Tag: Christianity
Updated on September 21, 2022
One Baptism – Water or Spiritual – Choose Wisely
11 I indeed baptize you in (with) water because of repentance [that is, because of your changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. -- Matthew 3:11 <AMP>
That statement was important enough to be recorded in 3 Gospels: Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, and in Acts 1:5. Believers should carefully take note at what the Spirit is trying to tell us.
I Baptize With Water, Unto Repentance
John the Baptist was the last Old Testament prophet. He baptized people with water, preaching the Kingdom of Heaven and repentance to Israel. He recognized that water baptism was just a shadow of what was to come. (Matthew 3:11, Mark 1:7-8, Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5) His testimony was that there was someone coming after him who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. John recognized that the coming one was superior, and existed before him. John would baptize Jesus to reveal him to Israel, and in so doing, recognized Jesus as Lord, and witnessed him being anointed by the Holy Spirit. (John 1:29-36)
25 And they asked him, Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?
26 John answered them, I [only] baptize in (with) water. Among you there stands One Whom you do not recognize and with Whom you are not acquainted and of Whom you know nothing. [Mal. 3:1.]
27 It is He Who, coming after me, is preferred before me, the string of Whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose.
— John 1:25-27 <AMP>
In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus lays out a future formula – teach the nations (Israel was not reckoned among the nations – Numbers 23:9), baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. A careful reading of those passages shows that neither baptism (John’s, or the one in Matthew 28) applies to the Body of Christ, who are children of God, and neither Jew or Gentile, nor are they accounted among the nations. (1 Corinthians 10:32)
Note that in every example in Acts, nobody uses the three names instructed in Matthew 28. Here are three.
Acts 2:38 (KJV)
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 8:16 (KJV)
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
Acts 10:48 (KJV)
48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
Did they disobey Jesus, or rightly understand that Matthew 28 applied to a future time of judgment? This was a slight digression to show that the purpose and type of baptisms can change depending on the age and audience. And we must be careful attempting to apply what belongs to Israel, to the Church, and what belongs to a future dispensation, to the current one. Everything must fall in its proper place and time.
The spiritual rebirth Jesus discusses in John 3 is fully realized in the Body of Christ. In John 4, Jesus mentions God’s desire that all worship Him in spirit and Truth. This reaches its glorious maturity by the change in status from servants to children in the Body of Christ. There are no more Jews who are “zealous of the Law” because all those barriers are gone, along with the traditions and requirements of the Law. Grace is the order of the day. The only Law is the Law of Love. Believers are no longer spiritually dead, but made alive in Christ! What could mere water on the flesh possibly do for a reborn child of God baptized in the Holy Spirit? (Romans 8, Ephesians 1-4) There is no more veil separating man from God, because Believers become the Temple of God. (John 14-17, Romans 1:1-18, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 2:18-22)
You could take the meanest SOB in the city down to the creek and spend all day sprinkling and dunking him and not change him one bit. What matters is what is in his heart. True spiritual change comes from hearing the Word of God, believing it, and acting on it. That is why we are continually called to preach the Word. It is ALIVE, and capable of truly changing someone from the inside out. Once the confession is made, having believed the Word in the heart, the Holy Spirit transforms the individual from death to life, creating a New Creation in Christ. (Romans 10:8-11, Ephesians 2)
In Colossians 2, Paul puts the hammer down. Believers are COMPLETE IN CHRIST. He talks of a spiritual circumcision, a spiritual baptism through faith, in contrast with all the rudiments of the world – all the religious rituals and ordinances that lead to bondage. Those were a “shadow of things to come.” Believers died with Christ from ceremonialism – whether Jewish in origin, or simply paganized Christianity, it matters not. There is no glory in the flesh, only in the Lord. – Colossians 3:1 (KJV) – If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. All the ceremonies and rituals do in this age is divide the Body. Note the silly squabbles, even wars in the past, over infant baptism, and immersion versus sprinkling, etc. A proper understanding of the spiritual new birth ends ALL works of the flesh, and all religious bondage.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism
If you follow the Scriptures from the Gospels, to Paul’s later letters, you will notice a clear trend. At first, its all water baptism, and then gradually its mentions begin to fade, giving way to a spiritual baptism as Paul unveils the Revelation of the Body of Christ, which had been hidden in God. This should be no surprise to Believers in this Age of Grace. The water baptism was meant for spiritually dead people before the resurrection of Jesus. Now that Jesus is glorified, it is unnecessary. Water simply runs off an individual, or evaporates. It does nothing to the spirit. A spiritual baptism, or new birth, changes the heart, creating a new creation in Christ!
