I haven't been a
Christian for very long. I grew up believing in Jesus and God but as for being
repented and saved, it's only been 3 years.
I grew up with very
"common" beliefs; God loved me a lot and that he sent his son Jesus
to die for me. I read my Bible very sporadically and with a shallow mindset. I
didn't know much doctrine or scripture.
After meeting
Jeffrey, he began asking me questions about my faith. I found that I couldn't
answer him with any scripture, only emotions. After talking about it for many
months, I knew that I needed to find for myself what the truth was. I
originally set out to prove my actions had been and were correct. What I found
was very different.
Mark 16:16 "He who believes and
is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
Check.
I had believed for a long time
Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever
confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in
heaven."
Check.
Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said to
them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit."
Ummmmm,
maybe? I looked up the meaning of "repent" and "baptized"
in Greek. (Strong's Dictionary)
Repent: metanoeó: to change one's mind or
purpose
Baptize: Baptizó: dip, submerge, but
specifically of ceremonial dipping
Not
check. I had not changed my mind about any of my actions or my purpose.
Therefore I was not growing spiritually or bearing fruit. Matthew 7:19 "Every tree that
does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." I had also
never been submerged into the waters of baptism specifically for the remission
of sins.
You can argue all
you want about what these verses are saying, but it seems pretty black and
white to me.
Believe, Confess,
Repent and be Baptized is the formula for a clean soul.
I was not right with
God.
I am going to be
honest, I was heartbroken. I was staring at God's commandments and I had not
followed them. I felt like a tree that had been suddenly and violently
uprooted. I was a storm of anger, fear and grief. I knew what I had to do. I
needed to repent and be immersed in baptism. What would my family think? My
friends? I would have to change my
entire life and deal with the pain and regret of my past. I would have to admit that I was wrong and
that I needed salvation.
I prayed a lot.
I studied the Bible
a lot.
And I thought a lot.
"What's worth
your salvation?" I asked myself.
Are your friends
worth it? Not compared to an eternity with God. So I let some go. It was not
easy.
Is your family worth
it? Ouch. Just the thought that they could reject me for this made me
physically ill. But if I don't do it, who will lead them?
This would also
force me to deal with the sin of my past. I'm not going to give details and I
am so ashamed of them that only my closest loved ones know. My regret was and
is endless. I was experiencing repentance in its raw form. It was terrible, but
my contrite heart pushed me toward baptism. I had to get rid of this sin.
The only thing left
was my pride. I never thought myself a proud person, but most proud people
don't. Human pride is the most deceitful of all sins. It convinces you that to
have pride is happiness, when it keeps you far from the love of God and the
love of others. It's like holding on your own blindfold. So I humbled myself to
God's will. That, my friends, was the hardest of all. The amount of humility it
took from me was the most I had ever given.
In August of 2011, I
was baptized. My old body of sin was crucified, I was buried and resurrected
with Christ.
Romans 6:5-7 "5 For if we have been united together
in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing
this, that our old man was crucified with Him,
that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be
slaves of sin. 7 For he who has
died has been freed from sin."
"freed from sin" the three most
beautiful words ever written. Three words more valuable than anything in this
world. Three words that I now could say with complete and full confidence. No
doubt and no fear.
So what's stopping
you? It better be worth it.
 |
