, and John baptising people brought awareness of sin and introduced the public act of repentance from sins. Isaiah prophesised about John, as we read in Luke 3:4, “Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!” And John didn’t pull any punches in His preaching, “When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones” (Luke 3:7-8). I wonder how John the Baptist would get on today, preaching his message in the UK, but in those days “Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah” (Luke 3:15). The first named person baptised was Jesus, as we read in Luke 3:21-22, “One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy””. 

But back to the Corinthians. Paul challenged them about their baptism experiences. In whose name were they baptised? There is only one Person in whose name Christians are baptised. The process involves submerging a person in water with the declaration “I baptise you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit”. There is something significant about this process because it is more than a public act demanded of believers. It signifies that, in the process of full immersion, we are baptised into Jesus’ death and then raised to walk in newness of life with Him. Romans 6:3-4, “Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives“. Romans 6 provides more details. “Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him” (Romans 6:5-9). 

Believers everywhere are confident about receiving forgiveness for all their sins, because, after all, this is what Jesus accomplished at Calvary. We are so grateful for God’s plan and Jesus’ willingness to implement it. But sometimes we miss the next step, being “crucified with Christ”. When we receive forgiveness for our sins, we in return receive Jesus’ righteousness so that we can blamelessly come into God’s presence. We are very grateful for our forgiveness, but it’s living “crucified with Christ” and in accordance with His righteousness that is more difficult. Identifying in baptism with Christ’s death and resurrection is a fundamental part of a believer’s walk with God, and it results in a changed people. 

But we pilgrims know this, I’m sure. And as we go about our daily business, people around us will know that we are a people who know Jesus. We are transformed and we shine like beacons of God’s glory in a world full of the darkness of sin. And being children of God, becoming day by day more like Jesus, we spend more and more time with Him. We have not been baptised into anything or anyone else, and we must uphold the purity and holiness resulting from being baptised in God’s triune name. And as we just pause and think, reflecting on all that Jesus has done for us, we experience again the wonder of our baptisms, that feeling inside confirmed by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We love You Lord! We worship and adore You, today and forever. 

Father God, where do we start in our gratitude? But there again where do we stop? We never stop thanking You and day by day we pray that we will love You more dearly and clearly. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

People Kept Coming

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem and went into the Judean countryside. Jesus spent some time with them there, baptizing people. At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism.”
John 3:22-23 NLT

Jesus was baptising. John the Baptist was baptising, and the people kept coming for baptism. If that was happening today, then we would draw the conclusion that revival had broken out. The people of that day were perhaps conscious that the constant rituals of animal sacrifices for sins did not ease their guilty consciences. They still felt the weight of their sins and felt they had to do something about it. To them the public act of baptism was a declaration that they had repented of their sins and the guilt was washed away into the waters of the Jordan river. 

If there is anything needed today it is a new wave of the Holy Spirit, bringing a new awakening and revival in our churches. I had the privilege of being in a church in the 1990’s at the same time as the revival in Toronto, and the impact of that visitation of God spilled over into my church. Those were exciting times. The congregation swelled from two hundred or so to close on a thousand. There were as many chairs put out as possible within the space available, and still people kept coming. Standing around the walls, sitting on the floor. The fire doors were opened and groups gathered around outside. The 6pm service kept going until 1 or 2am the next morning, but the passage of time didn’t seem to matter. But most importantly, God visited His people. The Holy Spirit did some amazing things with miracles of healing and transformed lives. But as I look around our world today, conditions are ripe for another move of God. We keep praying.

We pilgrims are central to God’s purposes here on earth. We are the salt and light that allows God to touch the lives of the otherwise untouchable. We pray and do practical things for our friends, families and neighbours. We pray for them and perhaps even dare to see a revival again. 

O Lord. We pray, “may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”. Make it happen, Lord, we pray. Amen. 