How many people throughout time took part in a water baptism and then promptly went back to their life, nothing changed. When Jesus changes your heart, folks will notice. Sinful things that used to be desired gradually lose their appeal. A greater desire comes upon one spiritually baptized to know their Heavenly Father, and live to please him.
Water baptism certainly appeals to the crowd. The local congregation and pastor get the glory, and the person baptized gets wet, along with the praise. But what does God get? If the individual did not have a spiritual baptism, he is not even reborn. It may have been a memorable experience, but deep inside, that person has not changed. And then folks wonder why their new member is back down at the Honky-tonk the following Friday night.
8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; 9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] -- Ephesians 2:8-9 <AMP>
Updated on April 7, 2015
Freedom From Religion
To understand what religion is, you must travel back to the beginning. God created Adam from the dust of the ground and filled him with spiritual life. He placed His children in the Garden and gave them dominion over the Earth.
However, they weren’t alone for long. There was an enemy present, Satan. His rebellion before led to a catastrophic judgment of Earth, leaving it in darkness, and covered with water. This was the condition when God recreated the earth in Genesis 1. He was an outsider, an intruder, and had Adam or Eve exercised their authority, they could have sent him packing. Instead, he engaged in a conversation with Eve. And she listened to what he had to say.
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied.
“It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman.
“God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” — Genesis 3:1-5 (<NLT>)
Updated on January 29, 2013
Spiritual, But Not Religious
The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead. — Psalm 10:4 <NLT>
What is meant when someone says they are spiritual?
If you reject the God found in the Bible, you can find all sorts of spiritual movements. From ancient religions, to the occult, mysticism, new age, and even the worship of nature of all things. Charlatans are plenteous, duping the gullible with some new, higher way of thinking, and a brand new cult. They all share the same source – a rebellious and perverted angel determined to drag as many down with him as possible.
Entertainment is saturated with stories, movies, and shows that glorify the supernatural and the occult. People are drawn to stories of superheroes and those with higher powers. Life after death and eternal life are themes that are readily prevalent in every culture and religion.
People experience trauma – death, divorce, sickness or failure, and try to find meaning in philosophy, meditation, psychology or other carnal creations. Many of these while not necessarily evil, may miss the root of the problem which is often spiritual, not mental.
It would seem obvious that on some basic level, people know that there is a spiritual world. And only a fool would dare suggest that there are not forces, both good and evil in the world.
What some may call their conscience, or that “voice in my head” is sometimes the spirit world making contact. The source, if not discerned properly, might lead to deadly consequences if you blindly follow it. And sometimes, it just might be the Holy Spirit sent to keep you from harm.
For example, I was on a drunken fraternity trip in college when from deep inside, I had a very strong notion that it was time to leave, NOW! In an instant, even though I had been partying all day at the lake, I was completely sober and knew in my spirit that it was time to go. I am never one to ever be afraid – part of that is my Christian upbringing, the other part is my 6’5″ frame. So fear was not present. It was just a rather firm suggestion that it was time to go home. I found enough sober drivers to get everyone back on the road and home safely before dawn. The plan had been to stay overnight in a very remote area of a state park. This was in the fall when tourists and families were few and far between, and law enforcement was rarely seen.
I got home and jumped in bed, thinking nothing spectacular about the evening’s events. After church on Sunday, my Mother called. In the middle of the night the Holy Spirit had asked her to pray for my safety. She had no natural knowledge of my trip, or what might be happening to me, so she prayed, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, God’s perfect will. After several minutes, she had peace in her spirit that all was well and went back to sleep. Now that it was Sunday, she was curious as to what had transpired. Remember, this was before mobile phones and text messages. There was no way to contact me that night where we were.
