The BIG Picture (Q&A)

The following is a reaction to this post:  https://thebigpicturelink.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-were-baptisms-required-for-israel.html POST REACTION: I don’t think you can connect the ministry of John the Baptist to the Old Testament priesthood. Only the priests needed to be washed, not every Israelite. And John the Baptist’s imagery had nothing to do whatsoever with priestly cleansing. Just read the accounts in the four Gospels. It was a sign of repentance. And Israelites before John were not baptized. It was a ritual that started with him. And Christian baptism has a totally different symbolic meaning and was done for both Jews and Gentiles alike. In your article, your thoughts on priestly rituals are interesting, but there’s no biblical evidence that John’s baptism has anything whatsoever to do with that. ANSWER: One cannot just isolate John’s ministry as something that just appeared out of the blue. In the Bible EVERYTHING has meaning and purpose. The entire bible interprets itse...

Sanctification, or in its verb form, sanctify, literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose" , that is, to make holy or sacred (compare Latin: sanctus) . This word is in description of one who has heard and received the gospel of the grace of God . In believing the message of the gospel, one is saved, and in that moment is set apart as sanctified, having been clothed with Christ's garment of righteousness. Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. "made holy" , as a vessel, full of the Spirit of Christ. But note that there is more to sanctification than this incredibly gracious gift of God. Read on to also learn about practical sanctification. 1 Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some [oversee] that they teach no other doctrine , 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. 5 Now ...