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Pastor
Perspective
“Stinky
or Clean?”
by Mike Hill, pastor of Calvary Chapel Aberdeen (mjhill@ida.net)
My favorite part about jogging
is when it’s over. Sure,
I feel good during the exercise phase, but when I’m done it feels even
better. My kids, however,
don’t want to get near me when I first barge through the door.
One day, I jokingly ran toward them, shouting, “Hug
me! Hug me!”
They quickly darted in the opposite direction screaming, “YUCK!
YOU STINK, DADDY! After
the stench and filth was washed away, then they were ready to cozy with
Dad. What cleansed the stink away?
Water and soap, of course. Well,
let’s say I just didn’t feel much like taking a shower and said, “Kids,
I’m not going to take a shower today.
Will you take one for me?”
No doubt they’d think I had a screw loose somewhere.
I wonder if they would respond by saying, “Daddy,
even if we did take a shower for you, you would still stink!” Why? Obviously,
because I need to be personally involved in the cleansing experience,
right?
The soap and water washes away
filth. On a spiritual
level, the only cleansing agent capable of removing sin is the precious
blood of Jesus. The Bible
declares, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews
9:22 NLT). Jesus shed His
blood upon the Cross for your sins and mine (See Romans 5:7-9). No soap. No
detergent. No man-made
stain remover. Not even the
waters of baptism can wash away sin—Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Water baptism is simply the outward sign of an inward, genuine
expression of faith in Jesus. A
believer gets water baptized because he is
a believer, not in order to become
a believer. Consider the
thief who was crucified on the Cross next to Jesus.
He said to Jesus, “Lord,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Jesus affirmed,
“Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke
23:42-43). This sinner was
forgiven of his sins by complete faith and trust in Jesus.
His sins were washed away and he had a place reserved in
heaven—even without being water baptized.
In order to remove the smell and
sweat, I need to personally expose my body directly to the soap and
water. My children cannot
take a shower for me. Likewise,
in order for a person to receive the benefits of the Cross, he or she
needs to receive Jesus Christ into their hearts personally as Lord and
Savior. My friends tell me that they have the authority to get
baptized for people who have died as an unbeliever in their religion.
They assert, “Paul teaches baptism for the dead in 1Corinthians 15.”
But, if you look closely at 1Corinthians 15:29, you’ll discover
this verse is couched between Paul’s argument for the hope of the
bodily resurrection for believers.
Apparently, there were some people in Corinth who taught that
there was no resurrection. So, Paul, in essence was saying, “Don’t you get it? If
you say that there isn’t hope beyond the grave through resurrection,
then why do you have this practice of baptizing for the dead?” Paul is not approving or disapproving of the practice.
He simply used it to show them that what they were doing was
inconsistent with what they were saying.
His point was that there is
a resurrection. Nowhere
does the Bible command believers to do baptism for the dead.
In fact, Jesus said that if people didn’t believe in Him before
they died, they would die in their sins.
No second chances beyond the grave (John 8:24; Luke 16:26; See
also Hebrews 9:27).
Want your sins washed away
today…right now? Open
your heart to Jesus. Your
sins stink to a holy God. Your
sins separate you from Him. But
just as my kids get close after my shower, Jesus it makes it possible
for you to be spiritually clean and draw near to God.
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