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Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Developing A Regenerate Heart (Part 2)

July 25, 2025 | 29:0

Robert Jeffress - Developing A Regenerate Heart (Part 2)
Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.
#Belief #Redemption #Heart #Restoration #Victory #Salvation #Pastors #Hope #Grace #LoveofGod

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Developing A Regenerate Heart (Part 2) | July 25, 2025
  • ...
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Male announcer: from the pulpit of the first baptist church of
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  • Dallas, texas, this is "pathway to victory"
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  • With dr. robert jeffress.
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  • Dr. robert jeffress: hi, i'm robert jeffress, and welcome
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  • Again to "pathway to victory."
  • 00:00:16.506 --> 00:00:18.575
  • The bible says even when we were dead in our sins, god made us
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  • Alive together with christ, and such a radical inward
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  • Transformation calls for an outward expression as well.
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  • Today i'm going to show you what the bible teaches about baptism.
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  • If you're a christian but you've never been baptized or you
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  • Wonder whether your baptism many years ago still counts, you'll
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  • Want to stay tuned for this message today.
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  • My message is titled, "developing a regenerate heart,"
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  • On today's edition of "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • ♪ lord, i will lift ♪
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  • ♪ my eyes to the hills ♪
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  • ♪ knowing my help ♪
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  • ♪ is coming from you ♪
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  • ♪ your peace you give me ♪
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  • ♪ in times ♪
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  • ♪ of the storm ♪
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  • ♪ you are the source of my strength ♪
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  • ♪ you are the strength of my life ♪
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  • ♪ i lift my hands ♪
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  • ♪ in total praise to you ♪
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  • ♪ amen, amen, ♪
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  • ♪ amen, amen ♪
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  • ♪ amen, amen, ♪
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  • ♪ amen, ♪
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  • ♪ amen ♪
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  • Announcer: give your heart the encouragement it needs.
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  • Start and end each day meditating on god's word with
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  • "encouragement for the heart of a disciple."
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  • This brand-new, beautiful, full-color, padded hardcover
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  • Book by dr. robert jeffress features 80 breathtaking images
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  • Of creation paired with scripture, prayers, and insights
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  • You can read in under 2 minutes, perfect for your coffee table or
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  • As a thoughtful gift for a loved one.
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  • Request "encouragement for the heart of a disciple" when you
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  • Give a generous gift to "pathway to victory."
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  • ♪♪♪
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  • Jeffress: you can be saved without being baptized,
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  • But you can never be a disciple without being baptized.
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  • That is god's plan: believe and be baptized.
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  • Acts 9:18, after paul was saved, notice what happened: "and
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  • Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales.
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  • He regained his sight, he arose and he was baptized."
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  • Or acts chapter 10, cornelius, the roman centurion, after he
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  • Believed, look at verse 47 of acts 10: "'surely no one can
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  • Refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the
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  • Holy spirit just as we did, can he?'
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  • And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of the lord
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  • Jesus christ."
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  • Acts 16:15, we don't have time to look at it.
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  • But lydia, the businesswoman in philippi, when she was saved,
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  • She was baptized.
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  • And then in acts 16, i talked about the philippian jailer.
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  • "what shall i do to be saved, paul?"
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  • "believe on the lord jesus christ, and you will be saved."
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  • Look at verse 33: "and he took them that very hour of the
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  • Night," that is the jailer, "and washed their wounds, and
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  • Immediately the jailer was baptized, he and his household."
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  • Notice that word "immediately."
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  • As soon as the jailer believed he was baptized, he didn't
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  • Enroll in a 6-month course to learn what baptism meant.
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  • He didn't wait for 2 years to see if it was real or not.
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  • The bible says the moment you are saved is when you ought to
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  • Be baptized.
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  • Believe and be baptized, that is god's command.
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  • Matthew 28, verse 19.
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  • The bible says: "go therefore and make disciples of all
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  • Nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and son and
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  • The holy spirit."
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  • What is the model of baptism?
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  • Belief followed by baptism.
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  • Now you know, when i am talking to people about baptism,
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  • Especially if i am talking to a child, i often use the
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  • Illustration of a wedding ring.
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  • This is 40 years stuck on this ring here.
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  • Let's see if i can get it off.
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  • Anybody have any butter?
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  • You know, it came off.
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  • Is this ring getting smaller or is my finger getting fatter?
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  • Here we go.
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  • You know, when i'm talking to children, i always talk about
  • 00:07:01.477 --> 00:07:04.413
  • This ring and i'll say, "what does this ring mean?
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  • Do you know what this ring means?"
