Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:
It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.
Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.
Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.
Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.
Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.
Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.
2. Does God exist? The human brain's complexity shows a higher intelligence behind it
After reading this about water it don't suprise me God would use it(water). And still some would say why Baptism? You can't live without water. Jesus was Baptized. So many were Baptized in the NT. John came Baptizing unto the forgiveness of sins. Their was the Baptism of Fire. Acts 2:41 says their were added unto them 3000 Souls these ALL were Baptized! Then 5000 and in Chapter Six they quite counting. AND STILL PEOPLE SAY/TEACH BAPTISM IS JUST AND OUTWARD APPERANCE, THAT YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO DO.
Their has been much teaching here that baptism is not a work anymore than Faith, Repentance, Confession, Belief.
I am not throwing a Ton of Scriptures at you here, just appealing to your Common Sence's.
If you have not been baptized into Christ where all spiritual blessing are. How can you expect to see Christ in Heaven?
"John did baptize in the wilderness, and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
This is NOT teaching baptismal regeneration at all. Not every mention of baptism is talking about water baptism. Acts 11:16 says....
" Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, " JohnIndeed baptized with water, BUT ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost"
Than Acts 11:21 says ..
" And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord".
No mention of baptism in Acts 11 but the reference to John that I quote.
18When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Salvation if by grace thru faith in Jesus Christ. It was his precious blood that saves us.
Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:
It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.
Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.
Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.
Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.
Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.
Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.
2. Does God exist? The human brain's complexity shows a higher intelligence behind it
After reading this about water it don't suprise me God would use it(water). And still some would say why Baptism? You can't live without water. Jesus was Baptized. So many were Baptized in the NT. John came Baptizing unto the forgiveness of sins. Their was the Baptism of Fire. Acts 2:41 says their were added unto them 3000 Souls these ALL were Baptized! Then 5000 and in Chapter Six they quite counting. AND STILL PEOPLE SAY/TEACH BAPTISM IS JUST AND OUTWARD APPERANCE, THAT YOU REALLY DON'T NEED TO DO.
Their has been much teaching here that baptism is not a work anymore than Faith, Repentance, Confession, Belief.
I am not throwing a Ton of Scriptures at you here, just appealing to your Common Sence's.
If you have not been baptized into Christ where all spiritual blessing are. How can you expect to see Christ in Heaven?
Turkey Fife
All those who believe are baptized into Christ, just as Romans 6 tells us.This spiritual baptism is represented by the rite of water baptism,which is commanded to be following salvation, not for it. That is more than common sense, it is the written word.
"John did baptize in the wilderness, and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." I think everyone will agree that should be UNTO to be consitance, do you agree?
This is NOT teaching baptismal regeneration at all. Not every mention of baptism is talking about water baptism. Acts 11:16 says.... Oh, I agree this was John's baptism.
" Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, " John Indeed baptized with water, BUT ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost" And they were, he was talking about the Apostels, do you agree?
Than Acts 11:21 says ..
" And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord".
No mention of baptism in Acts 11 but the reference to John that I quote.LETS LOOK AT THAT CLOSER
Quote:
ACTS 11[15] And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
[16] Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
[17] Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
[18] When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
QUESTION: If John's Baptism was for us then why in Acts 19 were they commanded to be baptized in the Name of the Lord?
18When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
Salvation if by grace thru faith in Jesus Christ. It was his precious blood that
Acts.19[1] And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
[2] He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
[3] And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. [4] Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. [5] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. [6] And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
The Importance of Water Baptism [/align]Christian water baptism is an ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ. If it is not important in the plan of God, why did Jesus command it in Matthew 28:19? And why did Peter follow up by saying, "Be baptized every one of you," and by commanding the Gentiles to be baptized (Acts 2:38; 10:48)? We must remember two points about the importance of water baptism. First, whatever Christ definitely established and ordained cannot be unimportant, whether we understand its significance or not. Second, Christ and the apostles showed the importance of this ordinance by observing it. Jesus walked many miles to be baptized, though He was without sin, saying, "For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" (See Matthew 3:13-16.)
