The Year of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Matthew 3:15
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
The Lord is speaking to John the Baptist about baptism. At first John would not baptize Jesus saying I have need to be baptized of thee, and thou comest to me? To which our Saviour said, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Over the two millennia of the so called “church age,” baptism has been a lightning rod for all sorts of disagreements even being the source of many arguments. It doesn’t have to be that way.
To settle the issue of baptism for yourself consider this. Imagine that you are on a deserted island, there is no one else but you. On this island you find a Bible. To pass the time at first you read the Bible then you begin study it. When reading the New Testament, John the Baptist is introduced in the third chapter of Matthew. There it is written that he was baptizing people in Judea. What is baptism? How can you find out? There are no churches no religious teachers, no commentaries of the Bible, no libraries, no internet, nothing, just the Bible.
So, as you read the New Testament special notice is taken of every mention about baptism. From this and this alone you begin to formulate that which you believe about the subject and the doctrine of baptism becomes clear.
Upon doing this anyone would learn all that God wants them to know about the act of baptism. Upon being rescued from that island others may try to tell you something different than that which you learned from the Bible, but you know, because you studied it out for yourself as being led by the Holy Ghost from the simple pages of God’s Holy Word.
After all, the Bible is of no private interpretation (II Peter 1:20). You see, the Father in Heaven has given His Word that explains it all very nicely. So, you want to know what Baptism really is, be like those that Paul found in Berea of whom Acts 17:11 records: These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
Until next time,
William T. Howe, Ph.D.
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