CRITICAL QUESTIONS ON WATER BAPTISM

IS IT TRUE THE BAPTIZED CANNOT BE AFFECTED BY THE DEMONIC SPIRITS AFTER WATER BAPTISM?

It’s not true. Don’t fall for it. The baptized may be Spirit-guided and empowered but he is not insulated and infallible.

God has given the warning of false messiahs and false prophets appearing and performing great signs and miracles because the baptized is likely to be deceived. Matthew 24:24 says even the chosen can be deceived.

The demonic spirits might keep a safe distance from the baptized, and the Son of Man might have rendered them powerless, but the baptized remains a part of a world system that is anti-God, organized and arranged to function without God. It fans a strong desire for fame, power, wealth and social acceptance in people. It pricks the self-esteem of the baptized to make him boast of what he has and does (1 John 2:16).

The baptized may be a new creation but he remains embodied in “sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3 nkjv). Ingrained in it are beastly cravings, curious inclinations and conditioned responses which water baptism has put to sleep, but which can be awakened into activity.

Therefore, the baptized must be careful how he lives (Ephesians 5:15). He must not be complacent when things appear to be running okay. He must not overlook the little things that could trip him. He must not be awed by false signs and wonders. He must not allow his beastly cravings, curious inclinations and conditioned responses to be awakened. He must be careful not to lose his newfound stature.

IS “ONCE BAPTIZED, ALWAYS SAVED” TRUE?

It is not. This is a false teaching whose purpose is to make the baptized complacent, to make him keep back the old yeast. He will be sorry if he falls for it.

It passes off water baptism as an unconditional entry visa to the kingdom of God, no matter if the baptized sins or stops in his strive to be holy and pure. It passes off grace as a license to sin, as if Y’shua died to legalize sin. Truth That Matters said, “Romans 6:14 is interpreted to imply that it is okay to steal, lie, covet, murder and commit adultery after baptism. The baptized is no longer under obligation to keep the Law and no longer under the condemnation of the Law’s penalty” (p. 11).

The truth is, if the baptized sins, God will disown him (Matthew 7:23). A sinful Christian is a contradiction.

⁸ He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning… ¹⁰ Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God. 1 JOHN 3

If a Christian consults astrology or worships the sun or the moon or the stars, he is of the devil. If he worships animals—a holy cow, bird or snake—he is of the devil. If he worships a deity or belongs to any religion or society that is opposed to Y’shua and His teaching, he is of the devil. If he fasts and prays, observes the Sabbaths, gives his tithes and offerings, and yet commits sin, he is of the devil. He may be a great evangelist or bishop or pastor, but if he commits sin, he is of the devil. To God it is not what the Christian claims to be that matters, but what he is. (Occult Grand Master Now In Christ, p. 55)

The baptized should live the rest of his earthly life in doing the will of God (1 Peter 4:2). The pardon he has received does not give him freedom to disobey any one of God’s instructions.

⁸ And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves in doing what is good… ¹⁴ Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good… TITUS 3

¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age… TITUS 2

³⁴ Awake to righteousness and do not sin. 1 CORINTHIANS 15 nkjv

Look at it this way: A man was thrown into the water with a millstone tied to his neck. Someone dived in and helped to remove the millstone. What should the thrown man do next? What else but struggle fiercely to keep himself afloat, isn’t that right? He would exert every effort not to drown. After that, he would be vigilant not to be thrown into the water again, especially with a millstone tied to his neck. 

¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. GALATIANS 5

If once baptized, always saved were true, then Ephesians 4:31 would not have addressed the baptized in Ephesus to “get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19 would not have said, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”

¹² Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and act according to His good purpose. PHILIPPIANS 2

⁵ Make every effort to add to your faith goodness [virtue]; to goodness, [faith-knowledge]; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Y’shua the Messiah. ⁹ But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. 2 PETER 1

⁶ In Messiah Y’shua the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. GALATIANS 5

Titus 3:14, 1 Peter 4:2, Galatians 5:16, Ephesians 4:31, Philippians 2:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:19 and 2 Peter 1:5-8 are a reminder, even to modern-day Christians, that personal effort is required of the baptized. Grace is not enough. Water baptism opens the door to restoration but in order to enjoy restoration, the baptized must bring himself in. Water baptism opens the door to perfection but in order to be perfect, he must walk the path to perfection. God will not do it for him; he must do his part.  

