This is a text by Robert from Kielce.
I have decided to write these few words regarding the beginning of a Christian's life, guided by the Word of God and my own experience so far, because I believe that there is a lot of erroneous teaching, theology based on human traditions and not the Bible. If there is any error in what I write, please correct me.
God's Word says that whoever is not born again of the Water and the Spirit cannot enter the Kingdom of God. John 3:5
In the Gospels, and most prominently in the Acts of the Apostles, the basic steps for a person to begin the Christian life, to be born again and to become a follower of Jesus Christ are presented.
The first step Jesus mentions, and later his disciples, is to come to repentance and repent of sin. Repentance means turning 180 degrees away from sin, understanding one's sins, confessing them to God the Father, apologizing for our past lives, repenting of those sins and trying to make amends. Repentance is an accounting for the past, the sinful past. Perhaps there is something in your life that can be fixed, not everything can be fixed, but God will show you what else can be done.
Mat. 4:17
From that time on Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Acts 2:38
And Peter to them: Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 3:19
Therefore repent and convert, that your sins may be taken away,
(BW)
The second very important step is to believe in Jesus Christ, his sacrifice on the cross, his death, burial and resurrection, to establish Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Lord of our lives. This is the foundation of our faith. Faith does not mean believing in the historical sense that such a person existed, but that Jesus is alive and his words that he said are true. Faith is following the words of Jesus Christ, it is also believing what is written in the Bible, the Word of God, following it in life, being a doer of the Word.
John. 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John. 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God is upon him.
Acts 16:31
And they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.
Acts 18:8
And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, also many of the Corinthians who were listening believed and were being baptized.
Rom. 10:9
For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
(BW)
The third important step is water baptism, biblical baptism by immersion. Jesus Christ set the example for us and baptized himself and commanded his followers to do so. Baptism is a conscious decision. Baptism is a bath for dirty people in the sense of sin. In the spiritual dimension, it washes away our sins. Baptism also saves us. God's Word says that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. Baptism is the culmination of repentance, confirming and sealing it before God. Most people were baptized as infants. Unfortunately, however, such baptism has no Biblical justification. The child when born is pure, has no consciousness of sin, is born with a sinful nature, but has not yet committed sin. Baptizing infants is really incorporating them, without their consent, into the religious system. It is another gospel, not the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you have been so baptized, then you need to be baptized again, consciously, by being immersed in the death, burial of Jesus (when the water covers you) and raised again to new life with Jesus Christ (when you emerge from the water) In baptism, as an old sinful person, you die to rise as a new creature to life with Jesus. If you love God, you will do so by obeying Him, preceding this with confession of sins to God and repentance.
Matt. 28:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Mar. 16:16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Acts 8:38
And he ordered the cart to stop, and they both went down, Philip and the eunuch, into the water, and baptized him.
Rom. 6:3-4
3 Know ye not that we all, being baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into his death?
4 We are therefore buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may live a new life.
Col. 2:12-13
12 You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised together through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead.
And he quickened you, who were dead in sins and in your uncircumcised flesh, together with him, having forgiven us all our sins;
1 Peter. 3:21
It (the water) is a picture of baptism, which now saves you too, and is not the getting rid of fleshly filth, but a petition to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
(BW)
The next important step is the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is designed to clothe you with power from on high, to give you the strength to live a victorious life. The Holy Spirit is the substitute of Jesus Christ here on earth, He is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, He intercedes for you to God the Father, He guides you, strengthens you and introduces you to the truth. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is received by asking God in prayer or by the laying on of hands by brethren who have already been baptized. The confirmation of baptism is speaking in other tongues. From this point you can fully begin the life of a Christian. Many may say wait a minute, wait a minute, it is written: believe in Jesus and you will be saved. That is true, but to believe means to follow Jesus' words, which includes repentance, accepting Jesus as your savior and baptism. We can say that Jesus' command in Matthew's Gospel to be baptized into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit means: baptism into the Father when you repent of your sins before him; into the Son when you confess faith in him and die with Jesus in the water of baptism and rise to new life; into the Holy Spirit when the Spirit of God fills you and empowers you to live by the faith of Jesus Christ. All Three Persons of God are involved in these steps. We are saved by the grace of God. But you must make a move of faith toward God in order for God's grace to come upon you. God is waiting for you; He wants to forgive you and make you a new creation. God is not pleased with the death of a sinner.
