Before you can receive the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, you first need to repent and be baptized. We read in Acts 2 the words of the apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost: Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Acts 2:37,38.
To repent means to feel or express sincere regret sorrow or remorse about one’s wrongdoing or sin. Some people never find repentance, like Esau, who despised his birth right and lost it. We read in Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” Many people despise the grace of God that leads them to repentance and later when they wish to repent they do not have the chance. Some believers never repent, they just keep on asking forgiveness and keep on going back to the same sins. Their hearts are hardened and God gives them over to a reprobate mind, because they love sin and hate righteousness, and so they perish in their sins. True repentance results in turning from sin and living in holiness. If a person has not repented it makes no sense to be baptized.
We read in Matthew 3:1 “Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Verse 7 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8“Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; 9and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.10“The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12“His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Where there is no fruit of repentance, there was no repentance and it makes no sense to be baptized.
Jesus commanded that all those who wish to follow Him be baptized in water. We read in Mark 16:15:16 Jesus said to His disciples “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16“He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”
Without repentance and water baptism there is no salvation, just condemnation. Neither will such persons receive the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:9 “if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”
Many believers think they have salvation, but they never repented. They are living in sin. They are not holy. Others were never baptized in water and most never received the Holy Spirit.
Without the Holy Spirit, we have no communion with Jesus. Modern Christianity has Bibles, doctrines and churches but no Spirit, no Jesus.
Have you repented and been baptized? Did you receive the Holy Spirit? Are you born again of the Spirit of God and are you living in communion with Him? Those who are being led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God. Are you a child of God.
May Jesus bless you.
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