When the Holy Spirit brings life to the Word of God, revealing the truth to you, it's then up to you to respond either by hardening your heart or receiving it and being born again.
John 3:3-5 (NIV)
3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit."
In verse 5, born of the water in this case is the Word of God. Notice the Lord mentions the kingdom of God again, but He adds a little more information. He says "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. When he mentions spirit He means exactly that. Watch how the Lord gives something physical to describe exactly what He means.
John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Notice He made a difference between flesh and spirit.
John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
I just wanted to share my biggest OCD compulsion and ritual with you all.
I believe that baptism is a necessary requirement for salvation for the remission of sins.
You have nothing to worry about. Baptism is the work of God precisely because we can not accomplish what is needed on our own. He gave us baptism because we will always fall short.
Tanzel, what a wonderful word to speak! And so full of truth, too! Spiritual Antiseptic is so right on.
Startrekfan1, just devour the Words of the bible, for this is God's doctrine, the true religion. When you have seen Jesus, you are there. He promised to manifest Himself to those who do believe in Him by obeying His Word. It only gets better and better. Oh! Come on, Brother! Get intimate with Jesus. You are His Bride after all!
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Tanzel, what a wonderful word to speak! And so full of truth, too! Spiritual Antiseptic is so right on.
Startrekfan1, just devour the Words of the bible, for this is God's doctrine, the true religion. When you have seen Jesus, you are there. He promised to manifest Himself to those who do believe in Him by obeying His Word. It only gets better and better. Oh! Come on, Brother! Get intimate with Jesus. You are His Bride after all!
Originally Posted by Elecmech
Tanzel, what a wonderful word to speak! And so full of truth, too! Spiritual Antiseptic is so right on.
Hi, I'm new to this forum but i saw this post and just wanted to share something about it.
I used to feel this exact same way. I got baptized as child, when i was 11. I never really lived correctly as a christian after that. After I turned 21 i really started repenting of the way i'd lived and started looking more into Gods word. I knew that i hadnt been living right and when i thought about the time i'd gotten baptized i knew i'd gotten baptized for the wrong reasons. It had nothing to do with serving God and mostly had to do with what was expected of me as a member growing up in the church.
God is always waiting for a new Christian to come to him. If you were repentant of your sins, believed that Jesus is the Son of God, had a desire to serve the Lord and were sincere in these thoughts/feelings then your baptism was surely valid. Any doubts you feel afterwards are most likely just feelings of guilt brought on by sin. That happens to all of us. I got rebaptized in 2006 (though i consider it getting baptized the first time) because i knew i didnt do it for any of these reasons.
If you still have these feelings and worries in the future then go to God in prayer. Repent of your sins and ask for forgiveness. He is capable of overcoming all our earthly shortcomings and will be there for you. I hope this helps you some what and just want to leave a verse about worry here.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)
your doubt is becasue its not a need for remission of sins. Christ did this once for all on the cross for you. rom 5, hebrews 9:23-10:10. read these passages. It shows that this act for forgiveness was once for. Would you not consider you doing an act for forgiveness, the same as what was done with the animal sacrifices mentioned in these passages. it would be crucifying christ over and over. It would make it seem his sacrifice was not fully sufficient. It is the baptism of the holy spirit that saves and gives us a new birth. Maybe you are not really saved because you have placed this salvation and forgiveness on water baptism and not with the spirit baptism. Though i think most who hold this view are actually saved through this rite becasue they believe in Christ and his sacrifice. read rom 8:1-17. Answer the guestion in gal 3:2-5,14,22 then read eph. 1:13-14
your doubt is becasue its not a need for remission of sins. Christ did this once for all on the cross for you. rom 5, hebrews 9:23-10:10. read these passages. It shows that this act for forgiveness was once for. Would you not consider you doing an act for forgiveness, the same as what was done with the animal sacrifices mentioned in these passages. it would be crucifying christ over and over. It would make it seem his sacrifice was not fully sufficient. It is the baptism of the holy spirit that saves and gives us a new birth. Maybe you are not really saved because you have placed this salvation and forgiveness on water baptism and not with the spirit baptism. Though i think most who hold this view are actually saved through this rite becasue they believe in Christ and his sacrifice. read rom 8:1-17. Answer the guestion in gal 3:2-5,14,22 then read eph. 1:13-14
amorphousk, welcome to CF. 
Linear Mode
