Baptism, Born Again and Heaven

The following is an exchange of e-mail and explanation of Baptism, Born Again, Heaven and the feel of the Holy Spirit:

Question raised by a web site visitor “MB”:

Can you really feel the Holy Spirit or make it to heaven if you have never been baptized?

Answer by John Sun:

Yes. Baptism is merely a commitment of a person or a ceremony of one’s recognition of God and his/her acceptance of Jesus as his/her savior.

Since God is a Spirit, He looks at the heart of each person.

Only you are willing, and WILLING COMPLETELY, He is always there for you.

In God’s Service and by His Instructions,

John Sun

one of His messengers

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Explanations:

Jesus disclosed two important steps needed for entering into the Kingdom of God to a Jewish religious leader named Nicodemus:

“I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never SEE the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NLT)

“The truth is, NO ONE CAN ENTER the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit.” (John 3:5 NLT)

To be born again means a person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins, and he or she has accepted Jesus as his/her Savior and being baptized by water. He or she also crucifies all his/her own sins on the cross, and asks Jesus for forgiveness and to wash his/her sins clean by the blood of Jesus. From that time on, the ‘new Christian’ will maintain close contact with God, puts the words of God deep in his/her heart, and tries his/her best to avoid sins.

Being born again (baptism) is NOT a guarantee for eternal life or entry into the Kingdom of God. It allows that one may see the Kingdom of God only.

The phrase “born of water and the spirit”, refers to a person who accepts Jesus as his/her Savior and is baptized in water, witnessed by others; and then invites the Holy Spirit to stay inside him/her. Only with the presence of the Holy Spirit staying inside us may we overcome Satan and enter into the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit always reminds us the truth and the words of God. He can also strengthen our spiritual weakness. Man cannot defeat Satan without the company of the Holy Spirit.

When a person has been fully filled by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will ‘take over’ his/her prayers, singings even actions. Besides tongue speaking, the Holy Spirit gives power, courage, truth, prophecy, healing and guidance to the appropriate Words of God. When a person has been fully filled with the Holy Spirit, he/she can feel the ‘Special Connection’ between man and God as if there is no one else besides God and himself/herself.

The one who has been fully filled with the Holy Spirit must exercise extra caution of Satan’s invasion. The devil is always watching for the person who goes closer to God. The Devil will try his best to give man/woman ambiguous ideas or temptations attracting him/her away from God. It is only prudent to keep the Words of God in our hearts by reading the Holy Bible regularly (as a daily bread), asking the Holy Spirit to stay inside us (as often as we drink water), pray frequently (as often as we use a cellular phone these days) and try one’s best to stay away from sins. However, once sinned, confess immediately to Jesus and ask for His forgiveness by the use of His own blood. And, endure to the end (as we are living now in a sinful world controlled by Satan). If we do not defeat Satan, he will defeat us and take us as his slaves or hostage. We should walk out of the foot steps of Adam and Eve by following the ‘WAY’ created by Jesus (John 14:6) – which can be found in the Words of God (John 6:63). It is only in this way, we may be resurrected or raised to Eternal Life one day just as Jesus did.

Many people believe that going to church regularly will definitely guarantee a place for them in heaven. NOT TRUE! Going to church regularly helps one to understand God more and get closer to God. However, the most important issue is whether our hearts are right with God (see Romans 2:28-29 and John 4:23-24).

In Luke 23:39-43, Jesus promised “Paradise” to one of the two convicts (presumably he had not been baptized in his life) who was being crucified besides Jesus Himself. ‘Paradise’ is a waiting room for those true believers of Jesus who died and pending for the First Resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) before going to heaven. There is no judgment pending for those who died and staying in ‘Paradise’. Besides ‘Paradise’, there are other waiting rooms – ‘the prison’ and ‘hade’ as being stated in the Holy Bible (1 Peter 3:19).