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Baptism – Necessary or Not?

Baptism – Necessary or Not?

Could you please write a blog on the topic of baptism. My understanding is that when you come to know God and trust him completely, there comes a point when you decide to surrender your life to the will of Jesus and follow him 100%.

Baptism symbolizes repentance of sinful/selfish living and rebirth in Jesus Christ. It is a public display of one’s change of heart and desire/devotion to live like Christ and develop a Christ like character. Is this correct? Could you also address whether baptism is necessary for salvation and at what stage a of a person’s Christian journey should they consider baptism? Your insight into the meaning and significance of baptism would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. God bless.  


Baptism has a literal and a symbolic significance. The literal significance is when our minds, hearts, and characters are immersed into Jesus Christ and we surrender self, cease to live for self, “die” to self and begin living a new life of love for God and others. This is symbolically demonstrated by the ceremony called baptism. The ceremony called baptism has no power to cleanse, save, heal or renew the believer. It is a mere public enactment of being buried under water, symbolizing death to the old life of selfishness, washed anew by the Spirit, and rising again to live a new life in Christ.

The literal baptism is necessary (having the mind/heart immersed in Christ by the Holy Spirit) for salvation. It is this immersion into Christ, via the presence of the Holy Spirit, which regenerates the heart, writes the law on the heart and mind (Heb 8:10), circumcises the heart, thus recreating us into Christ-likeness. To receive Christ into the heart is the only means of salvation. This immersion of the mind/heart/character into Christ requires the individual to freely choose to surrender self in trust to God.

The symbolic baptism of immersion in water is not a requirement for salvation. The thief on the cross was not baptized symbolically, but his heart was immersed into Christ and renewed by the Spirit.

The ceremony of baptism can be done for many reasons, but only one is spiritually meaningful. A person can be ceremonially baptized (in water) because their parents expect them to do it, their friends are doing it, their fiancé won’t marry them unless they do etc. Such baptism is meaningless because the motives for the ceremony are all selfish, thus the public enactment of dying to self and living for God and others is a lie.

The meaningful fulfillment of the ritual of public baptism is entered into whenever a person has experienced the immersion of heart and mind into Christ, died to selfishness and now lives a new life of love for God and others, and wants to publicly testify to this new life.

Below is my paraphrase of 1Cor 1:10-17 regarding baptism:

1 CO 1:10 Brothers and sisters, as an ambassador of our Lord Jesus Christ, I call on you to come into agreement with each other on the truth about God as revealed by Jesus and be fully united in mind, heart, attitude and motive around the beautiful character and methods of God. 11 My brothers and sisters, I have heard, from some of Chloe’s household, that disagreements and arguments have developed among you. 12 Evidently, some have lost the main focus of the truth about God as revealed by Jesus, for one of you says, “I am Paul’s disciple”; another, “I adhere to the teachings of Apollos”; another, “I belong to the order of Peter”; and still others, “I follow Christ.”

1CO 1:13 What are you thinking? Is there more than one Christ? Do you think Christ has multiple personalities or is two-faced? Were your minds immersed into the truth about Paul or into the truth about God as revealed by Christ? 14 I am thankful, that after your minds were immersed into the truth about God, as revealed by Christ, I didn’t assist any of you in the symbolic water immersion, except for Crispus and Gaius, 15 so none of you would get confused and think you were immersing your hearts in loyalty to me. 16 (Oh yes, I also assisted the household of Stephanas in the symbolic water immersion; but other than that I don’t remember assisting anyone else with this ritual). 17 For God did not send me to perform rituals, but to present the good news about him, his methods, principles and character as revealed by Christ – not some human theory of appeasement, lest the death of Christ be seen as some payment to an offended god and therefore lose its power to free the mind from fear and mistrust of God.

