BIBLE TEACHINGS MADE PLAIN part 30 – Life after Baptism

BIBLE TEACHINGS MADE PLAIN part 30

Life after Baptism

In this lesson we will talk about discipleship after baptism, our spiritual growth and maintenance program. In other words how to be a genuine follower of Jesus Christ our Lord. All that lives and moves needs maintenance, the same is true for our spiritual life, our walk with Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, 19 teach first towards baptism and then teach after baptism to observe the teachings which have been learned. It means there are two teaching periods, one before baptism and the other after baptism. The second one will last till we meet Christ in glory, which is called our sanctification.

In lesson 29 we dealt with baptism our gateway into the Kingdom of God, our born again experience. We have noticed that Jesus in His talk with Nicodemus explained that it is comparable to a natural birth. We learned from the apostle Peter that it does not take place from human corruptible seed but from the divine incorruptible seed, the Word of God, 1Peter 1:23.

Dear reader if you have been reading these29 Bible teachings, the incorruptible seed, the Word of God, it should have been planted into your life and not remain on the outside. Now it should be the time to let it bear fruit, the born again experience, your baptism should take place. May I call upon you as a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to consider this seriously? In natural life sometimes birth takes place too early before the nine months of inner growth have been completed and that is dangerous, but equally dangerous after the nine months have passed. Some time birth does not come and has to be induced and that can be dangerous. In the kingdom of God we do not induce the born again experience. Baptism has to be voluntarily, by freewill of choice. Read Joshua 24:15 “Choose you today whom you will serve”. You must ask yourself if you believe the Word of God which you have been reading in these 29 Bible teachings. Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Saviour, acknowledging that you are a sinner and that you need a Saviour, which is Jesus? If your answer is “YES”, then your birth through baptism should take place. In my case I never asked for baptism or studies, a minister asked me and I agreed and after 3 months studies he asked me for baptism and I did not say “NO”. I was 15 years at that time, but I am still happy that a minister had an interest in me and asked me. We can only ask you and do what Jesus did, to invite you to come. Read Isa.1:18-20; Matth.11:28; Rev.22:17.

In lesson 29 we discovered a number of people who received the Word of God and confessed their faith in the Word of God and were baptised without any delay and rejoicing much there after. The same will be your experience. If you have a problem in believing seek help from a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We may be able to help you if you let us know and if you so wish.

Now let’s turn to our topic for this lesson, what to do after baptism to maintain our life in Christ as a true disciple. As I mentioned here above it needs to be maintained. Too many are baptised and do not maintain their spiritual experience and loose it. This is most unfortunate and does not have to happen. Spiritual maintenance is three ways, daily, weekly and quarterly. We will start with the quarterly. In Matth.26:17-30 we have the event that Jesus instituted what we call today “the communion service” or ‘the lord’s Supper”. It was time for the annual Passover feast. The Passover feast was instituted when Israel was ready to leave Egypt. The tenth plague was about to take place, the killing of all first born of men and beasts. Israel was told in order to protect their first born they had to put blood of a lamb at the outside of their home door as a sign of protection. In that case the angel would pass their house over. You can read the story in Ex.12. Afterwards they were told to keep the Passover feast annually as a memorial to their Exodus from Egypt, Lev.23:5-7. At the same time this feast made them to look forward to the coming of the Messiah, the true Lamb of God, Isa.53 and John 1:29, 36.

Now Jesus is sitting with His disciples for this Passover feast just one day ahead of His own death. Jesus takes the same Passover bread and gives it a different meaning. Read Matt.26:26 and 1Cor.11:24 where Jesus says “this is my body broken for you, eat and do this in remembrance of me”. Then He takes the cup of the table holding the wine, unfermented, and says “Drink, this is my blood of the New Testament (or Covenant)”. Matt.26:27, 28 and 1Cor.11:25. This also had to be done in remembrance of Jesus. What the covenant or testament is all about you learned in lesson 15. It is the covenant of grace by which we are saved provided we have accepted Jesus as our personal saviour. In the Seventh-day Adventist church we have this service on a quarterly basis, to keep it fresh and meaningful. It helps us quarterly to renew or affirm our faith in Jesus as our Saviour. But it also makes us to look forward to His coming back in glory. 1Cor.11:26. Now Jesus is our Passover 1Cor.5:7 and the communion service a memorial to our born again salvation experience and a looking forward to His glorious return. Each quarter it is made clear again and fresh to our mind that Jesus died in our place and we are saved by grace and through faith in Him and have eternal life because of Jesus.Eph.2:8-10; John 3:16. The communion service does not save us. Jesus is our Saviour, but this service is a memorial to His saving grace and sacrifice for our salvation.

