This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(1 John 1:5-10)
Christ's blood, and Christ's blood alone washes away sin.
what is prerequisite is that we confess our sin before Him.
holding a public ritual washing & initiation ceremony is tantamount to confessing sin, repentance, and declaring discipleship.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Romans 10:9-13)
baptism is a ritual ceremony that declares publicly a state of sin, a need for cleansing, and a faith that the one whose name you are baptized under is able to cleanse or perfect you. it is a declaration of belief and discipleship. the very same thing is done by saying aloud "i am a sinner, only Christ can redeem me, and i dedicate myself to following Him"
i notice that the apostle to the Jews, who were culturally obsessed with law & ritual, hardly ever fails to mention water baptism, though he is careful in his letter to point out that the actual physical washing away of dirt is not what cleanses & saves us, but the faithful reply of a heart that believes in the resurrection of Christ.
but the apostle to the gentiles, who are not so culturally obsessed with ceremony, can't even remember who he's baptized (1 Corinthians 1:10-17), but is glad that it wasn't many, because people were totally missing the point that it is God who cleanses you, God who redeems you, faith and the grace of God that saves you, not a vat of water or a man who pushes you under and says some magic words.
Jesus went about healing people and forgiving sins, not instructing people to be baptized, but wiping away their sin by His word, and saying that their faith has made them whole. i rather think this destroys the idea that God only forgives sins at the moment of ritual water baptism. the scriptures teach that faith, subsequent repentance originating in faith, and the reactive confession of sin are prerequisite to forgiveness. people that sell bathtubs teach that taking a bath forgives sin.
(1 John 1:5-10)
Christ's blood, and Christ's blood alone washes away sin.
what is prerequisite is that we confess our sin before Him.
holding a public ritual washing & initiation ceremony is tantamount to confessing sin, repentance, and declaring discipleship.
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
(Romans 10:9-13)
baptism is a ritual ceremony that declares publicly a state of sin, a need for cleansing, and a faith that the one whose name you are baptized under is able to cleanse or perfect you. it is a declaration of belief and discipleship. the very same thing is done by saying aloud "i am a sinner, only Christ can redeem me, and i dedicate myself to following Him"
i notice that the apostle to the Jews, who were culturally obsessed with law & ritual, hardly ever fails to mention water baptism, though he is careful in his letter to point out that the actual physical washing away of dirt is not what cleanses & saves us, but the faithful reply of a heart that believes in the resurrection of Christ.
but the apostle to the gentiles, who are not so culturally obsessed with ceremony, can't even remember who he's baptized (1 Corinthians 1:10-17), but is glad that it wasn't many, because people were totally missing the point that it is God who cleanses you, God who redeems you, faith and the grace of God that saves you, not a vat of water or a man who pushes you under and says some magic words.
Jesus went about healing people and forgiving sins, not instructing people to be baptized, but wiping away their sin by His word, and saying that their faith has made them whole. i rather think this destroys the idea that God only forgives sins at the moment of ritual water baptism. the scriptures teach that faith, subsequent repentance originating in faith, and the reactive confession of sin are prerequisite to forgiveness. people that sell bathtubs teach that taking a bath forgives sin.
