FOUR MORE. Hebrews 6:2 The readers of Hebrews probably understood baptism as a way of showing a connection to another person or belief. Gentiles who became Jewish proselytes would have been baptized. John the Baptist baptized Jews who publicly repented of their sins. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were baptized, symbolizing that when Christ died for them on the cross, they died in Christ and were raised to “walk in newness of life.” To Christians, baptism by immersion serves as a public testimony of their conversion and their identification with Christ.
The word “baptisms” (plural) indicates that there were different reasons Jews were baptized. By the baptism of John, a Jew confessed he was a common sinner, repented of his sins, and publicly admitted it. It was a baptism that signified repentance. Jews who were baptized as Christians testified to their repentance for their sin of rejecting the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, and they now openly confessed Him as their Messiah and Savior. This was a testimony to dying to their old life and beginning a new life in Christ because of God's saving grace.
They had been cleansed from their sins, put on Christ, and received the Holy Spirit. The other baptisms had identified them as Jews in one way or another. Christian baptism signifies that a new life has begun, which has nothing to do with their national identity. They are neither Jew nor Gentile, but “church of God.”
At the start of the church, evidence of spiritual life was demonstrated by the apostles, indicating that the Holy Spirit had been given to believers, just as on the Day of Pentecost. “Laying on of hands” was a symbolic act that was not exclusive to Christianity but served as public endorsement by those in authority. In relation to Christians, the laying on of hands involves prayer, invoking divine approval, and blessing. In Jewish synagogues, it was used to designate someone as a teacher of the Old Testament.
The Lord Jesus laid His hands on the sick, and they were healed. The apostles laid their hands on new disciples in Samaria, and they received the Holy Spirit. Ananias laid his hands on Saul of Tarsus, and his eyes were opened. In every case, there was someone who had authority from God to impart a special work or ministry to others.
The doctrine of the resurrection was not new to the Jews, although the sect of the Sadducees rejected it as literal. Their actual understanding of the resurrection was probably vague regarding how and what it truly meant to the Jews. Most Jews see the resurrection as simply returning to earthly life, similar to those who were raised from the dead: The Shunamite woman’s son, those who touched Elisha’s bones, Jarius’s daughter, the son of the widow of Nain, Lazarus, and those who rose from the dead after Jesus’s resurrection.
When we are saved, we receive a newness of life in the sense of a new kind of existence, even though we remain in the same body we have always had. That will change when believers are raised when the Lord comes. Our new bodies will be glorified, like that of our Lord Jesus Christ. The necessity of newness of life in a believer is earnestly preached by those who proclaim the Gospel message. There is no reality to a profession of faith if one is not “walking in newness of life.” This does not refer to the “resurrection of the just,” when we will be changed in the “twinkling of an eye.” We don’t really know what a glorified body is like, except that we will be recognizable as ourselves and suited for the eternal future that awaits us when we are forever with the Lord.
The sixth of the fundamental words of Christ relating to basic principles (doctrines) includes eternal judgment. Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ are frequently warned in the New Testament. There is eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, as well as for those who choose to follow his leadership. Those deceived by Satan are already condemned, and if they do not repent of their sins and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be lost forever. The resurrection of the unjust is just as real as that of the just. Unbelievers will be raised to condemnation, everlasting contempt, and eternal punishment because they chose to ignore the warnings and appeals given by faithful preachers of the Gospel.
The confusion surrounding various definitions of baptism leads to pointless speculation about which one is correct when we overlook "the principles," the primary teaching of baptism. What baptism is and why it matters has already been clarified in the scriptures. The resurrection of the dead is clearly taught, and the fact of eternal judgment—what it is and where it occurs—leaves no room for mistakes or honest questions. There is no reason to question, add to, or further define what has already been made clear.