Are you living your life with your soul in mind?
Are you living your life with your soul in mind?
The baptism of Jesus and the hope of Heaven — a Sunday sermon by Rev. Paul C. Jong
Where we go after death is not decided by our zeal or good deeds — it is decided by whether we believe that Jesus took our sins upon Himself through His baptism and was judged for them on the Cross.
Today’s post is a summary of a sermon delivered at a Sunday worship service by Rev. Paul C. Jong, a servant of God at The New Life Mission.
Through His baptism, Jesus took on the sins of the world and was judged for them on the Cross — yet many still stand bound by sin. © 2026 Elizabeth. All rights reserved.
Scripture: Matthew 3:10–17 “‘And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’ Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ But Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
Most people today give no thought to the salvation of their souls.
They do not consider whether, when they die and stand before God, they will fall into hell or enter Heaven. Their interest and desires are set only on the things of the flesh—that is, the things of this world.
In fact, AI is advancing to the point of surpassing human intelligence, and some people even say that, as a result, it will enable us to make a living without working. But will it really do that for us? It may turn out that way for a few, but will it really be so for ordinary people? And would such a life be a happy one? In the end, nothing in this world will take responsibility for my soul. That is why, in an age like this, we must think about our own souls all the more.
“What kind of person am I before God right now?”
“Is there sin in my heart, or not?”
“If my life were to end today, where would I go?”
What is truly heartbreaking is that even people today who say they believe in Jesus have no interest in these questions. They come to church and worship, hear sermons telling them to live good lives, and are taught to offer prayers of repentance and strive to become sanctified. Yet they go on living as sinners without properly knowing the truth through which they can receive the remission of sins in their hearts. They know it as doctrine, but they do not know the truth of the complete remission of sins. With sin still remaining in their hearts, how could they have assurance of salvation?
The Ax Is Already Laid at the Root of the Trees
Two thousand years ago, John the Baptist cried out in the wilderness:
“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
That the ax has been laid at the base of the tree means that judgment is already at hand, right before our eyes.
The history of Israel bears witness to this. After David died, Solomon succeeded him to the throne. At first, Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to God, asked for wisdom, and said he would live according to God’s Word. But to avoid war, he entered into political marriages with foreign nations. When kings become in-laws, they cannot raise their spears against each other. The foreign women who came in this way numbered in the hundreds, and the gods they served came right into the royal palace. Each of them built shrines, burned incense, and bowed down, until the royal palace in Jerusalem, the city of God, was teeming with pagan religion. Even Solomon, the king of wisdom, fell in this way.
Human wisdom and compromise can never bring salvation. What we need is not to save ourselves through our own efforts, but to know exactly how Jesus saved us from our sins.
Why Was Jesus Baptized by John?
At the heart of Matthew chapter 3 is the account of Jesus being baptized by John the Baptist. When Jesus came to the Jordan River, John at first hesitated to baptize Him. But Jesus said:
“For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”
These words show that Jesus’ baptism was not a mere ritual but the fulfillment of God’s righteousness.
Jesus, the High Priest of Heaven, received baptism from John the Baptist, and this was God’s work of salvation by which He took upon Himself all the sins of mankind. The sermon explains this in connection with the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.
In Old Testament times, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest laid his hands on the sacrificial offering, passing the sins of all the people of Israel onto it, and that offering was judged and died in their place for the sins of all the people of Israel. This was a shadow that showed in advance the salvation Jesus Christ would accomplish when He came as the Lamb.
In the New Testament, Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the world by being baptized by John the Baptist, the last High Priest of mankind, and He went to the Cross bearing those sins. The sermon explains that Jesus’ baptism was for taking upon Himself the sins of all people, that His death on the Cross was the event in which He received the judgment for those sins in our place, and that His resurrection was the event in which He gave us new life.
Therefore, Jesus’ baptism and the Cross are not separate events in the work of salvation.
Through His baptism He took our sins upon Himself, on the Cross He received the judgment for those sins, and by rising from the dead He completed our salvation. So when it comes to our salvation, we must look not only at the Cross but at the whole work of salvation Jesus accomplished, and believe in it.
Only when I know when and how my sins were passed onto Jesus can I clearly believe that His death on the Cross was a vicarious death for me.
This is the salvation of Jesus Christ that we must believe in.
Many people understand the Cross to be the center of Christianity. Of course, the Cross is an immensely important event in our salvation. But we must also consider the question, “Why did Jesus have to die on the Cross?”