It is true that water itself does not contain any saving virtue, but God has chosen to include it in His plan of salvation. Peter explained, "Baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 3:21). According to Luke 7:30, "the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized." The Mode of Baptism [/align]According to the Scriptures, the proper mode of baptism is immersion. "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water" (Matthew 3:16). "And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him" (Acts 8:38). "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death" (Romans 6:4). A corpse is not buried by placing it on top of the ground and sprinkling a little soil on it, but by covering it completely.
According to the World Book Encyclopedia, "At first all baptism was by complete immersion" (vol. 1, p.651). And the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "In the early centuries, all were baptized by immersion in streams, pools, and baptisteries" (vol. 2, p.263). Immersion was not convenient after the Catholic church instituted infant baptism; thus the mode was changed to sprinkling. (See Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 3, pp.365-66.)
Repentance identifies us with the death of Christ, and baptism identifies us with His burial. Coming forth from the watery grave of baptism and receiving new life in the Holy Spirit identifies us with His resurrection. The Formula for Baptism [/align]Jesus commanded His disciples to "teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). He did not command them to use these words as a formula, but He commanded them to baptize in "the name." The word name is used here in the singular, and it is the focal point of the baptismal command. The titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost describe God's relationships to humanity and are not the supreme, saving name described here, which is Jesus. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Jesus is the name in which the roles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are revealed. The angel of the Lord instructed Joseph, "She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Jesus said, "I am come in my Father's name," and, "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,...the Father will send in my name" (John 5:43; 14:26). Thus by baptizing in the name of Jesus, we honor the Godhead. "For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Colossians 2:9).
Luke 24:45-47 records that just before His ascension, Jesus opened the disciples' understanding. It was necessary that their understanding be opened, and many today need this same operation in order to understand the Scriptures. Then Jesus said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day." The disciples had their understanding opened so that they could grasp the vast importance of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Verse 47 describes the commission that Jesus then gave: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations [Jews and Gentiles], beginning at Jerusalem."
Peter was one of that number to whom Jesus had spoken and whose understanding had been opened. After having listened to these instructions, a few days later he was inspired by the Holy Ghost to preach on the Day of Pentecost. The hearts of the hearers were pierced and, feeling condemned, they cried out to Peter and the other apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter did not hesitate but boldly answered, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).
Some say that Peter told them to be baptized in Jesus' name because they were Jews and this baptism was to make them acknowledge Jesus Christ. But let us go with Peter to the house of Cornelius several years later. Cornelius and his household were Gentiles, yet there again Peter "commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48). (Most translations actually say, "In the name of Jesus Christ.") If Peter was wrong on the Day of Pentecost, he surely had ample time to be corrected before he went to the house of Cornelius.
Was Peter wrong on the Day of Pentecost? When the hearers were prickled in their hearts, they spoke to Peter and to the rest of the apostles (Acts 2:37). This included Matthew, who wrote Matthew 28:19. Moreover, when Peter preached, he stood up with the eleven Acts 2:14). Matthew was there, yet we find no words of correction from him. He surely would have spoken up if Peter had disobeyed the Lord. But all the apostles understood and carried out the Lord's commission. As Jesus said in prayer, "I have manifested thy name unto the men [the apostles] which thou gavest me out of the world...and they have kept thy word" (John 17:6).
The Samaritans, who were not Jews, were also baptized in the name of Jesus. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them...."But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.... They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:5, 12, 16).
Let us see how Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, baptized. He went to Ephesus many years after the Day of Pentecost and found some disciples of John the Baptist there. "He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:2-5). Although these disciples had already been baptized, the name of Jesus was so important as to cause them to be rebaptized in His name.
