Peck. Peck. Peck. The nettlesome noise awakened the woman from a sound sleep. A peckish sparrow perched outside her window trying to eat breakfast—a butterfly frantically fluttering against the inside of the glass. There was a misunderstanding—the butterfly believed it was history, and the hungry bird was frustrated because it couldn’t reach its meal due to the invisible barrier between them. The butterfly had no reason to have the butterflies—it was as safe as if it had been thousands of miles away.
Crippled with panic, yet completely protected. How frequently do we as believers suffer from paralyzing dread regarding our souls when we have no reason to? Lacking assurance, we often live as though our salvation hangs by a thread, as if heaven’s door is barely open and poised to slam shut in our faces. We fear losing our salvation, out-sinning the grace of God, disappointing our Savior one too many times, or being snatched away by the world or the devil. But according to the Scripture, there is something infinitely greater than a glass pane standing between us and falling away from the faith: the nail-scarred hands of Christ Jesus.
Jesus graciously assured that there is no reason for His sheep to live in trepidation: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). Believer, your salvation does not depend on your grip of Christ, but upon His grip of you—and He will never let you go (cf. Heb. 13:5). He likewise promised, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. . . And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37, 39). And your name is inscribed in the Book of Life with immortal ink—even graven in the palms of His hands (Rev. 3:5; Isa. 49:16), and it cannot be erased by your transgressions nor made more permanent by your obedience.
Is this not why Paul exclaimed, “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39, KJV)? God’s grace-kept, eternally-secure, and never-lost children have no reason to live like anxious butterflies. Rather, there are a thousand reasons to mount up with wings as eagles and soar in the joy of blessed assurance. For all who are in Christ, the Lord’s promise remains unchanged: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isa. 41:10).
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today,a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
The air carried the sound of the Savior’s voice to the crowded multitude, but the sound of crashing debris abruptly cut Him off in the middle of His sermon (Luke 5:17-19). There was no earthquake or riot—just a group of hopeful and determined friends who were removing roof tiles from the house where Jesus was speaking (Matt. 9:3-4). Then there was silence, as all eyes were fixed on Jesus. Everyone was curious about what He would do: the nosy crowds, the faith-filled friends of the paralytic, and certainly, the paralytic himself, who hoped that Jesus would reward their efforts by healing him. And gasps must have rippled through the crowd when Jesus, rather than restoring the man’s ability to walk, declared to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you” (Luke 5:20).
The man came seeking physical healing, but received spiritual healing. It is not as though Jesus did not pity his physical condition—He did, and that is why He delivered him from paralysis as well (Matt. 9:6-7). However, the remission of sins was far more important to Jesus than the removal of suffering. Indeed, it is eternally more significant; man’s greatest need is for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, and there is no greater sin-forgiver than Christ. And only He can forgive the multitude of our sins because He is God, as even His enemies attested: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Mark 2:7).
To this day, anyone who comes to Christ in repentance and faith will be delivered from spiritual paralysis and empowered to walk in obedience. Any sinner who comes to the Savior can walk away from the “mats and beds” of their former life of wickedness, and leave their gargantuan sin debt at Jesus’ feet. And this is possible because Christ not only prayed for the forgiveness of sinners on the cross—He paid for it (Luke 23:34; 1 Peter 1:18-19). As Paul said, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). And when Jesus declares to saved sinners, “Your sins are forgiven,” He means all of them. He blots them out by His blood, remembers them no more, and “as far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12; cf. Isaiah 43:35; Micah 7:18-19).
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today,a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
The mob multiplied into a multitude, and their enraged voices grew hoarse from shouting. They demanded that justice be served to this alleged blasphemer and revolutionary. Nothing less than the maximum penalty under the law would satisfy them. However, the governor failed to find sufficient evidence to exact such a swift and severe punishment. Therefore, he turned justice over to the mob and, bringing out an actual convicted felon, he gave them a choice: punish one man and let the other go.
“Whom do you want me to release for you,” asked the governor, Pilate. “Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matt. 27:17). These two prisoners stood before him. One had a bruised and battered face from the prior night’s abuse, while the other smiled with a menacing grin of rebellion. One was wrongly accused of blasphemy and spoke not a word in His defense, while the other was justly found guilty of murder and leading violent uprisings. One Man remained strangely calm, while the other shifted around impatiently, hoping to be released.
The choice was in the hands of the crowd: either release an innocent Christ and re-chain a murderous Barabbas, or release Barabbas and put Jesus to death. Suddenly, a single voice rang out, joined by hundreds of others: “Not this man, but Barabbas!” (John 18:40b). Pilate tried one last time to persuade them otherwise, rightly asking, “Why? What evil has he done?” (Mark 15:14a). But the crowd erupted like waves crashing on the shore: “But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified” (Mark 15:14b-15).
