Posts
by: Josh Robinson
On the last Monday in May, this nation celebrates Memorial Day. It is a national holiday that is dedicated to the fallen soldiers who have gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country, so that we might live in freedom. From the limited amount of research that I have been able to do, over 1.5 million Americans have died in service to their country. I would like to express my gratitude and respect to all those who gave their lives, have served, or are serving in the Armed Forces. THANK YOU! On this Memorial Day, as we stop to pay our respects to those who have given their lives for our freedoms, let us remember other who have died for a the greatest cause of all.
During this national holiday, let us take a moment to observe a SPIRITUAL MEMORIAL DAY. As noted above, there have been over 1.5 million Americans who have died for their country. In contrast, there have been over 70 million “CHRISTIANS” who have died for their beliefs. (World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) According to the source mentioned, this number includes anyone who died prematurely, by human aggression for expressing their beliefs. These individuals (for the most part) died so that we can continue to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24) These martyrs began in the first century and continue to this day. Many sources are available for further study in this area, one of the best being, Fox’s Book of Martyrs. It is accepted that all of the apostles, save John, were put to death for their beliefs, and untold Christians were murdered and exterminated during the persecutions of the 1st century. I would, however, like to look to the New Testament for examples of those who gave their life for the faith we now possess.
Jesus Christ died for our faith (to establish our faith!)
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8) For further study please read the following chapters: Matthew 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, and John 18-20.
Stephen died for his faith in the Lord,
Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.…But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him…. he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:54-60)
Anitpas died for his faith in Christ.
And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: 'The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. (Rev 2:12-13)
As we remember the fallen heroes of this nation during Memorial Day, let us also remember the fallen heroes of our faith. Because of the unwavering faith that these martyrs demonstrated, and of God’s unfathomable grace, mercy, longsuffering, and providence, we can worship proudly.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Let's Take Our Boots Off!
A while back, we hosted the monthly preacher’s meeting here at Arnold. I was pleased to see so many of the area preachers gather together to teach, learn, and have fellowship together. The topics that were selected were very timely and included “Encouraging the Brethren”, “Encouraging the Preacher”, and “Evangelism.” During the course of these lessons, two main points came out. That we have to always preach the whole council of God, and preach that truth in love! On particular passage come to mind in reference to these ideas, Paul states in II Tim 4:2-5
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Paul is encouraging Timothy to preach the whole council of God, in love, when people want to hear, and also when they don’t. Because the time will come, when people won’t want to hear the truth, but will need it even more. Paul is encouraging Timothy to endure afflictions, because as a preacher he was going to have to step on toes. That comes with the territory of “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. And the time comes when we all need to have our toes stepped on a little bit. In regards to this, someone pointed out that too many people go into services with Steel Toe Boots on. I would say to everyone with this mindset, LET’S TAKE OUR BOOTS OFF!!!
To grow and mature as Christians, we sometimes have to allow ourselves to be reproved and rebuked. We can’t develop a hardened heart, from leaving our boots on, sometimes we have to be willing to take them off and be reminded that we still have room to grow as Christians. This is the way the Lord intended. Notice Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” These people were “pricked in their heart.” It is hard to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another… (Col 3:16) without first taking off your boots. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, as the master was humbled then we may grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, as all good children should.
When we go into church, ready to defend our lifestyles and choices from whatever is taught in class, and delivered from the pulpit, we not only have on steel toe boots, but also a hardened heart. Brethren, let us take off our boots, so that the Word of God may prick our hearts, and we may grow thereby.
--Josh Robinson
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Paul is encouraging Timothy to preach the whole council of God, in love, when people want to hear, and also when they don’t. Because the time will come, when people won’t want to hear the truth, but will need it even more. Paul is encouraging Timothy to endure afflictions, because as a preacher he was going to have to step on toes. That comes with the territory of “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. And the time comes when we all need to have our toes stepped on a little bit. In regards to this, someone pointed out that too many people go into services with Steel Toe Boots on. I would say to everyone with this mindset, LET’S TAKE OUR BOOTS OFF!!!