Many pastors entice people into Christianity by telling them that in order to enter the kingdom of God, all they have to do is accept Y’shua as their personal God and Savior. They quote Romans 8:1 which says: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in the Messiah Y’shua…” They go to the extent of saying that even if the baptized sins, he will enter the kingdom.

They quote Romans 8:1 but not in full. They quote Romans 8:1 without giving stress to Revelation 21:27 which says nothing impure will ever enter the kingdom.

         ¹ There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in the Messiah Y’shua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ³ …He condemned sin in the flesh, ⁴ that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. ROMANS 8 nkjv (Emphasis supplied)

The truth is, water baptism will save everyone from his past sins (2 Peter 1:9) but not from his future sins. The name of the baptized may be written in the Book of Life but it may yet be blotted out. A place may be reserved for him in heaven but it may yet be forfeited. He may be baptized in the morning but if he sins intentionally after lunch and dies in a state of sin, he will not enter the kingdom.

³³ It is those who have sinned against Me whose names I will remove from My book. EXODUS 32 tev 

¹⁷ Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. JAMES 4

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THE BAPTIZED TO STAY SIN-FREE AND PURE? ISN’T HE INHERENTLY WEAK AND LIKELY TO SIN AFTER WATER BAPTISM? 

Water baptism will make it very doable for the baptized to say no to sin, turn his back on it and preserve his newfound purity.

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 PETER 1

For all intents and purposes, the baptized shall be left without any excuse for sinning.

He cannot feign ignorance, for he has been immersed in the Word of God. Besides, the Spirit in him will shield his mind from lies, slanders, intrigues, fears, insecurities, and false teachings. Also, the Spirit will send timely messages of motivation to hone his faith, encouragement to persevere in his baptism of fire, and comfort to lift his heart from grief, bad reports, disappointments, frustrations and problems.

He cannot feign committing sin unaware. The Spirit will warn him of the wicked traps ahead. The warnings are meant to hold back his arms from doing wicked deeds and his feet from getting to evil posts.

If he fails to heed the warnings and gets trapped, the Spirit will coach him on how to overcome the situation. 

He cannot feign weakness or incapacity to resist sin. The Spirit will free him from demonic spell and rein. The Spirit will empower him and turn him into a righteous strongman, more powerful than all the forces of the evil empire put together.

So now God requires him to preserve his newly minted purity (2 Timothy 2:19).

¹⁴ See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you. JOHN 5

¹¹ Go now and leave your life of sin. JOHN 8

⁶ No one who lives in [Y’shua] keeps on sinning. No one who continues sinning has either seen Him or known Him… ⁹ No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 1 JOHN 3

WHAT IF THE BAPTIZED SINS? 

If the sin is unintentional, he must do spiritual detoxification (1 John 5:16-17) and do it at once. For if he dies or the Judgment catches up with him without him doing it, God will say to him, “Away from Me you evildoer!” (Matthew 7:23).

If the sin is deliberate, it is like committing blasphemy of the Spirit—Second Death is irrevocable.   

²⁶ If [the baptized] sins deliberately by rejecting the Savior after knowing the truth of forgiveness, this sin is not covered by the Messiah’s death; there is no way to get rid of it. ²⁷ There will be nothing to look forward to but the terrible punishment of God’s awful anger which will consume His enemies. ²⁸ A man who refused to obey the laws given by Moses was killed without mercy if there were two or three witnesses to his sin. ²⁹ Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God and treated His cleansing blood as though it were common and unhallowed; and for those who have insulted and outraged the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to His people. HEBREWS 10 tlb

Sinning deliberately is knowing about God’s instruction but disobeying it anyway. God is knowingly set aside and exchanged for sin. It is like thrusting the spear into His side again, something the kingdom frowns upon heavily.

⁴ It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God, and the powers of the coming age, ⁶ if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again, and subjecting Him to public disgrace. HEBREWS 6

²⁰ If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Y’shua the Messiah and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹ It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 PETER 2

Critical Advice. Remission of sin is a baptismal grace; no one can procure or appropriate it. The grace is meant to be treasured, not squandered. Our advice, therefore, before anyone submits to water baptism, is for him to make a firm resolve to refrain from sinning the rest of his life.

¹³ You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. MATTHEW 5

⁴⁷ The servant who knows what his master wants and does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with heavy whipping. ⁴⁸ But the servant who does not know what his master wants, and yet does something for which he deserves a whipping, will be punished with light whipping. Much is required from the person to whom much is given; much more is required from the person to whom much more is given. LUKE 12 tev

²² Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!” MATTHEW 7