John. 14:16-17
16 I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter to be with you forever
17 The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see him and does not know him; you know him, because he dwells among you and will be in you.
John. 14:26
But the Comforter the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.
John. 15:26
When the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes forth from the Father, he will bear witness about me;
Acts 2:1-4
1 And when the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2 And suddenly a noise arose from heaven, as of a violent wind blowing, and filled the whole house where they sat.
3 And there appeared unto them tongues as of fire, which divided themselves, and sat upon each of them
4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit had given them charge.
Acts 10:44-46
44 And while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit descended on all those listening to this speech.
45 And the Jewish believers who came with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles;
46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Rom. 8:9
9 But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.
Rom. 8:14-15
14 For those whom the Spirit of God leads are children of God.
15 For you have not taken the spirit of bondage to be afraid again, but you have taken the spirit of sonship, in which we cry, Abba, Father!
(BW)
God bless you.
English 
Polish
One thing just puzzled me - the confirmation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is speaking in tongues? To my present knowledge the answer is "no"...i.e. other gifts of the Holy Spirit can be received, not necessarily this one....
1 Corinthians chapter 12:
"4 And different are the gifts of grace, but the Spirit is the same.
5 And different are the ministries, but the Lord is the same.
6 And different are the ways of doing things, but
the same God who makes everything in
all.
7 And in each the Spirit is manifested differently
for the common good.
8 For one receives through the Spirit
wisdom speech, the other by the same
The Spirit of Knowledge Speech,
9 another faith in the same Spirit, another
The gift of healing in the same Spirit.
10 Still another gift of working miracles, another gift of prophecy,
another gift of distinction
spirits, another different kinds of languages, another
Finally, the gift of speaking in tongues.
11 And all these things cause one and the same
Spirit Himself, distributing to each individually as He wills."
It is clear from the passage above that there are DIFFERENT gifts and the Spirit gives them to everyone AS HE WANTS.
Well, I don't have that gift, so I'm not commenting...
I.e. by Robert.
But let us study the Scriptures and on the basis of the Scriptures we can make statements :)... Dear brothers and sisters I ask (just in case ;)), those who do not have this gift not to deny it, and those who have it not to claim that the gift of speaking in tongues proves the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I see no support for such a claim in the Bible, if anyone has passages that confirm the gift of speaking in tongues as proof necessary for the baptism in the Holy Spirit please provide. Biblical arguments always convince me :)...
Wojtek,
The whole misunderstanding stems from the fact that at the filling of the Holy Ghost there is a sign-speaking in a different language given by the Holy Ghost.
The sign may or may not remain a gift, but it is a SIGN!
With many, it stays permanently as a DAR.
If one has a great desire, one must ask, strive (1 Corinthians 14.1) = ask, cry out, heartily desire, and the Lord gives.
This was the case with Janusz.
He got a sign but because he didn't agree that it disappeared because it was wonderful, he called out and after 3 days it "came back" and he still prays in tongues today.
Do not confuse the sign, the gift with the fruit.
The fruit is the result of our dying, and the gift is known-gift, effortless, by faith.
Everyone on the day of the 50th day-120 people and in the house of Cornelius-had this sign, so this is a biblical pattern for us to strive for.
The Lord Jesus has given promises that whoever desires and believes in Him will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (with the sign of tongues to be sure, not doubt that I have)).
This must be accepted by faith.
It is written in Acts that they spoke as the Spirit submitted to them.
You have to open your mouth, submit your tongue to the Lord, not control anything with your mind but just like a child start chattering.
Reasoned people have an uphill battle, those, like children right away.
I used to pray for the gift of tongues, but since I'm just that difficult type 😛 it didn't work out (and in fact I've never been particularly drawn to this gift, so maybe that's why I let it go). Reasoners certainly miss out on many blessings that are just waiting to be claimed by faith and be promised life in abundance. So simple, and so difficult. I admire people who, like a child, accept by faith every word of God, every gift of God, every promise of God. May God reward such for their faith, and may those who rely more on reason open their hearts to His work, and to Him alone 🙂 .
"Reasoners certainly miss out on many blessings just waiting to be claimed by faith and have the promised life of abundance. So simple, yet so difficult. I admire people who like a child receive by faith every word of God, every gift of God, every promise of God. May God reward such people for their faith, and may those who rely more on reason open their hearts to His work, and to Him alone."
-Amen siostro, zgadzam się w 100% z tym co napisałaś 🙂
May it be so in Jesus' name.
Desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
and He will, when He has fulfilled it, confirm it with a sign of tongues.
It is interesting that the Holy Spirit "on a good day" wants to subject our tongue, you know that little member full of deadly venom, as James says.
He wants us to speak in spirit what He wants us to say, what He gives us to pronounce.
Yes - gifts and fruits are 2 different things. So according to you if there is no sign it means there is no baptism in the Holy Spirit? And then without the baptism in the Holy Spirit can one have the gift(s)?
Exactly... it has never happened to me to speak in tongues, and I know that I have other gifts of the Gospel. There are probably many Christians in a similar situation...
1 Corinthians chapter 12 (28-31)
"And these truly God has established in the church: first the apostles, secondly the prophets, thirdly the teachers, then (manifestations of) power, further the gifts of grace of healing, of helping, of ability to direct, the various kinds of tongues. Are they all apostles? Are they all prophets? Are they all teachers? Is power manifested through all? Do all have the gifts of the grace of healing? Do they all speak in tongues? Do they all lecture? Strive, then, earnestly for better gifts of grace, and I will show you a way still more excellent."
Wojtek, distinguish between a gift and a sign.
"The confirmation of baptism is speaking in other tongues" - so if I don't speak in "tongues" means there is no Holy Spirit in me?
So my sanctification process is not happening, even though I and others are seeing real change?
How is it?
In the Acts of the Apostles it is described that the Baptism in the Holy Spirit was always accompanied by a distinct sign and was usually speaking in tongues and sometimes prophesying. Those who were baptized knew about it. If there was no certainty, the apostle went and laid hands on them and baptized them. Only then did the spiritual gifts mentioned by Paul come to be claimed and asked for by the Holy Spirit.
Neither, when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are born again, the Holy Spirit dwells in your spirit. Baptism, on the other hand, is immersion in the Holy Spirit, being filled with Him. It is a completely different experience. Jesus after His resurrection breathed the Holy Spirit into His disciples and then told them to wait for the promises of the baptism in the Holy Spirit which they received on the day of Pentecost. They were clothed with power from on high.
I understand 🙁
Anne why the sadness?
I have so far thought that when the fruits of the Spirit begin to be seen, it means that the Spirit of God dwells in us and fills us, and the gifts will come when the Lord sees fit (i.e. when we use them properly and not based on our own selfish drives or fear of pride).
Now, however, I don't know what to think anymore, I feel a kind of deep sadness, because it seems that nothing has really changed except my decision to follow the Lord, because I haven't experienced any clear sign of the baptism with the Holy Spirit....
And yet all my addictions have been taken away, my vocabulary changed... 🙁 .
Ani, don't be sad.
Even those who walked with the Lord Jesus for 3 years and saw the miracles He did had to wait 50 days, so what about us.
Also: "the gifts of grace are different, but the Spirit is the same."
The Lord God Himself decides what gift He will bless us with.
So trust in the Lord God and abide in faith and prayer.
You wrote that you have been freed from all addictions, and your vocabulary has been changed as well.
I envy you that (in a positive sense). I have not yet been freed from some of my addictions, but I strongly believe that I will be. I see many gifts of the Holy Spirit in my life and many changes that He has brought in my life and around me. This gives me hope that even the evil that is still in me will one day be only an embarrassing memory.
Heads up. The Bible teaches that the Lord God will finish the work in you that He Himself began.
With the Lord God.
Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ for this text you have written 🙂 .
...Robert, do you think the confirmation of the baptism in the Holy Spirit must be the gift of speaking in tongues or prophecy?
What if a person has another gift or even gifts of the Holy Spirit, but does not have the gift of speaking in tongues or prophecy? Is he not baptized with the Holy Spirit?
...I would like to bring to the attention of us all yet such a baptism (perhaps another type of baptism?) described in the Gospel of Mark:
Chapter 10:
"35 And James and John came to him, two
sons of Zebedee, and said, Teacher,
we want you to do to us what we ask of you
We will.
36And He said to them: What do you want me to
has he done to you?
37 And they said unto him, Make us sit down in thy glory, one by one
Thy right hand, and the other on the left.
38And Jesus said unto them, Ye know not of
what you ask. Can you drink the cup that
I drink or be baptized with this baptism,
with whom am I baptized?
39 They answered him, We may. Then
Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink,
you shall drink, and with the baptism that I am
baptized, you will be baptized.