To grow and mature as Christians, we sometimes have to allow ourselves to be reproved and rebuked. We can’t develop a hardened heart, from leaving our boots on, sometimes we have to be willing to take them off and be reminded that we still have room to grow as Christians. This is the way the Lord intended. Notice Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” These people were “pricked in their heart.” It is hard to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another… (Col 3:16) without first taking off your boots. If we allow ourselves to be humbled, as the master was humbled then we may grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, as all good children should.
When we go into church, ready to defend our lifestyles and choices from whatever is taught in class, and delivered from the pulpit, we not only have on steel toe boots, but also a hardened heart. Brethren, let us take off our boots, so that the Word of God may prick our hearts, and we may grow thereby.
--Josh Robinson
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
It has been often said that a parable is an earthly story, with a heavenly meaning. This is a true statement. The Lord used common every day occurrences to teach people about the kingdom, prayer, stewardship, and many other things. As we study the parables keep in mind, that there is a central theme to each one. With these things in mind, let us examine the parable of the Hidden Treasure.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Matthew 13:44)
This would have been a understandable, if not common event in the first century. People of this time did not have banks or vaults to keep their money, but like squirells would create a cashe of their wealth. The man in the account finds one such “treasure” and sells all to buy the field. In this region possession was 9/10 of the law. Owning the field would make this treasure his. So it is with joy that he sacrifices to gain his property and the riches that went with it.
In this parable of the Kingdom, the treasure is the kingdom, and the man is a lost soul. The man finds the treasure quite by accident, when he wasn’t looking for it. The New Testament is filled with examples of those who found the kingdom without seeking it. Take Saul of Tarsus for one such example. On the road to Damascus, with papers in hand authorizing the persecution of Christians, the Lord appears to him. Three days later he is baptized into Christ and began to preach the Gospel, a task he would sacrifice power, prestige and ultimately life for. (Acts 9-26) Yet he counted it joy to suffer for Christ sake. (Phil 1:20-21) Not what Saul thought would happen when he left Jerusalem! Notice the Philippian jailer in Acts 16.:23-34. This Gentile was asleep in the prison, when an earthquake struck opening all of the cell doors. He was about to commit suicide (in place of facing the harsh discipline of his masters), until Paul stopped him. The jailor then asked what he needed to do to be saved. What a great question! Paul preached to him and all his house, and that same hour they were baptized into Christ. That afternoon when Paul and Silas were cast into his prison for being Christians and teaching Christ; I would wager that becoming a Christian was the last thing on his mind. However that night he stumbled upon the Kingdom, and with joy sacrificed to receive it. (It was a sacrifice in the first century for a Gentile to convert).
Both of these men were like the man in the parable. They blindly stumbled into a great treasure, and gladly sacrificed to obtain it. We all need to be like these men, when we find the truth of the Kingdom; it is worth whatever the cost to obtain that eternal home in heaven that is the reward of all those faithful servants of the Kingdom!!!
-- Josh Robinson
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. (Matthew 13:44)
This would have been a understandable, if not common event in the first century. People of this time did not have banks or vaults to keep their money, but like squirells would create a cashe of their wealth. The man in the account finds one such “treasure” and sells all to buy the field. In this region possession was 9/10 of the law. Owning the field would make this treasure his. So it is with joy that he sacrifices to gain his property and the riches that went with it.
In this parable of the Kingdom, the treasure is the kingdom, and the man is a lost soul. The man finds the treasure quite by accident, when he wasn’t looking for it. The New Testament is filled with examples of those who found the kingdom without seeking it. Take Saul of Tarsus for one such example. On the road to Damascus, with papers in hand authorizing the persecution of Christians, the Lord appears to him. Three days later he is baptized into Christ and began to preach the Gospel, a task he would sacrifice power, prestige and ultimately life for. (Acts 9-26) Yet he counted it joy to suffer for Christ sake. (Phil 1:20-21) Not what Saul thought would happen when he left Jerusalem! Notice the Philippian jailer in Acts 16.:23-34. This Gentile was asleep in the prison, when an earthquake struck opening all of the cell doors. He was about to commit suicide (in place of facing the harsh discipline of his masters), until Paul stopped him. The jailor then asked what he needed to do to be saved. What a great question! Paul preached to him and all his house, and that same hour they were baptized into Christ. That afternoon when Paul and Silas were cast into his prison for being Christians and teaching Christ; I would wager that becoming a Christian was the last thing on his mind. However that night he stumbled upon the Kingdom, and with joy sacrificed to receive it. (It was a sacrifice in the first century for a Gentile to convert).