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  • And they say, "oh, it means you're married."
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  • I say, "that's right.
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  • This ring is a sign that i belong to somebody else."
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  • When people look and they see this ring on my finger, they
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  • Say, "well, dr. jeffress belongs to somebody.
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  • He's married."
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  • And i say, "now, could i be married without this ring?"
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  • Of course i could.
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  • It's not the ring that makes me married.
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  • It's the commitment that i've made in my heart to my wife.
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  • This ring is a symbol.
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  • I could be married without it.
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  • In fact, i'm grateful i could because i've lost this ring
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  • Three times.
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  • This is number four, i think, of my wedding rings and so forth.
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  • The ring is a symbol, it's a sign, of a commitment i've made
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  • In my life.
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  • And then i'll take the ring and i'll ask the child to put their
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  • Finger out and i'll put this ring on them and i'll say, "now,
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  • Does this ring on your finger mean you're married?"
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  • And they'll giggle and they'll say, "oh no, no, no, no,
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  • No, no."
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  • I say, "right, this ring doesn't mean anything if you haven't
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  • Made a commitment in your heart to another person.
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  • Now, it's the same way with baptism."
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  • Baptism is like this ring.
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  • When people see you baptized, they know you belong to jesus
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  • Christ, but if you haven't made that commitment in your own
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  • Heart, then baptism is meaningless.
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  • It is absolutely nothing more than getting wet, and that's why
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  • The bible says the pattern is always believe and then
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  • Be baptized.
  • 00:08:36.339 --> 00:08:37.707
  • Now we've talked about the model of baptism, let's talk about for
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  • A moment the mode of baptism.
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  • And that's the question you've probably wondered about or had
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  • People ask you about.
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  • Now, when i get baptized, should i be sprinkled or should i
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  • Be immersed?
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  • What is the proper way to be baptized?
  • 00:08:56.292 --> 00:08:59.295
  • Did you know there's not even a debate about that among any
  • 00:08:59.295 --> 00:09:02.832
  • Serious student of scripture?
  • 00:09:02.832 --> 00:09:04.934
  • There's no debate about it whatsoever.
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  • First of all, just looking at the scripture itself, the
  • 00:09:08.771 --> 00:09:11.741
  • Examples, everybody in the new testament who was baptized
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  • Was immersed.
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  • You can't find one example anywhere of anybody being
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  • Sprinkled in the new testament.
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  • Baptism by example was immersion.
  • 00:09:24.387 --> 00:09:26.522
  • For example, in matthew 3:16, it says: "after being baptized,
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  • Jesus came immediately from," literally, "out of the water."
  • 00:09:30.826 --> 00:09:37.199
  • Or go back to the ethiopian eunuch in acts chapter 8, verse
  • 00:09:37.199 --> 00:09:40.603
  • 38--verse 37: "[and philip said, 'if you believe with all
  • 00:09:40.603 --> 00:09:44.740
  • Of your heart, you may be baptized,' and the eunuch said,
  • 00:09:44.740 --> 00:09:47.877
  • 'i believe that jesus christ is the son of god.']
  • 00:09:47.877 --> 00:09:50.913
  • And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down
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  • Into the water, philip as well as the eunuch, and he
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  • Baptized him.
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  • And when they came up out of the water, the spirit of the lord
  • 00:10:00.356 --> 00:10:04.860
  • Snatched philip away."
  • 00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:07.530
  • Every example in the bible, i could go on and on and on, is
  • 00:10:07.530 --> 00:10:11.367
  • About people going down into the water and coming up out of
  • 00:10:11.367 --> 00:10:15.137
  • The water.
  • 00:10:15.137 --> 00:10:16.472
  • So the biblical examples are always by immersion, but there's
  • 00:10:16.472 --> 00:10:20.076
  • Even a stronger argument for it: the meaning of the word
  • 00:10:20.076 --> 00:10:23.112
  • "baptism" itself.
  • 00:10:23.112 --> 00:10:25.314
  • The greek word "baptizo" means one thing and only one thing,
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  • And that is immersed.
  • 00:10:30.019 --> 00:10:31.353
  • Let me illustrate it for you this way.
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  • Suppose i were to ask you, "how would you like your baked
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  • Fish cooked?
  • 00:10:38.260 --> 00:10:39.995
  • Would you like it baked or fried?"
  • 00:10:39.995 --> 00:10:45.367
  • "pastor, that's a stupid question.
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  • Baked fish means baked."
  • 00:10:47.269 --> 00:10:49.472
  • That's right.
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  • That's all it means.
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  • You can't fry baked fish.
