The first and most important step on the path of Godly womanhood is that of becoming a child of God … “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” – John 1:12.
There are different terms used to describe this process, such as “being saved”, “born-again”, “becoming a believer”, etc. I am not as concerned about the terminology, as I am that you know what it means and hopefully have already done it! In case you aren’t sure, here is a little review:
“… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:23. Since the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, each human has inherited a sin nature that separates us from the Heavenly Father.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.” – Romans 6:23
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16.
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” – Ephesians 1:7 It is only through the sacrificial bloodshed of Yeshua (Jesus) that we can be cleansed from our sins and receive eternal life.
“… if you confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9 “… Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” – Acts 2:38. Through belief in Yeshua, confessing that He is Messiah, repenting of our sins and being baptized, we can receive the gift of eternal life.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17. Once we are in Messiah, we are a new creation. We are no longer slaves to sin … we have repented of our sins and now live according to His commands.
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. When we accept the gift of eternal life through Yeshua, we become children of God. Just as children are commanded to obey their parents, we are now to live our lives in submission to the Creator of the universe.
Obedience to YHWH (God) is at the foundation of our aspiration to Biblical womanhood. If we can learn this lesson and practice it perfectly, we should have nothing to worry about. It’s simple – just obey! Unfortunately, it is not that simple for two reasons: 1) we still have to battle sin, doing things we should not do and not doing the things that we should do, 2) it is sometimes difficult to know just how to obey.
In the next section of this series, we will discuss how to know the Father’s will and obey it.
Self-Check:
- Have I received the gift of eternal life through belief in the Messiah and His atoning blood, repenting of my sins and being baptized?
- Am I a new creation or do I still look and act like the person I was before?
- What are some ways that I can glorify God in my body and spirit?
- Are there areas where I have allowed sin to creep in and not repented of it?
- Am I an obedient child of the Heavenly Father, willing to do whatever He asks of me?
The above questions are for your personal consideration. You may want to write the answers in your journal or if you would like to share thoughts in the comment section, you are welcome to do so.
Hannah,
What do you mean by being baptized? Do I/we need to be water baptized, or baptized by the Holy Spirit?
Both! In the Scriptural examples, we see that those who believed in the Messiah were baptized (immersed) in water, which was/is symbolic of being washed and cleansed from sin.
The Bible also talks about being filled or baptized with the Holy Spirit, though it seems that this is a recurring event, for instance, in Acts 2:4 we read “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” A few chapters later, we read “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” – Acts 4:31. So I think that being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one time event, but something that is manifested in our lives on many occasions.
My personal opinion (as of right now!) is that the baptism of water and the Holy Spirit is synonymous, as we see in Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Hope that makes sense!
So, you said it was a symbol, you don’t actually have to be baptized to be saved, right?
Baptism is a Hebraic concept that was practiced long before the time of Messiah … in Hebrew it is called a “mikveh” and was used whenever someone was ritually unclean. Yeshua and the disciples added a new dimension to it by making the action synonymous with repentance and salvation. So yes, it is symbolic but I believe it is also a vital part of the process of being made a new creation in Him. If someone receives salvation and tragically dies before they have a chance to get baptized in water, I don’t think that they will be turned away at the pearly gates! However, I would be concerned about the spiritual condition of someone who has had the opportunity to be baptized and refuses to do so.
But I thought that in Acts 16:31 it says: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. No where in the Bible that I know of says that you have to be baptized. If I am wrong, please show me where it says that you must be baptized to be saved.
Here is a verse I read while having devotions this morning … I think it would answer your question. “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” – Mark 16:15-16
I do not know of a Scripture that says “You must be baptized in order to be saved”, but there are numerous Scriptures that instruct those who have found repentance and salvation to seek baptism. It appears that, according to the Bible, salvation and baptism are synonymous.
Baptism is not essential for salvation. In Ephesians 2:8-9 it says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
If we believe salvation is also through water baptism then grace is no longer grace. This verse makes it clear a man is saved by grace through faith without any works, including baptism. If a man trusts Jesus Christ 90% and his baptism 10%, then the 10% destroys the 90% because it indicates that the person is not fully trusting Jesus Christ.
No one can enter the kingdom of God or heaven with sin. So if one repents and asks Jesus into their lives at that time our sins our forgiven. So if one believes they have to be baptized to have their sins forgiven after they have asked Jesus into their lives I believe there is a problem with that.
Perhaps you have misunderstood me. I have never said that one must be baptized in order to be saved, on the contrary, I have said that if someone does not have the opportunity to be baptized before they die, I do not believe they will lose their salvation. However, there are numerous Scriptures that portray baptism as an action that should follow repentance and salvation … not because one is depending on it for salvation, but as an act of obedience and submission to the pattern that has been established by the Messiah (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15-16), the disciples and authors of the New Testament.
I am going to consider this discussion closed on this site, if you wish to discuss it any further, you are welcome to contact me personally.