by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, stated that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses<\/em>” when they crossed the Red Sea while fleeing Pharaoh and his armies. They were immersed under a cloud of water and with the walls of water on each side (I Corinthians 10:1-2). They had a choice to surrender to the power of Pharaoh as he hemmed them into the region beside the sea. They had a choice to remain in Egyptian bondage or commit themselves completely to Moses’ leadership.<\/p>\n Baptism is the step into commitment. Baptism into <\/b>Moses meant their trust was now placed in his leadership. This was not meritorious work. It is faith-commitment. Stepping into the water channel did not earn their salvation from Egypt. It meant that they trusted Moses to lead them to safety.<\/p>\n It is the same way with “baptism in the name of the Lord<\/em>” (Acts 2:38; 10:47-48). It is similar to the Israelites’ “baptism into Moses<\/em>,” in that we are “baptized into <\/b>Christ<\/em>” (Galatians 3:26-27). We are leaving the realm of Satan’s domain and committing to Jesus to lead us to safety. In Paul’s analogy, Pharaoh represents Satan, and Moses represents Christ. Moses led them out of Egyptian bondage when Pharaoh’s power was crushed, and left behind in the water of the Red Sea.<\/p>\n Jesus leads us out of the domain of Satan and translates us into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13), leaving Satan’s power to hold us in sin and condemnation behind as we are “baptized into <\/b>Christ<\/em>.” It is here that we rise to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-6). We are free from sin, washed by the blood of Christ into <\/b>Whom we have committed our hearts and souls. Satan has us under his power until we are baptized into Christ.<\/p>\n This is why Jesus said, “he that believes and is baptized shall be saved, he that believes not shall be condemned<\/em>” (Mark 16:15-16). Baptism is not a work of merit. It is a faith commitment to Jesus, trusting Him alone for our freedom from sin and condemnation. Have you committed to Him? Have you been baptized into<\/strong> Him?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Terry Wane Benton Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, stated that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses” when they crossed the Red Sea while fleeing Pharaoh and his armies. They were immersed under a cloud of water and with the walls of water on each side (I Corinthians 10:1-2). They had a choice to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-88064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-baptism"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35991,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptized-into-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":0},"title":"Baptized into Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, said that the Israelites were \"baptized into Moses\" when they were crossing the Red Sea while fleeing Pharaoh and his armies. They were immersed under a cloud of water and with the walls of water on each side (I Corinthians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"By Distant Shores Media\/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=18898659","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Book_of_Exodus_Chapter_15-7_Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media-300x222.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68776,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/because-of-or-into\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":1},"title":"\u201cBecause Of\u201d or \u201cInto\u201d?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 9, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The Argument: \"In addition to Acts 2:38, there are three other verses where the Greek word eis is used in conjunction with the word \"baptize\" or \"baptism.\" The first of these is Matthew 3:11, \"baptize you with water for repentance.\" Clearly the Greek word eis cannot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12721,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptisms-of-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":2},"title":"Baptisms of the New Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 4:1-6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How is it that Paul talks of one baptism in Ephesians 4:5 when the New Testament speaks of more than one? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Baptism means immersion \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You can have different baptisms depending on what medium something is being immersed into, who administers the baptism,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/baptism-started-out-in-water-but-it-has-changed\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":3},"title":"Baptism started out in water, but it has changed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: This message is in regards to water baptisms. In the early stages, John the baptist and Jesus' disciples were performing water baptisms. Some preachers are teaching the brethren, \"except you be baptized in water you cannot be saved.\" The elders of Jerusalem settled the issue of salvation when they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94619,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/some-obvious-shadows-of-jesus-in-exodus\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":4},"title":"Some Obvious Shadows of Jesus in Exodus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Exodus is rich in foreshadowing Jesus. A mark of divine wisdom is in the embedding of the shape and form of Jesus long before He arrived in the flesh, showing a wisdom too great for human wisdom alone to account for it. Moses is a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61158,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-was-god-about-to-kill-moses\/","url_meta":{"origin":88064,"position":5},"title":"Why Was God About To Kill Moses?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 5, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton The text of Exodus 4:24-26 seems oddly placed, but it is a separate paragraph from the rest of the text. Moses has been commissioned to go back to Egypt where the Israelites are and tell Pharaoh to free them. Moses thought of excuse after excuse, which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}