Baptism by Fire

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”  Matthew 3:11

Right from the start, the most important thing to know from this passage is that baptism without Christ is nothing more than getting wet.  John recognized the power and greatness of Jesus and the unworthiness of himself in comparison, insomuch that he felt he did not deserve the privilege of carrying Jesus’ shoes.  Mark, Luke, and John wrote that John the Baptist said that he was not worthy to unfasten the buckles on Jesus’ sandals.  He likely said both because that’s how unworthy he felt in the presence of Jesus.  John was a great man.  Jesus said, “…Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11).  However, the greatness of John was more like complete insignificance when compared to the awesome power and majesty of the Son of God.  John then told the reason for Jesus’ coming: “to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire”.

The baptism that John conducted was only an outward sign that a person had repented of his or her sins but had not yet received the Holy Spirit.  When a person truly repents and believes in Jesus Christ, He gives them the Holy Spirit which imparts to each believer the power to live righteously for Christ.  The Holy Spirit is a “Multitasker”, that is, He wears a lot of hats in the administration of His duties to the believer.  In John 14:26, the Holy Spirit is referred to as “the Comforter”: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.”  The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin.  He comforts us in times of trials and sorrow.  Any power we have as a Christian comes through the Holy Spirit.  After Jesus ascended back to the Father in heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the disciples which enabled them to speak in other languages so that the gospel could be spread across the world.  The Holy Spirit also enabled them to do miracles as a witness to the world of the saving power of Jesus Christ.

John said that Jesus would baptize with fire.  What does fire do?  It burns up stuff that’s not fireproof.  Jesus came to earth the first time to bring salvation and the abundant, God-honoring lives to all those who receive Him and His forgiveness of sins.  Sometimes Christians have to go through God’s refining fire to cleanse us of unrighteousness.  Paul wrote in I Corinthians 3:11-13 that our works will be on display for all to see at the judgment seat of Christ where rewards will either be awarded or withheld.  He describes this as putting our works to a fire as is done to gold and silver to burn away the impurities, leaving only the precious metal.   All of the works of those who reject Christ, both what sinners consider “good” works and their evil works will be burned up in God’s purging fire.  Thus, a Christian can receive a form of baptism by fire in purging of sin, leading to obedience, and sinners will receive an eternal punishment by fire.  It matters what types of materials we use to build upon the foundation of Christ.

John continued his description of the baptism of fire for the self-righteous sinners.  He illustrated by using a barn where both the wheat and the chaff are intermingled on the floor of the barn.  In ancient times, before farm machinery came into being, a wheat farmer would gather the wheat and the chaff (husks) together and toss a shovelful up into the air where the wind or manual fans would blow the chaff away, allowing the wheat to fall back to the floor, called “winnowing” the grain.  The wheat represents all those who have repented of their sins and trusted in Christ to put them in right standing before God making them useful for His service.  The chaff represents those who have rejected Christ, the only way to the Father, and therefore have become useless to Him.  Christ stands ready, at the proper time given by God, with His winnowing fan in His hand to separate the saints from the sinners for all eternity.  The saints will be gathered into the garner, the place where God’s people will be forever with the Lord.  The sinners, the unbelievers, will be gather into hell, a place of punishment and everlasting destruction.

Folks try to avoid the possibility of hell by claiming they don’t believe it exists to their own peril.  Most of these same folks, though, believe that there is a heaven and assume they will go there when they die because they are counting on the good deeds that they do.  We don’t hear as much preaching about hell today as we did years ago.  No one enjoys an old-fashioned hellfire and brimstone sermon, but people need to know that hell is real, and that those who reject Christ will spend eternity there.  I had rather be told the truth and given an opportunity to receive Christ than be dependent upon a lie that that makes me feel good but will seal my doom for all eternity.

Next time:  Jesus’ Baptism