Numerical Growth Is Not A Sign Of Revival...

[Godsdrummer]

Originally Posted by votivesoul

The key to understanding baptism and what it's for is found in the Greek word aphesis. Some translate it as remission, some as forgiveness. While remission is closer to the real meaning, forgiveness, unfortunately, paints a very bad picture.

Asking for forgiveness and being forgiven, even by God, doesn't require anything more than the asking and receiving. Anyone can say to God, "I'm sorry, God, will you forgive me?" and receive His forgiveness without any form of immersion, whatsoever, as the prerogative to forgive or not is solely in the sovereignty of God.

When Peter says "for the remission of sins", or for the aphesis of sins, it really means a sending off or away. This is not about an emotional plea for God to forgive, so much as it is a legal plea whereby the immersed, by entering into Christ's death, has the body of their sins destroyed.

Just as Christ was destroyed at the cross, and just as we are immersed into His death, and just as He became sin for us (on the cross), and so, nailed them to the tree, when we experience the same death upon His cross, our immersion destroys the body of our sins (i.e. the very sins Christ became when He was destroyed on the cross).

So the question is, Can anyone honestly say they have been rescued from the body of their sins, if the body of their sins has not been destroyed? Without such a destroying, a person simply cannot enter into eternal life. This destroying occurs in immersion providing the person being immersed has fully confessed and repented of their sins.

They have stood apart from the body of their sins, but the body of their sins isn't destroyed until immersion, and when that occurs, the entire destroyed body of their sins is aphesis, i.e. sent away (permanently).

We can refer to the meaning of the words in Greek all we want, I do so myself, But unless we understand the Jewish mind and meaning of baptism to the Jew, we are applying a different set of rules than I believe was meant.

Just as the sacrificial lamb was slain and the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat for the sins of the whole nation under the law, righteous and unrighteous. So was the blood of Christ sprinkled on the Mercy seat of heaven for the sin of the world. That is why Peter liken baptism to our response of a clear conscience, not in order to wash our sins a way. 1 Peter 2.