Water baptism. Outward sign of inward pride

9/8/2014

Summary: Water baptism is an outward sign of inward pride. Why? Because the way to be saved from hell is by faith in Jesus: by believing in his person, and in his blood as the full payment for all your sins. You will then have been sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. But many Christians don't believe in Jesus his person. Instead, they trust in the application of water to their person.

What is the objective of water baptism?

In general, the objective of water baptism is:

to be saved from hell,
to be sealed with the holy Spirit, and/or
to make "an outward sign of an inward change".

Together they form a descending order. Using water baptism for the first two will lead to your damnation. So, I'll focus on those.

But whatever the objective, the motivation to trust in water baptism is the same. The motivation is pride. I'll explain.

How to achieve the objective?

There is one way to be saved from hell. Singular. Salvation from hell is by grace through faith alone. Now "faith" is the substance of things hoped for. You must trust in Jesus: by believing in his person and in his blood. Why? Because God has faith in the blood of Jesus as the full payment for all your sins. If you believe that too, that is why you then believe in him. After having this faith alone, you will then have been sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.

Source: King James bible, Romans 3:24-26 (what to believe in); Ephesians 1:12-13 (when you are sealed) (Read it).

Faith in Jesus and his blood.
Any other way is a dead end

Having your faith in Jesus and his blood is the way to be saved from hell. This means that any other way is not another way, but a dead end: whether it is another substance of faith or some other deed than believing.

Source: King James bible, Romans 3:19-20 (no deeds can justify you), 4:4-5 (only faith), 11:6-7 (grace and works are mutually exclusive), Galatians 1:8-9 (another gospel is not another gospel) (Read it).

Notwithstanding, instead of having their faith in Jesus and his blood alone, many Christians place their trust in water to be saved from hell. They believe that water is the way to be sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. This approach however is flawed in multiple ways:

Salvation from hell is by faith alone; Not by the act of plunging into a fluid till covered.
The substance of this faith is Jesus his person and his blood. Not water.
"Water" is not the same thing as "holy Spirit".

It follows that Christians that trust in water to be saved, are having faith in the wrong thing. This means that their way is not a way but a dead end.

Yet many Christians rather trust in water

But God is not the author of their confusion

The application of water to a person used to be mandatory under the law, after which the person would be baptized with the holy Spirit. However, the book of Acts describes the transition to the dispensation of the grace of God in which we now live. In this transition, the water baptism has been phased out.

Now we know that there is only one baptism. How? By the King James bible, Ephesians 4:4-5 (Read it). This is the baptism with the holy Spirit. It follows that water is no longer part of the equation.

Notwithstanding, many Christians still choose to trust in water, which they try to justify by claiming that the application of water to their person and the seal with the holy Spirit are the same thing. This however is confusion. Why?

Because:

Water is water.
The holy Spirit is the holy Spirit.

It follows that water and the holy Spirit are not the same thing.
Therefore, to be baptized in one thing doesn't mean being baptized in the other. Read here what it means to speak the truth.

Salvation is in Jesus. Why trust in water?

Salvation is in Jesus: believe in him and in his blood. This is simple English.

So, why would a person trust in water instead? Because of pride. This also is simple to understand. For your comparison:

When you believe in Jesus for your salvation, who is then the person in the center? Answer: Jesus.
When you trust in the application of water to your person for your salvation or to be sealed with the holy Spirit, who is then the person in the center? Answer: You.

Therefore, if you trust in water to be sealed with the holy Spirit, it follows that the actual matter is not Jesus Christ versus water, but rather him versus you.

If you abide with yourself, the water that is applied to your person should serve to cover your pride. But by doing so, you achieve the opposite, which is the discovery of your hypocrisy. But a true hypocrite doesn't recognize this, because the constraining desire for self justification requires willful ignorance. You can read more about this here.

Related definitions

From Webster's 1828 dictionary:

BAP'TISM, noun. The application of water to a person (...). This is usually performed by sprinkling or immersion.

IMMER'SION, noun The act of putting into a fluid below the surface; the act of plunging into a fluid till covered.

COVER, verb transitive. To overspread the surface of a thing with another substance; to lay or set over; as, to cover a table with a cloth, or a floor with a carpet.

DISCOVER, verb transitive. Literally, to uncover; to remove a covering. Isaiah 22:8.

Other prevalent Christian heresies are exposed here.

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