More than 4,000 people were baptized at the Jesus Revolution Baptism at Pirate's Cove in Newport Beach, California, on Saturday, July 8, 2023. (Video screenshot)

 

To professing Christians and nonbelievers alike; There is much confusion with regard to water baptism. I am one that believes in every word, every jot, every tittle in the whole inerrant infallible living and active Word of God. And we, when transformed within, regenerated, renewed of heart and mind by the Holy Spirit, born anew as we have heard the Lord in our hearts, answered, confessed our sin, repented, and live to love the Lord, submit and obey the Lord, and serve the Lord daily and continually — we are instructed to get baptized with water.

The actual baptizing, the literal being immersed in water is NOT conversion, is NOT being saved nor being renewed of heart and mind, experiencing the transformative power of the Spirit of God within us via the working of the Holy Spirit.

Water baptism is an outward showing of our confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which in most individual instances occurred before the faithful believer feels the wetness of water on them. They feel the loving flame of forgiveness, salvation, hope, peace, real love, the truth within their heart and mind, seeing finally, knowing finally that only faith in Christ can bring into a human spirit and soul.

There appears to be some confusion, in that, if a person is baptized they then become Christians via that symbolic act of obedience to the Lord, the symbolic cleansing and rising from the water anew, but baptism is not conversion, is not salvation, is not a renewing within the heart and mind of the individual to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Baptism is good, is instructed to us to partake of, but it is an outward thing. Salvation, conversion, being born anew into a new creature solely by the free gift of grace from God, God’s mercy, God’s forgiveness of our sin. and our being washed in the blood of Jesus Christ via our confession of our sin, our faith, and our repentance and confession to make Jesus Lord of our lives is the process of coming out from darkness, from being darkness, and into the Light, the Life, the Way, and the Truth, which is Jesus Christ, Christ alone, Christ crucified and risen!

What Pastor Greg Laurie, and all the pastors and helpers that made themselves available to carry out the sincere work of the Lord, of the Word is a wonderful and blessed thing. May each of us hold Pastor Laurie and all those living to bring the Word of life and salvation through Jesus Christ in our daily, nightly prayers that the Word in sound doctrine is spread and as many as have the opportunity turn to God and Jesus and from the Second Death this world and following it brings.

This wonderful and amazing event that took place in Southern California earlier this month is a great and glorious thing to add to the children of God, to be a light unto the world, to shed light on what is most important in this life, to show hope and what is possible through faith and obedience, submission to God and His Son, Jesus Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to work within countless individuals who through their faith…by their faith…in their faith…are forgiven their sin and have received the amazing gift of eternal life from God when all each of us truly deserves is God’s condemnation and wrath due to our sin and our rebellion against Him, His Son, and His Word.

Ken Pullen, A CROOKED PATH, Friday, July 14th, 2023

 

“A Baptism of Biblical Proportions’: 4,500 Souls Baptized  at Pirate’s Cove In Newport Beach, California, on Saturday, July 8, 2023

 

July 10, 2023

By BobUnruh

Reprinted from WND & Prophecy News Watch

 

Evangelist Greg Laurie, a longtime columnist at WND, has held what is being called a baptismal service of “biblical proportions” at one of the locations in California where the Jesus Revolution was filmed, in Newport Beach.

Media reports reveal that over the weekend, at Pirates Cove, the Harvest Crusade and Churches, Laurie’s organization, held a service for the baptism of some 4,500 people.

“On the day of Pentecost, after Peter preached, we read in the Bible that 3,000 people were baptized. At Pirates Cove, we are looking at a baptism of biblical proportions,” Laurie told the Washington Times.

The report noted the location as a long history for Laurie, as he and his wife were baptized there 50 years ago.

Greg Laurie

 

He told the Times, “For me this is a place that’s filled with memories. This is where we also filmed the Jesus Revolution movie. It’s funny because Pirates Cove has been here forever, now it’s taking on a whole new meaning for a lot of people. They not only want to be baptized, they want to be baptized here.”

The Jesus Revolution movie, about Laurie’s life, showed “the power of baptism and more significantly, what salvation looks like visually,” Laurie explained.

“By watching someone get baptized the way it was done in the film it really conveyed what conversion can look like. It really resonated with a lot of people.”

The report quoted Shawn Raybourn, 61, from Tustin, California, who said, “To be born again. It’s hard to describe. I’ve been wanting this for a long time.”

Baptism in some Christian churches is by the sprinkling of infants. In many it is adult baptism by immersion, which represents the death of the old person, and with it the sin in that life, and the emergence from the water to a new life in Christ.

CBN reported the service was part of the SoCal Harvest Crusade, “where 32,500 people gathered and 6,794 made decisions to dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ.”

The report noted only a month ago, “approximately 4,100 people gathered at Pirate’s Cove Beach for what was labeled as one of the largest water baptisms in history; however, on Saturday Pastor Laurie and other leaders from Harvest Christian Fellowship helped to baptize 4,500 people into the Christian faith, surpassing the previous baptism event that was celebrated by Oceans Church.”

Laurie explained, “You’re saying goodbye to the old you, buried with Christ in baptism so you might walk in newness of life, that’s what the Bible says, so you’re coming out saying, ‘I’m making this commitment’ and you’re doing it publicly in front of friends and family.”