Men have spent hundreds of years and millions of dollars distorting what the original authors of the scriptures wrote as they were inspired by God. In truth, it started the minute Jesus began His ministry. John the Baptizer suffered the same by those who came to him to be baptized. (Matt 3:1-12)
We know exactly when the Gospel began and what it taught.
Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mar 1:2 As it is written in the Prophets: “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER BEFORE YOUR FACE, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.”Mar 1:3 “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.” Mark 1:4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Most reformation churches reject this out of hand. They teach baptism has nothing to do with one’s salvation. They say something like “It’s important but it has nothing to do with a persons salvation”. What does the bible say about the importance of this act, invented by God before the foundation of the world? Luke 7:29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. Luk 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
The scriptures say those who refused to comply with John’s baptism were rejecting the will of God. Is that acceptable behavior, or lack thereof? Even the tax collectors, it says, justified God. “i,e,” considered God just and were baptized in water “for the remission of sins”. Mark 1:4.
The importance of these passages is they tell us exactly what the Gospel was and taught when introduced by God through John the Baptizer.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Here we are told The Gospel has the power to save. Who would deny this? But, many actually do without knowing what they are saying. Let’s see if we can put this in a way we can understand. We need to ask an obvious question that almost never gets asked: Believe what? The Gospel!
- The Gospel was introduced by John the Baptizer in Mark 1, also in Matt, Luke and John. In Mark 1 it says “In the beginning of the Gospel”. Yep, that would be when and where The Gospel began.
- It says it was in water.
- It says it was “for the remission of (to take away) sins”.
- It says this act was, most importantly, to “reveal” Jesus as “the lamb of God” and the Messiah to Israel and then the world. John 1:31 I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
- The Gospel was “to the Jew first and also to the Greek”
- If God chose the act of baptism as the act to introduce Jesus as the savior why is it relegated as “just a symbol” and of no importance?
Norman W. Fisk Ph.D.
nwfisk@outlook.com