Jesus did not die because of any sin of His own. He, the sinless Son of God, was judged on the Cross because of our human sins, which He had taken upon Himself through the baptism He received from John the Baptist.
That is why we must not look at the Cross in isolation, but see Jesus’ baptism, the Cross, and the resurrection together as one work of salvation.
In Jesus’ baptism, He took on our sins; on the Cross, He was judged for them; and in the resurrection lie eternal life and Heaven for those who believe. When we believe this in our hearts, we can look not to our own deeds or feelings, but to the salvation Jesus has already completed.
And when we have this faith, we can answer the question, “Do I have sin before God, or not?” with confidence, by faith: “I have no sin.”
If Jesus took my sins upon Himself and even received the judgment for them, then whoever believes in this salvation no longer needs to wander, trying to resolve their own sins by themselves. Faith is believing in the work of salvation that Jesus accomplished.
Heaven Is Not a Vague Comfort but the Hope of the Saved
People fear death. And because no one has experienced death and come back, many think of the world after death only in vague terms. But the Bible tells us that human life does not end with death in this world. So while we are still alive, we must settle the matter of our own souls before God.
“If I were to die right now, where would I go?”
We must not avoid this question. We need to see the matter of Heaven and hell as a very real issue that will surely come upon each of us. The Bible says that when people are made sinless by believing in the salvation Jesus Christ accomplished and so become children of God, they will enter the Kingdom of Heaven that God has prepared.
No matter how much someone gains in this world, if they are still a sinner with sin in their heart, they have no hope at all. On the other hand, even if someone does not have much in this world, if they believe in the salvation Jesus Christ accomplished and hold the hope of eternal life, they have a hope the world cannot give. This is the true peace the gospel brings.
Now Is the Time for the Harvest
Rev. Paul C. Jong is devoting himself to gathering the sermons he has preached throughout his life and turning them into books that cover the entire Bible. Each volume brings together biblical exposition, questions and answers, and sermons, so that people who have known only the Cross can read these books and realize, “Ah! Just as sins were passed on through the laying on of hands in the Old Testament, so in the New Testament Jesus was baptized and had the sins of the world—that is, all of my sins—passed onto Him!”
The Old Testament is the covenant that promised in advance what Jesus would do when He came. And just as it was promised, Jesus was baptized, died on the Cross, and rose again, becoming our Savior and thus fulfilling all righteousness.
Dear friends, the times are changing rapidly. When the day comes that artificial intelligence governs the world, we will not be able to preach the gospel as actively as we do now. That is why we must share it now. We must put it into writing, spread it, and bring in the final harvest. The closer the final moment draws, the more souls there are who long to be saved. This work is not done by any one person alone; it is accomplished together as the saints who have received the remission of sins each carry out the work entrusted to them. This is God’s will for us now. We do not fight in our own strength. The Holy Spirit who dwells within us gives us boldness and strength, enabling us to speak and to be victorious.
Heaven and hell truly exist. And which one we end up in depends not on our own zeal or good deeds, but on whether or not we believe in the salvation Jesus Christ accomplished.
By being baptized by John, Jesus fulfilled all righteousness—that is, He took upon Himself the sins of everyone in the world. Carrying those sins, He shed His blood and died on the Cross, receiving in our place the judgment we ourselves deserved, and by rising from the dead He gave eternal life to all who believe. Anyone who believes in this gospel of the water and the Spirit from the heart receives the remission of sins, becomes a child of God, and enters the Kingdom of Heaven.
Dear friends, we must believe now. And we must share the gospel now.
Go Deeper into Matthew 3
Today’s passage from Matthew chapter 3 is explored in depth in Rev. Paul C. Jong’s book “Matthew seen from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit (I).” Covering Matthew chapters 1 to 4 through biblical exposition, questions and answers, and sermons, the book shows how Jesus took away all our sins through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, through the Cross, and through His resurrection.
Read the Full Bible Study — Matthew (I)
You can access this book free of charge through the link below. May you, too, settle the matter of your soul before God today.
Download the free English ebook and audiobook of Matthew (I) →Discover the Truth of the Gospel — Completely Free
The New Life Mission provides Rev. Paul C. Jong’s books free of charge as ebooks and audiobooks on its official website, so that people all over the world may know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receive the remission of their sins.
Read them, listen to them, and share them with the people you love.
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