As she shared her experience that night, again this was before I had told her anything about the trip, the events that evening took on a whole new dimension. There had been several rough looking men hanging around the area throughout the day, and more came after sunset. Some of them had even joined us around the fire. They may have viewed so many inebriated, and in some cases, very wealthy frat boys as easy targets. That might not even have been the real danger. Again, I did not sense a threat on any natural level. But God knew there was danger. And he knew my Mother would intercede on my behalf – there may have been others praying for all I know. Because of my Mother’s obedience, and faith in a loving God, 12 young men woke up safely in their beds on Sunday. God gets all the glory!
I have had experiences with darker forces as well. They usually come as sometimes dangerous, sinful, or self-destructive suggestions. For a mature Believer, these imaginations and temptations should be easily cast aside. But I have caught myself yielding to anger, strife, and stepping out of love on more than one occasion. But I repent, and God always forgives me because that is what Love does. And I praise Him for it. Each time this happens, I learn a little more how to master the love walk, growing closer to my Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus.
Evolution cannot explain love. I’m talking about Agape – or the God kind of love as described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. The meaning of love has been twisted so much that it is hard to fully understand the term on God’s level. The God kind of love is sacrificial, forgiving, joy, peace, abundance and everything good. Human love is at its core, selfish and falls far short of the ideal.
Love is a spiritual force. Can you imagine a man or woman without God offering unconditional love? It simply is not possible.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. — John 3:16-17 <NLT>
What does it mean to be religious?
Within the various political “ism” movements out there, religion is often seen as an impediment to the overall goals of the group. To academia and the intellectuals among us, religion is dated, and is pushed into the same category as fairy tales, legends, and fantasy. They probably agree with Marx that it is an opiate of the masses. A view still held by most who have rejected God regardless of their political views.
You may find this shocking, but in some ways I agree with this concept. But don’t stop reading just yet until you hear me all the way. I have always defined religion as all the vain attempts man has made to reach God, or whatever they define as a higher power, and even if they see themselves as a deity.
Religion is man-made ceremonies, dogma, rules, traditions, and all the extra-biblical nonsense you find even sometimes in Christian denominations. During his time on Earth, Jesus made clear his disappointment in religion. He railed against the religious leaders of his time for their refusals to show mercy and enforcing all their man-made religious traditions and rules. The majority of these pushed people further away from their Creator, and made fellowship with their Heavenly Father much more difficult, if not impossible. (Matthew 12, 16:5-12, 20:1-16, 23; Mark 7:1-23, 12, 14:53-65; Luke 7:36-50, 11:37-53; 14:1-6, 18:9-14; John 5, 8:1-11, 9 and many other instances)
I went through a period of philosophical reflection in my life. I looked at all religions and my own faith to make sure I KNEW what I believed. I had ample evidence in my early years of the reality and truth of God’s love. Through the witness of my parents and the miraculous interventions in my life, it was hard to deny. But I had to know the Truth.
None of the religions made any sense whatsoever and relied far too much on works, or had too much uncertainty. I don’t believe the Creator of the universe would be so vague. It came down to either there is a God as portrayed by the Bible – remember, Jesus very clearly stated that if you have seen him, you have seen the Father (John 14), or this was one big giant cosmic accident. I find it hard for anyone with even a hint of intelligence, to believe all of creation just sort of happened one day, and then somehow evolved into even more complexity. There is too much evidence of a master designer, including LOVE itself. It would have required much more faith to believe in a big bang, than a loving Creator.
If you closely examine the life of Jesus, no other human has ever exhibited the life of love better and more thoroughly than he. If God IS love, as scripture maintains, He would act in love – healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the hungry and giving himself for mankind. Which is exactly what Jesus did.
LOVE would do everything possible to reconnect with His lost children. LOVE would crave fellowship with His family. LOVE could not lie, or deceive you in anyway. LOVE would not force you to believe and would give you free will to choose light or darkness. LOVE would be Spirit, Life, Truth and The Way – the ONLY WAY to the Father. LOVE would be eternal. LOVE would forgive and forget. LOVE would make a way, where there is no way, for a fallen, sinful world, to be recreated as righteousness into the LOVE family. There is nothing in this fallen world that compares to the spiritual force of LOVE who IS GOD.
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” — John 13:34-35 <NLT>
Updated on August 22, 2013
George Carlin On Religion – A Response
There is a reason that people have continually looked for something greater than themselves. To put it simply, there is something greater. One cannot rationally examine creation and not see the handiwork of a master designer. From the smallest organism to the heavenly bodies, everything has been designed to work perfectly within their prescribed place. And you want educated people to accept that this was all just some big cosmic accident? That would take a whole lot of faith.
