How to Conduct a Baptism for the Remission of Sins Ritual

In 1 Peter 3:18–22, we learn that the story of Noah is also a picture of salvation and water baptism. Noah is a prophetic type of Yeshua. Let’s talk a little about baptism for the remission of sins. 

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The Scriptures give us no guidelines how to conduct a baptism service, only that we are commanded to be baptized for the remission of sins. Yeshua instructed his disciples when giving them the great commission to baptize new believers (Matt 28:19–20; Mark 16:16–18).  If you’re a disciple of Yeshua, then you have his authority to baptize someone you have led to Yeshua or have spiritually mentored. As we shall see later, ordained elders are to lay hands on the baptism recipient, anoint them with oil and pray for them to receive the Holy or Set-Apart Spirit (Heb. Ruach HaKodesh).

The following is a suggestion on how to conduct a baptism service:

A Divine Calling — A Divine Choosing

The reason you are being baptized today is not because you chose to do so, but because you are simply responding to a divine call or invitation to follow and serve your Creator — Yehovah Elohim and his Son, Yeshua the Messiah.

[Elohim] hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in the Messiah Yeshua before the world began. (1 Tim 1:9)

That ye would walk worthy of Elohim, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. But we are bound to give thanks alway to Elohim for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because Elohim hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth (1 Thess 2:12–13)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

Prophecy Is Being Fulfilled

This day, the prophetic word of Elohim is being fulfilled upon your life. You are one of the lost sheep of the house of Israel who is returning to the Elohim and the faith of his ancient fathers.

Thus says YHVH: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, you nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people — the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words, Nor My Torah, but rejected it. (Jer 6:16–19).

“Remember the Torah of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of YHVH. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” (Mal 4:4–6)

Explanation of the Baptism/Immersion Ritual

Immersion in water is an ancient Hebrew custom signifying spiritual or ritual cleansing. It goes back to the Tabernacle of Moses rituals where YHVH required the Levitical priests to cleanse before officiating in the sacrificial service (Exod 29:4; 30:18–21; Lev 8:6). The Torah also required ritual immersion in cleansing for certain skin diseases, which is a picture of cleansing from sin (Lev 14:8).

Similarly, Yeshua commanded his disciples to ritually cleanse or baptize new believers.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,“teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19–20)

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. “And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; “they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:16–18)

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yeshua the Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as YHVH our Elohim will call.” (Acts 2:38–39)

Romans 6:1–14 explains the spiritual significance of baptism for the remission sins. It’s a picture of spiritual cleansing, dying to one’s old carnal man and raising in the newness of spiritual life through Messiah Yeshua through identifying with his death, burial and resurrection.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into the Messiah Yeshua were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as the Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with the Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with Him knowing that the Messiah, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to Elohim. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to Elohim in the Messiah Yeshua our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to Elohim as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to Elohim. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Also note Col 2:11–14.)

Have you repented of our sins? The Bible defines sin as Torahlessness (1 John 3:4). Take a moment at this time to reflect on your life and confess any sins. Read 1 John 1:8–10.

Renunciation of the Darkness

Following is an ancient Christian tradition from the Didache, it is now time to publicly renounce the world, the flesh and the devil’s power and influence over your life. At this time, physically turn your back from the west (the place of the setting sun and darkness or spiritual Egypt (or Babylon — “come out of her my people”; Rev 18:4) and toward the east (the place of the rising sun and light — a symbolic act of facing or looking to Yeshua, the Light of the world and the Sun of Righteousness). Dedicate yourself to following the Lamb of Elohim, who is the Captain of our salvation and the Author and Finisher of our faith wherever he leads, to love him by keeping all of his Torah commandments, and to love not your life unto death to be a spiritual bond-servant or slave of Yeshua.

Confession of Faith

Now it is time to publicly confess your faith in and allegiance to Yeshua as your Savior and Lord (or Master). Read out loud the following Scriptures:

[T]hat if you confess with your mouth the Lord Yeshua and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of YHVH shall be saved.” (Rom 10:9–13)

“[T]hat whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. “For Elohim so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For Elohim did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of Elohim. (John 3:15–18)

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (John  5:24)

The Ritual of Immersion

Ritual immersion or baptism is a picture of coming out of spiritual Egypt or Babylon and crossing through the Red Sea or over the Euphrates River respectively en route to the Promised Land, which is a picture of your spiritual inheritance. Going into and coming out of the waters is a picture dying to your old physical man and being resurrected or born again as a new man spiritually. When you go into the waters, you will come up as new person spiritually who is living spiritually in a new land, and who has a new spiritual destiny and an everlasting inheritance in the promised land of the kingdom of Elohim. Read Galatians 2:20 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Now it’s time to perform the immersion. The Christian tradition of a person being dunked backwards in the water is a good one, since this pictures the spiritual death and resurrection of the person. We prefer to conduct the baptism in a clean stream or river that flows out of the mountains if at all possible, since this follows the ancient biblical tradition. If such a river isn’t available, then any source of clean water will work. If a person is bed ridden or otherwise unable to be bodily dunked in water, then pour or sprinkle water on them as a last resort. The heart condition of the person is what primarily matters to YHVH and not the exact mode of baptism. The person being baptized should be old enough to understand the spiritual significance of the ceremony. This rules out the baptism of babies and young children who lack the capacity to understand abstract spiritual concepts.

Anointing with Oil

An ordained elder now pours olive oil on the head of the individual and prays that YHVH will pour out his Set-Apart Spirit on that person (Acts 8:17; 19:6). An anointing oil (mixed with myrrh, the predominant ingredient of the tabernacle anointing oil and symbolic of the tree of life) can be used, and a Paleo-Hebrew letter tav can be written on the recipient’s forehead with ink from bottle or with a Sharpie pen (Ezek 9:4 cp. Rev 7:3; 14:2). The tav looks like a small letter “t” or a cross. (This ritual derives from the ancient Jewish custom of anointing the high priest in this manner.)

The Theosis

Theosis is the concept of a redeemed or spiritually regenerated individual becoming a partaker YHVH’s divine nature (2 Pet 1:4), and being adopted into the family of Elohim (see verses below). It is about man becoming like Elohim — becoming part of the family of Elohim as a son of Elohim (John 10:34; Ps 82:1; 1 John 3:1–3).

This is our theosis, that as the Ruach haKodesh (Set-Apart Spirit) identified Yeshua as the Son of Elohim at his  baptism, so I declare that you’re a son of Elohim at your baptism, for you are now a new creation through Yeshua (Gal 2:20; 2 Cor 5:17), and this day you have been begotten into the family of Elohim, and when you receive your glorified body at the resurrection you will be fully born or adopted into the family of Elohim as a full-fledged son of Elohim, for we will be like him, for we will see him as he is (1 John 3:1–3).

But as many as received [Yeshua], to them He gave the right to become children of Elohim, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Elohim. (John 1:12–13)

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Elohim and of Yeshua our Master, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (1 Pet 1:2–4)

For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Rom 8:15)

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Rom 8:23; also 9:4)

To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Gal 4:5; also Eph 1:5)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of Elohim! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of Elohim; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:1–2)

Prophetic Prayer

Pray prophetically over the baptism recipient.

Sound the Shofar

The shofar is now sounded to announce to the spirit realm (to both the demonic world and to the Heavenly Hosts) what has just occurred on earth to an individual in relationship to the kingdom of Elohim being advanced.

 

2 thoughts on “How to Conduct a Baptism for the Remission of Sins Ritual

  1. Fantastic! Just what I was looking for. I had many of the scriptures you cited collected, but lacked much of the in depth explanations. THANK YOU as always!

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