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Baptism
The Washing Away of Our Sins
INTRODUCTION
Baptism: The Washing Away of Our Sins
The Bible is an utterly fascinating book. This is so because it is the Word of God. It is the Word that Almighty God who created the universe has given us. Therefore, it is the ultimate and final authority on any subject which it teaches. It is the fountainhead of truth. It is absolutely trustworthy and dependable.
No other book can stand in the shadow of the Bible. It is infinitely superior to all others.
And the Bible is available for use to read and study. Moreover, as we study it we can pray for God to give us understanding concerning that which we read. How good and wonderful can it be!
Having said all this, we must realize that those who study the Bible very frequently come to conclusions that are incorrect and quite contrary to truth. This is because God wrote the Bible so that it must be searched out very carefully and very prayerfully. Each question must be researched to make sure that the answer that is found harmonizes with everything the Bible teaches. Let the reader of the Bible be warned. Almost any doctrinal position, however wrong it may be, can be supported by many verses in the Bible. God purposefully wrote the Bible so that it is often difficult to find truth. Only by examining doctrines in the light of the whole Bible will truth be found. When truth is found, there will be a very harmonious relationship with all that the Bible teaches in the Gospel message.
In other words, when a true Biblical doctrine is found, any verse of the Bible can be scrutinized without the risk that the doctrine will be found to be in error.
This is the goal of the Bible student, and in this study we will endeavor to find the truth concerning the Bible's usage of the work "baptism." In the process of seeking an understanding of the word "baptism," we will also learn much more about the wonderful
salvation plan which God has provided. In fact, while this study was initiated in order to learn more precisely all we can about baptism, it provided a setting to look more searchingly into many aspects of the tremendous salvation plan that God has established for this world.
One additional warning should be given before we begin this study. Many theologians and Bible students occasionally struggle in an attempt to discover the meaning of a verse. Because the original Hebrew of the Old Testament or the original Greek of the New Testament in that verse may appear to be difficult to understand, they are tempted to decide that a scribe might have been made an error when he made new additional copies from the older worn and unusable copies. Thus, they are tempted to change a letter or even a word of the original language to make the verse more understandable.
This is an action that should never be taken. We must realize that each word and each letter of each word in the original autographs is God-breathed. We can challenge the work in the original translators, but never the original language. It is God's Word regardless of how difficult it appears to be understood.
In the process of making this study, one very encouraging fact stands out. It is the fact that the Reformers, who hundreds of years ago had come to a much more accurate understanding of the doctrines of salvation than the doctrines that were widely taught in their day, had done their work very well. We might recall that to sum up the doctrines of grace, they utilized the acronym TULIP.
Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistible grace
Perseverance of the saints
This study not only agrees precisely with these five principles but gives further details as to why they are correct.
An additional comment should be made before we commence this study. While it should be fairly apparent that the Bible is a very legal document, this fact is frequently missed. Yet it is only by
recognizing this fact that we can come to an adequate understanding of the atonement.
That the Bible is a book of law is amply demonstrated by words and phrases such as the law of God, book of the law, guilty, guiltless, just, justification, condemnation, judgment throne, payment, prison, pardon, seal, wages of sin, etc. All of these words and phrases have a very legal connotation or definition. When we realize this, it is far easier to understand what happened at the cross. Throughout our study, we will see the reality of the fact that the Bible is a book of law.
May this study be an encouragement concerning the wonderful salvation that God has for us.
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