Baptism by being fully immersed in repentance is how God prepares us for His blessings. The Gospel begins at repentance. Release from our own past begins at repentance.

John refused to baptize those who came to him saying the right things but only looking to the ceremony, if their heart was not already immersed in repentance. It’s not the water that changes us, it’s the repentance deep inside that does. The water is but a celebration of what already is, an outward statement of an inward victory.

Ultimately, it was those who wanted baptism without first finding true repentance that ended up betraying Jesus. Religion without a heart first baptized in repentance turns against God and becomes sin. It is the repentance, that groaning realization and drive deep within our soul, that allows God to bless us. Honesty of our own sinful nature, our turning from all that was, all of it… is what allows Jesus’ sacrifice to be applied to our past to bring us a new future.

Repentance brings life, opens the door to peace, and through Jesus’ blood… Washes us clean from our own past.