We also know that when Jesus held the Passover feast with His disciples He did something else. It was custom in those days that before entering a room for a feast or a visit a servant would wash the dusty feet of the visitors. At this time this had not taking place. Jesus stood up from the table and started to wash the feet of the disciples. Peter was embarrassed and refused. Jesus said if you refuse you have no part with me. Then Peter responded “wash me all”. But Jesus said if you are washed you only need to have your feet washed. Then Peter agreed and Jesus washed Peter’s feet also. You can read the whole event in John 13:4-15. When Jesus mentioned, “If you have been washed”, He referred to the washing of baptism. The ceremony of humility, as we call it today is a memorial to our own baptism. Therefore it is important to attend that service as Jesus said in John 13:13-15. This also is done quarterly before the communion service. It is done male to male and female to female.

Then there is the weekly spiritual maintenance activity and that has to do with the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath, Ex.20:8-11. We have to remember to keep the Sabbath Holy from sunset to sunset, Lev.23:32. In lesson 17 we discussed this carefully. The Sabbath is for going to church as Jesus did in Luke 4:16 and the apostles did as we read per example in Acts 13:14; 16:13; 18:4. We read that we should not forsake to come together, Hebr.10:25. It is necessary for our spiritual fortification to come together to study the Word in Sabbath school and receiving the Word in the worship hour. This should not be neglected. The fellowship with believers is also important to be bonded together as the family of God. The weekly Sabbath is a memorial to our Creator God and we come together to worship Him to focus on God not on ourselves. We should not go to church with the idea how much do we get out of it, but how much can we bring to God to honour and glorify Him. That in return will become a blessing to us. But the Sabbath is also in memory to our deliverance from our spiritual Egypt, the bondage of our former life outside God. The world outside God is called spiritual Egypt where Jesus was crucified, Rev.11:8. The weekly Sabbath reminds us of what we have found in Jesus as our Saviour and Deliverer from Sin, John 1:29. There are other things we can do on the Sabbath, coming together privately for Bible study and prayer, doing well to people, Luke 6:6-11. We should not do manual labour for other people, which can be done during the six days of labour, but visiting the sick, the lonely, doing missionary work to spread the Good News about Jesus and His coming, are acceptable Sabbath activities.

In the Seventh-day Adventist church as part of their weekly Sabbath service there is what is called Sabbath School, a weekly Bible study usually in a class setting. To make this meaningful a Bible Study Lesson pamphlet is being prepared quarterly. This takes the church member on a systematic plan through the Bible. It is divided in 13 weekly lessons with the idea that the church member studies these lessons on a daily basis at home and thus being prepared to participate in the Bible Study discussion in the weekly Sabbath School. This is also a very good plan for daily spiritual building and strengthening of our faith and connection with God as a part of life after baptism.

If you are or become connected with a Seventh-day Adventist church which holds midweek, Wednesday evening prayer meetings it is strongly recommended to attend these meetings for your spiritual growth and up building.

Finally there is the daily program or activity. Our walk with Jesus in our new-born-again experience must become a daily walk with God as Enoch did, Gen.5:24. When we wake up in the morning our first thoughts should be to thank God awakening us for a new day. Then we should take a few moments for worship, read from the scriptures or a worship book and have worship prayer. You may also choose to do the daily part of the Sabbath School lesson for the week as mentioned here above. When the day ends before we fall asleep for the night we should take a few moments of worship, thank God for the day and ask for a good refreshing sleep. During the day our mind should be in touch with heaven. We know from Daniel he prayed three times a day, Daniel 6:10.David did three times per day Ps.55:17. Peter went on the roof at midday to pray, Acts 10:9 Jesus prayed early in the morning, Mark 1:35; 6:46. We read that we should pray always, 1Thess.5:17 and continue to pray Rom.12:12. God and Jesus should never be out of our mind and the Holy Spirit be our constant Guide. As our loved ones are never out of our mind the same must be in higher form with our Creator and Jesus our Saviour. Unless we set for ourselves such a spiritual maintenance program we will grow cold and loose it altogether and it will be difficult to gain it back. Prayer and Bible reading are very essential for maintaining our born again experience and to remain constantly in touch with our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Life after baptism is not a life under law but under grace. Turn to Titus 2:11-15. When God’s grace has appeared to you by accepting Jesus as your personal Saviour it becomes your teacher. You are not taught by law what to do, but by grace, because you are now living under grace. Grace will teach you to keep the law out of love to God. John 14:15. Grace will teach you how to live godly in your daily life, Titus 2:12 and 2 Peter 3:11-14. Read also Micah 6:8. Grace will give you a focus, to look for the glorious coming of Jesus Christ and be ready for that event, Titus 2:13, 14 and 2 Peter 3:13 by grace we have found something to look forward to. The reason is, because Jesus gave himself for us, His sacrifice for us on the cross which was a love action, John 3:16, and should create in us a love reaction towards God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Dear reader we encourage you to have your baptism arranged as soon as possible and start your spiritual maintenance program and walk with God without delay and you will rejoice over it all the way and all your life. God loves you, Jesus loves you, He died for you, and they aim to see you happy and rejoicing and be in close touch with you as a father is with his children. God bless.

Commitment: By God’s grace I will commit myself that after my baptism I will walk with God as Enoch did, Gen.5:24, and maintain my new spiritual experience by prayer, reading God’s word and having regular fellowship with God and fellow believers.