I Peter 3:20-21

Posted by Nathanael Szobody on

In reply to Michael

Baptism is God’s gift of unity with Jesus’ death for the power to live the life of the resurrection through faith

Nathanael Szobody

https://paradoxicalmusings.com/author/admin/

Husband, father, and working for Christ's kingdom in Chad.

Comments ( 5 )

  1. Michael John Bixby
    Why does Scripture state an order of repent (first)and baptism (second)? Is there a prerequisite to baptism? Am I reading you wrongly, when you say that repentance is a prerequisite for baptism? Let me state this another way. Although the high priest could go into the holiest, there was still a order/protocol to get there. Time is not the issue. It is what I would call functional or procedural order. Any thoughts???
  2. Nathanael
    Baptism is the gift of unity with the penitent Christ for us. Even the adult who ostensibly repents knows that his repentance is never complete enough for God, so he relies on the repentance which God provides in baptism. We wouldn't want to allow baptism to become a 'salvation by ritual.' This is why we do not baptize an adult who is unrepentant; we should not presume to extend to him the gift of baptism if God has not given him the gift of the spirit to repent. One should not be without the other.

    As it is with eternal life, so it is with repentance; it is in Christ as he repented through his life and on the cross as man for us.
  3. Michael J. Bixby
    "As it is with eternal life, so it is with repentance; it is in Christ as he repented through his life and on the cross as man for us." If repentance is the act of changing one's mind/view about themselves and the actions that ensue because of our sinful nature that it is in violation and contradiction against the holiness of God, it seems a bit of a stretch to say that Christ repented on our behalf. Are you saying that Christ needed to repent (change his mind about the sin nature and its actions)? Or even if it were some vicarious repentance, where in Scripture can you support this? Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Can you explain you view on repentance please?
  4. Michael J. Bixby
    How does God lead a life of repentance (a change of mind of one's self and actions ensuing as a result of that nature)?
  5. Nathanael
    Not wasting any opportunity to seize on a topic for a blog post, i've responded here.

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