Thus, Christ’s punishment ensured Barabbas’ freedom. The unfair treatment of the Lord Jesus may produce heartache and perhaps even anger, but it should result most of all in humbling self-abasement, considering that we are Barabbas. Who we are in this story is clear. Sinners are guilty and the Son is righteous. Sinners deserve to die and Christ deserved to live.
And yet, because of the great love with which Christ loved us, He traded places with Barabbases like us. The guiltless Christ took on our guilt. The spotless Lamb of God became marred by the filth of our sin. The righteous Jesus became unrighteous in our place. It was just as the prophet Isaiah predicted: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
The devotional column above is from my newest book, 40 Days with Jesus, which is a forty-day daily devotional focusing on the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus. This book is available in hardcover and paperback on Amazon:
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today,a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
Nothing is more enchanting than waking up to a blanket of snow covering the neighborhood on Christmas morning. Nearly everyone dreams of a white Christmas because snow makes it feel like Christmas. Without snow, there are no snowmen, snowball fights, or “dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh.” Christmas and snow go together like hot cocoa and marshmallows.
Snow is also a biblical symbol for righteousness and purity. Snow was the purest form of white to the Jews—nothing was as perfect and pure. Not to mention, the fluffy flakes covered the filth and dirt of the earth. It is no wonder that people in Scripture sought to be as pure as snow, such as David, who prayed, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7). The prophet Daniel also used this imagery to describe God who is uncompromisingly pure and holy: “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow” (Daniel 7:9a).
The Lord reminded His people in Isaiah 1:18 that they were not as white as snow: “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Their sins were like “scarlet,” which is as red as red can be. They were stained, and the sin that colored their lives needed to be washed away. And God promised that they could be made white like snow if they turned to Him in repentance (cf. vv. 19-20). Despite being engulfed in sin’s filth, they could be snow-white by the Lord’s thorough washing.
You also need the Lord to cleanse you of sin. Paradoxically, the blood of Jesus Christ is the only sufficient means of being purified from sin’s crimson stain. As John the apostle said, “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7b). His death makes you whiter than snow in the sight of God because He clothed Himself in the filthy rags of your sin and, in exchange, gives you the white robes of His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). You receive this cleansing when you repent of your sins and trust completely in Christ alone for your salvation (Acts 17:30; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unfortunately, sin will still make you muddy every now and then. And Jesus will continue to wash you when it does. That is why, whenever you sin, you must plead the words of James Nicholson’s hymn, “Whiter Than Snow”:
“Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet;
By faith, for my cleansing I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today,a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
An artist may have half-completed paintings in his studio for lack of time and inspiration. A woodworker may have half-built bookcases and desks in his shop because of a shortage of labor and supplies. A mechanic may have half-finished project cars in his garage due to preoccupation with other pressing matters. A tailor may have half-completed garments in their sewing room due to scarce materials. But there are no half-Christians in the workshop of salvation because God always finishes what He starts.
The apostle Paul promised, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6, KJV). And the point is clear: God makes whole Christians out of unholy sinners and He will sustain them wholly by His grace until Christ Jesus returns. God cannot lie and He has sworn in the testimony of Scripture that if He saved you, He will keep you. It is more probable for the oceans to dry, the sun to cease shining, and God to no longer be God, than for you to lose your salvation. There is no “undo” button for conversion.
You will never fall off of the potter’s wheel as clay being conformed to Christ (Rom. 8:29). You can never evict the Holy Spirit from the home of your heart (Eph. 1:13). You can never erase your name from Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 3:5). You cannot loosen God’s saving grip on your soul (1 Pet. 1:5). You cannot renounce your citizenship in heaven (Phil. 3:20).
The Lord Jesus promised as much in the Gospel of John when he said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37-39). He likewise assured in John 10, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
And God will keep you saved until the end of history and the beginning of eternity. When Christ returns bodily and triumphantly, you will be a finished product. Paul said it best in Romans 8: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30).
Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, their much-prayed for son, Oliver, and their three dogs. Brandon and Dakota previously served as foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and his Bible Gleanings columns are featured in over sixteen publications throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, and Indiana. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today,a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and an editor at Reforming the Heart.
God’s promises are the kindling which fuels the fire of joy within the souls of His saints. When life is like a desolate desert of despair and discouragement, His unbreakable promises are rivers of refreshing gladness. They are the rainbows that bring us rest and relief after the heavy rains of tribulation. Like the sun rising after a night of terrifying storms, the promises of God give us a warm assurance that everything is going to be alright.