  • 00:10:52.541 --> 00:10:54.643
  • It's either baked or it's fried, but it can't be both.
  • 00:10:54.643 --> 00:10:57.580
  • The same thing is true with the word "baptize."
  • 00:10:57.580 --> 00:11:00.583
  • When you say, "well, should you baptize by sprinkling
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  • Or immersion?"
  • 00:11:03.786 --> 00:11:05.121
  • No, the word itself means to immerse.
  • 00:11:05.121 --> 00:11:07.356
  • I have in my study a book, "100 uses of the word 'baptizo' in
  • 00:11:07.356 --> 00:11:13.095
  • Greek literature."
  • 00:11:13.095 --> 00:11:14.697
  • And when you look outside the bible and look at the word
  • 00:11:14.697 --> 00:11:17.333
  • "baptizo," it means one thing and only one thing: to immerse.
  • 00:11:17.333 --> 00:11:22.171
  • The original word was used to describe the process by which
  • 00:11:22.171 --> 00:11:25.407
  • You would change the color of a piece of cloth.
  • 00:11:25.407 --> 00:11:28.778
  • Let's say you had a green handkerchief.
  • 00:11:28.778 --> 00:11:32.615
  • And you wanted to change it to a purple handkerchief.
  • 00:11:32.615 --> 00:11:35.751
  • What would you do?
  • 00:11:35.751 --> 00:11:37.086
  • Well, you would take a vat of purple dye, you would take that
  • 00:11:37.086 --> 00:11:41.557
  • Green handkerchief, and you would baptizo it, the greeks
  • 00:11:41.557 --> 00:11:45.628
  • Said, you would immerse it in the vat of purple dye in order
  • 00:11:45.628 --> 00:11:50.499
  • To completely change the color.
  • 00:11:50.499 --> 00:11:53.035
  • Now, if you wanted to change that color from green to purple,
  • 00:11:53.035 --> 00:11:56.705
  • You couldn't sprinkle the purple dye on it.
  • 00:11:56.705 --> 00:12:00.209
  • That wouldn't do the trick.
  • 00:12:00.209 --> 00:12:01.544
  • You had to baptizo it.
  • 00:12:01.544 --> 00:12:03.445
  • Now that is the word that is used in the greek new testament.
  • 00:12:03.445 --> 00:12:06.882
  • It means one thing and one thing only, and that is to immerse.
  • 00:12:06.882 --> 00:12:11.821
  • There is no such thing as baptism by sprinkling.
  • 00:12:11.821 --> 00:12:15.491
  • That's an oxymoron, it doesn't happen.
  • 00:12:15.491 --> 00:12:17.726
  • The only way to be baptized is to be baptized, and that is to
  • 00:12:17.726 --> 00:12:21.897
  • Be immersed.
  • 00:12:21.897 --> 00:12:23.232
  • You say, "well, what difference does it make?"
  • 00:12:23.232 --> 00:12:25.167
  • Well, beyond the biblical examples, the meaning of baptism
  • 00:12:25.167 --> 00:12:30.039
  • Is what argues for immersion.
  • 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.242
  • The meaning of baptism.
  • 00:12:33.242 --> 00:12:35.211
  • I want to talk about that for just a moment.
  • 00:12:35.211 --> 00:12:37.179
  • Turn over to romans chapter 6 for a moment and let's look at
  • 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:40.916
  • What water baptism actually symbolizes.
  • 00:12:40.916 --> 00:12:44.386
  • In romans 6, paul was answering a question i bet you've heard
  • 00:12:44.386 --> 00:12:47.790
  • Asked a dozen times: "can somebody continue to be a
  • 00:12:47.790 --> 00:12:56.298
  • Christian and still, blank?"
  • 00:12:56.298 --> 00:13:02.404
  • You can fill in the blank, can somebody be a christian and
  • 00:13:02.404 --> 00:13:05.140
  • Still commit adultery?
  • 00:13:05.140 --> 00:13:07.943
  • Can somebody be a christian and continue in a
  • 00:13:07.943 --> 00:13:11.347
  • Homosexual relationship?
  • 00:13:11.347 --> 00:13:13.916
  • Can somebody continue to be a christian and continue his
  • 00:13:13.916 --> 00:13:19.421
  • Addiction to this or that or so forth?
  • 00:13:19.421 --> 00:13:22.024
  • Can you continue to be a christian and continue to sin?
  • 00:13:22.024 --> 00:13:28.497
  • That's the wrong question, paul says.
  • 00:13:28.497 --> 00:13:31.400
  • The real question should be, if you're really a christian, why
  • 00:13:31.400 --> 00:13:35.604
  • Would you want to continue in sin?
