New Birth, Repentance and Baptism

New Birth, Repentance and Baptism
Repentance and baptism are often discussed in the context of proclamation and expected response in the gospels. This is a consistent message both before and after the cross.

Christian baptism is discussed in the context of new birth (e.g. Romans 6:4). It is therefore appropriate to discuss gospel references to each of these ideas together.

Section Text Comments

2 JN 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, [13] who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Jesus gives men who believe in him the right to be born of him. It is interesting that this belief does not itself constitute this new birth.

23-25 LK 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, [2] in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. [3] And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; [4] as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
"THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
`MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE His paths straight. [5] `EVERY RAVINE SHALL BE FILLED UP,
AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW;
AND THE CROOKED SHALL BECOME STRAIGHT,
AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; [6] AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.'"
[7] He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] "Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. [9] "And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." [10] And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" [11] And he would answer and say to them, "Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise." [12] And some tax-gatherers also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" [13] And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." [14] And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."
John's baptism was "of" repentance (The Greek uses the genitive of metanoia). The baptism was towards (Greek eis, the English "for" is ambiguous) forgiveness of sins.
Those seeking baptism were urged to bear good fruit (ref. Mt 7:15-19). Interestingly, John did not appeal to spiritual or external religious elements-- for example, more sacrifices, more prayer, more submission to leaders, having a "better heart" and the like. He defined repentance in very practical, lifestyle terms: kindness to the poor, honesty in business dealings, contentment in life. Repentance is practical and not merely religious.

26 MT 3:11 "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] "And 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."
LK 3:15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he might be the Christ, [16] John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [17] "And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." [18] So with many other exhortations also he preached the gospel to the people.
John's ministry sheds light on the ministry of Jesus. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
There are some who would suggest that the "baptism of fire" has to do with purification. Others suggest that it relates to the baptism of the Holy Spirit on grammatical grounds. While tongues of fire accompanied the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3), this text does not meet the criteria for Sharp's rule which would identify them as one and the same (there is no single article governing both of the nouns).
In the gospels, fire is a common result of judgment and accompaniment of punishment (e.g. Mt 3:10, 3:12, 5:22, 7:19, 13:40, 18:8-9, 25:41, Lk 9:54, 12:49, Jn 15:6). In this context, judgment and punishment are especially in view and should be understood in this manner.
Thus, while John is seeking repentance and baptism, Jesus will bring about a change in dispensation: the era of the Spirit and the final determination of judgment.

30 JN 1:28 Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] "This is He on behalf of whom I said, `After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' [31] "And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." [32] And John bore witness saying, "I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. [33] "And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, `He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. John testifies that Jesus will bring about forgiveness of sins and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

36 JN 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4] Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" [5] Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] "Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.' [8] "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." Jesus said several important things about being born again here. First, it is a prerequisite for seeing/entering the kingdom. Second, being "born again" is synonymous with being "born of the water and the spirit." Third, this is something that Jesus seems to have expected Nicodemus to have done.
Some have suggests that birth of "water and spirit" refers to natural birth and spiritual birth. Both the grammar (Sharp's rule) and the context (Jesus' expectation of someone who had already been naturally born) make this incorrect.
This new birth of water and spirit finds its logical and practical connection with the baptism of John (Jn 1:28)

46 MT 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Repentance was a key component and expectation of Jesus' proclamation.

59 JN 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. [25] "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. [26] "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; [27] and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. [28] "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, [29] and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
JN 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [31] "If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true. [32] "There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true. [33] "You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] "But the witness which I receive is not from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. [35] "He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] "But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. [37] "And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. [38] "And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. [39] "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; [40] and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. [41] "I do not receive glory from men; [42] but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. [43] "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. [44] "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? [45] "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. [46] "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. [47] "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
In this section, new life is something spiritual that comes from those who are spiritually dead (except for 5:28-29, which is explicitly concerning the resurrection of the physically dead).
Simply, this spiritual life comes to those who hear and believe the voice of the Son and come to him.

100 MK 6:12 And they went out and preached that men should repent. Repentance was a key component and expectation of the apostle's proclamation.

256 MT 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." This statement serves as the conclusion of Matthew's gospel. Training (Greek matheteuo, train) and baptism are to be initial stages of evangelism to all nations. Subsequent ministry will focus on teaching obedience to all that Jesus has commanded.

258 LK 24:46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; [47] and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. This statement serves as the conclusion of Matthew's gospel. Repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed to all nations.
There is similar manuscript evidence for the NIV rendering ("repentance and forgiveness") and the NASB rendering ("repentance for forgiveness"). Either way, repentance is coupled with forgiveness.
(Those who would mention the omission of baptism here and suggest that baptism has no place in forgiveness might want to consider that faith is not mentioned here either. This statement by Luke is not intended as a formula for conversion or concise expression of the gospel, but simply a summary of the end result of the ministry of the Messiah.)

