reply to post by Imago Dei
Hi Imago/
Jesus came to SHOW us in PERSON what was needed for us to be reconciled with God.
He did all this to show us that MAN can be reconciled with God through HIS life on EARTH as Godman,also called the Second ADAM.
He became MAN to show US, how to do things HIS way.
The Baptism is a MUST!
Jesus Christ didn't NEED a baptism as He was God, but only DID this to SHOW us of the New Way...for The OLD way was passed away!
To remove the consequences of the 'original sin'.
To wash away all other sins committed before the time of Baptism if the person is beyond the age of infancy.
To unite the person to "The Body of Christ" (that is, the Church), and to open the door of salvation and eternal life to him or her.
Without a BAPTISM one is NOT a Christian!
Baptism is a MUST,it was done in early Christianity....otherwise one cannot be a Christian simply by FAITH alone!
The Holy Scriptures testify of this..."For as many of you as have been baptised in Christ,
have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:26-27).
"Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a newcreation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come" (2 Corinth 5:17).
“As many of you as have been baptised into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia” (Galatians 3:27).
St Paul’s Epistle to the (Romans 6:3-11) and the Reading from the Holy Gospel (Matt. 28:16-20) the Priest says to the child, “You are baptised;
you are illuminated; you are anointed with the Holy Myrrh; you are hallowed; you are washed clean, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit. Amen”.
As the Lord Himself said, in His discourse with Nicodemus... Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the Kingdom of God (John 3:5)
The baptism of John prepared a man for the reception of the Messiah and His Kingdom (Matt. 3:1-2; Luke 1:16; 3:3).
John's baptism was, in effect, a baptism of repentance (Mark 1:4; Acts 19:4) and not in the Name of the Holy Trinity.
Therefore those baptized by him were not reborn through the grace of the Holy Spirit and had to be rebaptized later (Acts 19:35).
Jesus Christ's WORD...He appeared to His disciples and said.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matt. 28:18-20).
The necessity of this baptism was further stressed by the Savior when He said to them.
'' He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned (Mark 16:16).
The Day of Holy Pentecost....And Peter said to the people, 'Repent, and be baptised every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls (Acts 2:38,41).
Why Baptise, if FAITH was only thing that was needed?
The Holy Apostle Paul say's... if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature {2 COT. 5:17)
and thus the regeneration of man's personality begins with the Sacrament of Baptism.
As Scripture says, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27)....The Old way was Curcusition, the NEW TESTAMENT says
the Old way has passed and the New way is through the Baptism of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit.
''In the Old Testament, circumcision was the prototype of the Sacrament of Baptism in the New Testament, by which the believer enters into a new
covenant with God (Col. 2:11-12).
Again...Holy Scripture itself speaks of the baptism of whole families by the Apostles (Acts 16:14-15; 30-39;..why do THIS,again, if FAITH was all that
was needed?
Early Fathers of the Church were of ONE mind and ONE Spirit...all doing EXACTLY as it was by the APOSTLES...nothing has changed.
As St. Paul says, we are called upon to confess one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism (Eph. 4:5)...ONE not, many faiths, many different ways of ding things
our OWN ways!
Psalm 31 is read after the Immersion in Water..fully immersed and NOT just sprinkling of water, as the Roman Catholic do.
A Psalm of instruction by David.
Blessed (are they) whose transgressions are forgiven, and who sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin, and whose mouth there is no guile.
3 Because I kept silence, my bones waxed old, from my crying all the day. 4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I became thoroughly
miserable while a thorn was fastened in [me]. Pause.
5 I acknowledged my sin and hid not mine iniquity
ICXC NIKA
helen
