After Baptism
The vows which
we take upon ourselves in baptism embrace much. In the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit we are buried in the likeness of Christ’s death and
raised in the likeness of His resurrection, and we are to live a new life. Our
life is to be bound up with the life of Christ. Henceforth the believer is to
bear in mind that he is dedicated to God, to Christ, and to
the Holy Spirit.
He is to make all worldly considerations secondary to this new relation.
Publicly he has declared that he will no longer live in pride and self-indulgence.
He is no longer
to live a careless, indifferent life. He has made a covenant with God. He has
died to the world. He is to live to the Lord, to use for Him all his entrusted
capabilities, never losing the realization that he bears God’s signature, that
he is a subject of Christ’s kingdom, a partaker of the divine nature. He is to
surrender to God all that he is and all that he has, employing
all his gifts to
His name’s glory. The obligations in the spiritual agreement entered into at
baptism are mutual. As human beings act their part with wholehearted obedience,
they have a right to pray: “Let it be known, Lord, that Thou art God in
Israel.” The fact that you have been baptized in the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit is an assurance that, if you will claim Their help,
these powers will help you in every emergency. The Lord will hear and answer
the prayers of His sincere followers who wear Christ’s yoke and learn in His
school His
meekness and
lowliness. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things
above,
not on things on
the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:1-3. “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;
forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these
things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of
God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye
thankful.... And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” Verses 12-17.
Written by
Testimonies
for the Church
Volume Six
Ellen G. White
1901
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