Saved Through Water

by Jeff Curtis

     In Genesis 6:5-7, the text tells us; “ ⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil ^[c]continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  

     The event of the world wide flood in Genesis chapter 8 that gives several lessons to learn from and to apply to New Testament Christianity. The Bible says nothing about how the passengers aboard the ark ate or slept or how they spent their days. It gives not description of the sights, sounds, smells that Noah’s family experienced for months as God cleansed the world of its sinful inhabitants. The eight passengers who were in the ark with the animals God was preserving may have wondered if God had forgotten about them.

     Chapter 8 tells about God’s “remembrance” of Noah’s family and all the creatures in the ark. He caused the flood waters to recede (8:1-5) and the face of the earth to dry (8:6-14). At God’s command, Noah family and all the animals left the ark (8:15-19). The chapter concludes with Noah’s offering a sacrifice and God’s promise to never again destroy every living creature as long as the earth remains (8:20-22).

     In this article, we need to also look and make comparison of the flood to what Peter tells us in 1Peter 3. That the flood was more than a purging of sinfulness from the world, it was also an anti-type of baptism.

     As for the eight people in the ark, their deliverance was a type of the salvation that Christians have enjoyed from Pentecost to the present day.

     (1) The record says that, by faith, Noah and his family entered the ark, a place of physical refuge. Penitent believers are “baptized into Christ” (Romans 6:3), our place of spiritual refuge.

     (2) The flood was the instrument of death to those who did not repent on that old world; but it saved Noah and the others in the ark. When penitent believers are baptized into the death of Christ (Romans 6:3), instead of dying, they receive spiritual life through Him.

     (3) Peter stated that “eight persons (Noah and his family), were brought safely through the water,” even so, or “corresponding to that, baptism now saves you” (1Peter 3:20,21).

     (4) By faith, Noah and his family came out of the ark as new (saved) individuals, with a new beginning in a world washed clean of the wickedness of the past. When penitent believers arise out of the waters of baptism, they come forth in “newness of life” (Romans 6:4), as new creatures “in Christ.” This means that “the old things (have) passed away,” and “new things have come” (2Corthinians 5:17).

     (5) The salvation of Noah and his family was not water salvation, that is, the water did not literally save them. It was what divided the old world from the new, and, by faith, they had passed through it. In the same way, the water of baptism doesn’t literally wash away sins (1Peter 3:21). It marks the dividing line between the old life and the new life in Christ. Only by faith in Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of His blood can our souls be washed away as we pass through the watery grave of baptism (Matthew 26:28; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:4-6).

    (6) The survivors who came out of the ark owed the salvation to God, since it was His grace that had saved them and given them a good conscience for a new life in a cleansed world. Even so, penitent believers are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:4-9) when they are baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:26,27; Titus 3:4-7). They make an “appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1Peter 3:21).

     (7) God promised not judge mankind as worthy of death by another flood. Rather, He determined to bless them with a new world that would have regular seasons for seedtime and harvest, where man could once again enjoy the fruit of the land. Today, God blesses His people with new life in Christ. Christians enjoy the Holy Spirit’s fruit of righteousness now (Galatians 5:22,23). In the heavenly paradise, those who remain faithful will share spiritually in the tree of life, which bears the “twelve kinds of fruit… for the healing of the nations,” in the presence of God, the Father, and the Lamb, for eternity (Revelation 22:2).

Easter

by Jeff Curtis

    There was recently an article on the Fox News website that stated; “No Easter Services during pandemic could leave churches struggling.” It said that Easter Sunday is a celebration. That church pews would normally be overflowing with parishioners seated in pastel-colored reverence of the risen Christ. It said this year Easter is entering a virtual reality that may hurt some churches financially.

     To my knowledge, there is only one translation of the Bible that uses the word “Easter.” Acts 12:4; And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. I have checked that main translation that most of use and a few more, NASB, NIV, NKJV, ERV, etc. and the only translation that uses this word is the KJV.

     We have been studying on Sunday’s in our sermons that “It makes a difference what we believe.” We should be aware that the “Easter” holiday and all its symbols are not taught in the Word of God. Neither is it taught that we are to celebrate such holidays.

     WHAT EASTER IS TO MANY PEOPLE. To “Christendom”, Easter is the Celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Belief in the Resurrection of Jesus and the Celebration of Easter are not the Same Thing.

1. Early Christians firmly believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ: so do we,

1 Cor. 15:4, 12-20 (Matt. 28:6; Rom. 4:25).

         2.  But, an “Easter” celebration was unknown to the early Christians.

1. Not instituted by Christ or His apostles: Easter is not in the NT (silent).

What about Acts 12:4?

                    “There never was a more absurd or unhappy translation than this. The original is

                      simply after the Passover.” (Barnes Notes on Acts 12:4)

              b.  Not mentioned in history until 155 A.D.

                   “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament  

                   or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. The sanctity of the special times was an

                   idea absent from the minds of the first Christians.” 

                   (The Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th ed., II:859)

This point comes from a sermon that I preached last year. Society and the Catholic church tell us that Easter is a religious holiday. It was not so nor was it taught in the first century as something Christ wanted His disciples to worship nor celebrate.

     Most of the Easter symbols were taught or introduced into religious activity by the Roman Catholic church. They were used by the Catholic church when forcing the Druids and Celtics to become Catholic. They did this to appease them and help keep them in the Catholic faith. Things such as the “Easter bunny,” “colored eggs,” were pagan rituals that pertained to fertility and other activities in the pagan worship.

     Blending of paganism and apostate observance produced modern-day Easter.

“Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one Judeo-Christian and the other Pagan. Both Christians and Pagans have celebrated death and resurrection themes on or after the Spring Equinox for millennia. Most religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier Pagan celebrations.” (Easter: Origins, Meanings, and Current Practices, religioustolerance.org/easter.htm)

 “How this pagan festival came to be supplanted by a solemn Christian holiday attests to the ingenuity of second century Christian missionaries. “These missionaries traveled among the Teutonic tribes north of Rome. Whenever possible, they transformed local pagan customs to harmonize with Christian doctrine. On a practical basis, this prevented local converts from being persecuted by the pagan traditionalists. Since the Eastre festival to celebrate spring coincided with the time of the Christian observance of the resurrection of Christ, this crossover was achieved smoothly. Some doubt remained as to the exact day of the celebration.” (Mani Niall, The History of Easter and Its Custom)

     I am not saying that we are to stop hiding Easter eggs for our children and grandchildren, but we do need to stop putting a special emphasis on Easter worship. Easter Sunday should not be held as a special holy day. Each Sunday, to the Christian, should be a holy day. We are to come together and worship, study, sing, pray, give of our means and memorialize the Lord’s death with the Lord’s Supper. Each Lord’s day should be special. Not only Easter Sunday or Christmas.

    We are doing our children and ourselves a disservice when we teach that certain days are more holy than others.

Remember:

Please keep a check on each other during this pandemic. Please email or contact me or one of the elders or deacons if you are in need of something.