Doctrine of Baptisms
Having just posted the latest episode of Sabbath Thoughts and Reflections where my focus was on baptism or the Doctrine of Baptisms as mentioned in Hebrews 6, a full day later I’m just as fired up about this topic as I was when I recorded and posted it yesterday. I just can’t get past this inkling that there is more to this foundational part of our Faith. The simple fact that Yeshua, having no sin whatsoever in his life and thus having no conceivable need or requirement to be baptized (or as many of the Messianics call it–mikvehed), humbled Himself nonetheless and went through with this most personal and solemn rite of our Faith. Which for me speaks ever so loudly that if the Master felt such a compulsion to be baptized (or mikvehed) by Yochanan, as the Ethiopian Eunuch said to Phillip on the road leading from Yerushalayim to Gaza, “here’s some water! Is there any reason why I shouldn’t be immersed?” (Act 8:36 CJB)
Baptisms on the Jordan River
Certainly, traditional Christianity has formed much of our understanding and individual perspectives on the subject of baptism. I would venture to guess that the vast majority of traditional Christians out there if asked about baptism would contend that baptism is a one-time deal that must be done at the outset of one’s conversion experience and entering into Christianity. Heck, I once held such a staunch view up to recently (oh, about a year or so now). It wasn’t until I heard teachings from Arthur Bailey and Michael Rood that my understanding and perspective on subject of baptism was changed. Who knew? I never took into consideration the possible reasons behind Yochanan ben Zecharyah’s (John’s the Immerser’s) employment of immersion people in water for the purpose of addressing sin in their lives. I always thought that Yochanan was the brain-child behind this “sacrament” of the “church” that Jesus and His disciples (soon to be apostles) would adopt and carry on to its fullest employment and ultimate meaning in the Faith. But like everything else I’ve experienced since transitioning over to the Hebraic Roots of the Christian Faith, everything has a Hebraic origin and there is always a rich and beautiful meaning behind the things we often take for granted in our Faith. Baptism (or as Michael often calls it–Mikveh) is simply one more example of this broader background contained in the Hebraic Roots of the Faith.
The Doctrine of Baptisms Examined
So baptism, the practice employed by Yochanan at the Yarden (aka the Jordan) and later Yeshua’s disciples and apostles, seemed to focus on the immersion of one into water for the remission of sins. By virtue of who was conducting the baptisms at the time, those adherents became identified with that baptizer or immerser. Thus, hundreds of adherents became identified with Yochanan and later even hundreds more became identified with the Master. Ultimately, it became the practice of baptizing adherent in the name of Yeshua and thus all adherents would ultimately be identified with Yeshua Hamaschiach. But there was an even greater nexus involved in the practice of baptisms in the first-century church, with the same ramifications for us today. Along with the baptism new adherents experienced related to the remission of sins and repentance and identification with the Master, by virtue of their identifying with Yeshua, there was almost certain suffering to be had by all involved. Fox’s Book of Martyrs is a classic and heart wrenching compendium documenting the sufferings of the first-century Saints. These, simply by virtue of their conviction and identification with the Messiah, upcoming coming out of the water, had their individual fates sealed in blood. These would endure unimaginable sufferings and deaths at the hands of unrepenting Jews and Romans. This is a baptism that for the millions of Christian adherents in the world today reject. Why? Because the doctrine, belief and teachings on a secret rapture that is coming to sweep the believer away to paradise cannot possibly contain any hint of suffering, tribulation or persecution. Sadly, these same millions, looking into the skies for the return of Yeshua and their swift snatching away from this earth, will be in for a “Rood Awakening.”
I am appalled and ashamed that churchianity has so blinded the masses to think that they are immune to tribulation, persecution and martyrdom, primarily in the West. The Holy Writ no where documents a promise that the redeemed of the Most High will escape the baptism of suffering that is promised and inherited by all believers in Yeshua Messiah. How dare we take on such a pompous attitude and belief that we are somehow greater than the Saints of the first-century church and that we are immune to persecution, tribulation and martyrdom. What makes us think we are so much more privileged than these? This is even more aggravating when we consider that the nominal Christian of today lives their lives more so in the world than they do in the Faith. The nominal Christian of today has no problem going to their respective churches on Sunday morning and then returning to a life of carnality and secularism, even on their way home from the service. For the majority of us, there is no baptism of suffering to be imagined, to say the least, no baptism of identification with Yeshua. It’s a fools game believers are playing in the 21st-century. There is coming a baptism of suffering that all would-be believers in Christ must endure, unless these elect to turn in their Christianity in exchange for protection and safety from the tribulations to come.
