Tu‘apulelulu Me 10,
2018
Ko e papitaiso afi
‘a e Laumālie Ma‘oni‘oni
(baptism
by fire)
Fehu‘i #45
‘Oku malava ‘e he papitaiso vaí ‘o fakama‘a ‘a e angahalá ?
‘Ikai, ko e
ta‘ata‘a pe ‘o Kalaisí pea mo e fakafo‘ou ‘a e Laumālie Ma‘oni‘oní ‘oku malava ke fakama‘a kitautolu mei he
angahalá́́.
Is baptism with water the washing away of
sin itself?
No, only the blood
of Christ and the renewal of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us from
sin.
LUKE 3:16
pea toe lea ‘a
Sione kiate kinautolu kotoa, ‘o pehē, “Ko au ‘oku ou papitaiso kimoutolu ‘aki
‘a e vai: ka ‘oku ha‘u ha toko taha ‘oku mālohi ‘iate au, ko e toko taha ‘oku ‘ikai
te u taau ke vete ‘a e nono‘o ‘o hono topuva‘e: te ne papitaiso kimoutolu ‘e ia
‘i he Laumālie Mā‘oni‘oni mo e afi.”
LUKE 3:16
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize
you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the
strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire.”
R. KENT HUGHES
And
then, at the same time, I was enlightened. I can remember as
a boy at a camp going back to my cabin, getting out my Bible, underlining
in it, and having the Word come alive to me, as it has continued
to come alive in my life. Now when John the Baptist pointedly said, “I baptize you with water, but [Christ] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
fire,” he was talking about the superiority of Jesus's baptism. Water can
wash only the outside, but the Spirit and fire regenerate and cleanse the
inside. And so that is the great abiding reality and joy of being baptized with
the Spirit and fire. The Holy Spirit is making all things new and constantly
conforming us to the image of Christ.
Prayer
Lamb
of God, our baptism is a sign that we are saved not by our own
righteousness, but because we have been given the righteousness
of Christ. Let us not make baptism the object of our trust, but look
instead to the cleansing work of Jesus, beautifully depicted in baptism.
Amen.
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