The Lamb of God

Posted on by korgrocker

”The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ I did not recognise him as the Messiah, but I have been baptising with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”“
John 1:29-31 NLT

The sacrifice of lambs was an important part of Jewish religious life. We can perhaps remember the story in Exodus of the Passover, where a lamb was killed and its blood wiped over the door posts of the Israelites’ dwellings. The application of blood indicated to the angel of death that he was to “pass over” all those living inside. Also, lambs were offered as sacrifices in the Temple, morning and evening, as part of the offerings for the sins of the people. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see that the Jewish system of offerings all pointed to the coming Messiah, and the people hearing John’s message would have been familiar with the Passover celebrations and the whole purpose of the sacrificial lambs. The prophecy in Isaiah 53:6-7 clearly made the connection between the sacrifice for sin and the role in that played by the Messiah. “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Today we pilgrims don’t depend on the slaughter of animals for the forgiveness of our sins. The “Lamb of God”, Jesus Himself, became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. It is only through Him that we can receive redemption. Isaiah wrote, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own“. Paul wrote, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). One of the constants we meet in life is sin, a spiritual disease endemic in every human being. But through Jesus we can be released from the consequences of that sin, and be able to stand before God clothed in the righteousness of the Messiah. So today, and every day, we turn to the “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”.  There is no other way into God’s presence. Jesus made a profound statement, eternal in its reach and consequences. It is timeless and irrefutable. He said in John 14:6, “ …I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me“. We pilgrims burrow our way into the implications of this verse, as we journey towards our goal. The gateway to the narrow path that leads to eternal life starts at the Cross of God’s Lamb, Jesus.

Dear Father God. Who ever heard of a god who became a human being! But Jesus did and we are eternally grateful. Amen.

The Baptismal Flood (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
1 Peter 3:19-21 NLT

From a cursory glance at 1 Peter 3:21, we might misconstrue what Peter meant when he wrote, “that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you”. Of course he did not mean that people must be baptised to be saved. That would contradict many other Scriptures, for example the salvation of Cornelius and his family. In Acts 10 we can read the story of their salvation, which came as Peter preached, followed by the baptism in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the Gentile family speaking in tongues. Lastly they were baptised.

Peter wrote that the ritual of baptising someone in water will only wash away dirt. He was of course describing full immersion baptism – Scripture does not describe a process of sprinkling a few drops of water on a baby’s head and calling it “baptism”. Peter then went on to write that the act of baptism is “a response to God from a clean conscience”. So what he was saying was that after a person repents of his or her sins and is saved, the act of baptism is a response to God.

As far as Noah and his family were concerned, they escaped the flood through their faith in God. Peter painted a picture demonstrating their salvation from drowning, meaning they were effectively “baptised”. And he could see forward to the day when Jesus was resurrected following his death. 1 Peter 3:21 is one of those verses that require a bit of meditative thought to extract what the meaning really is.

We pilgrims, believing followers of Jesus, will most likely have been baptised in water. The word “baptise” in the Bible originally meant the full immersion of a person, and in the church today the symbolic act of baptism is a public declaration of the washing away of sins, and the alignment of the person with the death (going down into the water) and resurrection (the subsequent rising up out of the water) of Jesus. In Acts 2:38 we read, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. David Pawson calls these four events the normal Christian birth. He uses the acrostic RBBR – Repent, Believe, Be Baptised and Receive the Holy Spirit. After Peter’s Acts 2 sermon, we read, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all” (Acts 2:41). That must have been an amazing baptismal service!

God flooded the earth to a depth of 22 feet above the highest mountain peaks (Genesis 7:20) and all those who failed to believe in Him perished by drowning. But Noah and his family were saved through their faith in God, being baptised into a new life on a very different world. We pilgrims have experienced the symbolic repeat of this event, and through our faith in God we too have become citizens of a very different world, the Kingdom of God. Noah was joined by his family. We too need to ensure that our families join us in God’s wonderful Kingdom, which extends throughout our remaining lives on Planet Earth and onwards into an eternity with Him.

Dear God. Thank You for our salvation. Amen.

Personal Account

Posted on by korgrocker

“So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’” Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.”
Romans 14:10-13 NLT

This is a scary thought. Paul wrote, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God”.  Will that mean that over our lifetimes God is keeping a balance sheet of all the good we have done, and comparing it with all the lies and wickedness, and if the total at the bottom comes out with a plus sign, we will be ok? Sorry, but that is not how it will work. Just one negative entry will be enough to condemn us to an eternal life of misery. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37, “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you”. We read about this judgement day in Revelation 20, 11-15, “And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire”. So on this judgement day, there will be lots of books. Each person will have his own volume, or volumes, detailing every act they had done in their life. Jesus said that every deed includes every idle word spoken, and He also gave a few more details of deeds in the parable of the Sheep and the Goats, that we can read in Matthew 25, which ends, “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

All these Scriptures are enough to make us depressed because the implication is that no-one will be good enough to enter God’s presence. There is no way that we humans can behave in a way that appears righteous to God. But there is a ray of light embedded in these Scriptures. “And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire”. There is a Book that records the names of everyone who is righteous in God’s sight. And the challenge of how we get our names there depends on our individual choice and God’s grace.

