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RE: Quiet Time 23 May - The Kingdom of God
We are born again through our participation in Jesus's death and resurrection in baptism. Ref Romans 6 v 1-11, Colossians 2, 1 Peter 3.
The examples that we have from the early church in Acts (and apocryphal history) show that baptism is done by full submersion (burial) and is more than just symbolic or "an outward sign of an inward transformation". Peter clearly states in Acts Chapter 2 that baptism washes alway sins (since it is participation in Jesus's death) and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism. Baptism is not man's work, but rather God's offer and the work was done by Jesus.
That baptismal burial is symbolic of death. The death of who you were before. I'll compare this to the movie "The Matrix". When you are truly "born again", you will be outside of the "Matrix", and "awake".
The Matrix is the world, that the Bible says we should not be part of. Being worldly is not a simple as wearing baggy jeans or a short skirt. Being worldly is buying into the propaganda from the government run media, being "patriotic", celebrating pagan holidays, going to church on Sunday, pretending money is a "tithe", and otherwise being led to ignore Gods commandments.
There is no "sinner's prayer" in the bible. The washing away of sin happens when you actually divorce yourself from the Matrix of the World.
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." ---James 4:4