Friday, December 21, 2012

Baptism of Fire

“49 “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:48-53)
There are three interconnected baptism of which are spoken of in the New Testament, and yet only one baptism by which we are saved. The first is John the baptist’s baptism, by which he prepared the way for the Lord, and prepared the Lord for the baptism of which he now speaks, his death and resurrection, and it is into this baptism of which the Lord now speaks that we are baptized. We are baptized into his death, so that just as he is risen from the dead to the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life. (Romans 6:4) But it is with our baptism into his baptism that he casts fire upon the earth, and we are given the Holy Spirit. This baptism brings a peace and takes a peace. With baptism we are sanctified and made holy, justified in the eyes of God, our enmity with him stripped. We are given peace with God and a good conscience. But now we are at odds with the world. This baptism can cause a riff, a riff between us and our families. Not that we should ever disown them. Christians don’t do that. We love our children and our parents as God commands us to do. We forgive them. But they may disown us for our faith. This does happen, consider yourselves lucky to whom this does not happen. It happened to Christ himself, but in the end he received his mom who had abandoned him, his brothers too became believers. So just as Christ never lost hope for his family. So we hold out hope and love for ours, and for all who attack and despise us for faith in Christ.

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