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Testimony 41

I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 71

When I was 9 years old, I remember setting at our devotional table with a hunger and thirst for God that wanted more, deeper, BETTER. I can remember literally crying and pounding on the table, “I know these teachers didn’t mean to give us error. They taught what THEY had been TAUGHT, but didn’t ANYBODY READ THE BOOK?!?!?” It mattered to me then. It mattered to me as a teenager. It matters now as I teach bible classes. It didn’t have to be so hard as I watched so many give up and lay God’s great plan and gift of salvation aside as being “impossible.” Then, a friend sent me a link to Come And Reason’s website. I grew excited. YES! FINALLY! Then another friend told me to stay away, saying her son had just broken up with a girl because she was involved with Come And Reason and that “Tim Jennings preaches a false gospel.” But, AFTER many years of developing an authentic and, dare I say FUN relationship with Jesus, through the Holy Spirit I see this message has been around a LONG time, since the apostle Paul, Ellen White, Graham Maxwell, Ray Foucher, and yourself (though I admit, you’ve made me back up, rewind and replay the clips, and get out my well-worn Bible on a few things.) I’m so thankful I have found LIGHT during these DARK days. I am not alone.

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Testimony 43

Two years ago I stumbled upon your book, “Could It Be This Simple,” and then found “The God-Shaped Brain” videos on YouTube, your bible study class, and the ‘Come And Reason’ mobile app. I shared your book with a friend and after nine months of showing love, patience, and kindness this person has been changed by the love of God, too. The same love that healed me, I now express to other women in tangible ways, such as to a Baptist woman with high anxiety and childhood trauma. She was extremely happy and relieved when I shared about the so-called “judgment of God” and burning in hell. She had no desire to serve a God that was so harsh. I have repeated the phrase dozens of times to her. “What we believe has power over us, but we have power over what we believe…”

This message that you are sharing has changed my life. I will continue to serve other women and bring this message of God’s healing love to their lives by sharing your books, YouTube videos, and The Remedy Bible app. Keep up the good work. Don’t be discouraged. God is doing a mighty work in and through this ministry!

Jill L., Midwest, USA

 

Testimony 36

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

Joleen H. GA, USA

 

Testimony 14

We really appreciate your views on the judgment and they make good sense considering our free choice.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 57

You have helped make sense of thirty two years of confusion. The material you freely provide reorganized so much of my life into such a beautiful pattern that has always been hinted at from within, but misguided with my training and what I was experiencing externally. My filipno parents, who were converted from Catholicism to SDA, were sincere and did their best to raise me the right way and I have deep respect for them. However, being immigrants and not understanding the language made for a difficult transition as I was growing up, which also applied to my spiritual growth as I learned the patterns of religion. I have been listening to as many bible study classes and reading blog posts as my time in a work truck will allow, searching for the practical applications of where spirituality and reality meet, and I thank you for helping me find that. You have helped me reach a point in which I can truly say that I love God, that I believe He loves me, and, like David, I delight in His law. God bless.

Emmanuel V., Calgary, AB Canada

Testimony 26

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 54

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My heart thrills when I listen to your bible study lessons. Literally I have gone from death to life. It is a journey I look forward to every day, as God reveals areas this distortion affects. Praise GOD! I will ever be grateful to God for this ministry and your cooperation with the Spirit!

Karen S., Portal, AZ, USA

 

Testimony 27

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 25

I just want to say thank you so much for your conversations via YouTube. I regularly tune in to your lectures, “Let’s Talk” sessions, and many others. Through these I’ve found greater depth and meaning to God’s word. Thanks for all that you do and please continue. I’m currently working in the middle of Silicon Valley at Stanford University. I feel like God really has me in the right place right now and I’m sensing that your teachings might be part of it.

B. F., Silicon Valley, CA, USA

 

Testimony 3

My husband is a pastor and I listen to your lesson almost every week. Thank you for helping me in my study life and to help me love the “real” God more.

C. F., NC, USA

 

Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

Dr. Roger D, Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 45

I have been confused for years about what [christianity] calls [its] most disgusting teaching. It has never made much sense to me and for that reason has been evermore empty. I have listened to your class off and on and have struggled determining what is truth, because of the resistance design law encounters in the church. So, I thank God for your ministry. What you teach makes sense. It’s logical and backed up by the power of love. I have never seen that in Christ until now. I am astounded by the insight that is found when we look at God’s ministry through design law. All strength to this message, as I believe it to be the power of God.

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Testimony 32

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Terry U., Tacoma, WA, USA

 

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

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