  • 00:13:35.604 --> 00:13:38.941
  • I mean, if you have really experienced a change of life and
  • 00:13:38.941 --> 00:13:42.645
  • You've been introduced to a whole new way of living, why
  • 00:13:42.645 --> 00:13:45.514
  • Would you ever want to go back to that old way of living?
  • 00:13:45.514 --> 00:13:49.251
  • That's what paul says in verses 1 to 3 of romans 6: "what shall
  • 00:13:49.251 --> 00:13:52.621
  • We say then?
  • 00:13:52.621 --> 00:13:54.089
  • Should we continue in sin that grace might increase?
  • 00:13:54.089 --> 00:13:57.660
  • May it never be!
  • 00:13:57.660 --> 00:13:59.361
  • How should we who died to sin still live in it?
  • 00:13:59.361 --> 00:14:04.433
  • Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into
  • 00:14:04.433 --> 00:14:07.836
  • Christ jesus have been baptized into his death?"
  • 00:14:07.836 --> 00:14:12.207
  • How can we who've died to sin, still live in it?
  • 00:14:12.207 --> 00:14:16.812
  • You know, just imagine for a moment that lazarus, after being
  • 00:14:16.812 --> 00:14:22.017
  • In that stinking tomb for 4 days, jesus comes along and
  • 00:14:22.017 --> 00:14:27.222
  • Says, "arise, lazarus, arise," and lazarus wakes up, he
  • 00:14:27.222 --> 00:14:33.062
  • Stumbles out of that tomb and those grave clothes, and jesus
  • 00:14:33.062 --> 00:14:36.565
  • Says to the men, "unloose him-- loose him and unleash him and
  • 00:14:36.565 --> 00:14:41.971
  • Let him go," and suddenly those grave clothes fall off and
  • 00:14:41.971 --> 00:14:48.243
  • Lazarus begins blinking his eyes and can't believe what has
  • 00:14:48.243 --> 00:14:51.380
  • Happened to him and he says, "jesus, thank you so much.
  • 00:14:51.380 --> 00:14:55.617
  • Thank you so much for getting me out of that tomb.
  • 00:14:55.617 --> 00:14:58.887
  • But if it's all the same to you, i think i'll put these stinking
  • 00:14:58.887 --> 00:15:02.057
  • Grave clothes back on.
  • 00:15:02.057 --> 00:15:03.559
  • They're so comfortable and i think i will crawl back into
  • 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:07.563
  • That tomb.
  • 00:15:07.563 --> 00:15:08.897
  • It's so cool and nice in there.
  • 00:15:08.897 --> 00:15:10.566
  • If it's all the same to you, i think i'll go back to where
  • 00:15:10.566 --> 00:15:13.302
  • I was."
  • 00:15:13.302 --> 00:15:14.670
  • Can you imagine lazarus doing such a thing?
  • 00:15:14.670 --> 00:15:17.473
  • That is exactly what paul is saying here.
  • 00:15:17.473 --> 00:15:20.042
  • Why would we who have been raised from an old dead way of
  • 00:15:20.042 --> 00:15:24.113
  • Living and exposed to a new way of living, why would we ever
  • 00:15:24.113 --> 00:15:28.450
  • Want to crawl back into the grave of sin and go back to the
  • 00:15:28.450 --> 00:15:31.553
  • Way we were?
  • 00:15:31.553 --> 00:15:32.921
  • It is unthinkable that such a thing would happen.
  • 00:15:32.921 --> 00:15:36.025
  • And then he says in verse 3: "or do you not know that all of us
  • 00:15:36.025 --> 00:15:39.628
  • Who have been baptized into christ jesus have been baptized
  • 00:15:39.628 --> 00:15:43.932
  • Into his death?"
  • 00:15:43.932 --> 00:15:45.634
  • Now the baptism he's talking about here is spiritual baptism
  • 00:15:45.634 --> 00:15:49.471
  • That water baptism symbolizes.
  • 00:15:49.471 --> 00:15:52.241
  • And this is why immersion is the way to be baptized.
  • 00:15:52.241 --> 00:15:55.778
  • It's because of the picture water baptism portrays.
  • 00:15:55.778 --> 00:16:00.182
  • When you get baptized, you stand in that baptistry, and you are
  • 00:16:00.182 --> 00:16:04.053
  • Baptized, the water represents two things.
  • 00:16:04.053 --> 00:16:08.023
  • It represents the grave, but it also represents the holy spirit
  • 00:16:08.023 --> 00:16:12.795
  • Of god.