Both of these men were like the man in the parable. They blindly stumbled into a great treasure, and gladly sacrificed to obtain it. We all need to be like these men, when we find the truth of the Kingdom; it is worth whatever the cost to obtain that eternal home in heaven that is the reward of all those faithful servants of the Kingdom!!!
-- Josh Robinson
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Gospel Plan of Salvation
by: Eric Scher
When one creates something one would have a desire for how
that something will function. For example we would not want
a boat to fly up in the air when the function of it is supposed to
be for travelling on water. Likewise God has created us to be His servants
while we live here and ultimately in the life to come. The bible teaches us
that we were put here on this planet to glorify God according to Isaiah
chapter 43 verse 7. Well how do we glorify Him but by keeping His commandments
which is man's biggest responsibility as shown in Ecclesiastes chapter 12
verse 13. Well the big question is where do we go to find out what God's
commandments are then what are those commandments? We can find out by looking
at what the bible says regarding this. First we have to understand that the
bible is indeed God's Word and the blueprint for our lives. II Timothy
chapter 3 verses 16-17 shows us that all scripture is inspired by God and gives
us the information we need. We have no need of anything else to tell us. Well
since God's Word is inspired and is all we need we can turn to God's Word, the bible
to get our information. We can turn to I John chapter 5 verses 6-13. We see here
that God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost all bear witness in heaven and on earth
and we find out about Jesus being the Christ and the verses mention that we can
indeed know that we do have eternal life because of what is written. Now the
question is just exactly what is written for us to know this? Let's look at
John chapter 3 verses 16-21. We see that God gave His only begotten Son and it
mentions that whoever believes in Him or on Him shall have eternal life. But
believing on Him goes much further than just believing that Christ existed
or was the Son of God but believing on Him requires believing and doing what He
stands for. Verse 21 mentions that he who does the truth comes to the light.
Believing on the Son of God requires us to do the truth. How can we know that it
isn't simply just believing? The bible mentions in James chapter 2 verses 14-26
that faith without works is dead, furthermore it states that even the demons
believe and tremble. Safe to say that all of us would want to be much better than
demons. Let's also notice Matthew chapter 7 verses 21-23 that not everyone who says
"Lord Lord" would enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do God's will which
indicates that obedience is very important. We must be willing to do exactly what
God wants us to do and not just do what feels good to us or what we want. The bible
warns us that most will not enter the kingdom of heaven because the other way is easier.God's way is more difficult. Consider Matthew chapter 7 verses 13-14. I would not want to be told by Jesus Christ "depart from Me I never knew you"
So since we must do the truth, we have to find out what that truth is and what
it consists of. On believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God we need to be willing to confess Him before mankind, in other words speaking the simple truth about Him to others that He is the Son of God and that we believe that. In Romans chapter 10 verses 8-10 it states that the word is in us and in our mouths and hearts and if we confess Him we would be saved. The heart allows us to believe and the mouth allows us to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are also told that this is for everyone in the world not just choice people. The bible uses the term "calls on" meaning to "believe on" in verse 13. Note that the bible is full of life and death statements spiritually. We are told so far that if we believe on Him we will be saved or have eternal life. If we confess Him or call on Him we will be saved. What about if we do just the opposite? Obviously then the result will also be the opposite of being saved as well. Please notice Matthew chapter 10 verses 32-33. You'll notice that the same language is used here in verse 33 as was used in Matthew 7: 23 "Deny you before my Father" " I never knew you" Next we are also told that we must be willing to repent of our sins. But first before we can do this we have to understand what sin is. We are given a very formal definition of sin in James chapter 1 verses 12-15. We cause our own sins. No one makes us do them, not even Satan himself. You might remember Flip Wilson playing a preacher saying "THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!" But the truth is the devil doesn't make us do anything, but he does put temptation before us as he did with Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-11 but Christ overcame that by using God's Word and telling Satan "It is written"
We can do the same as well by dwelling into God's Word. We cannot blame others either. We will be held accountable for our own sins. This is mentioned in Romans Chapter 14 verse 12. Also notice Ezekiel chapter 18 verses 18-20.
