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Old 07-10-2016, 03:00 PM
RonMurray's Avatar
RonMurray RonMurray is offline
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Salvation, Pt. 1

There are three steps to being born again. Acts 2:38 is the only scripture in the Bible where all three steps are all given in one single verse.

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and yexshall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost".

I will share things with you about it from years of reading and studying the Bible while praying and seeking God, and teaching by the Holy Spirit, including divine revelation and understanding by the Holy Spirit.

Fitst of all, lets look at the plan of salvation as a whole. The message of Acts 2:38 is the New Testament plan of salvation, it is the new covenant of God that was spoken of in the Old Testament that would come.

"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

--- Jeremiah 31:31 – 33.

And in Matthew 26:28, Jesus says, "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The old covenant was by the blood and sacrifices of animals, and was to the Jew. But the new covenant was by the blood and death of Jesus Christ on the cross, and is to all mankind. The new covenant is an agreement that God has made with all mankind by the blood and death of Jesus Christ, that if we, through faith in Jesus, turn to God in repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, then He will forgive us and wash away our sins, and we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, as He had promised, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:39). And He will be our God, and we will be His people.

Accordong to Jesus, those who believe will repent, and be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit.

1) Those who believe will repent - Mark 1:15.
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

2) Those who believe will be baptized - Mark 16:16.
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

3) Those who believe will receive the Holy Spirit - John 7:38 & 39.
"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

So repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit are all three tied in together with believing. So according to the Bible, we must not only believe in Jesus, but we must repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit, to be counted as believing.

1 John 5:8 - 11 tells us the same thing, but goes deeper, talking about the blood, water, and Spirit.

•8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

•9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.

•10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

•11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

Verse 8 is a very familiar verse, but I'm going to bring out a meaning to it that some don't realize. Verse 8 says there are three that bear witness, Spirit, water, and blood, and says these three agree in one. Each step in Acts 2:38, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, all have a purpose, an effect, and a benefit to it. And each of the elements in 1 John 5:8, Spirit, water, and blood, are one of those. Each of the elements of Spirit, water, and blood, correspond to each of the steps in Acts 2:38. The blood is applied in repentance, the water is applied in baptism, and the Spirit is applied by receiving the Holy Spirit. Now notice some key things in verses 10 and 11. In verse 10, it says, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself". So those who believe have the blood, water, and Spirit bearing witness together as one within them. And verse 11 says, "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son".

So when we repent, are baptized, and filled with the Holy Spirit, then the blood, water, and Spirit are applied to our life, and they bear witness together within us that we have believed in the Son of God, Jesus, and because we believe, God has given us eternal life.

These are shown in examples, symbols, types, and shadows throughout the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

In Exodus, blood was applied to the sides and top of the door posts of each house of them that believed and obeyed Gid's word. The blood represented the blood of Christ, and was applied in the pattern of the cross. Colossians 1:20 makes reference to the "blood of his cross". That's what this represents in Exodus, it represents the blood and cross of Christ. So that's where the blood is at, at the cross. So that's when the blood of Jesus is applied to our life, when we go the cross in repentance. Not Just when we say we believe and when we confess Jesus. And when we do confess Jesus, it should be when we go to God in repentance, because that should be the response of someone who believes, and that's when we do our confessing. So confessing Jesus should be a part of repentance.

And the cross does represent repentamce for the believer, who is crucified and dies with Jesus through repentance, by crucifying the flesh and dying to sin, as it is written, "knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Romans 6:6).

And in 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land". This is to backsliders, but it shows that forgiveness comes with repentance. Again, not just when we say we believe and when we confess Christ, but when we turn to God in repentance.

So when we turn to God in repentance by faith in Jesus, confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, and giving up all sin, and confessing our sins to Him, asking God to forgive us and save us, then God will forgive us, and cover our sins by the blood of Jesus. That is true biblical repentace.

But our sins are not washed away yet. The people of God were led through the Red Sea by Moses, where the Egyptians were swept away by the waters of the Red Sea. The Bible tells us that this represents baptism. 1 Corinthians 10:2, says, "and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea". So when we're baptized, then that's when our sins are washed away, like the Egyptians were swept away by the waters of the Red Sea. And the cloud is the Spirit of God, and represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because they were "baptized unto Moses in the cloud" and in the sea.

So in the story of Exodus, God shows His plan of salvation in blood, water, and Spirit, through repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

These are also shown in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. The altar is where the blood and sacrifices were made. This again represents the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, and again represents repentance for the believer, where the blood of Jesus is applied. We can also go to the altar in prayer, but this is specifically the altar of sacrifice, which represents the altar of repentance. Jesus, as our High Priest (Hebrews 5:10), leads us to the altar in repentance, presenting us as a sacrifice unto God. And we are made as an acceptable sacrifice by Jesus Christ, as it is written, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ", 1 Peter 2:5.

It is also written, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service", Romans 12:1. And, "Be ye holy; for I am holy", 1 Peter 1:16.

After the altar is the laver of washing, where the priest and high priest had to wash, which represents baptism, where our sins are washed away. Then there's the Holy Place, with the Spirit of God over it as a cloud and as fire, which represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Place itself representing the body of Christ, the church, the kingdom of God, which we enter into by repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And there's the earth that God uses as an example of the new birth by blood, water, and Spirit (fire representing the baptism of the Holy Spirit for us in the new birth). The earth representing man. The blood is applied in In Revelation 14:20, the water is applied in the flood during the time of Noah when the earth was covered with water. And the fire that the earth is burned up with in 2 Peter 3:10, represents the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as mentioned by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:11, "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

In this example of the new birth, we see that the earth doesn't become a new earth until all three elements are fulfilled in it, blood, water, and fire. This shows that we are not born agasin until all three elements are fulfilled in us, blood, water, and Spirit. And these are applied by repentance, baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

So God shows His plan of salvation in blood, water, and Spirit all through the Bible, and teaches us that they are applied by repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And so the water mentioned in John 3:5, Ephesians 5;26, and 1 John 5:8, are all referring to the water of baptism. This is consistant with water used in baptism in God's plan of salvation throughout the Bible. To interpret water in these verses as anything else is not consistant with that.
.

Last edited by RonMurray; 07-10-2016 at 03:25 PM.
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