And one particular promise in the pages of Scripture that produces deep-seated and divine joy is God’s promise to preserve those who have been born again. God cannot lie and He has sworn in the testimony of Scripture that if He saved you, He will keep you. As long as Jesus remains at the right hand of the Father, then nothing can pluck you from the hand of His sovereign grace. If you are saved by grace, you will be kept by grace until the day when Jesus Christ returns. That is the joy-producing promise that Paul points believers to in the sixth verse of Philippians 1:
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (v. 6, KJV).
The Start of Salvation
“What gives me holy joy that the world cannot take away,” said Paul, “is knowing that God will always finish what He starts, especially the work of salvation He began in you.” According to Paul, your salvation is something that God initiated. He started it, not you. He ran toward you before you ran toward Him. He planned your salvation long ago in eternity past before you ever made plans to call upon His name for grace and mercy (Eph. 1:4). He chose you before you chose Him. “He first loved us,” wrote John in 1 John 4:19a.
Think about the day you were saved for a moment. Perhaps you were kneeling at an old-fashioned altar or sitting with your head bowed in a church pew. Perhaps you were at church camp or Vacation Bible School, or in your parents’ backyard like I was.
Now, think about this: did you plot the day of your salvation on a calendar? Did you plan to repent of your sins and trust in Christ like you plan a doctor’s appointment, three-months in advance? Did you rehearse what you were going to say and make sure everything was just right?
Of course not! Your salvation story and mine is just like the apostle Paul’s—we were straying like lost sheep and minding our own business, and out of nowhere, we had a literal come-to-Jesus meeting (cf. Acts 9:1-9). Salvation wasn’t on our calendar—it was on God’s. And when the appointed time came for our hearts to be arrested by conviction and converted by grace, the Lord Jesus interrupted our selfish lives and drew us to Himself. The Lord opened our hearts like Lydia, the first Philippian convert (Acts 16:14). Indeed, our salvation was not a result of works, as Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-9. Instead, it was and is completely owing to the good work begun by a good and gracious God.
And knowing that God extended undeserved grace and mercy to sinners like us who deserve wrath and judgment ought to be sufficient to foster divine joy in our souls. But that is merely 50% of the precious promise which Paul calls our attention to. The other half that fuels joy all the more is this: “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
The Sustenance of Salvation
The God who saved you is the same God who will sustain you to the very end. It is more probable for the oceans to dry, the sun to cease shining, and God to no longer be God, than for you to lose your salvation. There is no “undo” button for conversion. You cannot be saved and lost and saved again.
You will never fall off the potter’s wheel as clay being conformed to Christ. You can never evict the Holy Spirit from the home of your heart. You can never erase your name from Lamb’s Book of Life. You cannot loosen God’s saving grip on your soul. You cannot renounce your citizenship in heaven.
Our Lord Jesus promised as much in the Gospel of John when he said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day” (John 6:37-39).
And Christ also assured us in John 10, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).
Salvation is a work God started, and He will finish it. An artist may have half-completed paintings in his studio for lack of time and inspiration. A woodworker may have half-built bookcases and desks in his shop for lack of time and resources. But there are no half-Christians in the workshop of salvation. God makes whole Christians out of unholy sinners and He will sustain them wholly by His grace until Christ Jesus returns.
God makes whole Christians out of unholy sinners and He will sustain them wholly by His grace until Christ Jesus returns.
This is not to say that we are easy clay to sculpt. This does not mean that we don’t try to jump off the potter’s wheel occasionally. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit’s living conditions in our hearts are clean and comfortable. God’s promise to keep us until the end does not exempt us from sin or serious falls in the Christian life. There will be times when we fall hard and hit rock bottom, committing atrocious sins like Peter, who denied that he even knew Christ. But we shall never fall away because, if we know Christ, we will always return in repentance just like Peter did when he wept bitterly.
This also does not imply that we can sit back leisurely and expect God to do all the work without any participation on our part. Just one chapter later, Paul commands: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12b). He likewise commanded in Colossians that we absolutely must “continue in the faith” (Col. 1:23). This means that we must make an effort—we must obey God’s word, fellowship with God’s people, strive for holiness, devote ourselves to good works, and everything else that the Bible commands.
But even then, the effort we put forth is enabled and entirely dependent upon the same grace that saved us in the first place. That’s why in the very next verse of that same chapter, Paul says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13, KJV).
