Baptism

startrekfan 1,

Why do you debate with yourself in such a manner? Let me ask you a question. If a person is born from above, why would they need to get wet with water (H2O) in order to be born again?
Listen to what the Spirit has to say; John the Baptist, a forerunner (one who proceeds; a teacher's advocate) baptized with water [a physical teaching of what is to come by the Spirit,when the true Teacher comes], but Jesus baptized with Spirit! God wants what originally belonged to Him in the beginning, the spirit that resides in your body. No amount of water will make you clean, nor purify your hands; the Lamb's Blood is the only thing that can sanctify you. Once sanctified, by washing with the Blood, God justifies you and proclaims you a Son of the Most High. The whole NT is about the spirit of man being reconciled back to the Father of spirits. Water baptism is good to do. It is a part of your testimony, but not necessary.
We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the Words of our testimony. When you are born from above, Jesus moves in with your spirit [inside your physical body]. You become one with the Christ and with God. *NOTE* Doctrinal teaching, i.e. 'Rapture', teaches that we will get married in heaven. Well, God teaches that when you are born again, you become a bride of Christ right then. Jesus is the kingdom of God, for it is written, "The kingdom of heaven is in you."**********
I think that where you go wrong, like most young children, is that you separate yourself from the Word, from Jesus. You must read His Word and not stop! Meditating on His Word is extremely important and to be done every night when you put your head on your pillow [see Psalms]. During meditation, the Spirit in the Word is opened up and deposited into your mind, renewing your thoughts, and eventually your ways.
You can't wrestle with flesh and blood to contend for your faith. Apostle Paul said this! The kingdom of Darkness has no power over you, or anyone else. Christ defeated Satan. Totally! What Satan's kingdom can do, however, is to come against your thoughts through suggestions. Again, He has no power, unless you allow it. Jesus defeated the devil with the Word that was in Him, and so must you.
How much Word? Paul, the Apostle, said that he became convinced that nothing could separate him from the Love of God. You must meditate on God's Word until you become convinced that the Holy Spirit does indeed live within you [Jesus Spirit] and won't let you fail! [He wrote the Book to you personally]
Learn to know exactly who you are to God Almighty! According to Zechariah 12:1, your inner man was formed from within God; you are a little God. Truthfully, God loves Himself! Your spirit came from Him [your body came from this earth; Adam means red, or earth. Ergo, son of man], As a born again saint, now given a measure of resurrection power, you are truly able to be like Him! And God loves that about you, Brother! Now God loves you just like He loves Himself. Start thinking like an over-comer. Start laughing at your calamities and shortcomings [God laughs at you too!] and know that when you are weak (in your flesh), God can then become strong!

I could have just given you the short answer, which is; Satan is the one behind those thoughts, so speak the Word when undesirable thoughts come, and speak it until it don't come no more. The problem with the short answer is, there is no ministry to build up 'one another's faith'. I am, my Brothers' keeper!

I was just going to suggest that this may be a really great question for Ask a Chaplain - they may be able to help.

startrekfan1 said:

Ok, so I have figured out how to stop having the compulsions and just accept the fact that I am saved.

Before we are saved, our souls are "asleep", meaning that we don't know our sins, we just drift through life.

SOUL ASLEEP = NO SALVATION

However, after we are saved, our souls awaken and we go through sanctification.

SOUL AWAKE = SALVATION

I hope that helps.

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Ahm, no. Before you are saved, your inner man is lost to 'death' in sin. Your soul is your mind(thoughts), will, and emotions. These are renewed by the washing of the Word, so always read and meditate.
Once saved, your spirit [inner man] is quickened (or made alive) in Christ because of the power of the Blood of Christ. Your compulsions will still keep coming though. So learn to use the Word to fight back. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, they are spirit. Become convinced that the Word works on your behalf.
Now. Have you received the baptism in the Holy Ghost? Do you have evidence manifesting in you?

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."

amen

can i ask when you got baptised?

doubt.
a weapon of the devil.

Do you love Jesus?
Do you have faith in Him?
Do try to follow His commands?

We all have areas in our lives that keep us from being a "stronger" christian.
Keep going. Run the race.

King David is a prime example.
Look at his heart according to God.
Look at all the mistakes he made. Serious ones at that in the physical world.

David wanted to serve God justly.
If you look at the last days of Solomon even in all the wisdom God granted him. He turned away and did evil in the sight of the Lord.

So you can focus on the things of God. or focus on worrying.
Matthew says Do not worry. Inspirational sermon by Christ.

Edouard.
May God grant you inner peace and strength to move past your stumbling blocks.

stelow said:

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."

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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 [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Spirit, he cannot [/FONT][/FONT]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. ​

[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]
Notice He made a difference between flesh and spirit.
[/FONT][/FONT]
John 3:7 [FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[/FONT][/FONT]

startrekfan1 said:

Hey there yall

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.

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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!

Elecmech said:

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!

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Elecmech said:

Tanzel, what a wonderful word to speak! And so full of truth, too! Spiritual Antiseptic is so right on.

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praise the lord

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)

amorphousk, welcome to CF.

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

Schroeder said:

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

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