Be Baptized
Mt 28:19-20 "Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world."
Mark 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned."
John 3:1-8 And there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
He came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no man can do these miracles which you do unless God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The Spirit breathes where He desires, and you hear His voice, but you do not know from where He comes, and where He goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
If you want to start a fight, you can start all manner of fights over this simple procedure. How is it done? Who officiates? What words are proper to use, that is, in whose name do you perform it? I know my personal preference, but I know also that the truth is best expressed in the Mark 16 passage. We are commanded to do it, but belief, not the rite's process, lies at the core of it. All the discussions of full immersion vs. sprinkling, being sure you say the right names in the right order, having it redone if you join a new congregation, these all smack of the Pharisees "doing things for the eyes of men." We should obey and watch our hearts.
Keep Communion
Mt 26:26-28 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat, this is My body."
And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink all of it.
For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Mark 14:22-25 And as they ate, Jesus took a loaf and blessed and broke it, and He gave to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
And taking the cup, giving thanks, He gave to them. And they all drank out of it.
And He said to them, "This is My blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will no more drink of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God."
Luke 22:14-20 And when the hour came, He and the twelve apostles with Him reclined. And He said to them, "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. For I say to you, I will not any more eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."
And He took the cup and gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God shall come."
And He took bread and gave thanks, and He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you, this do in remembrance of Me."
In the same way also the cup, after having dined, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you."
John 6:30-59 Therefore they said to Him, "What sign do you show then, so that we may see and believe you? What do you work? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, as it is written, 'He gave them bread from Heaven to eat.'"
Then Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, Moses did not give you that bread from Heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from Heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world.
Then they said to him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread."
And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you also have seen Me and do not believe. All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will in no way cast out. For I came down from Heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.
"And this is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day.
"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him should have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day."
Then the Jews murmured about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from Heaven." And they said, "Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How now does this One say, I have come down from Heaven?"
43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur with one another. No one can come to Me unless the Father who has sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Therefore everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God, He has seen the Father.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes on Me has everlasting life. I am the Bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and died.This is the Bread which comes down from Heaven, so that a man may eat of it and not die.
"I am the Living Bread which came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he shall live forever. And truly the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
Then the Jews argued with one another, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
Then Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you do not have life in yourselves. Whoever partakes of My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who partakes of My flesh and drinks My blood dwells in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live through the Father, so he who partakes of Me, even he shall live by Me. This is the Bread which came down from Heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna, and died; he who partakes of this Bread shall live forever."
59 He said these things in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
And if you want to start another fight...
Jesus makes it clear that we are to share a blessed mealmeatn to , at least, symbolize his sacrifice. Depending on your church, that can be taken to vatrious limits or extremes. The john 16 passage expands on the teaching, meaning he suggested we eat of his flesh long before that last meal so the symbolism was less shocking to the disciples than it appears when read in the earlier Gospels. We can borrow from the Nike ads and say, "Just do it." something my parents were often fond of saying when they had no explanation for why we did something. But Jesus dwelt on the act, meaning it should draw our attention and devotion.
However we may do the act, with wine or juice, with a belief in actual flesh or symbol, it stands as an essential rite, as essential as Baptism. This one, more visibly than baptism, stresses our unions, one with the other and with God. It is a public acknowledgment not just of our commitment, as Baptism, but also to our ongoing commitment. This maybe repeated as often as wished and have the same meaning, sometimes even with added meaning as we mature and learn more of forgiveness and its meaning to us. Baptism symbolizes our singular rebirth and this symbolizes our continued growth.
