By
Shelby G. Floyd
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved…”—Jesus
FIRST MENTION OF BAPTISM IN THE ENGLISH BIBLE
In the English Bible the word baptism occurs the first time in Matthew chapter three. It is used in connection with the preaching of John the Baptist. The people from Jerusalem, Judaea, and the entire region round about Jordan, were baptized of John in the Jordan River, confessing their sins (Matthew 3: 6). The baptism of John was for the remission of sins (Mark 1: 4). It was a baptism founded upon repentance, and unto a life of repentance (Mark 1: 4; Matthew 3:11). Many of the Sadducees and Pharisees, who came to be baptized, were told by John to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Some of them rejected the baptism of John, and in so doing, they rejected the counsel of God against themselves (Luke 7: 29-30). Continue reading “WATER BAPTISM”