We find in Isaiah chapter 59 verses 1-2 that God cannot look at sin and separates us
from Him. To God our sins are repulsive so much more than the worst things that are
gross to us. Because of that separation we needed a mediator who was Jesus Christ.
See Galatians chapter 3 verses 19-22
Also a child not of accountability is not able to sin nor is he or she born in sin either. Notice what Jesus Christ himself says to His disciples in Matthew chapter 18 verses 1-3 and also Matthew chapter 19 verses 13-14 showing the innocence of small children and infants. Sin comes in two forms. Sin of omission , doing what we should not be doing and sin of omission meaning not doing what we should be doing. The following verses are verses showing the sins of omission.
I Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9-10. You will notice too in verse 11 that the brethren fell into these sins at one point in the first century, however, it is mentioned that they were washed and sanctified which I'll get into later. The other verses that show sins of commission are found in Galatians chapter 5 verses 19-21. I bring to your attention that sins of commission are more than actually doing the actions but even thinking about and dwelling on it as a desire to do it. Notice in verse 21 "and the like". This wording refers to not only the action but flirting with this in mind , heart or thought or even doing something relating to those actions. What we do or say or think is equally important. A sin of omission is found in James chapter 1 verses 23-24 and verse 26, also James chapter 2 verse 17 knowing to do good and not do it. We've already discussed the sin of not being obedient to God's Word in Matthew 7:21-23. This too would definitely be a sin of omission.
Within that we can also turn to II Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 7-9. In this case here it is mentioned how God will punish those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel which we'll get into further in this study. There are life and death statements mentioned regarding repentance in Luke chapter 13 verses 3 and 5 which are identical. Christ was showing and stressing the importance of repentance and the consequences for not doing it. Repentance means a turning away from doing wrong to doing what is right and then continuing in that direction of doing right. It isn't enough to just be sorry but there must be a change in our lifestyles.
Earlier I just mentioned that II Thessalonians 1:7-9 talks about the consequence of not obeying the Gospel. We are told in Romans chapter 1 verse 16 that the Gospel is the power onto salvation. We have to first understand what the Gospel is. We can't obey something if we don't know what it is. First we need to look at I Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1-4 and it gives us a formal definition of what "Gospel" means being the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This clearly tells us what Jesus Christ did for us. I might add as well that we were not deserving of this but it was done in love. Notice Romans chapter 5 verses 6-11. So now we know what the Gospel is but we still haven't talked about how we obey the Gospel. We can turn to Romans chapter 6 verses 3-6 to find out how this is done. We see that baptism is the way to obey the Gospel. As we are baptized we commemorate Christ's death, burial and resurrection. The original Greek word for baptism is "Baptizo" and means an immersion. So baptism is an immersion in water. It is definitely not sprinkling or pouring. One would never think to pour or sprinkle dirt at a funeral. The person is fully buried so likewise since we commemorate Christ's death, burial and resurrection it would stand to reason that baptism would be a burial in water. Baptism also allows us to put on Christ as mentioned in Galatians chapter 3 verse 27. This means that as we repent of our sins and we are baptized into Christ we wash away our sins and die to ourselves by becoming like Christ, living as He did and standing up for what He stood for. Paul mentions for to imitate him as he imitated Christ in I Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1.
Baptism does save us through our obedience. Notice I Peter chapter 3 verses 21-22.
The answer of a good conscience toward God is our obedience to God in this case through baptism. There is also an urgency in baptism as Paul showed in Acts chapter 22 verse 16 urging people not to wait. Baptism also allows us to enter into the kingdom of God. Notice John chapter 3 verse 5 We see in Acts chapter 8 verses 26-39 that Philip studied with the Ethiopian Eunuch about Jesus Christ. It was after the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized in water that he rejoiced, not before. When we are baptized we come in contact with Christ's blood.
Jesus mentions a life and death statement again in the Bible regarding belief and baptism in Mark chapter 16 verses 15-16. When one is in Christ he or she becomes a new creature or creation as mentioned in II Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17.
