I roto e rave rahi tupuraa, e faarirohia te bapetizoraa pape ei peu Kerisetiano. Ia ti'aturi ana'e outou ia Iesu Mesia, e bapetizohia ïa outou i roto i te pape, ōhipa, and decide to follow Jesus and become a Christian. Many Christians are baptized without really knowing and realizing, what water baptism means. You shouldn’t be baptized out of tradition, a formality, or out of a feeling of obligation or loyalty towards your spouse, Fare Pure, ōrama'ohu, hoa, e te tahi atu â. That’s not the right reason to be baptized. The baptism in water is indeed an act of obedience to the Word of God. But you have to know, what you are doing and what water baptism means. Ti'a? There is a group of Christians, who use water baptism as some panacea. They use the baptism in water to deliver people from demonic spirits and for healing purposes. But does the Bible confirm this? Aita te pahonoraa! Let’s have a look at the true meaning of water baptism and the importance of baptism. What does the Bible say about baptism?
when is it time to be baptized?
E mea pinepine te reira i te tupu, a fea ( apî ) adults or children are baptized, they have wonderful and moving testimonies, but after their baptism, there is no change in their lifestyle. Sometimes their lives change for a short period,. Tera râ, i muri a'e i te tahi taime, they return to their old former life again and pick up their old habits.
Aita, e e rave rahi o tatou tei bapetizohia i roto ia Iesu Mesia tei bapetizohia i roto i To'na ra pohe? No reira, ua hunahia tatou i piha'i iho Ia'na na roto i te bapetizoraa i roto i te pohe: e mai te Mesia i ti'afaahou mai te pohe mai e te hanahana o te Metua, ia haapa'o atoa tatou i te haerea e au i te ora apî (Roma 6:3-4)
When is it time to be baptized? When you are fed up with your old dirty life as a sinner and you want to be cleansed from your sins and iniquities.
It’s time when you are ready and willing to lay down and faasatauro i to outou tino (to outou oraraa tahito no te tino) and follow Jesus Christ and walk in newness in life with Him in holiness and righteousness after the Spirit. Only then it’s time to be baptized.
What is the meaning of water baptism
Baptism means the crucifixion of your flesh (e tō'ere, tō'a, to outou mau hinaaro, Te mau nota, e te tahi atu â. (A tai'o atoa: E aufau te mau mea atoa ia outou i te mau mea atoa).
The baptism means, that the old you, te taata ruhiruhia, ua faasataurohia oia e o Iesu Mesia. You are baptized into His death.
Because that’s what baptism means. Baptism means to lay down your old life (inaha to outou huru hara) and arise in the newness of life.
The act of baptism is a permanent decision
When you decide to be baptized, you have to realize, that water baptism is a serious act. It’s not a temporary decision, but it’s a permanent decision you make for the rest of your life. You make the decision as a sinner, to turn to Christ, to repent from your current lifestyle, and to crucify and bury your old sinful carnal nature.
Ta'u, ia faaetaeta tatou i to tatou taata tahito, e nehenehe te tino o te hara e haamouhia, eita e tia ia tatou ia tavini i te hara. No ' na ïa i pohe no te hara (Roma 6:6,7)
You don’t want to be a slave of your sins anymore and don’t want to be dictated by your sinful carnal nature and be a te tavini a te diabolo. Maoti râ, you want to be freed from your carnal nature in the flesh, e natura hara to ' na.
You want to be delivered from the kingdom of darkness and turn to the Kingdom of God.
You don’t want to serve your flesh and the devil anymore, but you want to serve Jesus Christ, your new Lord, and Saviour, and live in obedience to God after His will.
All you want to do is to please Jesus Christ and God the Father and exalt and glorify God through your life.
ua ite tatou paatoa, that the sinful carnal nature cannot please God. Therefore this sinful carnal nature in which evil dwells has to die.
