# 510 - Today's Du-votional comes from: Mr 8:34b “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Mr 8:34b) If we desire to be attached to Jesus, Jesus says there are three things that we must allow for. We must (1) deny ourselves, (2) take up our cross, and (3) follow Him. As we spoke of last time, self-denial is initiated at our baptism where the old man is “crucified with Christ,” (Rom 6:6)
This is vital to understand, because it places an urgency on out part to be baptized and to baptize others. Why do you think Jesus said in Mr 16:16, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Baptism is a vital part of the salvation equation because self-denial is a vital part of being attached to Christ. Wherever the gospel was preached in the New Testament, the doctrine of baptism was almost always close at hand. When Philip preached to the Ethiopian eunuch, as soon as he saw water, he asked to be baptized. Where did he get that idea, if Philip hadn't included it in his explanation of the Gospel?
Jesus said in Mt 28:19, “make disciples of all nations baptizing them,” and the force of the Greek language here is that disciples are made (attached to Jesus) by baptizing. It is baptism that effects the initial attachment to Christ.
We would do well to emulate Phillip and emphasize this truth again in our presentation of the Good News, and we would do well to include our infant children as recipients of this God-ordained method of attachment.
Father, thank You for this means of grace through which you desire to enroll all people as disciples of Jesus. Help us to remain in this grace until we finish the race.
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