Study of Matthew |
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Matthew Chapter 3
We can read the detailed story of the birth of John the Baptist in the book of Luke. He was to be the forerunner of the 1st coming of Christ just like Elijah is to return and be the forerunner of the 2nd coming of Christ according to some bible scholars. Someone seems to come first to prepare the way of the Lord. John the Baptist preached repentance from sin and to believe upon the one that is coming after Him which is the Christ. Although he was a cousin of Jesus, they didn't see much of each other growing up it would seem. We know that Mary visited Elizabeth (the mother of John) before the birth of either child. As soon as Mary entered the presence of Elizabeth the babe in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy. That gives me awesome chills to think about. The very presence of the Son of God, the savior and Messiah within the womb of Mary caused the baby in Elizabeth's womb to leap. It is awesome.
In order to enter the kingdom of heaven and inherit eternal life, one must first repent and then believe in Jesus Christ to save them from sin and the penalty of sin. John preached repentance, Jesus preached repentance and so did the apostles. Some are skipping that part today. We preach for people to give their hearts to Jesus, accept Jesus in their hearts but there is very little about turning one's life around and repenting of sin. It seems like some teach just to accept Jesus and we will be saved. They think to teach otherwise is making us be saved by works. If that was the case why did John the Baptist, Peter and Jesus preach repentance? Jesus came to save us from sin not in our sin. He died for our sins not for us to keep our sins and still expect salvation. He came to lift us out of sin. On the other hand some seem to think we can repent of sin and turn our life around without Jesus Christ, with another religion or on our own. That will not save anyone because there is no power to save within us. Along with faith in Christ comes the power of the Holy Spirit to come within, cleanse, convict, and give us power over sin. We need to both repent and believe in Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ simply means that we believe in Him for salvation and are baptized in His authority. Whether we say Father, Son and Holy Spirit or the actual name of Jesus isn't as important as being baptized because we have believed in Him and by His authority and power we are saved from sin. What the preacher says when we go under the water is not what saves us, it is what we believe in our hearts. Remember Peter is speaking to Jewish people who already believed in God and they have heard of the Holy Spirit from the prophets. It was important that they recognize the Messiah who was Jesus and believe in Him as their savior from sin. In fact Gentiles also must believe in Jesus Christ as their savior from sin. There is no other way to be saved other than through Jesus, whether we call Him Jesus, Yeshua or another name in another language, He is still the Son of God and the only way to salvation and eternal life. This new way that John preached and later Jesus Himself preached is an inward change. It is not as some assume, a conversion to another religion.
The coming of John the Baptist is prophesied in the book of Isaiah.
Another prophecy was being fulfilled.
The one that came to prepare the way of the Lord was here.
He was go to in the same power that moved Elijah. Elijah himself shall proceed the second coming of Christ. John the Baptist was a type of Elijah going before Christ at the first coming. Many prophecies have more than one fulfillment until the final one comes to pass.
John was a rough man who lived by his wits and did not indulge in worldly pleasures of any kind. He dwelt in the wilderness living only for his duty for God. When his job was over he was willing to lay down his life and turn everything over to the Messiah to come. He did not drink any strong drink, wore clothes that were not refined and fancy. He ate what he could find in the wilderness. Yet despite his lifestyle, his message of repentance was powerful.
Notice that when one was baptized in water with the baptism of repentance, they confessed their sins and that means also that they also forsook their sins. This was the way they were to be baptized before the baptism of the Holy Spirit. In the old law there were many ceremonial cleansings of the body that had to be done before one could enter the presence of the Lord. There were some that were immersed in water everyday to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. So baptism has something to do with the Messiah or Christ. It is symbolic of being cleansed from sin. To be cleansed from sin in reality one must have a heart that turns to God and away from sin which is repentance. Water baptism does not actually take away sins but is an outward act of faith showing that the person has previously repented of sin and has given their lives to the Lord. This usually but not in every case, proceeds the infilling of the Holy Spirit or what we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was not yet given to individuals as a whole because Christ had not yet left to go back to His Father in heaven so all John the Baptist could do was prepare the way for the Messiah and part of that preparation was the baptism of repentance from sin and believe in the one coming after Him who baptized with the Holy Spirit. When Christ came, water baptism was not done away with; neither was repenting from sin done away with. We still need to repent of sin as well as believe in Jesus to save us from sin. We still should be baptized in water to show outwardly what has taken place in our hearts. If nothing else water baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord for He was baptized Himself to fulfill all righteousness. If He was to be baptized in water who had no sin and didn't need to be cleansed from sin, how much more should we be willing to be baptized in water just because the Lord said to do it. It is also an outward testimony to those that view one's baptism, that the person has received Christ into their lives.
John the Baptist was no popular big name preacher who tickled the ears to gain followers. He said it like it was and pulled no punches. When the religious crowd came to his baptism; probably to check him out in order to find fault, he told them that they needed to repent. I wonder sometimes what they must have thought. "Who are you to tell us to repent? We are holy men of God." John called them vipers and told them to flee from the wrath to come. The only way to flee from God's wrath since we really can't run away from God is to repent and run toward God. So we see John the Baptist warning all to repent and turn to God. We must repent and turn away from sin to be saved. The wrath of God is coming upon the earth. It comes very strong and severely just before the 2nd coming of Christ. We must repent to escape this wrath. Here is Christ's warning to His disciples:
Jesus told the Philadelphia church:
The Philadelphia church kept the word of God and did not deny the name of the Lord. To deny Christ is to deny the authority God gave Him to save from sin. We must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved and no other. To deny His name is to deny His power to save, His authority given Him by God the Father and deny Him as savior, Lord, baptizer etc.