The true believer in Yeshua Messiah, by virtue of undergoing a baptism of repentance and identification and present and future suffering, will experience a baptism of fire. It is us who are experiencing, through daily prayer, meditation, study, fasting and obedience to the Torah Lifestyle, that those areas of our life that inhibit or damage our relationship with the Father are purged and cut away from us; and these none fruit producing areas of our lives are tossed into the unquenchable fire by Ruach Hakodesh. It is this baptism of fire that purifies us from all unrighteousness and we become as pure gold in the sight of the Creator. This is a unique baptism that Christianity has relocated to a simple imputation and not so much a process. This erroneous ideology is one of the reasons why Christians are so prone to hold on to their secular lives and reject Torah. Torah living, by nature, requires a total surrender to the Father and a subsequent make-over, in part by imputation, but also through the working of the Ruach Kodesh in our lives to assist us in living Torah and living holy lives, acceptable to the Father in Heaven. This baptism is the most enriching as well as one of the most painful experiences that any believer will experience. This couples with the baptism of the Ruach Kodesh, that helps us live Torah the way Yeshua Hamaschiach taught to live. It is this baptism that brings all that we learn through the Father’s anointed teachers and from our study of the Bible to our thoughts and memory when necessary. It is this baptism that gives each of us the courage to proclaim the Master’s message of repentance and the Message of the Kingdom to a dying and lost world without hesitation, trepidation, fear or confusion. The televangelists have hijacked this baptism to sway the minds of would be contributors that they will be healed and gain riches by simply sending them money. These same televangelists will put on quite a show and call upon the Holy Spirit to move the hearts of all to send in money to support their operations and of course many heed this call. These millions are duped into thinking that they can not harvest the power and might of the Ruach for themselves and realize and experience the exploits spoken of by the Master Himself to His chosen apostles. We’ve remained babies, unable to provide and care for ourselves, requiring God’s so-called anointed to pray and intercede for us. We are hopeless. But this is one of the greatest tricks of the enemy; to blind us into thinking that the baptism of the Ruach Kodesh is for us and the power of the Spirit is at our disposal.
Then it is our direct relationship with the Father that should cause us to always be concerned about our state of being before Him. Are we, as stipulated in Torah, in a perpetual state of purity and holiness; acceptable to the Father? Or have we by our own negligence or simply because of life’s situations, entered into a state of impurity. Simply because Yeshua, who was without sin, died for each of us and that act nullified the penalty of death that would be levied upon us because of our sin, doesn’t change the simple fact that we continue to sin and we often enter into states of impurity that the Father has indicated that He does not accept. If we know better, shouldn’t we do better? Is there a baptism of purification that is efficacious for each of us? Is there a way that we can emerge from an impure state to one of purity and acceptability before the Father. Could the fact, in part, that traditional believers hold to a one-time fits all mentality related to baptism be the reason why believers have no qualms holding so tightly to the world? Simply look at the movies and television shows we watch; the social activities we participate in; the books we read; the conversations we enter into; the things we do that are in opposition to Torah (i.e., adultery, idolatry, fornication, lying, stealing, etc.)–all these things put us into a state of impurity (although those acts that diametrically oppose Torah such as idolatry, adultery, murder and the like must be addressed from a full-on repentance standpoint and not just from a purity standpoint).
Where Do You Stand on the Subject?
So I ask you, as I’ve asked myself throughout this past week: what significance does baptism (or mikveh) hold for the true believer in Yeshua Messiah? Well, I ultimately answered my own question from the reasoning I just completed. Indeed, baptism is everything to the believer. Yeshua, who was without sin, chose to be baptized. What reason did He give Yochanan for submitting to baptism? The Master saw baptism as a righteous act. And being a righteous act, it seemed to Him reason enough that He be a part of it. Which stands further reason that if the Master stands behind and supports the doctrine of baptisms, who are we then to think otherwise?
Be most blessed fellow Saints in Training. Shalom.