40 But to make you sit on my right or left is not my thing;
it will fall to those to whom it has been prepared."
Vojtek, this is described in the Acts of the Apostles. How could they know they were baptized, only when they saw an express sign, lay hands, and persons began to speak another language. I will say my testimony, I prayed for the baptism in the Holy Spirit for over a year. I also read that the Holy Spirit must be received by faith and so I did. I even started to speak such words similar to Hebrew, but I did it out of my mind and stopped because I was getting tired of it. When I was in the church at a healing service I asked the brothers to pray for me to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. After praying, I felt such a peace. Then all evening the word thank you came out of me and I felt joy. Two days after this event, I was driving to work in the morning and suddenly I started saying strange words. At first like a small child, they even seemed a little ridiculous to me. As I thought about it, the thought came to me that a child, when learning to speak, also speaks unclearly. I continued talking, and it was so violent that it poured out of me, and then the peace of God descended upon me, and I was in this state for a week and a half. Whenever I now pray on tongues at work and at home this peace comes over me. That is why I now know that I have been baptized. I have that certainty. Just as you know that you were baptized in water, you will know that you were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Your second question, I believe, is about the sending of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and it was fulfilled on the disciples. They were baptized. Jesus was baptized after John's baptism, then the Holy Spirit descended as a Dove upon Him and there was a voice from heaven from God the Father. The cup, on the other hand, signifies persecution. Only John of the twelve died a natural death in exile. I am writing from a cell phone so sorry for any mistakes. Greetings.
Thank you for your reply :). As for this baptism from evang. Mark is a kind of baptism in suffering...so we have 3 baptisms :)?
In Water, in the Holy Spirit, and in Suffering...it follows that it probably does....
It is beautiful that God does not leave us guessing but gives clear signs.
This is the foundation laid by the apostles and we are to see if we have the same foundation, if not - correct it, strive for it.
such is the apostolic New Testament pattern.
Different denominations have their own ideas and we are supposed to stick to biblical truth, God's truth.
Great text. It is true that there are so many human paths to follow today for those who want to meet God that one can get lost. Usually it is all about dead works or ceremonies, or possibly monetary donations 🙂 .
Here the basic steps are described in the correct order and backed up with lots of Bible quotes 😉
The path leading to God is easy due to the fact that God would not hinder the contacts He cares about.
Great commentary...
As for the text - I agree as much as possible, very well prepared 🙂 you can see that the author must have put a lot of work into it....
My road to baptism seems so far away. I am at the stage of learning God's Word and shedding tears almost daily. I am frustrated by the pace at which it is all happening, but all that remains is to read and pray. You all are light years ahead of me, and I, like this turtle am dragging along somewhere on the grey end 🙁 .
Pati there is no need to compare yourself to others... Do not give up! Take God Jesus Christ as the course of your life and miracles will start happening in your life. Perseverance to you 🙂 .
Pati dear the last shall be first these are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Keep your head up, drive away the bad thoughts and rejoice, because God has chosen you.
You are His beloved child❤.
God bless you and don't give up, we will support you
And you write so we know how to help you
Take care ☺
"The last shall be first and the first shall be last" 😉
The very fact of realizing one's own weakness and nothingness before the Majesty of God is a good sign 🙂
Pati, are you immersed in water in the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins?
If not, there is no need to wait, you have to bury old Pati quickly like any other corpse, if you want to die for yourself and live for God.
The infilling of the Holy Ghost is received by faith NOT by merit.
It is the filling of God's power to be a witness for Jesus.
It is a gift of grace, not a payment.
Maybe it really is just your imagination? Who knows... "Somewhere :)" I read that the last will be the first. And as far as light years are concerned, the villain crucified with the Lord Jesus even after the judgment was off the scale capable of being defined in this way. And yet he was ahead of us all - by the grace of the Lord Jesus. For nothing is impossible for God.
So, keep your head up. The Bible teaches that the Lord God will complete in you the work that He Himself has begun.
Pati, don't break down, I wrote this text so that a person who is converting would have a clear understanding of what to do and how to do it. For others it took years before they understood it. Knowing how to act you can shorten this time to a month or even less, a few days or even hours. If you desire God with all your heart and want to change your life. Apologize to God for your sins, believe in Jesus, and be baptized in His name. Ask for the baptism with the Holy Spirit, read the Bible, find yourself a fellowship in Christ, come to the convention, live with Jesus. Greetings from the bottom of my heart.
