Like religion, have any of you ever considered or pondered on how the world has so many Christian-like denominations? Even creating an account on this site, I had to scroll through numerous denominations to pick one for myself--- are they all right, or are they all wrong or is there only one that's right?
The question comes down to this; what differentiates us?
In the Matthew 7:13-14, it speaks of how the gate to Heaven is narrow, and only few find it. How does this apply to us? Many denominations, we can't all be right, right?
Let's scroll back and look at the judicial system in the Old Testament. In order for a person's sins to be atoned for, they would have to bring before an animal to the High Priest, lay their hands onto the animal and pass their sins onto the animal, then the animal was killed and the individual was sent scot-free. Now this happened for a while, before it eventually became one animal per family, and then one animal for the entire nation of Israel, in which the High Priest would be the one to lay the sins of Israel onto the animal, before killing it and atoning for the sins of Israel for that period of time. (Book of Leviticus)
But what does this have to do with what I was talking about? Well, let's go to the New Testament. If you take a look at the 4 Gospels very closely, you can see that they all start at the baptism (Matthew begins at Chapter 3), more accurately, they all begin with John The Baptist. Now with God, there are no coincidences, so what does this mean?
See, if you take a look at the genealogy of John The Baptist, he comes from the Aaronic Priesthood (Luke 1:5). Now, the Aaronic Priesthood in the Old Testament, were the only ones who were allowed to carry out the sacrificial atonement. Clearly, these two correlate. See, John The Baptist was not the Messiah, but he was there to prepare the way for the Messiah, which is Jesus Christ.
This is why the baptism of Jesus plays a pivotal role in a born-again believers life, and is the ticket to entering the Kingdom of God;
See, the baptism of Jesus is important to us believers because it was at His baptism that His ministry began; Matthew 3:13-17, "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
You see, without Christ's baptism, there would never be a cross. Now why do I say this? Go back to the Old Testament, the sacrificial system. In order for sins to be atoned for, the animal would first need to be brought before a High Priest, who would lay his hands on the animal, and then pass the sins of Israel onto the animal before killing it and sending Israel scot-free. If you take a look in John 1:29, John The Baptist refers to Jesus as "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world". There's a reason for that; Jesus was the sacrificial atonement that God provided us.
Now, before the animal was killed in the Old Testament, a few things had to be done first. And remember, with God, there are no coincidences. Everything is planned, and pre-ordained. So in order for the Righteousness of God (our sanctification) to take place, the sacrificial atonement needed to be done, and it has to begin somewhere--- Christ's baptism.
Because John the Baptist comes from the Aaronic Priesthood, he had the qualification to pass the sins of the world onto Jesus. What the animals in the Old Testament could do temporarily, Christ did eternally. This laying on of hands at Christ's baptism occurred the same manner it did in the Old Testament. And once it was done, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove to testify, and God was delighted.
This is why for the next 3 years, Christ was hated, hurt, bruised, flocked, mocked etc. Not because of anything He did or didn't do, but because of the multitude of sins that was on Him, even though He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is also why Christ had to die; because the wages which sin pays, is death (Romans 6:23).
Planned and purposed by God, this is the Way, this is the Truth and this is the Life--- Christ. We cannot come to the cross, without first uniting with Christ at His baptism. His death can never be ours, if we don't know where He even took it. And if His death isn't ours, how can His life be ours?
Now this is the Water (baptism) and Blood (death) that Christ speaks of that gives us that ticket to Heaven. If Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life that we proclaim He is, then isn't there only 1 Way, 1 Truth, and 1 Life?
The question comes down to this; what differentiates us?
In the Matthew 7:13-14, it speaks of how the gate to Heaven is narrow, and only few find it. How does this apply to us? Many denominations, we can't all be right, right?