  • 00:16:12.795 --> 00:16:14.163
  • And when you are water baptized, when you go down into that
  • 00:16:14.163 --> 00:16:18.333
  • Water, what you're saying as your testimony is, "i have died
  • 00:16:18.333 --> 00:16:22.805
  • To my old way of living.
  • 00:16:22.805 --> 00:16:25.407
  • But i have now been covered in that water of the holy spirit
  • 00:16:25.407 --> 00:16:29.812
  • Of god.
  • 00:16:29.812 --> 00:16:31.146
  • I have been immersed in the holy spirit of god, and i have been
  • 00:16:31.146 --> 00:16:34.850
  • Raised to a whole new way of living.
  • 00:16:34.850 --> 00:16:37.653
  • I am a brand-new person in christ."
  • 00:16:37.653 --> 00:16:40.255
  • That's what water baptism is a picture of.
  • 00:16:40.255 --> 00:16:43.058
  • It is a picture of dying to our old way of life.
  • 00:16:43.058 --> 00:16:46.595
  • My old life is now over.
  • 00:16:46.595 --> 00:16:48.530
  • That part of my biography is finished, my new biography
  • 00:16:48.530 --> 00:16:53.368
  • Begins as i am raised to become a brand-new person in christ.
  • 00:16:53.368 --> 00:16:58.240
  • Baptism is a picture of our death, burial, and resurrection
  • 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:01.910
  • With christ.
  • 00:17:01.910 --> 00:17:03.278
  • You see that in verse 4: "therefore we have been buried
  • 00:17:03.278 --> 00:17:05.714
  • With him through baptism into death, in order that as christ
  • 00:17:05.714 --> 00:17:10.052
  • Was raised from the dead through the glory of the father, so we
  • 00:17:10.052 --> 00:17:13.922
  • Too might walk in newness of life."
  • 00:17:13.922 --> 00:17:17.292
  • I want to close today by telling you a story.
  • 00:17:17.292 --> 00:17:20.796
  • I have shared it in part on different occasions and in
  • 00:17:20.796 --> 00:17:26.568
  • Different venues.
  • 00:17:26.568 --> 00:17:27.936
  • Some of you in our church knew my parents.
  • 00:17:27.936 --> 00:17:31.340
  • They're both in heaven now, but my dad was saved at the end of
  • 00:17:31.340 --> 00:17:37.146
  • World war ii.
  • 00:17:37.146 --> 00:17:38.647
  • He was saved in the service through the witness of an
  • 00:17:38.647 --> 00:17:41.250
  • Assembly of god chaplain.
  • 00:17:41.250 --> 00:17:43.852
  • And my father was going to move to dallas and attend smu on the
  • 00:17:43.852 --> 00:17:49.491
  • Gi bill, so knowing he was gonna move to dallas, he asked this
  • 00:17:49.491 --> 00:17:52.861
  • Assembly of god chaplain, "when i get to dallas, where should i
  • 00:17:52.861 --> 00:17:56.999
  • Go to church?"
  • 00:17:56.999 --> 00:17:58.500
  • And the chaplain said, "there's only one place to go to church
  • 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:01.103
  • In dallas.
  • 00:18:01.103 --> 00:18:02.437
  • It's the first baptist church in dallas because that's where the
  • 00:18:02.437 --> 00:18:05.941
  • Bible is taught and you wanna be where the bible is taught."
  • 00:18:05.941 --> 00:18:09.845
  • That's why i love the assembly of god.
  • 00:18:09.845 --> 00:18:13.515
  • They love the bible.
  • 00:18:13.515 --> 00:18:14.917
  • They love us and we love them.
  • 00:18:14.917 --> 00:18:17.519
  • So my dad came to dallas.
  • 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:19.621
  • He enrolled in smu and he met my mom there.
  • 00:18:19.621 --> 00:18:23.025
  • She was attending smu and my mom was a member of a
  • 00:18:23.025 --> 00:18:27.863
  • Methodist church.
  • 00:18:27.863 --> 00:18:29.231
  • She had grown up in the methodist church, faithful in
  • 00:18:29.231 --> 00:18:31.633
  • Her attendance, but she had never personally trusted in
  • 00:18:31.633 --> 00:18:35.070
  • Christ as her savior.
  • 00:18:35.070 --> 00:18:36.972
  • And so my dad would do everything he could to try to
  • 00:18:36.972 --> 00:18:39.174
  • Get my mom to come down here to first baptist dallas, and she
  • 00:18:39.174 --> 00:18:43.645
  • Refused to come.
