Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Transformational Baptism

Transformational Baptism

Fell, Clarence W.

Paperback

Christian Living

ISBN13: 9798619968743
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Feb 29 2020
Pages: 30
Weight: 0.09
Height: 0.07 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Excerpts from the book... Jesus put John in an awkward position. We easily sympathize with John. No one with any sense would think that they were worthy to baptize Jesus, but Jesus pushed the issue with John. Jesus did not say, Well, I don't want to make you do something you feel uncomfortable about. Rather, Jesus taught John how to do the right thing even if it felt uncomfortable. Jesus took John to another level through this experience, but baptism was something even more for Jesus. Baptism plunged Jesus into a whole new way of living. Jesus went from being an obscure carpenter's son, to the most popular, loved and hated, teacher of His day. Baptism moved Jesus from the backstage to center stage as the Messiah; the very Son of God. ... Baptism launched Jesus into a very different way of life than His previous thirty years. Baptism does that to people, it changes lives, even if you are the Son of God. Through baptism, Jesus stepped out to begin the ministry He came to earth to do. ... Baptism is more than a heart-warming ceremony. It is packed with biblical meaning, spiritual symbolism, and life changing substance. Don't trivialize it. Don't make it merely a tradition. Understand, as Jesus did, that baptism is a step to fulfilling all righteousness. Baptism moves a person forward on their spiritual journey. ... Imagine an athlete on the high dive, as his toes leave the diving board there is commitment, total commitment, a point of no turning back. Baptism is that commitment. It is the culmination of grace, faith, repentance, and confession. Baptism is the formal point of committing to a new way of life from which there is no return. Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection, but on another level, a spiritual level, it is far more substantive in that we die to self to live to Christ. We step onto the narrow road and commit to carry our cross, faithful to death. ... Jesus surrendered to baptism to fulfill all righteousness. He told John, Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Fulfilling all righteousness is part of our transformation, too. And, we have the additional need of having sins to wash away in the blood of Christ. ... I do not believe that the saving power resides in the physical water of baptism. I do not believe that the saving power resides in a persons' faith, repentance, or confession. If saving power resides in these, then why did Jesus go to Calvary? I believe that the saving power resides in the blood of Christ. So, as I ponder when the blood of Jesus saves, I see four possible answers, either at faith, or repentance, confession, or baptism. I believe the Bible points to baptism as the place where the saving transformation takes place. ... Why would someone seek out this radical change? I think people seek this change because the way of the world is a dead end, it's a burden hard to bear. When people begin to realize that there must be something better, something more fulfilling than the empty promises of Satan, then they start seeking change. And, baptism is the portal to a new way of life. ... Humans do not like to surrender. Pride is the underlying problem. It is painful to admit that we have been wrong. Many of us would rather think that we are clever, smart, and wise; that we are somehow the exception. That is a pleasant delusion.

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