First of all we have to say that most people don’t want to be bothered with such a thought, putting it all down to myths or fanciful feelings. After all, they say, no-one has returned to validate these verses in the Bible. Our scientists cannot empirically measure the reality of such a Book, so it can’t be real they say. You won’t find a copy in the local reference library either. Other people have decided that they don’t want to go to Heaven anyway, their thoughts based on mistaken views of God and what Heaven will be like. After all, they think what is the point of spending their time in worshipping a God who they don’t know, and who they have probably wrongly blamed for much of the evil that we can see in the world around us. Not deliberate thoughts logically applied, probably, but that is their intent.

On the first day of Pentecost, Peter preached a powerful sermon and we read this in Acts 2:37, “Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter’s timeless and profound answer was, ” … Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). If anyone wants to ensure that their names are written in God’s Book of Life, then this is where they must start. They must “repent of [their] sins and turn to God“. By the way, that must have been some day, because we read in Acts 2:41, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptised and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all“. Modern evangelicals make an altar call, inviting people to “give their hearts to Jesus”. That is in there of course, but, sadly, they often omit the first step – repentance of sins.

We pilgrims follow Jesus because only He is the Son of God. We echo Peter’s words, recorded in John 6:68, “Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life“. Only by following and obeying Jesus will we ensure our future in Heaven. And when we get to stand before God, He will proclaim us “Not Guilty”, because when He sees us He sees Jesus, pure and sinless.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Jesus and all that he did for us. Amen.

Joined To Christ

Posted on by korgrocker

“Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Romans 6:3-4 NLT

Paul introduces what must have sounded a bit strange to his Roman readers. He said that they “were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism”. What is that all about? Perhaps we should pause in our journey through this Epistle, and consider what baptism really means. In a Christian sense, the word “baptism” means immersion in water. It doesn’t mean sprinkling a few drops of water on a baby’s head. But liturgies over the years have perhaps tried to make baptism more convenient and socially acceptable. After all it is not particularly easy to have to change clothes and get into a tank of water, or a river, or a swimming pool, and undergo a very public display of being immersed in water.

We read in Mark that John, nicknamed “John the Baptist”, associated repentance from sins with the act of baptism. “All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John. And when they confessed their sins, he baptised them in the Jordan River” (Mark 1:5). And Jesus Himself, even though he was the sinless Son of God, also submitted to the process. We read in Matthew 3:13-15, “Then Jesus went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptised by John. But John tried to talk him out of it. “I am the one who needs to be baptised by you,” he said, “so why are you coming to me?” But Jesus said, “It should be done, for we must carry out all that God requires.” So John agreed to baptise him”.

Why should Christians be baptised? The main reason is that it is a very visible and public expression of a person’s faith and belief in Christ. So it can only really take place when the person is old enough to know what they are doing and what it means spiritually and practically. The pastor and theologian, David Pawson, who sadly died last year, says that baptism is one of four essential steps in becoming a Christian. The four steps are,
Repentance of sins towards God.
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Being Baptised in Water.
Receiving the Holy Spirit.
David’s book “The Normal Christian Birth” is well worth a read.

Paul wrote in Romans 6:3, ”For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism”. The symbology is that we identify with Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and that through the act of baptism, they are washed away and remain in the water, as we emerge a new person “… created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:24). Our “old man” has died. Let’s pray that he or she stays that way!

Has anyone reading this today, someone believing in the saving and redeeming grace of Jesus, and has not been baptised? Pray about it. As Jesus said, “we must carry out all that God requires“. And find a church or fellowship that will help you.

