And being assembled together with them , He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem , but to wait for the Promise of the Father , “ which ,” He said , “ you have heard from Me ; 5 for John truly baptized with water , but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now . Acts 1 : 4-5 , NKJV Then Peter said to them , “ Repent , and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins ; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit . 39 For the promise is to you and to your children , and to all who are afar off , as many as the Lord our God will call .” Acts 2 : 38 , 39 NKJV
By baptism according to the Bible , one needs to believe and accept the truth of the gospel by hearing , or reading and instructed thoroughly in the Scriptures . Babies don ’ t know anything and can ’ t believe anything , but as per Seventh-day
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Adventist doctrine , they could be dedicated to the Lord just like the child Samuel , whose mother Hannah , dedicated to the Lord after he was weaned , and he served the Lord all his life . The Nazirites are dedicated to the Lord all their lives and go through life without having their hair cut , one example was Samson who judged Israel for twenty years . He was extraordinarily strong as long as he kept his vows as a Nazirite .
The picture that you saw in the first article was placed there without my knowledge . That wasn ’ t immersion but pouring water on the person . Jesus came out of the water so it meant he was submerged . The Scripture proves my point . Enough said ?
WHY JESUS WAS BAPTIZED
The candidates should receive complete instruction in the Christian faith , and they should have a basic understanding of both the theory and the practice of the
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Christian life . For this reason , it is not appropriate to baptize infants and young children . Older children should receive baptism only after they are sufficiently mature that they can understand the seriousness of the step they are taking .
The Bible teaches that that baptism is by immersion . One of the primary reasons for this is the books of Romans and Colossians , where Paul compares baptism to the death , burial , and resurrection of Christ ( Romans 6 : 1-6 , Colossians 2 : 12 , 13 ). This symbolism would not have meant anything to the early Christian church if they had practiced any form of baptism other than immersion . EXAMPLES OF BAPTISM Two New Testament accounts of baptism illustrates baptism by immersion : that of Jesus , who was baptized by John the Baptist , and that of the Ethiopian , who was baptized by Philip . In both cases the Bible says that the candidates went down into
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the water and came out of the water ( Matthew 3 : 16 , Acts 8 : 38 , 39 ). The very word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo , which means “ to submerge , to put under water .”
Baptism should come after the candidate has repented of his sins , confessed them , and separated himself from them . This should include faith in Jesus ’ pardoning love and the commitment to a new life in Him which , through the power of the Holy Spirit , is the best way to live . In addition to providing the Christian with a new and more fulfilling relationship with Jesus , baptism also introduces him to a new relationship with Christ ’ s church on the earth — a group of believers that is known for their love for God and for their neighbours . Baptism is the entry point for membership in the church .
Baptism should not be undertaken lightly . Rather , it should indicate a radical change in the direction of a
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person ’ s life . Just as baptism by immersion in John ’ s day prepared people for the first coming of Jesus , baptism by water and the Spirit today will help to prepare those who love Him for His second coming .
For prayer , questions and Bible study , call Ben at 604-581-1278 , Junjun at 778-927-8040 , and Stanley at 604-700-3053 . You are invited to worship with us every Sabbath ( Saturday ) at the Abundant Life Community Seventh-day Adventist Church at 13062-104 Avenue , Surrey . Welcome .
Our new shepherd , Pastor Leomar Macaraig also takes care of the Vancouver Filipino and Burnaby FilCan SDA churches . His phone number is ; 604-928-3579 . Every Friday , we have a Bible Study with the Pastor . Everybody is welcome to attend , whether you are a Seventh-day Adventist or not . The Word of God is for everyone . Our address is 9495- 132 Street , Surrey .
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