The old man hasto die before the new man can arise. A new man; fanauhia e te Varua o te Atua. Only when you are born of the Holy Spirit, e haere i muri a'e i te Varua, you will be able to please God the Father, e o Iesu Mesia (A tai'o atoa: E nehenehe anei ta outou e ora i te oraraa o te ti'a-faahou-raa ma te pohe ore?).
Baptized in Jesus’ pohe
But I have a baptism to be baptised with; E mea nahea vau ia faahepohia e tae roa'tu i te taime ua oti te reira(Luka 12:50)
Baptism refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Jesus died for our sinful carnal nature. Jesus took all our sins and iniquities upon Himself and carried them, on the cross. Because Jesus took all our sins and iniquities, Jesus died and went into Hades (A tai'o atoa: Eaha ta Iesu i rave i roto i te po auahi?).
But Jesus didn’t stay in Hades! Jesus conquered death and was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is alive and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
When James and John asked Jesus, whether they could sit at His left and right hand in the Kingdom of God, Jesus asked them: “You know not what you ask: can you drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” (Mareko 10:38). They answered Him, that they could.
When Jesus mentioned baptism, Jesus referred to His death (au'a; the death of His flesh), and if they were willing to be baptized into His death.
The water baptism is a symbolic sign
It all starts with faith in the Name of Jesus. Then repentance of sins and laying down your carnal life. When you’ve laid down your Te ora, you will begin your new life in Jesus Christ. You will no longer walk as the old creation after the flesh, but you will walk as te poieteraa apî (Ua fanauhia oia i te Varua Mo'a) i muri a'e i te Varua.
You will no longer live the life, you lived, before your repentance and before your baptism. Because when you decided to be baptized, you showed, that you didn’t want to live and walk that way anymore. You said goodbye to your old carnal life (Fa'ahou) and began a new life in the Spirit.
I roto i te fenua, you have freely buried your flesh (inaha to outou huru hara) i roto i te pape. Through the act of water baptism, you’ve indicated that you:
- repented of your sins and iniquities
- wanted to lay down your own life
- didn’t want to be a slave of sin anymore, but wanted to become a slave of righteousness
- didn’t want to keep serving the devil, na roto i te faaroo ore i te Atua, but you wanted to serve Jesus Christ, through obedience to God
- didn’t want to walk in the kingdom of darkness anymore, but you wanted to walk in the light; te Basileia o te Atua
Bury the sinful nature in water
Na'na e ti'aturi e e tape'ahia te bapetizoraa; area o te ore e faaroo ra, e faautuahia ïa (Mareko 16:16)
When you are baptized, but keep living the same way as you lived before, or you keep living, mai te ao nei (living the same life as a carnal person, who doesn’t know God), then this baptism was nothing more, than some kind of religious human ordinance.
Because how can you, when you have buried your old sinful nature, i roto i te pape, remain living after your sinful nature? E ere i te mea!
Have you ever experienced a funeral, where the coffin suddenly opened and the person, Ua pohe, stepped out of the coffin and walked with you back home? Aita, E ere i te mea! Because when someone has died and is buried, it means the person is really dead.
This also applies to the carnal nature. When you have crucified your carnal nature with all its sins and iniquities, then this nature has died and is buried in the water through baptism. Unless you have not truly repented and your carnal nature is in a coma.
But when you decide to be baptized in water, you bury your carnal nature and it stays in the water.
An heir of Jesus Christ
I te noa, ia riro mai an heir of Jesus Christ, e tomo atu i roto i te Basileia o te Atua, e ia farii i te ora mure ore, is to believe in the Name of Jesus (in His redemptive work, that He has accomplished), be baptized into His death, and raised from the dead, te mana o te Varua Mo'a.
You have crucified your flesh. You have buried your old man in the water, na roto i te bapetizoraa. There is no other way to be saved. Your flesh (inaha to outou huru hara) Ānai.
When you come out of the water, you have not only buried your old life but you are raised in the newness of life. A new life, with Jesus Christ as your Master. You shall no longer walk after the flesh but after the Spirit. Because your flesh doesn’t exist anymore. Unless…..
'Ia riro ei miti no te fenua’
