Patrick and Ruth

December 10, 2005 was a wonderful day. A day when two more souls were added to the Lord’s body, His church. A day when two more people went from darkness to the Light. A day where two more people stopped their service to Satan and started their service to Jesus Christ. In short, a day when two people were saved by the blood of Jesus from the sin which separated them from their God.

On this very day Patrick and Ruth Tasso were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and to go inside the Lord’s church. The road to this salvation started with some Bible studies at my house arranged by Paul Vuhu which Patrick attended. The road then went through my participation in the marriage ceremony of Patrick and Ruth, and ended with study and more study before baptism in the ocean.

Neither Patrick nor Ruth had much background in religion or the Bible. They were pawns in the denominational system created by men for some time but never clung to any ideal. Patrick, though, did want to live a better life and knew God was the way.

We had talked and studied several times before the 10th of December but there was a lot more which needed to be said. On that Saturday morning I had them over to my house and I invited Morris Felix to come and help me with the study. He is a wise old man who has already experienced what Patrick and Ruth are about to experience. They knew about the need for baptism and living a good life, but I really wanted to stress to them the commitment necessary to become a Christian. Anyone can start but the real test is, can you finish? They will be the only members of the church on Tanna Island and will have to resist all of the denominational pressure around them. I stressed this fact and Morris was able to confirm this because he came out of the Presbyterian Church 24 years ago under tremendous pressure to return. He was able to tell them about all of the things in society and culture and custom which will pull at them to compromise truth. I was glad that Morris could explain all of this. Being a member of the Lord’s church means holding to one church, one baptism, one gospel, one faith, one hope. The denominations of the world hold to many churches, and many gospels, and many faiths but the Bible tells of just ONE.

Patrick was “baptized” (sprinkled water on his head) as a baby in the Catholic church. I told him that I had a similar start in the Lutheran church but that is not baptism in God’s eyes. Baptism is for sinners, babies do not have sin (Ezekiel 18:4,20; Romans 7:7), and it is for those who have repented of that sin (Acts 2:38). Even if a baby had sin, it could not repent of it. In Mark 16:16 Jesus says that “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Belief + Baptism = Salvation. Babies cannot believe or understand the gospel so they are not candidates for baptism. Patrick and Ruth understood and accepted this simple teaching which man has corrupted over the centuries. Baptism in the Bible and the baptism which God accepts is a baptism of immersion in water. The Bible likens it to a burial (Rom 6:3-4; Col 2:12). A proper baptism is a burial in water for the purposes stated in the Bible, salvation (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter 3:21), forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16), being added to the church (Acts 2:41, 1 Cor 12:13), receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), unite with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (Rom 6:3-4). If baptism is for any other purpose such as joining a denomination or following a denominational teaching, then it is no baptism at all in the eyes of God and that person will not be saved. Patrick and Ruth had the strength of mind and character to set aside worldly, man-made ideas and follow the pure word of God. I pray that many more will have the courage to do the same and not just stay in the religion they have known since birth. God and His word save men (Romans 1:16) traditions of men do not (Matt 15:1-14). Many people will simply be a blind follower of a blind religious teaching, and they will both end up in the pit (hell) (15:14).

After they had made their decision, we drove to a beautiful spot in the ocean fitting for the occasion and Eddie Karris baptized them into Christ. While baptism is the end of the old life, it is also the start of a new life in Christ. Please pray for Patrick and Ruth to be strong in their journey. Amen.