5.5 Unshaken Confidence In God

(Psalm 11)

I Trust in the LORD for safety.
How foolish of you to say to me,
“Fly away like a bird to the mountains,
because the wicked have drawn their bows
and aimed there arrows
to shoot at good men in the darkness.
There is nothing a good man can do
when everything falls apart.”

The LORD is in his holy temple;
he has his throne in heaven.
He watches people everywhere
and knows what they are doing.
He examines the good and the wicked alike;
the lawless he hates with all his heart.
He send down flaming coals and burning sulfur
on the wicked;
he punishes them with scorching winds.
The LORD is righteous and loves good deeds;
those who do them will live in his presence.

5.4 The Holy Spirit Gives Us New Life By Washing Us

(Titus 3:4-8)

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior was revealed, he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us. God poured out the Holy Spirit abundantly on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for. This is a true saying.

I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone.

5.3 We Are Baptized Into One Body

(1 Corinthians 12:12-26)

Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts. In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.

For the body itself is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. If the foot were to say, “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. And if the ear were to say, “Because I am not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” that would not keep it from being a part of the body. If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell? As it is, however, God put every different part in the body just as he wanted it to be. There would not be a body if it were all only one part! As it is, there are many parts but one body.

So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don’t need you!” On the contrary, we cannot do without the parts of the body that seem to be weaker; and those parts that we think aren’t worth very much are the ones which don’t look very nice are treated with special modesty, which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it. And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness.

5.2 Baptism On The Feast Of Pentecost

(Acts 2:36-41)

“All the people of Israel, then, are to know for sure that this Jesus, whom you crucified, is the one that God has made Lord and Messiah!”

When the people heard this, they were deeply troubled and said to Peter and the other apostles, “What shall we do, brothers?”

Peter said to them, “Each one of you must turn away from his sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God’s gift, the Holy Spirit. For God’s promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away- all whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Peter made his appeal to them and with many other words he urged them, saying, “Save yourselves from the punishment coming on his wicked people!” many of them believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.

5.1 Baptism of Jesus

(Matthew 3:13-17)

At the time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptized by you,” John said, “And yet you have came to me!”

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed.

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was open to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on him. Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”