Once we are baptized the bible tells us that we must live a faithful, self sacrificing lifestyle even if it means dying for our faith. We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Romans chapter 12 verses 1-2 and be faithful unto death Revelation chapter 2 verse 10.
When one creates something one would have a desire for how
that something will function. For example we would not want
a boat to fly up in the air when the function of it is supposed to
be for travelling on water. Likewise God has created us to be His servants
while we live here and ultimately in the life to come. The bible teaches us
that we were put here on this planet to glorify God according to Isaiah
chapter 43 verse 7. Well how do we glorify Him but by keeping His commandments
which is man's biggest responsibility as shown in Ecclesiastes chapter 12
verse 13. Well the big question is where do we go to find out what God's
commandments are then what are those commandments? We can find out by looking
at what the bible says regarding this. First we have to understand that the
bible is indeed God's Word and the blueprint for our lives. II Timothy
chapter 3 verses 16-17 shows us that all scripture is inspired by God and gives
us the information we need. We have no need of anything else to tell us. Well
since God's Word is inspired and is all we need we can turn to God's Word, the bible
to get our information. We can turn to I John chapter 5 verses 6-13. We see here
that God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost all bear witness in heaven and on earth
and we find out about Jesus being the Christ and the verses mention that we can
indeed know that we do have eternal life because of what is written. Now the
question is just exactly what is written for us to know this? Let's look at
John chapter 3 verses 16-21. We see that God gave His only begotten Son and it
mentions that whoever believes in Him or on Him shall have eternal life. But
believing on Him goes much further than just believing that Christ existed
or was the Son of God but believing on Him requires believing and doing what He
stands for. Verse 21 mentions that he who does the truth comes to the light.
Believing on the Son of God requires us to do the truth. How can we know that it
isn't simply just believing? The bible mentions in James chapter 2 verses 14-26
that faith without works is dead, furthermore it states that even the demons
believe and tremble. Safe to say that all of us would want to be much better than
demons. Let's also notice Matthew chapter 7 verses 21-23 that not everyone who says
"Lord Lord" would enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do God's will which
indicates that obedience is very important. We must be willing to do exactly what
God wants us to do and not just do what feels good to us or what we want. The bible
warns us that most will not enter the kingdom of heaven because the other way is easier.God's way is more difficult. Consider Matthew chapter 7 verses 13-14. I would not want to be told by Jesus Christ "depart from Me I never knew you"
So since we must do the truth, we have to find out what that truth is and what
it consists of. On believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God we need to be willing to confess Him before mankind, in other words speaking the simple truth about Him to others that He is the Son of God and that we believe that. In Romans chapter 10 verses 8-10 it states that the word is in us and in our mouths and hearts and if we confess Him we would be saved. The heart allows us to believe and the mouth allows us to confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are also told that this is for everyone in the world not just choice people. The bible uses the term "calls on" meaning to "believe on" in verse 13. Note that the bible is full of life and death statements spiritually. We are told so far that if we believe on Him we will be saved or have eternal life. If we confess Him or call on Him we will be saved. What about if we do just the opposite? Obviously then the result will also be the opposite of being saved as well. Please notice Matthew chapter 10 verses 32-33. You'll notice that the same language is used here in verse 33 as was used in Matthew 7: 23 "Deny you before my Father" " I never knew you" Next we are also told that we must be willing to repent of our sins. But first before we can do this we have to understand what sin is. We are given a very formal definition of sin in James chapter 1 verses 12-15. We cause our own sins. No one makes us do them, not even Satan himself. You might remember Flip Wilson playing a preacher saying "THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!" But the truth is the devil doesn't make us do anything, but he does put temptation before us as he did with Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-11 but Christ overcame that by using God's Word and telling Satan "It is written"
We can do the same as well by dwelling into God's Word. We cannot blame others either. We will be held accountable for our own sins. This is mentioned in Romans Chapter 14 verse 12. Also notice Ezekiel chapter 18 verses 18-20.
We find in Isaiah chapter 59 verses 1-2 that God cannot look at sin and separates us
from Him. To God our sins are repulsive so much more than the worst things that are
gross to us. Because of that separation we needed a mediator who was Jesus Christ.
