Great question! Baptism is a physical representation of what should happen in the spiritual realm. Baptism represents the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. (1st Corinthians 15:13) In the book of John 3:1-21, Jesus told Nicodemus "You must be born again." We cant enter in through the flesh, because no flesh shall glory in His presence; Nor can we please God in our flesh. Because God is Holy, He said "be ye Holy for I am Holy" and our flesh is corruptible. Therefore, baptism is essential to our overall transformation as we convert from carnal(flesh) to celestial(spiritual). As we begin to receive the word of God in our spirit we begin to be convicted. When we are convicted there is a disturbance within our spirit that desires to be right and do right also known as surrendering. We will always fail trying to do God, know God and receive God through our own knowledge and intellect.(Note: Peters revelation did not come until He renewed his mind; Then God revealed to him who Jesus was. Therefore we must die to our sin, and allow the spirit of God "His Word" to penatrate our hearts, wash us and make us whole. We show this through baptism. We illustrate dying to our sin nature which is our past ways, and former lifestyle and being Renewed in mind, body and the Spirit. (Romans 12:1-2). So regarding the oxymoron about Grandma dying before being saved; Only God knows that His Word broke up the fallow grounds of her heart and she received salvation which is Jesus Christ. (Believe,Have Faith,Confess Jesus is Lord, Repent & Be Transformed.)
lol yes sis Amen to everything you said. That! was a beautifully spelled out dissertation concerning baptism. That comment I wrote about grandma dying during baptism was supposed to be attached to an earlier comment I left on this thread of water baptism lol. I left it 2 weeks ago. Wow, how embarrassing that it ended up just being by itself looking like it makes no sense. I hypothetically drew out a scene of an elderly woman that confessed JEsus as Lord and Savior, but the catch is; she's hooked up to an oxygen tank because her lungs are rapidly failing. Now, under those circumstances, it is not illogical to say that it would be almost an impossibility to complete her water baptism without it resulting in death or immediate hospitalization. Also, in those conditions, it would even be a stretch to get her ready for baptism. That's a scary thought no? yes. What a dysfunctional story that would be if a group of believers that held strongly to selected scriptures that from the onset, (in their minds) looks like water baptism is necessary for salvation. I think it would charge them to reconsider their interpretation of their belief and teaching of it. BUT I AGREED FULLY WITH YOU. Awesome stuff sister. It's an inner working of the Holy Spirit, and we get in that water when the work is heartily and mentally undeniable, not by pressure.
The oxymoronic part is that she is trying to get saved and receive life, but loses it in the process due to a somewhat wacky belief.