Dear God. We want to be obedient to Your Word. Please speak to us about baptism, leading and guiding us in the right paths. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Four One’s

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“There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”
Ephesians‬ ‭4:5-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This section of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians continues the theme of unity. And in these two verses he presents a fundamental view of God. Paul sets out the bottom line. The bedrock of our faith. A picture of God that is total and complete in every way. I see a picture before me today of an onion, and Paul is peeling away the layers, exposing truths that are seismic and fundamental to our beliefs. We have to peel away each layer to be able to appreciate the next. This view of God is so profound and true that if we cannot accept in turn each of Paul’s statements, then there is no point in continuing. This is a creed with five truths that underpins all other creeds. 

So for the first layer, Paul says there is “one Lord“. Believe it or not, in the world today there are many “lords”. And all except one are the wrong lord. We can make a loved one “lord” of our lives. Or even the devil. We have a privileged class in the UK of “lords”. And a part of our government here in the UK is the “House of Lords”. Many people make a “lord” out of their hobbies, or jobs. But Paul said there is only one Lord who really matters and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. If we hold a view that Jesus was anything other than the Son of God, a Member of the Holy Trinity, both human and divine, then there is no point in proceeding to the next layer of Paul’s “onion”.

The next layer refers to “one faith“. A sad phenomenon in some established churches today is the willingness to have “multi-faith” services. The bizarre spectacle of a Rabbi, Imam, Priest, Buddhist monk,  and a Clergyman holding joint prayers is directly at conflict with the God-truth of there being “one faith”. But is this what Paul was bothered about? No. I believe Paul was pointing out that true faith was not only believing that Jesus was, and is, the Son of God, that He died for our sins and that He sent the Holy Spirit to be His representative here on Planet Earth, but Paul was also pointing out that the faith we have extends to an unshakeable belief and assurance that God knows what is best for us, and regardless of our circumstances we will continue to have faith in Him. For an example, Abraham showed true faith when he placed his son on the altar as a sacrifice to God. True faith involves obedience to God regardless of the circumstances.

We continue to the next layer by considering what “one baptism” means. The New Testament mentions two types of baptism – baptism in water (Acts 8:36-39) and baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:16). The fact that Paul mentions baptism here is therefore significant. It is an essential, non-negotiable, part of what being a Christian is all about. In Acts 2:38 we read, “Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit“.

The next layer of our onion is the all-encompassing declaration of who God is. There is only “one God“. I can remember a Muslim man I worked with telling me, some years ago, that we both worshipped the same God. But the God of the Christians, Paul’s God, our God, is different to Allah, the Muslim God. very different. Sadly, even amongst Christians there are different views of who God is. Some Christian denominations worship a God that is different to the One described in His Book, the Bible. But one thing is very clear. God is a God of love and grace. He is infinitely patient and kind. “The LORD is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.” (Psalm 145:8).

Finally, Paul continues with the statement that God is “Father of all“. God is our Heavenly Father. We are His children. And as with any family, children can be naughty and rebellious. Well, that is how we started off in our natural lives. The religious jargon is that such behaviour is “sin”. Sadly, most people deny that they have a Heavenly Father. But saying we don’t have a Heavenly Father is the same as saying we don’t have a natural father. One day everyone will stand before God to give an account of their lives – most people will get a nasty shock if they continue to deny He exists! But it is so sad for those who don’t believe in God’s Fatherhood. He is the perfect Father. Loving. Fair. Helpful. A Guide when we need Him. Gracious. Merciful. God’s parental attributes could fill a book – well they do – His Book, the Bible. And the more we read it, the more we find out about Him. Imagine what it would be like to be in a situation where we never knew our natural father. But he left us a book about his life. I can guarantee we would read, and re-read the book he left us, to try and find out as much as we could about him. So it is with our Heavenly Father. He left us a book all about Him. And just for good measure, He threw in a shedload of information about our elder Brother, Jesus. Oh – and don’t forget the Holy Spirit – there’s a lot about Him in there as well. Three for the price of one?

The rest of these verses describe God as being, “over all, in all, and living through all.” Paul included these words just to make sure that what he had been saying was total. Complete. Nothing missed out. The word “one” is mentioned four times in these verses. Someone once said that if God said something once, we should take note. If He said it three times then we had better sit up and do something about it. Well, here is Paul writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saying something four times. Something important, don’t you think?