I don't know how you can imagine a baptism in November or December ( I'm sickly, pneumonia is imminent, I'd rather wait until spring 🙂 ).
Leno, what can I write? I'm reading slowly to myself to remember as much as possible. The question is how many times I will have to read the Bible to associate everything correctly.
What worries me most is this complete lack of knowledge.
Thank you all for your kind words. I'm off to do some reading.
Don't worry too much...
The Holy Spirit will guide you through everything, and it is on Him that we should rely first of all. Knowledge is useful and important, because then you will not be deceived.
But frankly, people spend years studying the Bible and each time they see something different in it.
And as for the baptism, it is advisable as soon as possible, you can always ask the Lord to heat the water for you.Alternatively, wait until spring or in a tub at home.
Warm greetings?
Leno, it never even occurred to me that you could ask God for this. I always just prayed, asking for anything seemed inappropriate and pointless to me ( He's busy and I'm irrelevant). This is how I saw it. After so many years of patting formulas I need to learn how to talk to Him, it's not appropriate to start with requests, I prefer thanks more ☺.
If in a bathtub, does that mean I have to baptize myself? I have krk followers around me, possibly atheists.
Sorry to ask so many strange questions, but I'm like a child in a fog. I dare say, I know that I know nothing. Thank you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Pati dear
You have an email to me here [email protected] and write me your contact information there.
There are several brothers in our virtual church who are willing to serve you.
Do not worry, dear, just ask, we are here to support each other.
God's blessings on you ?
Pati, a child in kindergarten doesn't worry about not knowing as much as a 5th year student.
We are students in the school of Jesus=the Holy Spirit, each on a different level.
You won't do a high school diploma in kindergarten.
All is well.
Pati, I was baptized in December and the Lord saved me from being sick, not only that, when I went into the water I didn't feel the cold, so it's not as bad as it seems 🙂 I don't think so.
Robert, the only thing missing from the text is the emphasis on baptism in the name of the LORD JESUS, not the KRK formula based on Mt 28.19.
We are immersed in ONE name, the name JESUS.
Check the foundation or apostolic teaching.
E.g. Acts 2:38
And Peter to them: Repent, and let every one of you be baptized (immersed)
in the name of JESUS Christ
for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ,
Acts 10.48-
commanded them to be immersed in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
Acts 19.5-
were immersed in the NAME OF THE LORD JESUS.
I recommend using the Greek word -ZANURZAC instead of baptize, because it removes unnecessary text such as I was already baptized.
You repent of your sins, you desire a new life with God, let yourself be immersed, bury the old X...
You are right Kesia, baptism is in the name of Jesus Christ. I wanted to describe all aspects of conversion and I missed such an important thing. This is how the apostles and their disciples immersed, and this is how we do it. There is power in the name of Jesus, He died for us and rose again. Demons are not driven out in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit but in the name of Jesus. Greetings.
In that case, doesn't one exclude the other? In the sense that one can bear the fruits of the Spirit and not be baptized with the Holy Spirit ?
Here you can see what the real gift of speaking in tongues looks like, and I think that's the gift the apostles received to spread the gospel to the world. This interview is worth listening to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZskhHUFz0o&t=208s
I personally wouldn't want to be given such a gift if I didn't know what my mouth was saying.
Ask yourself, do you really want this gift, because maybe it is Satan in the form of an angel who has given you this gift, and from your mouth come prayers to Satan instead of to God?
"In Europe, people want to see before they believe. That's why they don't see anything. In Africa we believe before we see, that's why we see so many miracles" That's right. There people are more simple, in our country intellectualism prevails....
Beautiful, isn't it 🙂
Ewelina,God promises that if you ask Him for bread,you will not get a stone or a snake.
We live by faith.
Ani, I think it is. From the moment you believe in Jesus and make Him Lord of your life you have the Holy Spirit within you and He transforms you. But the baptism in the Holy Spirit is more than that, it is to give you the power to live a victorious life. Peter had the Holy Spirit because Jesus breathed into him after His resurrection, but it wasn't until after the day of Pentecost when he was baptized with the Holy Spirit that he acted in power. Before that he denied Jesus and then when he spoke to the Judeans their jaws dropped and they had to lace up their shoelaces and as a result they were converted en masse 🙂 .
Thank you again 🙂 God's blessings on you Robert 🙂
Where can I be re-baptized?