Repent, and be Baptized!
Article #3 on Baptism
The greatest prophet who ever lived, John the Baptist, suddenly appeared and began preaching, “Repent ye: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2). He was a Messenger sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. Eventually, the Son of God came on the scene and began preaching, “Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17). Essentially, they were both preaching: “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” (Mk. 1:15).
What does it mean to repent?
Too many people are getting baptized without even knowing what it means to repent. This is a serious problem! Jesus Christ said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3, 5). Sorrow is not the same thing as repentance. Neither is confession the same thing as repentance. Many people sorrowfully confess their sins to God in prayer and are still void of repentance. Confusion about this topic has led to many conflicts in the Bible.
Baptism of Repentance
Nobody should ever be baptized without repentance. John the Baptist came preaching a “baptism of repentance” (Lk. 3:3). In response to his preaching, a huge crowd of Jews came to be baptized in the river Jordan. What happened? Normally, in modern times, this is when Pastors rejoice and start baptizing everyone. The news of this begins to spread all over the country, and everyone starts believing that a great Revival is taking place. John the Baptist didn’t do that! Rather, the famous Baptizer refused to baptize the people. Something was wrong with their repentance.
baptizedBring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentancegoodfruit
John the Baptist could see that the people were not genuinely repenting of their sins. Therefore, the Baptizer refused to baptize them, saying, “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance” (Lk. 3:8). A genuine and biblical repentance consists of certain verifiable fruits, the same which John called, “good fruit” (Lk. 3:9). A genuine and biblical Christian can be discerned by the fruits. Speaking of this, Jesus Christ said, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matt. 7:16). This is how John the Baptist knew that the Jews were not really repenting, even though it appeared that they were repenting, especially because they were responding to John’s preaching about repentance and desiring baptism.
Too many people in India are getting baptized without learning from the famous Baptizer. Wolves in sheep’s clothing can be hard to spot! But that is exactly why God has provided an objective method to discern who is or isn’t a Christian. “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” (Matt. 7:20). It is especially difficult to discern who is or isn’t a Christian by the fruits when the people claim to be repentant while making good confessions like, “Jesus Christ is the Lord”, even as they publicly do many wonderful works.
LordLordLord, Lordwonderfulworks, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity
Sincerely deceived “Christians” are claiming to know the Lord in a personal relationship, but apparently the Lord doesn’t know them. “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 Jn. 2:4). You can say all the right things and outwardly appear to be a wonderful Christian, but God can see past the outward appearance because He looks to the heart (Matt. 15:8-9, 23:27-28, 1 Sam. 16:7). Similarly, we should be concerned about our own hearts (Jer. 17:9). We should examine ourselves according to the Word of God contained in the Bible to discern if we are genuine biblical Christians (2 Cor. 13:5, Jn. 7:24).
Repent, and be Baptized!
The apostle Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost, and boldly declared, “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.” (Acts 2:38). Yes! But keep in mind that the apostle Peter preached many other things too. “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:40). Peter wasn’t preaching a superficial message about repentance to a generation of impenitent rebels who murdered Jesus Christ. We can be sure that he carried the same burden as John the Baptist and Jesus Christ about genuine biblical repentance. Peter didn’t want to give a false peace to people who weren’t truly being converted to Christ. This can be proven by a short survey of Peter’s ministry in the Book of Acts.
“Repentconverted
One day, a man named Simon the Sorcerer received the sacrament of water baptism without true repentance (Acts 8:13-21). He was baptized by Phillip the Evangelist. Simon went into the water and came out of it as the exact same person! Nothing happened. The apostle Peter found him to be a false convert to Christianity. Therefore, Peter confronted Simon, saying, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (Acts 8:22). A genuine and biblical repentance consists of certain verifiable fruits. Peter saw bad fruit, the same which he called, “wickedness”, and thus discerned that Simon was still in need of salvation. “Ye shall know them by their fruits.” (Matt. 7:16). This type of preaching is characteristic of all the apostles. The apostle Paul summed-up his own ministry of preaching in the following words.
that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance
All the apostles were fighting for the salvation of souls in a battle of repentance. One day, Peter was preaching the Gospel to a Gentile named, Cornelius, and his house was full of guests eagerly listening to the Word of God. Suddenly, during the preaching, the people were genuinely repenting and believing in the Gospel, and all of them were immediately filled with the Holy Ghost – right then and there! – without ever receiving water baptism (Acts 10:44-48, 11:14-18). Keep in mind that the “good fruit” of a genuine conversion to Christianity is called “the fruit of the Spirit” (Lk. 3:9, Gal. 5:19-23), because the Holy Ghost is producing the fruit of a genuine and biblical repentance. Repentance is a divine work performed upon the human heart, something comparable to a spiritual heart transplant (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Upon beholding these divine things at work in the household of Cornelius, Peter said, “Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” (Acts 11:18). This is what it means to know the LORD.
I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their heartsKnow the Lord:for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more
Do you know the Lord? The moral Law portrays the personality of God. Reconciliation with God on a heart level is a miraculous work of repentance whereby the Law is written upon the fleshly table of the heart. We know that the function of the heart is to love, but when the Law is divinely written in the heart, obviously, the heart is changed. Now, the heart will continue to function in love, only this time it is naturally and habitually loving the moral Law of God, and thus God Himself, without any personal effort. This is the greatest miracle under Heaven! “But if any man love God, the same is known of Him.” (1 Cor. 8:3).
