Baptism: Getting Baptized

You have become a Christian by being “saved” (Ephesians 2:8) or “born again” (John 3:3).

Remember that you instantaneously received both new life and eternal life when you accepted Christ Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Both of these are present and future realities. Eternal life is not something that you have to die to experience. You start experiencing it the moment you receive new life in Christ and it extends throughout eternity. Nothing or no one can ever take this spiritual life away from you! That’s because your spiritual life has its source and security in God (John 10:28–30).

While God has been the Initiator of your salvation, you must be the initiator of your sanctification. Salvation is about birth. Sanctification is about growth. Salvation makes you a child of God. Sanctification makes you a mature man or woman of God. Salvation takes place in a moment. Sanctification takes place over a lifetime. You must do some studying and growing to enjoy and manifest the abundant life God wants you to experience and enjoy now on earth on your way to heaven.

We Christians experience and enjoy many of the blessings and benefits of the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” here on earth in the meantime. Living out the priorities and principles of God is an exciting and fulfilling kingdom adventure from start to finish! So, my new Christian friend, go for it! Live out the adventure He designed for you from before He created the world (Ephesians 2:10). You will never regret it! It will not always be easy or simple, but it is the only way you will experience authentic purpose, lasting happiness, and total fulfillment in life.

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Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

When a newborn infant comes into this world, it is covered with blood and the amniotic fluid from the mother’s womb. As a result, the baby needs to be immediately washed, bathed, and cleansed. God said He metaphorically did the same thing for Israel when she was a helpless newborn infant (Ezekiel 16:4–7). In the same way, you and I were washed by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. This is symbolized by our water baptism.

Oftentimes Satan tries to make the unregenerate person feel that they must first clean up their lives before they can come to Christ. They wrongly believe that they must first wash themselves clean from their bad thoughts, behavior, and habits and then come to Christ. But that is impossible! We can’t wash ourselves spiritually and make ourselves morally clean any more than an infant can wash itself. That is a cleansing work that only Christ can do through His Holy Spirit.

So, we must first of all be born of the Spirit through faith in Christ, and then we can be washed by the Spirit. Being born of the Spirit is the work of regeneration and being washed by the Spirit is the ongoing work of sanctification. Regeneration results in our spiritual justification before God (1 Corinthians 6:11). The process of sanctification results in our moral maturation before man (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

It is this baptism of the Holy Spirit that produces the new birth that then places us into the Body of Christ. As Paul said, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body . . . and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13). This

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