Have You had the Water Baptism in Jesus’ Name?, continued

Praise the Lord, Beloved, and Greetings in the Name of the One of whom the angel spoke when he told Mary, ”Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Happy Birthday, Jesus! It is in His Name that I greet you.

Beloved, I must celebrate Jesus’ birth in this letter, because many of you will be gone for the holidays next week. For over 2000 years, our Lord and Savior has left a standard of excellence upon this world that no one can match or achieve in a lifetime. Jesus’ love, power, compassion, excellence, majesty, omniscience, and all of the best that can be seen in human flesh, are attributes that the most honorable men and women of this world will spend their lifetimes emulating. Let us be very thankful for the nature of our one and only true God, as we celebrate His birth. I can’t speak for you, but I don’t just love Jesus - I like Him also. There are some people who you are forced to love out of obedience to God’s commandments, but you don’t necessarily like them! Jesus is not in that category. I like his personality. Consider this with me - what if Jesus, with all of His power, were like some of his creation? What if He were self-serving, quick tempered and unreliable? All of us would be in a lot of trouble. I’m so glad that Jesus, even with all of His power, is still a good and excellent God, with the best of personality and character. This holiday season, help me to celebrate the birth of the one of whom Jeremiah said, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is [His] faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Beloved, in continuance of our theme, “Have You had the Water Baptism in Jesus’ Name?” - Since we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, His Name should receive some attention at this time. The Name of Jesus should be over everyone who wants to enter into His Kingdom. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not [the kingdom of God] by the door of the sheepfold [by His Name], but climbeth up some other way [trying to use some other name], the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1).

Chosen Ones, I must remind you that on the day of Pentecost, Peter condemned the crowd for not honoring Jesus as God while He was here on earth, dwelling among them. It is the same today - men focus on gifts, food and merchandise during this celebration time, rather than reflecting on the honor and character of the One whose birth is being celebrated. Peter preached so convincingly and forcefully that the people asked, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” When Peter saw their sincerity in wanting to know how to repair their mistreatment of Jesus, he said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:37-38).

Precious Ones, if you desire to make your salvation process complete and correct, and desire to remove the sin penalty you inherited from Adam, you must be baptized in water in the Name of Jesus Christ! This is not my opinion. This is a biblical fact. Scripture says, “Neither is there salvation in any other [name or god]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). If you reside in heaven, this scripture does not apply to you. However, if you are like the rest of us who were born and raised on earth (under the heaven), then the scripture is clear that there is only Name that brings salvation. Let it be clear, without any misunderstanding, that baptism in Jesus’ Name by immersion in water is not a denominational ritual. It is a doctrine of scripture that must be observed.

I will write more on this subject next week.
Until then, know this,
Have a blessed and Merry Christmas.
Please return home safely.
In His Love,
Pastor William L McCoy