  • 00:18:43.645 --> 00:18:44.980
  • She hated coming to this church.
  • 00:18:44.980 --> 00:18:47.015
  • She couldn't stand the music here.
  • 00:18:47.015 --> 00:18:49.284
  • She really couldn't stand dr. criswell and all that yelling
  • 00:18:49.284 --> 00:18:52.287
  • And screaming she said that he did.
  • 00:18:52.287 --> 00:18:54.723
  • And of course, the real problem was she wasn't saved, but she
  • 00:18:54.723 --> 00:18:58.360
  • Found some excuse why not to come.
  • 00:18:58.360 --> 00:19:00.862
  • Well, my dad finally persuaded her to go with him to the billy
  • 00:19:00.862 --> 00:19:04.967
  • Graham crusade at the cotton bowl in 1953.
  • 00:19:04.967 --> 00:19:09.371
  • She went and there she trusted in christ as her savior.
  • 00:19:09.371 --> 00:19:13.308
  • And it was announced that billy graham the following sunday
  • 00:19:13.308 --> 00:19:16.845
  • Would be preaching here at first baptist dallas, so my mom
  • 00:19:16.845 --> 00:19:21.383
  • Reluctantly agreed to come with my dad to the service, and they
  • 00:19:21.383 --> 00:19:25.621
  • Sat up in the old balcony there and listened to billy graham
  • 00:19:25.621 --> 00:19:29.825
  • Preach and when billy had finished the sermon, he stepped
  • 00:19:29.825 --> 00:19:33.061
  • Down from behind the pulpit.
  • 00:19:33.061 --> 00:19:34.930
  • He came down, took dr. criswell by the hand, and placed his
  • 00:19:34.930 --> 00:19:38.900
  • Membership in our church.
  • 00:19:38.900 --> 00:19:41.069
  • And as you know, for 54 years, billy graham was a member of
  • 00:19:41.069 --> 00:19:44.306
  • Our church.
  • 00:19:44.306 --> 00:19:45.674
  • Well, when billy graham walked down to the front, my mom turned
  • 00:19:45.674 --> 00:19:49.578
  • To my dad in the balcony and said, "well, if first baptist is
  • 00:19:49.578 --> 00:19:54.016
  • Good enough for billy graham, it's good enough for me," and
  • 00:19:54.016 --> 00:19:58.954
  • She joined the church that day as well.
  • 00:19:58.954 --> 00:20:03.025
  • Now she joined here, and mrs. criswell was so kind to disciple
  • 00:20:03.025 --> 00:20:10.032
  • Her, but she hadn't been baptized yet and dr. criswell
  • 00:20:10.032 --> 00:20:13.769
  • Kept saying to her, "now, judy, you need to be baptized.
  • 00:20:13.769 --> 00:20:17.205
  • You need to be baptized."
  • 00:20:17.205 --> 00:20:18.573
  • At first she didn't understand why that was important, but as
  • 00:20:18.573 --> 00:20:21.877
  • She began to study the scripture, she understood and
  • 00:20:21.877 --> 00:20:24.780
  • She came to the conviction on her own: that's what god wants
  • 00:20:24.780 --> 00:20:27.816
  • Me to do, to be baptized.
  • 00:20:27.816 --> 00:20:29.718
  • The only problem was her parents, my grandparents.
  • 00:20:29.718 --> 00:20:33.989
  • They were committed, committed members of the methodist church,
  • 00:20:33.989 --> 00:20:37.993
  • And they were violently opposed to her being baptized.
  • 00:20:37.993 --> 00:20:41.663
  • To them, that would be a repudiation of her whole
  • 00:20:41.663 --> 00:20:45.534
  • Heritage, of what they had done as parents.
  • 00:20:45.534 --> 00:20:48.470
  • And my mom wanted to please her parents.
  • 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:51.273
  • She really wanted to please her parents, but she knew this is
  • 00:20:51.273 --> 00:20:54.276
  • What god had her to do.
  • 00:20:54.276 --> 00:20:56.044
  • So she said she was gonna be baptized.
  • 00:20:56.044 --> 00:20:58.547
  • My grandparents were so hurt, just hurt, that they refused to
  • 00:20:58.547 --> 00:21:04.186
  • Attend the baptismal service.
  • 00:21:04.186 --> 00:21:07.055
  • Well, as the years went on, and i came along and my brother and
  • 00:21:07.055 --> 00:21:11.760
  • Sister, my grandparents started to soften up a little bit.
  • 00:21:11.760 --> 00:21:15.731
  • And they started to visit here and they grew to love dr.
