A WORD IN SEASON TO THE WEARY
December 16🌷🌷
“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized” (Acts 22:16)
Baptism is the third fundamental and foundational principle of salvation (Hebrews 6:2). Many believers are ignorant about its necessity and importance. Supposing some vitamins are lacking in our body, we will fall sick. Many people go to the hills in South India for summer holidays because it has a good climate. Years ago, it was found that people there were suffering from some skin disease. The reason was not known. The climate was good, the water was nice and there was plenty of good food, yet people were falling sick. After much research it was discovered that there was no calcium in the water. When calcium was added to the drinking water, they were healed. Thus we see that a lack of calcium or phosphorous or iron or vitamins brings sickness in the body. Similarly, if we do not obey in the waters of baptism we cannot grow spiritually. Baptism is as important as any other fundamental principle of salvation. The enemy uses many devices to keep believers blind about it. Some believers say that baptism is not necessary; if we are born again that is enough. For nominal Christians baptism is only a ritual, but for believers it is a testimony. It is baptism that we understand by revelation our union with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
After my conversion, for two years I never thought of baptism. I read the Bible every day. Sometimes I used to spend a whole day with the Bible, but was not baptized thinking that it was not necessary. One Saturday morning in the month of February 1932 as I was having my quiet time the Lord spoke to me through Matthew 3:13. “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.” The Lord said to me clearly, “Are you in any way better than your Saviour?” I replied “Lord, I never said so.” He said, “Then what about baptism”? I had been thinking that baptism was not very important because I was born again and was giving my testimony everywhere. But the Lord spoke to me very clearly, that He was baptized for my sake, even though there was no need for Him to do so. The very next day I took baptism. That day I myself took the meeting and during the meeting I was baptized. I was filled with great joy when I came out of the water, and from that day onwards the Bible became a new book to me. I enjoyed much liberty in prayer and witnessing. Every thing became new to me. I discovered that there are 51 references in the Gospels and the Epistles about baptism. I put them all together and studied them.
