Personally for me, I grew up in a so-called "Christian" faith, and for me it wasn`t much of a breakthrough. I kept on asking "why this?" and "why that?" because I never understood what I believed in and never had the faith to believe in Christ but posed as though I did because that`s what my family believed in. So I grew up being skeptical and accepted whatever was thrown on front of me by friends or acquaintances without any thought. And honestly, I felt terrible. I believed there was a God, and I tried my best to pray, but to no avail. I never seemed to have any meaning in my life. Nothing extraordinary, no "miracle". I kept on questioning this faith. And then one day, it happened; I moved churches.
In the beginning, the Gospel preached there was vague and the same thing I heard over and over again, and honestly I was reluctant to go to church. But being a kid and all, that was not an option as I was basically dragged around everywhere by my folks, especially to church. After a couple of years, I started to realize something with the Gospel being preached at this particular church, which is NCCKL. It was no longer the same "grace" messages or worldly ideas being preached by the pastor or other people. It was different. Peculiar in the beginning, but as I started to hear it more and more, it made so much more sense than what I`ve been hearing for 11 years. This Gospel that I heard, was none other than the Gospel of the water and Spirit. And finally, my life had meaning again. Finally I found a reason to live. But not because of something I did or tried to do, but because of what Christ has done for me.
In this Gospel, there are 3 crucial elements, that one true believer needs to know; water, blood and Spirit. Although before this I never understood what the water was and is, I now understand it`s true meaning and it`s importance in not only my life, but the life of every individual, sadly, many people lack it. God chose one man to represent all of mankind, not because God liked him more than another, but because he was qualified (Luke 1:5) to lay his hands onto Jesus and baptize Him. And he is no other, than John the Baptist. The laying on of hands here not only has a physical meaning, but spiritually, this is where Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world and became our personal sin bearer.
The one thing about this Gospel, is that questions need to always be asked so that our faith could grow to become stronger and greater. One of them was "How do you know that Jesus took our sins at His baptism?" Firstly, we have to refer to the Old Testament as it is a shadow of the New Testament. They coincide with one another. So in the Old Testament, in order to atone for the sins of Israel, the high priest (Aaronic priesthood) would lay his hands on an unblemished animal, and pass the sins of Israel onto the animal which was then killed, and Israel was sent scot-free. However, this atonement was merely a temporal thing as the blood of an animal couldn`t sustain long enough. This sacrificial atonement was first done per individual, then moved on per family, and then for an entire nation. However, it still wasn`t enough; and that`s where the New Testament takes place.
(Note: This sacrificial atonement which is merely a foreshadow of what Christ will come and do for mankind has been carried out since the beginning of time as it can clearly be seen in the Garden of Eden after God covered Adam and Eve with the skin of an animal and banished them for the Garden)
God knows that mankind will only keep on sinning. From the day they are born, to the day they die. However, He knows that sin shouldn`t be a barrier between man, and that`s why He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Because only Jesus could break that barrier known as "sin". Jesus represents the unblemished animal in the Old Testament, whereas John the Baptist represents the high priest because he comes from the lineage of Aaron. Now, as mentioned before, when John laid his hands on Jesus, he passes all the sins of the world onto Him. And that`s also why John later on refers to Jesus as "The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" in John 1:29. Then Jesus lived His life for us for 3 years where He was hated on, bruised, vilified, stricken, bruised, shamed and so on. But, why? And exactly why did He die?
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"- What this verse clearly means is that sin=death. And rightfully, we all deserve to die. We all deserve to be ridiculed, and spit at and so on because of sin. But Jesus did it all for us on our behalf. When He took our sins upon Himself at the river of Jordan, it was basically a death sentence. But what did He do about it? He accepted it on our behalf, because it was the Father`s will; the Will of God. So Jesus had to die, it wasn`t an option for Him. And when He did, He descended into Hell, yet again on our behalf as that`s where we all are supposed to go (due to unbelief) and on the 3rd day, He resurrected.
Sorry for the long winded story, but I hope you can understand what I`m trying to say. On a spiritual level, I was baptized with Christ and into His death, and I resurrected into a new life. But not one of my own; His life. The moment I had faith to believe, I could feel the Holy Spirit working in my life, and that`s also the reason why I`m able to talk about what Christ has done for me.
This walk is not an easy one. With more than 7.4 billion people in this world, everyone walks with their own beliefs and religion. But Christ, is more than that. He`s more than a religion, He`s more than just knowledge. He`s everything. In my day-to-day walk, there are many "Christians" who portray themselves to be children of God through their own efforts, works and deeds as I did before I came to know this Gospel. The difference that I now know, is that it has nothing to do with who I am, was and am going to be or my abilities, talents, works and deeds. It does however have everything to do with what Christ has done for me at His baptism, death and resurrection.
The world teaches you what to do, and how to be and act perfect. God however teaches you that perfection can only be found in His Son. We will sin till the day we die, and that`s an undeniable fact. But what God wants us to know as it says in Hebrews 8:12 and Hebrews 10:17 that our sins, He will remember no more. And I truly believe that. This isn`t however a free ticket to sin.
This is my faith. I believe in what Christ has done for me at His baptism, death and resurrection and I will keep on declaring that I am in fact sinless and righteous not because of my own works and deeds, but because of what my Lord has done for me. No longer do I heed to what other people have to say, but only to what my God has to say. I`m no longer on that road of destruction many are on, but on the path of life. But I would love to be able to preach this Gospel thoroughly to more individuals so that they too can follow Christ and walk the same path I am walking on.
For before I was lost, now I am found. I was once dead, now I`ve been made alive. I was once blind, but now I see. Once deaf, now I hear. Sin no longer has it`s bounds over me, nor do the words of other people. One thing is for certain, and that`s that I may be in this world, but I am not of this world.
