Recommended Reading: Feed My Sheep.

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How to Baptize, and Why.

With Personal and Business Ethics and Motivations.

Sermon by Dr. Bob Benchoff 11/27/2002.

Through faith a person can allow heaven on earth within their own personal life. Baptism has a lot to do with this. Let's look at what baptism logically accomplishes, and then we can better see how baptism should be performed.

Through water baptism a person can enable the workings of a new life via Jesus Christ. This new more vibrant life is of a new spiritual awakening, it is a person's personal permission for the Holy Ghost to activate their own life so they may optimally glorify Christ. With this activation the person receiving the Holy Spirit mingling with their own spirit finds old sinful ways pass away according to their personal continual love of Christ and their thoughts become increasingly clean and pure: and their actions become increasingly righteous with improving motivation. This enables the person to found their works on the one true and solid leadership of Christ.

BUSINESS ETHICS

People working as bill collectors have told me that if you run your business right, you don't need to hire bill collection services.

God is about righteousness, as a minimum. Things you do today affect your future and the future of others. Run your business and your personal life righteously.

Normally, a business works for their customers. Behind closed doors a business runs their company for their company's profitability, normally, for financial profitability. Normally many people run their lives for other people (family, friends, community...), yet behind closed doors many do it for greed, vanity, and similar motivational purposes related to survival of their self and their small group.

A business that works with 80% fixed costs and a 20% profit margin generally has no trouble making 80% of a business deal. It's the other 20% that is negotiable, and that's where all the profit is.

For baptized Christians, many believe they have 10% (to 20% for Jubilee) fixed costs up front (tithes), and 90% negotiable. This is due to a sense of invulnerability, even if others cast stones at them.

Every person has easy moments and tough moments throughout life, yet Christians learn to optimize happiness and prosperity by learning to do the hard part first, before it becomes complex, diluted, and exceedingly difficult to understand.

Christians learn to tithe first, and not just their money. Each Christian must first take the step to be baptized according to their own decision, in order to work for God to bring glory to God (humanly impossible, except through God with us: Christ). Then the Christian may dwell in heaven on earth.

Heaven is not just a splendid vacation, heaven is exceedingly more profound, far beyond the senses.

Some that are baptized are immediately struck with Holy Spirit bliss as they are born again. Others baptized might find little difference with gradual growth and increasing blissful assurance in Christ.

Sometimes a baptized person struggles with difficulties and sees no change in their life until that day that when their suffering is no longer endurable, or tragedy strikes with no escape, and to their astonishment, a great miracle happens in their life.

With your baptism in Christ and your benefits personally, how much more can your employer organization and/or other groups benefit from you?

BAPTISM BENEFITS

What can a person expect to receive in exchange for going through baptism?

I could respond "Your soul" or "Control of your soul", but the truth is it's not about a trade or purchase, it's about you giving yourself to God your creator.

If for example you built a computer smart enough to decide whether or not it wants to work for you, that computer had better decide to work for you or you might toss it into the recycle bin where it would be sifted for parts.

In the sermon The Face Of Jesus Christ, we find Jesus Christ has parts. But Jesus Christ is less about the body and focuses more on higher reasoning.

One baptism benefit is that if a person is baptized, other Christians are less likely to be attacked and suffer harm.

Likewise, other benefits for Christians include change for the better and good growth for the family of Christians as a whole.

A LEAP OF FAITH

In order to properly baptize someone, the one being baptized needs to choose to be baptized to serve only good God, one with Jesus Christ. The one being baptized needs to acknowledge higher reasoning within themself because the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.

The decision to revere and honor higher reasoning transcends relative logic (for further study in relative logic and absolute logic, click Absolute Reasoning). The action of devout reverence of higher reasoning is righteousness. Baptism is the initial step in righteousness.

With baptism, the logic of life, love, hope, charity, and honor begin to unfold in new ways. Mysteries become unravelled as never before, some quickly, some over time; all per logic as never before through Jesus Christ: the Teacher of doctors, the Master of the universe.

BAPTISM PROCESS

Anyone can baptise, just as any able body can drive a car, although many religions require that an ordained priest or similar perform the baptism, just as car drivers should be licensed.

As sheep obey the shepard, adhere to religion, especially when a novice, yet be prepared and ready to lead in an emergency if the situation dictates [that is, when God moves you].

Idle words have limited value, so there is limited value if for instance one day without announcement you stand in front of your fellow employees and say "I baptize you all." Rather, your Christian ethics should cause them to approach you with requests to be baptized.

Some churches' viewpoints are that if you were not immerse baptized (such as if water was only sprinkled on your head), then you were not baptized. When seeking God, do not be dissuaded by naysayers, but be conformed to righteousness, such as per the reasoning in the previous paragraph.

Various religions have various perspectives on how a baptism should be performed. "THE BOOK OF MORMON" page 429 brings much clarity and unity of purpose to the process.

Choose to go in peace, and come stand in righteousness.

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To visit the Main Site of the Internet Church of Christ founded by Dr. Bob Benchoff, click here.

To visit the second page of sermons of the Internet Church of Christ founded by Dr. Bob Benchoff, click here.

If you have already been baptized and you wonder about what you should do now, you can click here for the ICCDBB Internet Sermon for advice on being effectual for Christ.