September 18, 2018

Jesus Revealed in Doctrine                        PREPARATION FOR BAPTISM
 
        And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.  Acts 22:16.
 
    There are three prerequisites for baptism.  First of all, a person must understand.  Matthew 28:19, 20, says, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."  Notice what happens first--teaching preceded baptism.  So when a person is baptized, he is admitting publicly that he has been taught by God, taught by the Holy Spirit, and by His messengers, and that he understands.
 
    There have been young people who have been bribed and persuaded by their parents or someone else to be baptized, who were taught nothing before baptism except that their parents wanted them to do it.  They may have been given a few facts concerning doctrines, but they have not been taught of God.  They have no relationship or fellowship with Him.
 
    Mark 16:16 gives a second prerequisite.  "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."  Don't miss the sequence--believing comes before baptism.  Trust in God is what is needed.  Eternal destiny is not decided primarily by baptism, for there are exceptions to the rule.  The thing that brings damnation is not the absence of baptism but the absence of belief or trust in God. 
 
    The third prerequisite is found in Acts 2:38.  Here on the day of Pentecost, Peter is preaching.  He says, "Repent."  Why did he say that?  Because in the middle of his presentation the congregation interrupted him and asked, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"  They had been convicted.  And Peter's response was, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."  So the third prerequisite is to repent.  Repentance is sorrow for sin, and turning away from it.  But there's only one way that can happen.  It is as we see what our sin has done to Jesus, and are sorry for hurting our best Friend, that we are able to be genuinely repentant.
 
    Jesus offers to us today the opportunity of coming to Him, to learn of Him, and to trust in Him.  He offers us the gift of repentance.  And as we respond to Him, He then invites us to follow the example He set, and be baptized for the remission of sins.