We do not believe that Paul changed the formula or mode of baptism when he baptized Lydia and her household (Acts 16:14-15) or the Philippian jailer. The latter came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas, saying, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And he took them the same hour of the night [shortly after midnight], and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway" (Acts 16:30-33). How can we doubt that Paul baptized these people using the same mode and formula that he used elsewhere, that is, immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Paul was not with the apostles when Jesus gave his finial instructions to them in Matthew 28:19 and Luke 24:47, yet Paul baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. How did he know what to do? He said that his gospel was not a tradition of men but a revelation from God. "I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:11-12). Paul was chosen to bear Jesus' name to the Gentiles, and he wrote many divinely inspired epistles to the church. To this apostle, God revealed the mystery of the church, "which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit" (Ephesians 3:5). Paul claimed to have divine authority: "If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" (I Corinthians 14:37). And Paul wrote, Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him" (Colossians 3:17). Water baptism is done in both word and deed. We cannot afford to overlook this command to the church.
The church is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:20). The apostles not only preached baptism in Jesus' name, but they practiced it. Nowhere can we find that they baptized using the words "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Instead, we find them baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In baptizing in Jesus' name, they fulfilled the command of the Lord in Matthew 28:19.
Paul said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). Let this be a solemn warning to us.
Some say that they will accept the words of Jesus in Matthew 28:19 but not those of Peter in Acts 2:38. But Peter spoke on the Day of Pentecost under the anointing of the Holy Ghost. Peter was one of the apostles, and to him had been given the keys of the kingdom, so we have no right to discredit his words.
In Mark 7:8 Jesus said, "Laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men." History tells us that it was not until many years after the apostles that the mode and formula of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ were changed. (See Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, p.241.) Which means more to you, the command of the Lord or the tradition of men?
Taken from the Word Aflame Tract "Why We Baptize in Jesus' Name" #6109[/align]
All those who believe are baptized into Christ, just as Romans 6 tells us.
This spiritual baptism is represented by the rite of water baptism,which is commanded to be following salvation, not for it. That is more than common sense, it is the written word.
Romans 6 doesn't say anything about all who believe are baptized into Christ. What it actually says is:
"3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: "
Buried, planted--physical acts.
It's been pointed out several times before that there are no examples in the Bible thatsimply state someone was first saved, then commanded to be baptized. There are many examples of people being commanded to be baptized with salvation following, just as there are many examples of God bestowing a gift only after obedience to His command. Just as in the verses (word for word, no interpreting required) that TF just gave.
There are verses that say someone first believed, but the Bible is plain about the fact that belief does not equal salvation--Matthew 7:21 and James 2:19 being two that come to mind. Romans 10:10 tells us that that with the heart a man believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. It doesn't say anyone can believe unto salvation.
That's how I see it anyway--plain and simple in black and white and red.
Chad
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
There are verses that say someone first believed, but the Bible is plain about the fact that belief does not equal salvation--Matthew 7:21 and James 2:19 being two that come to mind. Romans 10:10 tells us that that with the heart a man believes unto righteousness, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. It doesn't say anyone can believe unto salvation.
Chad; you make a good point. If I could comment on it without taking anything away from it. Though believing isn't salvation, it is the first step toward salvation. He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. When The Spirit draws, Grace of God appears, One knocks on the door, ect. it is then up to the one receiving the call to "Come". One can not "cometh" if he fails to believe the one giving the invitation. Them My question is when does one arrive, after he starts coming? How far is the journey of the term, "cometh"?
I agree Snooky--belief is the second step (after hearing), but not the final step. It wouldn't make any sense for someone to repent, confess, or be baptized if they didn't believe and/or understand why they were taking these steps, nor would it do them any good.
Chad
__________________
"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Its clear in my head. I don't know why the Lord had us to sort out these baptisms. Jesus's Baptism, John's Baptism, Baptism of the Apostels, Baptism of Fire, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, Baptism of the Dead.
But now their is ONLY ONE Baptism the Bible tell us. Ehh. 4:5 So it must be the Baptism in Water, for the forgiveness of our sins, in the name of the Lord.
Baptism