  • 00:21:15.731 --> 00:21:18.800
  • Criswell and to love our church and in january of 1986, my
  • 00:21:18.800 --> 00:21:25.774
  • Grandmother died and then 6 weeks after that, my mother died
  • 00:21:25.774 --> 00:21:32.447
  • At age 54 and my grandfather, bless his heart, lost his wife
  • 00:21:32.447 --> 00:21:37.853
  • And his only daughter within a 6-week period of time.
  • 00:21:37.853 --> 00:21:41.923
  • And the grief he went through was just unspeakable.
  • 00:21:41.923 --> 00:21:45.727
  • And i remember going to visit him up in van alstyne, texas,
  • 00:21:45.727 --> 00:21:48.964
  • The final years of his life.
  • 00:21:48.964 --> 00:21:51.333
  • And so often he would say to me, he'd say, "robert, you know, the
  • 00:21:51.333 --> 00:21:58.907
  • Best thing your mother ever did was when she joined that first
  • 00:21:58.907 --> 00:22:03.578
  • Baptist church of dallas, and raised you kids up in
  • 00:22:03.578 --> 00:22:07.682
  • That church.
  • 00:22:07.682 --> 00:22:09.050
  • It's the best thing she ever did.
  • 00:22:09.050 --> 00:22:11.219
  • And if i were physically able, i'd walk down the aisle of that
  • 00:22:11.219 --> 00:22:16.291
  • First baptist church in dallas today and be baptized.
  • 00:22:16.291 --> 00:22:20.896
  • I'm too old.
  • 00:22:20.896 --> 00:22:22.731
  • I can't physically do it, but oh, how i wish i could
  • 00:22:22.731 --> 00:22:26.935
  • Be baptized."
  • 00:22:26.935 --> 00:22:28.937
  • And he said that until the day he died, he wanted to
  • 00:22:28.937 --> 00:22:32.307
  • Be baptized.
  • 00:22:32.307 --> 00:22:35.010
  • What i'm saying to you is, if you are truly a follower of
  • 00:22:35.010 --> 00:22:40.182
  • Jesus christ, you're gonna want to obey christ and do what he
  • 00:22:40.182 --> 00:22:44.753
  • Says, to be baptized.
  • 00:22:44.753 --> 00:22:47.289
  • It's the most natural thing in the world to want to
  • 00:22:47.289 --> 00:22:50.926
  • Be baptized.
  • 00:22:50.926 --> 00:22:53.261
  • You can be saved without being baptized, but you can't be a
  • 00:22:53.261 --> 00:22:57.632
  • Disciple without being baptized.
  • 00:22:57.632 --> 00:23:01.236
  • Repent, believe, and be baptized.
  • 00:23:01.236 --> 00:23:06.241
  • That's the mark of a true disciple of christ.
  • 00:23:06.241 --> 00:23:10.779
  • ♪♪♪
  • 00:23:10.779 --> 00:23:15.951
  • Jeffress: there's never been a time in american history when
  • 00:23:15.951 --> 00:23:18.753
  • We've needed this life-changing work of regeneration more than
  • 00:23:18.753 --> 00:23:22.457
  • Right now and that's why "pathway to victory" exists: to
  • 00:23:22.457 --> 00:23:26.194
  • Be a beacon of light that draws men and women across our nation
  • 00:23:26.194 --> 00:23:30.098
  • To become true disciples of jesus christ.
  • 00:23:30.098 --> 00:23:33.668
  • Now let me be clear about something.
  • 00:23:33.668 --> 00:23:35.837
  • While we teach the bible every day on this program, this just
  • 00:23:35.837 --> 00:23:39.941
  • Isn't an academic exercise.
  • 00:23:39.941 --> 00:23:42.744
  • Our goal is far greater.
  • 00:23:42.744 --> 00:23:44.746
  • We want god's word to penetrate hearts and radically transform
  • 00:23:44.746 --> 00:23:48.783
  • Lives, and gratefully that's exactly what's happening.
  • 00:23:48.783 --> 00:23:52.454
  • Every single day we hear from viewers and listeners whose
  • 00:23:52.454 --> 00:23:55.991
  • Lives have been completely changed by the truths they've
  • 00:23:55.991 --> 00:23:59.594
  • Discovered on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:23:59.594 --> 00:24:01.830
  • So thank you to our pathway partners and everyone who
  • 00:24:01.830 --> 00:24:05.433
  • Supports this ministry.
  • 00:24:05.433 --> 00:24:07.302
  • Together we're bringing god's light into the dark corners of
  • 00:24:07.302 --> 00:24:10.972
  • Our world.