True repentance will produce fruits of righteous living. If one claims to repent and believe in Christ yet his sinful lifestyle remains, he has not repented. Repent means to change one's mind, heart and soul totally and begin following the Lord. We can't sin all we want and claim the blood of Jesus covers our sin. We must claim the blood of Jesus covers our sins with a heart that does not want to return to sin. Sometimes this is a process that takes time as we grow in the Lord and learn to listen to the Holy Spirit that comes within us.
Jewish people could not be saved automatically by trusting in the fact that they were natural descendants of Abraham. They had to come through repentance and faith in Christ just like the Gentiles had to do. There is no duel covenant. As far as the nation of Israel, yes they are elect and chosen of God and will inherit their land once again but as Jewish individuals they have to repent and turn to Christ in order to enter the kingdom of God. The mention here of the stones being raised up simply means that God is able to raise up the Gentiles as adopted seed of Abraham if the Jews refuse to believe. This did happen for a while but the time is coming and may have already started where the Jews return to the Lord and the Gentiles fall away. We see it happening right before our eyes as many mainstream churches begin to deny the Lord that bought them and are replacing salvation and repentance with a social gospel or a name only gospel. In reality they are dead as the church at Sardis was in Revelation chapter 3.
This verse applies to Jews and Gentiles alike, to Israel and the church alike. The first three chapters of Revelation warns the church that their particular candlestick will be removed if they do not repent; so being part of the church does not guarantee any escape from the wrath to come. Unbelieving Jews as well as unbelieving Gentiles will go through the great wrath of God that is the come during the latter day tribulation period.
The Holy Spirit baptism must never be underrated. If we deny this part of our walk with Christ, we will have no power to save the lost from a burning hell. The Holy Spirit must be present to convict the sinner of his sin, cause that sinner to come to Christ for salvation and then baptize that sinner completely in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is present when we repent of sin and receive Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit sanctifies and makes the believer separate and apart from the world. He or she is "born again" by the spirit and baptized in the body of Christ. Every true believer is brought into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. To be completely immersed and baptized in the Holy Spirit may come the same time as conversion to Christ but sometimes one receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit at a later time after God sanctifies the person and they completely yield to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Usually the person baptized with the spirit will begin to speak by the spirit an utterance in tongues (another language) or prophesy (speak things of God) in a language the believer understands. We must never be afraid of tongues and mistakenly think tongues or any gift of the spirit is not for today or they are not for public speaking. Paul said clearly in his writings for the churches not to forbid the speaking with tongues. On the day of Pentecost it was very public when many were speaking in tongues and magnifying God. Paul was not forbidding tongues in church in his letter to the Corinthians for he ends one chapter by making the commandment, "Forbid not to speak in tongues." To forbid worship in tongues is to suppress public worship. When we begin to forbid tongues, it may lead eventually as it did during the Middle Ages, to only the clergy doing the worshipping and the people getting nothing. We must allow freedom of worship. Paul was just trying to limit vocal speaking or praying in tongues when it was time to teach the word and explain doctrine. During worship times tongues should never be forbidden. When people have messages and interpretations, then everyone else should be quiet and then in an orderly manner we hear one person speak in tongues and another interpret. If someone gives a prophecy, one person prophesies and the rest are silent. Yet during concert worship and praise, tongues of praise are acceptable as well as praying in a language we understand. We need to worship in song, in tongues and in our own language. Praying and worship can be silent or out loud but it never should be suppressed or the work of the Holy Spirit will cease and cause our church to die spiritually. We will end up trying to make up for our deadness by making quilts for charity or some other work that does not save souls. I'm not necessarily against charity work but it should never replace the message of salvation that saves the lost.
That describes the complete ministry of Jesus. He cleanses from sin, He sanctifies, He makes all things new and burns up the chaff with fire. At His 2nd coming, judgment upon those that have rejected His sacrifice and offering for the salvation of the world will occur, mainly those judges will be those that not only rejected the good holy way but persecute and even kill those that bring the good news of the gospel.
Jesus is our example. He was baptized when He needed no baptism. He did nothing to repent of yet He submitted to water baptism. How much more do we who do have to repent need to willingly submit to water baptism as an act of obedience. It seals up and fulfills the way of righteousness. Water baptism alone without repentance and turning from sin or without faith in Jesus Christ cannot save. It is an outward act of obedience showing what has already taken place in the heart and soul or the inner man. We should never take this lightly or treat it as something that is optional or unnecessary.
The Holy Spirit is not a dove neither shaped like a dove but as a dove descends upon the place he rests his feet, so the Holy Spirit descends upon a believers. Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit immediately after water baptism. Notice that when Jesus walked the earth, He did miracles and such because He was filled with the same Spirit that is given to all who believe and obey Him.
We are to do as Jesus did by the same spirit that Jesus received. As the Holy Spirit leads people to Jesus and exalts Jesus, we must allow the Holy Spirit to use us to lead people to Jesus and exalt Jesus as the savior. Never should we think the Holy Spirit is to exalt ourselves and have people following us as some great person. We have nothing that the smallest child cannot receive. No one person has a monopoly with God that is exclusive to anyone else.
Here we see God using an audible voice to confirm that Jesus was in deed, His Son that was to bring salvation to all who would believe. This is really an awesome thing to think about. Through Christ, we can be forgiven of sins, cleansed of sins, sanctified and set apart for God, baptized in the Holy Spirit and inherit eternal life. It is truly awesome. DC
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