Updated on August 6, 2013
Easter Sunday
What happened in Israel 2,000 years ago is the foundation of Christianity. Religions throughout the world have all sorts of rules and dogma telling you how you can earn eternal life or win the favor of their respective deity. Some require you to even murder “infidels” or sacrifice yourself to enter paradise. That is all foolishness in the eyes of God.
God knows that man is incapable of ever being good enough or earning salvation. The reason for this is that he is born spiritually dead, or separated from God (life). God is perfect and man will never be on his own. He needs a mediator, someone to legally bridge that gap.
Enter Jesus, the son of God being born as a man. He would live a perfect, sinless life under the Old Covenant, and then become the eternal sacrifice that would be our means of reconnecting with God.
By simple faith – believing God’s Word above our feelings and man’s opinions, we are spiritually reborn into God’s family. Man gets no glory because God did all the work. But that is exactly what love would do, right?
It seems so perfectly easy that only a theologian could screw it up. God pays the price so that we can be free! How awesome is that?
With salvation comes all the benefits of being “in the family” including fellowship, wisdom, healing, prosperity, joy, peace and of course love. You don’t have to wait until after death. These are all inherited immediately and are received by faith in what God promised you.
Jesus and the Word are one in the same. (John 1). If you really love God, you will spend time in the Word and see all that God has promised and receive everything in abundance by faith in him (the Word). Jesus came to give you life, in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. (John 10:10). That abundance is given so that you can share it with the world so they too can experience it in their lives.
Here are some links to Easter children’s stories, a short story and other resources for your enjoyment:
Roxie’s Big News – A children’s story about a dove that announces the Resurrection of Jesus. Includes a companion lesson.
A Whispering Pines Easter – A cat named Boris and his friends celebrate Easter. This Easter Sunday story is part of the Boris Kitty series.
Heaven’s Art Gallery – A powerful short story about the transforming power of Jesus in your life.
Easter Sermons and Stories – Links to additional children’s stories, sermons and other resources.
For additional Easter Sunday resources
Have A Very Happy Easter!!
Posted on March 30, 2011
Who’s Your Spiritual Daddy?
I do agree that individual verses without context can be twisted to mean just about anything. If we are drawing a comparison strictly between Christianity and Islam, there is a much better comparison – look at the founder and the fruit. There is a major difference between the life of Christ and the life of the prophet. Islam was spread almost exclusively by violent attacks and has been at war with civilization for over 1400 years – wiping out Christians, Jews, Hindus and other faiths in their path. For a good chronology of the spread of Islam click here and here. Rape, murder and violence were established as acceptable behavior from the very beginning and have continued into the present day.
Contrast that with the life of Christ (the founder and head of the Christian Church) and the true example of Christianity. I challenge you to find anywhere in his life where he raped or stoned anyone, attacked any villages for financial gain or destroyed any towns – in fact he rebuked his disciples for even suggesting that thought. (Luke 9:51-54) He also said if you have seen him (Jesus) you have seen the Father. (John 14)
Jesus healed the sick, forgave sinners, fed the masses and promptly ended any funeral he came upon by raising the dead! In the end, he willingly gave his life for all mankind – even those that refuse God’s love and forgiveness. If you want an ideal man to imitate, you can’t find anyone more perfect than Jesus Christ.
You will know people by their fruit. There may be some that do terrible things in the name of God, but that does not mean they are doing God’s will. John 10:10 is the dividing line in the Bible. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus came to give life (God’s love life) and all its abundance. That is your measuring stick as to what is from God and what is not. By their actions, you will discern their true spiritual father.
By reading and meditating John 10:10, it becomes obvious there is a spiritual battle in this world and there is no such thing as neutrality. While you live on this earth you still have a choice of which team to join. Here’s a hint: One side has already won the war.
Everyone needs to ask – who is my spiritual father? If it is anyone other than Jesus, I would highly recommend an immediate change of heart.
Secularists like to drag out the tired trope that religion is the cause of all evil. And I would agree, if that religion was created and ruled by anyone other than Christ. Secularism is merely a modern form of idolatry that places the state, or even the individual, in place of God. I think I would prefer my chances with God and His morality based on love, rather than someone who thinks they are God.
