Ezekiel 36:25-27 is exactly why water baptism is true. It’s a spiritual cleansing (I will put my Spirit within you) that becomes efficacious only through a material cleansing (I will sprinkle clean water on you). All the confusion comes from the fact that you think water baptism is a work we perform in order to save ourselves. This is wrong. Water baptism is a work God does in us to save us.
2:56 “How was Nicodemus to understand this concept?” Maybe because John the Baptist had been baptizing with water thousands and thousands of people, including Pharisees?
Obviously Nicodemus knew Jesus was NOT talking about liquid water baptism because the scripture shows he understood not .And yet Nicodemus knew of John the Baptist but he knew Jesus was not referring to water baptism or else he would have said ,oh you mean water baptism like John Baptist .
@@JesseMongia the confusion of Nicodemus derives from two factors: 1. He has no idea of how we could possibly be born another time 2. Jesus is using a rather cryptic language. Nonetheless, this doesn’t take away the fact that Jesus is prefiguring here the necessity of water baptism for salvation, which is confirmed later in Scripture (Matthew 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21). Not because water is some kind of magic substance, but because *the Holy Spirit always in Scripture gives life through water.* Jesus is teaching Nicodemus this mysterious symbiosis between the Holy Spirit and water, which is evident throughout all Scripture, and he is surprised that Nicodemus, even though knowledgeable of Scripture, never understood this mystery. But to eliminate any doubt, guess what is the first thing Jesus does after teaching Nicodemus about being born of water and Spirit? He goes down to the Jordan river to perform water baptism.
@@thejerichoconnection3473 Let's go through your statement in bold letters ,THE HOLY SPIRIT ALWAYS IN SCRIPTURE GIVES LIFE THROUGH WATER .Answer me this then ,Acts 19:2-6 ,shows a group of disciples had been baptized yet had not received Holy Spirit , verse2 Also there is no mention of being baptized with water AGAIN ,but received the Holy Spirit when Paul said only the words ,"in the name of Lord Jesus ", and laid hands on them . No water used upon them .
@@JesseMongia do you realize this passage you mentioned negates your position? Verse 2 says that they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit even if they had believed! Isn’t this your position, that you just need to believe and you will receive the Holy Spirit? This verse of the Bible shows you that it doesn’t work like that! So why hadn’t they received the Holy Spirit even if they had been baptized by John the Baptist? Because John’s baptism was just a symbol of the real baptism in Christ that would become available only later, after Pentecost. John’s baptism didn’t provide anyone the Holy Spirit. Only the baptism in Christ does. In fact, as soon as they realized that John’s baptism was not the “real” one, they get properly baptized (verse 5) and immediately they receive the Holy Spirit (verse 6).
The Word does wash us but not as far as the new birth is concerned. At Saul/Pauls conversion Ananias told him," Why tarriest thou" ? " Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord"( Acts 22:16) If our sins are not " washed away" in some aspect during water baptism then Ananias told Paul an untruth. What washes away our sins during water baptism is the blood of Christ. It is in response to the believer obeying the command to repent and be water baptized for the remission of sins. During water baptism,and because of the shed blood of Christ, the Holy Spirit circumcises our conscience, removing the guilt from past sins, and restoring it to its original childlike absence from the consequences of wilful sins, guilt. This is the "washing of regeneration"( Titus 3:5). The Word regeneration defined means to return something to.ite original state. The original state of our conscience is that of an innocent child. This is also what being " born of the water" ( ( John 3:5) is.
3:06 “Nowhere in the Bible we are told to do anything of work for our salvation” Really? “A person is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (James 2:24)
We aren't to do anything to try to earn our salvation,but saving faith involves obedience. If anything we do besides having faith is works why repent ? Repentance is an act of obedience we must choose to do, after we believe, in order to be saved.
@@robertnieten7259 you are so right, and in fact there are “free grace theologians” that preach that repentance is not needed for salvation. Sad but true. I have tried to expose this lie on my channel. God bless.
We are not saved by works of righteousness ,but righteousness WITH faith is evidence that we are saved .Big difference . Faith as living faith is with good works .Faith without good works is dead faith .Still we are not saved by works .The good works is evidence that we are believers .Living faith will produce good works .
@JesseMongia There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. If our salvation is not demonstrated by obedience it is ineffective. When we hear the Word of God and faith is born in our hearts we must then obey the command to repent. Repentance isn't just changing our mind about God but turning from disobedience to Him and stepping out in obedience. Salvation is a free gift but even a free gift must be recieved for it to be ours. The word " recieve" in the new testaments original Greek means " to take hold of". This requires effort on our part . Salvation is about being born again and just as natural birth is the end result of a process so is spiritual rebirth. Once we hear and believe the Word we must be water baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Then we must pray to God for the Holy Spirit. In Acts ch.5 Peter told the sanhedrin that "God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey him" ( Acts 5:32). Lastly, all of Pauls' epistles begin with the greeting," ..to the saints of..". Paul would hardly tell already saved believers of another plan of salvation other that what Peter spoke at the birth of the Christian church in Acts ch 2.
@@JesseMongia the mental contortions Protestants need to make to maintain that only faith is what saves but at the same time that if you don’t have works you are not saved will never cease to amaze me.
3:30 “In John 4:2 we are told that Jesus did not baptize people” Sure, because he had his disciples do it for him! 🤦🏻 “Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John- although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples.”
4:03 The example of the criminal on the cross is irrelevant. Jesus had not yet died nor resurrected. The criminal on the cross was still under the Old Covenant. Water baptism is only required under the New Covenant.
3:00 “in the context of John 3, baptism is nowhere mentioned” This is hilarious. What is the very first thing Jesus does after talking to Nicodemus? John 3:22: “After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and *baptized* “
