To Be Clean
“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” - Acts 2:38
Do you ever get out of the shower after a long hard day, take a deep breath and just feel your muscles relax as you think about how clean you are? After a long, hot day, one where you were soaked in sweat, you just want to take a shower and feel clean? It is a great feeling once you are finally about to wash your body at the end of the day.
That feeling of cleanliness is exactly what baptism is all about. Peter says in Acts 2, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism, though it is a symbol, originally comes from the book of Leviticus where it talks about making something clean when it was deemed unclean. Many people talk about the semblance of baptism. They compare it to the wedding ring. Just because you take off your wedding ring, it does not mean you are no longer married. You wear it as a symbol to pledge your commitment to your spouse.
While this is an important part of baptism, the original point was to make the unclean clean. As a sinner, you are deemed unclean. You have done things that make you “dirty” by spiritual standards. Like sweat dripping from your face, the sins you have committed run down you. But baptism was meant to cleanse you from this.
Now, baptism is not the reason you are clean, Jesus is. Jesus’ death on the cross is what allows you to stand blameless before God. But baptism acts as the symbol for one who was once unclean to now be clean.
Aren’t you grateful for a God who despite our “dirty” and sinful acts wants to make us clean? He sent His Son to die for us just so that we can be clean. It is the greatest gift we could ever receive!
Once you have received Christ, the next step to take is baptism! It is not the decisive factor of whether you accepted Christ or not it is a semblance, that once you were unclean, but now Christ has made you clean in Him! Glory be to God!
Do you ever get out of the shower after a long hard day, take a deep breath and just feel your muscles relax as you think about how clean you are? After a long, hot day, one where you were soaked in sweat, you just want to take a shower and feel clean? It is a great feeling once you are finally about to wash your body at the end of the day.
That feeling of cleanliness is exactly what baptism is all about. Peter says in Acts 2, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Baptism, though it is a symbol, originally comes from the book of Leviticus where it talks about making something clean when it was deemed unclean. Many people talk about the semblance of baptism. They compare it to the wedding ring. Just because you take off your wedding ring, it does not mean you are no longer married. You wear it as a symbol to pledge your commitment to your spouse.
While this is an important part of baptism, the original point was to make the unclean clean. As a sinner, you are deemed unclean. You have done things that make you “dirty” by spiritual standards. Like sweat dripping from your face, the sins you have committed run down you. But baptism was meant to cleanse you from this.
Now, baptism is not the reason you are clean, Jesus is. Jesus’ death on the cross is what allows you to stand blameless before God. But baptism acts as the symbol for one who was once unclean to now be clean.
Aren’t you grateful for a God who despite our “dirty” and sinful acts wants to make us clean? He sent His Son to die for us just so that we can be clean. It is the greatest gift we could ever receive!
Once you have received Christ, the next step to take is baptism! It is not the decisive factor of whether you accepted Christ or not it is a semblance, that once you were unclean, but now Christ has made you clean in Him! Glory be to God!
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