Foreword

This collection of 14 messages on baptism comes from the pulpit ministry of Pastor Eric H.H. Chang which spanned several decades and was based mainly in Montreal, Canada. These and other messages have spoken power­fully to many in Canada and Asia, and are now made available to a wider audience.

The messages in this book were given at actual baptisms over the years, and some retain a touch of their original spontan­eity. They are balanced in style and approach: solemn yet inspirational, simple yet deep, homiletic yet expository. The tone is warm and hopeful.

Most importantly, this book addresses two commonly held but flawed views of baptism. The first view is that baptism is optional, being more or less an external ceremony. The other view is that baptism is the summit of our spir­itual endeavors, the high point where salvat­ion is attained for good. So what comes after­wards is an anticlim­ax, a climb­ing down from the sum­mit to settle into the Christ­ian life, hopefully a life of good Christian service but all too often one of stagnant Christian exist­ence.

But in the Bible, baptism is not the summit of the Christian life but only its starting point, albeit a crucial one, after which comes a lifelong process of spiritual growth that is vital for salvation and is full of blessings.

This book addresses both sides of baptism, before and after, and gives practical guidance to Christians and non-Christians. A unique feature of this book is its analysis of Satan’s tactics in the tempt­ation of Jesus and, by extension, of newly baptized Christians.

Some of the messages were previously published in condensed form in a publica­tion called Oasis, but our present collection is not based on the Oasis articles but is a new work done from scratch.

It is our hope and confidence that this book will fulfill the goal that its author, Eric Chang, had always had for his books: the glory of God and the edification of God’s people in Jesus Christ.

Bentley C.F. Chan (Editor)

[email protected]

May 15, 2019

This book was produced in two stages, the first by Winnie W.Y. Yee, the second by me. In the first stage, Winnie selected the messages, transcribed the audio recordings, paragraphed the text, and did the preliminary round of edit­ing. In the second stage, I did the final editing, de­signed the cover and interior, prepared the pictures, added the append­ixes, and com­piled the Scripture index. My deepest gratitude to sister Winnie for her diligent and excellent work, and her unwavering dedication to the ministry of God’s word that made this and other books possible. (BC)