ARISE AND BE BAPTIZED

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By

Shelby G. Floyd

There are only three aspects of baptism:

The Subject of Baptism

All accountable people are subjects to be baptized. There is not one who is good. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

The Action of Bap­tism

The proper action of baptism (Greek, baptidzo) is by immersion, dipping, submerging, or plunging the accountable person in water. The Greek verb “bapto” (See Luke 16:24) is translated “dip.” The rich man who was lost wanted Lazarus to “dip” his finger in water and cool his tongue!

The Purpose of Baptism

“For the forgiveness of sin” is the purpose for which an accountable person is to be baptized. This article will develop this third aspect of baptism. In brief, sinners need to be baptized to be saved from past sins and to be inducted into Christ where all spiritual blessing are to be found.

When Paul gave an account of his own baptism, he re­lated that the preacher Ananias said, “And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16 ESV). If Paul was saved before his baptism, then he was saved while still in his sins. And if Paul were saved by his faith only, then he had no sins to wash away. Also it would have been foolish for the preacher Ananias to tell him to rise and wash away his sins! But Jesus said baptism was to be saved from sin:

“And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned (Mk. 16:15-16 ESV).

Paul was not saved before his baptism. The Lord Jesus Christ appeared to Saul of Tarsus (Paul) on the road to Damascus. Saul’s purpose for going there was to persecute and imprison the Christians in that city (Acts 9:1-6). Ananias, the preacher went to the house where Saul (Paul) was staying. He stated that he would receive the Holy Spirit, and immediately he received his sight. Then Ananias taught him about baptism, “and he arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:18 NKJV). And we also learn from Paul’s own account of his conversion, that he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision (Acts 26:19).

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Later in Paul’s career as an apostle to the Gentiles, he plainly taught baptism to those at Rome:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?  Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin (Romans 6:1-6 NKJV).

Paul could relate to his own teaching on baptism. Because in water baptism he died to sin, he buried the dead sinner, and resurrected the new person in Christ. Paul and every baptized believer should be dedicated to living the new life in Christ (Romans 6:5-14).

Paul was a strict, zealous persecutor of the church and he thought he was doing the right thing. But he was lost without Christ. But when he did what Christ commanded him to do by the preaching of the gos­pel, he was saved like every­one else then and like all are today.

Copyright © 2022 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved

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Shelby G. Floyd
Heartland Church of Christ
1693 West Main Street
Greenwood, Indiana 46142




WHAT IS MAN?

By

Shelby G. Floyd

Have any of you ever had anybody come up and ask, “What are you?” I’ve never had anybody come up to me and ask that, but I have had people come up to me and ask, “Who are you?”

WHO IS MAN?

We’ll answer that question by maybe giving our name, our address or whether we’re a Hoosier, Kentuckian, or whatever. But I’ve never had anybody ask me, “What are you?” Yet, that is a question that is asked in the Bible. It is not “Who are you?” The question is “What are you?” There are a lot of different theories that degrade man and do not give man the proper rank, dignity and honor that God intended for man to have. For instance, some say that you are born a child of the devil. That’s the theory of total hereditary depravity. Some teach today even in our higher institutions of learning that man is born a child of a gorilla. That’s the theory of evolution. And some for fifty years or more, until just recently, had argued that we are born the child of the state. That’s communism. Any one of those theories would degrade man and not elevate him to his proper rank and dignity. Continue reading “WHAT IS MAN?”

MY FAMILY

By

Shelby G. Floyd

One thing we have to be really thankful for is the Heartland church family. We are a family. And the church family is made up of a lot of wonderful families. And we are thankful for each family here at Heartland. It is wonderful when we come together each Sunday and we see the love that we have for each other and the smiles on everyone’s face. Everyone expresses how glad they are to see each other, to worship together and to serve the Lord.

We are a family and I was wondering how many of you and your children watched the TV show Family Ties. Many of you have enjoyed that show. It brings many good memories when we recall watching a happy family. The church here is a happy family. And this reminds me of what Paul said to the church at Ephesus:

“For this reason I bow my knees unto the Father for whom the whole family in heaven and earth derives its name” (Ephesians 3: 14-15).

Continue reading “MY FAMILY”