Let's scroll back and look at the judicial system in the Old Testament. In order for a person's sins to be atoned for, they would have to bring before an animal to the High Priest, lay their hands onto the animal and pass their sins onto the animal, then the animal was killed and the individual was sent scot-free. Now this happened for a while, before it eventually became one animal per family, and then one animal for the entire nation of Israel, in which the High Priest would be the one to lay the sins of Israel onto the animal, before killing it and atoning for the sins of Israel for that period of time. (Book of Leviticus)
But what does this have to do with what I was talking about? Well, let's go to the New Testament. If you take a look at the 4 Gospels very closely, you can see that they all start at the baptism (Matthew begins at Chapter 3), more accurately, they all begin with John The Baptist. Now with God, there are no coincidences, so what does this mean?
See, if you take a look at the genealogy of John The Baptist, he comes from the Aaronic Priesthood (Luke 1:5). Now, the Aaronic Priesthood in the Old Testament, were the only ones who were allowed to carry out the sacrificial atonement. Clearly, these two correlate. See, John The Baptist was not the Messiah, but he was there to prepare the way for the Messiah, which is Jesus Christ.
This is why the baptism of Jesus plays a pivotal role in a born-again believers life, and is the ticket to entering the Kingdom of God;
in John 3:5 it says,
"Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."
and in 1 John 5:6 it says,
"This is He Who came by (with) water and blood [His baptism and His death], Jesus Christ (the Messiah)—not by (in) the water only, but by (in) the water and the blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit Who bears witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is the Truth."
Now, this isn't the same baptism one has as a baby. This isn't the same baptism one has by just going into the water. It isn't about that outer body going into the water, but rather a heart matter; 1 Peter 3:21, "And baptism, which is a figure [of their deliverance], does now also save you [from inward questionings and fears], not by the removing of outward body filth [bathing], but by [providing you with] the answer of a good and clear conscience (inward cleanness and peace) before God [because you are demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.""Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit."
and in 1 John 5:6 it says,
"This is He Who came by (with) water and blood [His baptism and His death], Jesus Christ (the Messiah)—not by (in) the water only, but by (in) the water and the blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit Who bears witness, because the [Holy] Spirit is the Truth."
See, the baptism of Jesus is important to us believers because it was at His baptism that His ministry began; Matthew 3:13-17, "Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
You see, without Christ's baptism, there would never be a cross. Now why do I say this? Go back to the Old Testament, the sacrificial system. In order for sins to be atoned for, the animal would first need to be brought before a High Priest, who would lay his hands on the animal, and then pass the sins of Israel onto the animal before killing it and sending Israel scot-free. If you take a look in John 1:29, John The Baptist refers to Jesus as "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world". There's a reason for that; Jesus was the sacrificial atonement that God provided us.
Now, before the animal was killed in the Old Testament, a few things had to be done first. And remember, with God, there are no coincidences. Everything is planned, and pre-ordained. So in order for the Righteousness of God (our sanctification) to take place, the sacrificial atonement needed to be done, and it has to begin somewhere--- Christ's baptism.
Because John the Baptist comes from the Aaronic Priesthood, he had the qualification to pass the sins of the world onto Jesus. What the animals in the Old Testament could do temporarily, Christ did eternally. This laying on of hands at Christ's baptism occurred the same manner it did in the Old Testament. And once it was done, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove to testify, and God was delighted.
This is why for the next 3 years, Christ was hated, hurt, bruised, flocked, mocked etc. Not because of anything He did or didn't do, but because of the multitude of sins that was on Him, even though He knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).
This is also why Christ had to die; because the wages which sin pays, is death (Romans 6:23).
Planned and purposed by God, this is the Way, this is the Truth and this is the Life--- Christ. We cannot come to the cross, without first uniting with Christ at His baptism. His death can never be ours, if we don't know where He even took it. And if His death isn't ours, how can His life be ours?
Now this is the Water (baptism) and Blood (death) that Christ speaks of that gives us that ticket to Heaven. If Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life that we proclaim He is, then isn't there only 1 Way, 1 Truth, and 1 Life?
