Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Right now, there are thousands of people around the world who are thinking seriously about being baptized as followers of Jesus. But some thoughtful ones are disturbed, asking questions: How do I know I can hold out? Suppose I make promises to God that I find I can't keep? Suppose I fall back again into sin? Won't this make Him angry? And some, because of these fears, shy away. What does it mean to be ready to be baptized?
Forget me or any preacher for the moment, and look at what Jesus Himself says: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). And lest you doubt that He really said that (some people do), then what about what the apostle Paul said to the jailer who asked him at midnight, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul's answer was: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30, 31). And then you take a deep breath, and you wonder, Is it really that easy? You've heard so many people talk about doing this or that, and these two texts have you confused. "Don't I have to keep the ten commandments?" you ask.
Well, let's be careful and see what the ten commandments really say. Many preachers misquote them by leaving out the beginning of what the Lord said: "I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" (Ex. 20:2). If you leave out that precious Good News you misconstrue all "ten" commandments! If you choose to believe that, then they suddenly change color, and become ten promises.
If you will choose to believe that the Lord has saved you from the darkness, the death, the horror that is "Egypt," the sin of the world, that He has delivered you by means of His great sacrifice for you, that you have been delivered from that "house of slavery," that by His blood He has given you freedom (if you do believe this your heart is melted and is reconciled to God!), then the Lord promises that you will never bear false witness, never steal, never commit adultery, never kill (includes hating people!), etc., etc. And yes, you will keep the Sabbath, the Lord's day. All because you have chosen to believe, to appreciate, what He has done for you! "Why do you tarry?" (Acts 22:16).
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 11, 1998.
Copyright © 2012 by "Dial Daily Bread."
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