  • 00:24:10.972 --> 00:24:12.340
  • Now, stay right there.
  • 00:24:12.340 --> 00:24:13.675
  • I'll be back with more "pathway to victory" in just a moment.
  • 00:24:13.675 --> 00:24:16.912
  • Announcer: we all need god's strength to make it through
  • 00:24:19.381 --> 00:24:21.683
  • The day.
  • 00:24:21.683 --> 00:24:23.051
  • "encouragement for the heart of a disciple" by dr. robert
  • 00:24:23.051 --> 00:24:25.587
  • Jeffress provides the spiritual refreshment you need.
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  • In a large-print format, every page bursts with breathtaking
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  • Imagery that draws you toward the beauty of god's creation.
  • 00:24:32.761 --> 00:24:36.565
  • Jeffress: i know how challenging it can be to stay connected with
  • 00:24:36.565 --> 00:24:39.668
  • God in our busy lives.
  • 00:24:39.668 --> 00:24:41.503
  • In my new devotional, i provide personal reflections and
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  • Practical insights that will help you experience god's
  • 00:24:45.006 --> 00:24:48.410
  • Presence and encouragement throughout your day.
  • 00:24:48.410 --> 00:24:51.680
  • Announcer: filled with stunning images of creation, scripture
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  • Verses, and prayers you can read in under 2 minutes, this padded
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  • Hardcover book is the perfect daily companion to help refresh
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  • Your spirit, morning and night.
  • 00:25:01.756 --> 00:25:04.025
  • It also makes a thoughtful gift to encourage a friend or
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  • Loved one.
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  • Request your copy of "encouragement for the heart of
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  • A disciple" when you give a generous gift to support the
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  • Ministry of "pathway to victory."
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  • Or when you become a pathway partner, with your ministry gift
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  • Of $100 or more, we'll send you the encouragement resource set
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  • Containing the new devotional, six clutter-free prayer cards,
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  • The clutter-free christianity book and life application guide,
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  • And the "7 marks of a disciple" message series on both cd
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  • And dvd.
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  • Thank you for supporting "pathway to victory."
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  • Your generous partnership helps us impact you and your family
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  • And a nation in deep spiritual need with the transforming truth
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  • Of god's word.
  • 00:25:45.900 --> 00:25:49.070
  • Jeffress: the essence of discipleship is a changed life
  • 00:25:49.137 --> 00:25:52.507
  • That comes from a transformed heart, and as we conclude this
  • 00:25:52.507 --> 00:25:56.411
  • Series on the "7 marks of a disciple," i hope you have a
  • 00:25:56.411 --> 00:26:00.048
  • Clear and thorough understanding of what that statement
  • 00:26:00.048 --> 00:26:03.852
  • Really means.
  • 00:26:03.852 --> 00:26:05.553
  • Well, for thousands of years, the sabbath has been considered
  • 00:26:05.553 --> 00:26:08.590
  • A holy day.
  • 00:26:08.590 --> 00:26:10.058
  • But does god really expect us to keep the sabbath in our
  • 00:26:10.058 --> 00:26:13.294
  • Modern day?
  • 00:26:13.294 --> 00:26:14.629
  • Or is observing the sabbath just another way of being legalistic?
  • 00:26:14.629 --> 00:26:18.833
  • Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next on
  • 00:26:18.833 --> 00:26:21.803
  • "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:21.803 --> 00:26:24.406
  • Jeffress: you present to people a standard of what they should
  • 00:26:24.472 --> 00:26:27.542
  • Be doing and many christians say, "that's legalism.
  • 00:26:27.542 --> 00:26:30.311
  • I don't have to do anything.
  • 00:26:30.311 --> 00:26:32.047
  • I'm under grace, not under the law."
  • 00:26:32.047 --> 00:26:36.217
  • May i remind you that those of us who live under the new
  • 00:26:36.217 --> 00:26:39.287
  • Testament, under grace, and not the old testament, the law,
  • 00:26:39.287 --> 00:26:43.458
  • Don't operate according to a lower standard.
  • 00:26:43.458 --> 00:26:46.027
  • We have a higher standard.
  • 00:26:46.027 --> 00:26:48.029
  • Announcer: set your dvr and join us next time for the message,
  • 00:26:48.029 --> 00:26:51.032
  • "squabbling over the sabbath," here on "pathway to victory."
  • 00:26:51.032 --> 00:26:55.203
  • Announcer: witness god's glory on display in america's
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  • Last frontier.
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  • Through 20, 2026.
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  • To book your cabin, call... or go to ptv.org.
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