洗澡既舒服又健康！誰不喜歡洗澡呢？但是，許多人認為，基督教所說的“洗禮”只不過好像洗澡一樣。也許他們認為洗禮不可能是神施恩於人之時。雖然張三在一個池子里受洗，並不表示他的洗禮不重要或不帶給他任何福分。《聖經》教導我們有關洗禮的重要和洗禮所帶給我們的福分。
耶穌十二使徒中有一位名叫彼得。彼得解釋洗禮如下：“這水所表明的洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們；這洗禮本不在乎除掉肉體的污穢，只求在神面前有無虧的良心”（彼得前書 3:21）。
在此經文，彼得說洗禮不像洗澡。洗禮的目的並“不在乎除掉肉體的污穢。”洗禮是肉體上的動作，但它有屬靈上的意義。洗禮是具體的行動，但它的意義來自不受時間和空間約束的耶穌的死亡和復活。
“洗禮到底是什麼意思？”，也許您要問我。
請讓使徒彼得回答您的問題吧。請記住我剛才讀的那句話：“這水所表明的洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們；這洗禮本不在乎除掉肉體的污穢，只求在神面前有無虧的良心。”在此經文里，彼得說洗禮的意義有二：第一）“…洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們…。”第二）：“…求在神面前有無虧的良心。”
基督徒都知道只有神的恩典藉着耶穌十字架上的寶血（包括他的復活）能夠拯救我們。但是，我們必須讓耶穌的寶血來到我們的身上和內心。神沒有命令我們爬上峨眉山就找到耶穌的寶血；神沒有要求我們走遍塔克拉瑪干沙漠才得到神的恩典。神沒有規定我們用黃金英鎊買來救恩。事實上，我們不能“做”任何事情獲得神的恩典和耶穌的赦免。但是我們必須按照神的吩咐獲得和接受神的愛，神的恩典，耶穌基督的寶血。在《聖經》里，其他的經文，神表示我們要相信他，相信《聖經》是他的話，相信耶穌是他所差遣的救主，相信耶穌從死里復活了。另外，《聖經》再三地勸我們，神的愛使得我們悔改我們的過犯和罪孽。但是，我們相信和悔改還不表示我們已經沐浴過在耶穌的寶血之下。在今天所讀的彼得前書的此句話里，彼得告訴我們一個人什麼時候沐浴在耶穌的寶血之下，什麼時候參與耶穌的復活，就是在他受洗的時候。
請再次聽聽彼得的話：“…洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們…。”彼得的意思並不是說洗禮的水本身有能力拯救我們；他說神採用洗禮的水讓我們獲得耶穌寶血的能力。因此彼得說：“…洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們…。”
這樣看來，當李四說“我每周都要前往教堂做禮拜，但是我還沒有受洗，”他的意思是他還沒有沐浴在耶穌的寶血里，他還沒有伸出雙手接受神的恩典，他還沒有讓耶穌基督拯救他。換句話說，他還沒成為基督徒。
朋友，現在您比他人更明白《聖經》所說的“洗禮”的意義。請您快一點來接受耶穌，受洗，因為，“…洗禮，現在藉着耶穌基督復活也拯救你們。”
【洗禮】九：洗禮是怎麼一回事？
“Baptism” 09: What Is Baptism?
作者：謝德華 ©By Edward Short
What Is Baptism?
1 Peter 3:21
“Splish-Splash, I was taking a bath, long about a Saturday night. Rub-a-dub, just a splashing in the tub, thinking everything was al-right…” is the opening line of a rock-‘n-roll song recorded by Bobby Darin in 1958. Perhaps you enjoy a bath as much as the song depicts; I certainly do! Some people believe that the Christian term “baptism” means about the same as bathing and so they assume that baptism can’t be the time when God imparts his grace. A person is usually baptized in a small pool, but that in no way indicates that his baptism is unimportant or that it gives him no special blessing. The Bible teaches us how important baptism is and what blessings a person receives when he is baptized.
One of the twelve disciples of Jesus was named Peter. Peter ex-plains baptism: “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21 NIV).
In this Scripture, Peter explains that baptism is not like taking a bath. The purpose of baptism is not “the removal of dirt from the body.” Baptism is a physical act that has spiritual meaning. Baptism takes place within time and space but receives its meaning from the timeless death and resurrection of Jesus.
“What then is the meaning of baptism?”
Allow the apostle Peter to answer this question. Remember that Peter said: “and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” In this Scripture, Peter explains two details about baptism: 1) “baptism that now saves you… by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” and 2) “the pledge of a good con-science toward God.”
All Christians know that the only way we can be saved is by God’s grace as extended to us through the crucifixion (and resurrection) of Jesus. However, we must allow the blood of Jesus to contact us. God hasn’t instructed us to climb Mt. Everest for the blood of Jesus and he hasn’t asked us to walk across the Gobi Dessert to merit his grace. God hasn’t set the price for salvation in gold bullion or English Sterling. The fact is that we can’t “do” anything to merit God’s grace and Jesus’ forgiveness. However we must receive God’s love, God’s grace and the precious blood of Jesus Christ according to the way God specifies. In other Scriptures, God indicates that we must believe in him and in his word the Bible. We must believe that Jesus is the Savior sent by God and that Jesus was raised from the dead. Additionally, over and over the Bible teaches us that God’s love causes us to repent of our wrong doing, our sins. Having faith and repenting of sin, however, doesn’t mean that we’ve already been washed in the blood
of Jesus. From the verse in First Peter that we are discussing now, Peter tells us exactly at what point in time a person is washed in the blood of Jesus and contacts the resurrection. It is when he is baptized.
Read again what Peter says: “…baptism that now saves you also… It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Peter does not mean that the physical water of baptism itself has any power to save; he says that God uses the water of baptism to enable us to obtain the power of the blood of Jesus. And so Peter says, “…baptism that now saves you also… It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
In view of the above, whenever someone says that he goes to the church building each week to worship but that he has not yet been baptized, what he’s really saying is that he hasn’t yet been washed in the blood of Jesus, hasn’t yet extended his hands to God and received God’s grace, and he hasn’t yet allowed Jesus Christ to save him. In other words, he hasn’t yet become a Christian.
You now understand more about baptism than many other people. I hope you will decide to receive Jesus Christ and be baptized, because “…baptism… now saves you also… It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”