Section	Text	Comments
2	JN 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, [13] who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.	Jesus gives men who believe in him the right to be born of him. It is interesting that this belief does not itself constitute this new birth.
23-25	LK 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, [2] in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. [3] And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; [4] as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, `MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE His paths straight. [5] `EVERY RAVINE SHALL BE FILLED UP, AND EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL SHALL BE BROUGHT LOW; AND THE CROOKED SHALL BECOME STRAIGHT, AND THE ROUGH ROADS SMOOTH; [6] AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE THE SALVATION OF GOD.'" [7] He therefore began saying to the multitudes who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] "Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. [9] "And also the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." [10] And the multitudes were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" [11] And he would answer and say to them, "Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise." [12] And some tax-gatherers also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" [13] And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." [14] And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages."	John's baptism was "of" repentance (The Greek uses the genitive of metanoia). The baptism was towards (Greek eis, the English "for" is ambiguous) forgiveness of sins. Those seeking baptism were urged to bear good fruit (ref. Mt 7:15-19). Interestingly, John did not appeal to spiritual or external religious elements-- for example, more sacrifices, more prayer, more submission to leaders, having a "better heart" and the like. He defined repentance in very practical, lifestyle terms: kindness to the poor, honesty in business dealings, contentment in life. Repentance is practical and not merely religious.
26	MT 3:11 "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] "And 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." LK 3:15 Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he might be the Christ, [16] John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [17] "And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." [18] So with many other exhortations also he preached the gospel to the people.	John's ministry sheds light on the ministry of Jesus. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. There are some who would suggest that the "baptism of fire" has to do with purification. Others suggest that it relates to the baptism of the Holy Spirit on grammatical grounds. While tongues of fire accompanied the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3), this text does not meet the criteria for Sharp's rule which would identify them as one and the same (there is no single article governing both of the nouns). In the gospels, fire is a common result of judgment and accompaniment of punishment (e.g. Mt 3:10, 3:12, 5:22, 7:19, 13:40, 18:8-9, 25:41, Lk 9:54, 12:49, Jn 15:6). In this context, judgment and punishment are especially in view and should be understood in this manner. Thus, while John is seeking repentance and baptism, Jesus will bring about a change in dispensation: the era of the Spirit and the final determination of judgment.
30	JN 1:28 Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [30] "This is He on behalf of whom I said, `After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' [31] "And I did not recognize Him, but in order that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water." [32] And John bore witness saying, "I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. [33] "And I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, `He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the one who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.	John testifies that Jesus will bring about forgiveness of sins and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
36	JN 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." [4] Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born, can he?" [5] Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [6] "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] "Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born again.' [8] "The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."	Jesus said several important things about being born again here. First, it is a prerequisite for seeing/entering the kingdom. Second, being "born again" is synonymous with being "born of the water and the spirit." Third, this is something that Jesus seems to have expected Nicodemus to have done. Some have suggests that birth of "water and spirit" refers to natural birth and spiritual birth. Both the grammar (Sharp's rule) and the context (Jesus' expectation of someone who had already been naturally born) make this incorrect. This new birth of water and spirit finds its logical and practical connection with the baptism of John (Jn 1:28)
46	MT 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."	Repentance was a key component and expectation of Jesus' proclamation.
59	JN 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. [25] "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live. [26] "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; [27] and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. [28] "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, [29] and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. JN 5:30 "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [31] "If I alone bear witness of Myself, My testimony is not true. [32] "There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the testimony which He bears of Me is true. [33] "You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. [34] "But the witness which I receive is not from man, but I say these things that you may be saved. [35] "He was the lamp that was burning and was shining and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. [36] "But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. [37] "And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. [38] "And you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. [39] "You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me; [40] and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. [41] "I do not receive glory from men; [42] but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. [43] "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. [44] "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? [45] "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. [46] "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. [47] "But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"	In this section, new life is something spiritual that comes from those who are spiritually dead (except for 5:28-29, which is explicitly concerning the resurrection of the physically dead). Simply, this spiritual life comes to those who hear and believe the voice of the Son and come to him.
100	MK 6:12 And they went out and preached that men should repent.	Repentance was a key component and expectation of the apostle's proclamation.
256	MT 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."	This statement serves as the conclusion of Matthew's gospel. Training (Greek matheteuo, train) and baptism are to be initial stages of evangelism to all nations. Subsequent ministry will focus on teaching obedience to all that Jesus has commanded.
258	LK 24:46 and He said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; [47] and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.	This statement serves as the conclusion of Matthew's gospel. Repentance and forgiveness is to be proclaimed to all nations. There is similar manuscript evidence for the NIV rendering ("repentance and forgiveness") and the NASB rendering ("repentance for forgiveness"). Either way, repentance is coupled with forgiveness. (Those who would mention the omission of baptism here and suggest that baptism has no place in forgiveness might want to consider that faith is not mentioned here either. This statement by Luke is not intended as a formula for conversion or concise expression of the gospel, but simply a summary of the end result of the ministry of the Messiah.)