And God will work in you to keep you saved until the end of history and the beginning of eternity. That’s why Paul adds at the end, “until the day of Jesus Christ.” The glorious day when Christ returns bodily and triumphantly—that is when you will be a finished product. Paul said it best in Romans 8: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30). That is the golden chain of salvation! The Lord planned your salvation in eternity past, accomplished your salvation in redemptive past—2,000 years ago, and He will finish it in the future when He glorifies you.
And here’s the point to all of this: that day should give us joy this day. Sin and Satan often steal our joy when they whisper in our ear, “You’ll never make it. You wouldn’t have done that if you are a Christian. You’re probably not saved to begin with.” It is easy to become joyless when you focus only on the bad works—the sins that put you behind and hinder progress in your walk with the Lord.
And while we shouldn’t make excuses for our sins or minimize them, we should remember that we are a work in progress—a work that God will one day complete. That ought to cause the wells of joy in our souls to burst. The covenant promise of God to keep us in the grip of grace should bring us holy relief, assurance, and glee.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He now pastors the faithful saints of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
It was dead as a doorknob, and my efforts to revive it were fruitless. I tried everything to resuscitate my wife’s car battery, but it was lifeless from sitting too long. No matter how many times I turned the key or wished with all my heart for an engine roar, it refused to start. The battery also couldn’t recharge itself as it required power from another source. It was dead and needed new life.
But once I connected to my fully-charged battery, what was dead came alive! And this is what occurs in the hearts of all believers at the momentous moment of their conversion. As sinners, we are born spiritually dead and lifeless, and we cannot revive ourselves (Eph. 2:1). No amount of wishing or trying can bring our dead hearts back to life. Only when we are connected to God’s regenerating grace by the cable of faith do we experience new life—and that’s a “battery” stronger than any Duracell.
We exit the tomb of spiritual death when Christ raises us to life, just as He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-44). Lazarus couldn’t revive himself—he was dead. Lazarus couldn’t do good works to earn Christ’s favor—he was dead. Lazarus couldn’t even ask Jesus to resurrect his body because he was dead. Christ accomplishes this awesome work of regeneration without any assistance from man because He is the “resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).
And the Lord promises this to all who experience this death-to-life saving work: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Has the battery of your heart been revived by God’s life-giving grace?
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
For more devotional entries like this, check out Brandon’s latest book, Bible Gleanings Volume II, which features 100 daily devotionals gleaned from God’s word:
Simply put, the ordinance of baptism is a rich symbol of the believer’s salvation. Baptism is an emblematic “watery grave” and a visual sermon which announces that the one being baptized has died to the old life and has been spiritually raised to live a new life. It is a visual testimony of a spiritual reality and an outward expression of an inward manifestation. Baptism is not required for salvation, but it is required for obedience to Christ, as the New Testament model makes abundantly clear. As a matter of fact, those who neglect being baptized publicly are actually denying what has happened to them spiritually and are living in contradiction to the truth.
Of course, many falsely believe that baptism is absolutely necessary for salvation and that the Scriptures teach what is known as “baptismal regeneration,” in which God the Spirit literally regenerates a person when they are immersed in water. This is an essential teaching among Lutherans and restorationists (“churches of Christ”). I have actually heard local restorationists ministers state that the water is the means by which the believer “comes into contact” with the blood of Christ. And this blatant misinterpretation of baptism stems from both a literal reading of the word “baptism” wherever it appears in the New Testament, and an extreme good-works-centered understanding of salvation which proposes that the Holy Spirit needs water to regenerate a sinner’s heart. But nothing could be farther from the truth: baptism is not a necessary component to bring about regeneration; baptism is a necessary visual which declares that regeneration has already occurred within a believer’s heart.
The most compelling argument for baptismal regeneration comes from a surface-level reading of Peter’s declaration in Acts 2:38, where he said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” It would seem that repentance and baptism are prerequisites for being forgiven and receiving the Holy Spirit. However, there are several obvious problems with this interpretation. First, the Greek preposition “for” could actually be translated as, “on the basis of” or “because of,” essentially meaning, “Be baptized because of the forgiveness of sins (which you already possess).” Second, Peter and the apostles omit baptism many times in their gospel sermons, thus emphasizing that faith in Christ alone is what saves sinners (Acts 3:19-20; 10:34-43; 17:29-31). And third, the typical pattern in the Book of Acts is salvation leading to baptism, not baptism leading to salvation (Acts 8:34-38; 9:10-19; 10:44-48).
Ultimately, therefore, physical baptism is a visual representation of this spiritual reality:
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).
Resources from the Ministry of Pastor Brandon G. Bramlett
Brandon's Desk 