See Galatians chapter 3 verses 19-22
Also a child not of accountability is not able to sin nor is he or she born in sin either. Notice what Jesus Christ himself says to His disciples in Matthew chapter 18 verses 1-3 and also Matthew chapter 19 verses 13-14 showing the innocence of small children and infants. Sin comes in two forms. Sin of omission , doing what we should not be doing and sin of omission meaning not doing what we should be doing. The following verses are verses showing the sins of omission.
I Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9-10. You will notice too in verse 11 that the brethren fell into these sins at one point in the first century, however, it is mentioned that they were washed and sanctified which I'll get into later. The other verses that show sins of commission are found in Galatians chapter 5 verses 19-21. I bring to your attention that sins of commission are more than actually doing the actions but even thinking about and dwelling on it as a desire to do it. Notice in verse 21 "and the like". This wording refers to not only the action but flirting with this in mind , heart or thought or even doing something relating to those actions. What we do or say or think is equally important. A sin of omission is found in James chapter 1 verses 23-24 and verse 26, also James chapter 2 verse 17 knowing to do good and not do it. We've already discussed the sin of not being obedient to God's Word in Matthew 7:21-23. This too would definitely be a sin of omission.
Within that we can also turn to II Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 7-9. In this case here it is mentioned how God will punish those who do not know God and those who do not obey the Gospel which we'll get into further in this study. There are life and death statements mentioned regarding repentance in Luke chapter 13 verses 3 and 5 which are identical. Christ was showing and stressing the importance of repentance and the consequences for not doing it. Repentance means a turning away from doing wrong to doing what is right and then continuing in that direction of doing right. It isn't enough to just be sorry but there must be a change in our lifestyles.
Earlier I just mentioned that II Thessalonians 1:7-9 talks about the consequence of not obeying the Gospel. We are told in Romans chapter 1 verse 16 that the Gospel is the power onto salvation. We have to first understand what the Gospel is. We can't obey something if we don't know what it is. First we need to look at I Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1-4 and it gives us a formal definition of what "Gospel" means being the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This clearly tells us what Jesus Christ did for us. I might add as well that we were not deserving of this but it was done in love. Notice Romans chapter 5 verses 6-11. So now we know what the Gospel is but we still haven't talked about how we obey the Gospel. We can turn to Romans chapter 6 verses 3-6 to find out how this is done. We see that baptism is the way to obey the Gospel. As we are baptized we commemorate Christ's death, burial and resurrection. The original Greek word for baptism is "Baptizo" and means an immersion. So baptism is an immersion in water. It is definitely not sprinkling or pouring. One would never think to pour or sprinkle dirt at a funeral. The person is fully buried so likewise since we commemorate Christ's death, burial and resurrection it would stand to reason that baptism would be a burial in water. Baptism also allows us to put on Christ as mentioned in Galatians chapter 3 verse 27. This means that as we repent of our sins and we are baptized into Christ we wash away our sins and die to ourselves by becoming like Christ, living as He did and standing up for what He stood for. Paul mentions for to imitate him as he imitated Christ in I Corinthians chapter 11 verse 1.
Baptism does save us through our obedience. Notice I Peter chapter 3 verses 21-22.
The answer of a good conscience toward God is our obedience to God in this case through baptism. There is also an urgency in baptism as Paul showed in Acts chapter 22 verse 16 urging people not to wait. Baptism also allows us to enter into the kingdom of God. Notice John chapter 3 verse 5 We see in Acts chapter 8 verses 26-39 that Philip studied with the Ethiopian Eunuch about Jesus Christ. It was after the Ethiopian Eunuch was baptized in water that he rejoiced, not before. When we are baptized we come in contact with Christ's blood.
Jesus mentions a life and death statement again in the Bible regarding belief and baptism in Mark chapter 16 verses 15-16. When one is in Christ he or she becomes a new creature or creation as mentioned in II Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17.
Once we are baptized the bible tells us that we must live a faithful, self sacrificing lifestyle even if it means dying for our faith. We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Romans chapter 12 verses 1-2 and be faithful unto death Revelation chapter 2 verse 10.
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