Path: paganini.bofh.team!weretis.net!feeder8.news.weretis.net!news.mixmin.net!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: "NightBulb.net" Newsgroups: alt.bible,alt.christnet.christianlife,alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic Subject: Two Baptisms. Choose One. Followup-To: alt.bible Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2022 18:06:36 -0600 Organization: Mixmin Message-ID: References: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2022 00:06:22 -0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: news.mixmin.net; posting-host="1a918d5e4b86843b7caa4468a5b6fe8bcb676956"; logging-data="3468573"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@mixmin.net" Content-Language: en-US In-Reply-To: Xref: paganini.bofh.team alt.bible:653415 alt.christnet.christianlife:1038697 alt.religion.christian.roman-catholic:1153187 On 12/4/22 16:15, Dr. Who wrote: > On Dec 4, 2022, NightBulb.net wrote > (in article ): > >> On 12/4/22 15:06, Michael McLean wrote: >>> It is right in front of you. The scriptures did make our hearts burn, >>> it was HIS PRESENCE. >> >> Amen! The 'heart burns' from Him who baptizes with the fire of the Holy >> Spirit. >> >> Eating a bible would give a different kind of heart burn. >> >> Maybe that's why your religious 'friends' are so grouchy! > > And they said to one another, Was not our heart continually burning within us > as He was talking with us along the road, as He expounded to us the > scriptures? .... > > And they themselves kept on rehearsing the things along the road and how He > was made known to them by the breaking of the bread. > All of which shows the importance of Christ, the Risen Saviour, as well as > the scriptures which spoke of Him and the future. > > Jesus promised Holy Spirit would do likewise for those that are Born Again > today. Receiving the Holy Spirit is being born again by grace and faith. Faith comes by hearing. When faith comes to an open ear then grace abounds. Then a man is washed in the blood of the Living Word, simply by hearing the Name of Jesus Christ. I elaborated on this in a former post on baptism to counter the mistaken religion of the Jehovah's Witnesses. They, like most modern Churches, are a cult of Judaizers who by twisting scripture, add works of the Law to the grace of God, and make the good news of Jesus Christ of no effect. Their church doctrines have no power to cleanse a corrupt heart of sin. The name of Jesus Christ sanctifies the heart and makes it clean. The Name of Jesus Christ is POWER. It is the only power that can raise the dead to life. To add anything to His name, to place any other authority, such as the law of Moses, or a Church credo, or a Ordnung, or a prefab confession of faith, as an additional burden upon the hearer, is to deny the true good news and is the preaching of another gospel. Many churches do this with their doctrine of water baptism. There are two kinds of baptism. But you must choose only one. To the believer in Jesus, there are not two baptisms, but one: "One Lord, one faith, one baptism ..." The baptism of the Holy Spirit comes by hearing and believing the good news. Here I shall show what the whole point of the bible is from cover to cover. Those lost souls who hear (understand) this message, and believe it, shall be converted from death to life. It is not my message, or my words, but the message of the faith of Jesus, delivered to us once and for all. John came in the wilderness to prepare the Israelites for Messiah by baptizing them in water for remission of sins. Once the leaders of Israel fully rejected Christ and stoned Stephen, the gates to the Kingdom were shut to Israel, and the time of the Gentiles began. No longer was water baptism for the remission of sins required, because those who administered the law of Moses were in complete apostasy and Judea had filled up the measure of her sin. Stephen testified that Jesus was standing beside the throne of the Father. Notice that Jesus was standing, meaning he was ready to MOVE into action. Salvation comes strictly by hearing and believing. The bible is profitable for reproof and correction, but it does not save, nor can it save without faith in the finished work of Jesus. The bible is not about rules for living. It is not about checking a list of requirements for salvation. It is a testimony of the work and POWER of Jesus Christ. From Genesis chapter one to Revelation chapter 22 the Bible is about He who was to come to defeat death and raise mankind to eternal life by his power as a life-giving spirit. To add any work whatsoever, no matter how tiny a work, to the finished work of Jesus, is to deny his work and power altogether. If you add the rosary, or confessional, or good works, or prayers, or indulgences, or creedos, or confessions or water baptism to the finished work of Jesus, you deny his work altogether. Jesus saves means just that, twice over. You cannot mix works with grace. Either you must do all the works of the law and never fail in a single point, or you must rest in the grace of God to be saved. "(Ephesians 2:8-9) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Paul the Apostle rebuked Peter the Apostle for this mistake of mixing works with grace, after Peter continued to baptize with water. It is recorded in the book of Acts. Peter admitted and the Apostles all agreed, that baptism is by the Holy Spirit, and not the works of the Law, or water. I have yet to find a single religious sect anywhere that does not add some works of the law to the gospel, making the word of God of no effect. The Church today is like the Pharisees, who by their tradition made the word of God of no effect, hindering everyone from entering the Kingdom of God. So although they have their bibles, and study them with reckless abandon, like the Pharisees did, they still deny the faith by requiring works for salvation. To be saved one must understand what are faith, the word, and truth. And it is very simple. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God ..." "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" All men are guilty of sin, and the wages of sin is death. Yet men are accounted as righteous by the faith of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God. We are justified by his grace through the blood of Jesus Christ, and accounted worthy of life. "Father sanctify them by thy word. Thy word is truth." His word alone, which is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, sanctifies us. Knowing this, we preach the good news that Jesus Christ baptizes us with his blood, and was baptized into death for us: "But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" The water baptism of John was preparing Jesus for his death and burial and resurrection. Many Christians today teach the baptism of John. This is a great error and adds a work of the law to grace. Many Christians today read the scripture and say that the bible says you must do this or must do that ... adding more works of law to grace, making the cross of no effect. Either Jesus was an effectual sacrifice, or he was not. There is no middle ground on this matter. Are men saved by obeying the bible, or are men saved by hearing the testimony of the Holy Spirit? It is one or the other. This is the great power of the word of God, that just by hearing it, truly HEARING it, a man is immediately saved: "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost." These Gentiles were immediately saved in that moment and became sons of God merely by hearing Peter speak the good news. Peter had the power by faith, by his belief in the finished work of Jesus Christ, to baptize men with the Holy Ghost simply by telling them the good news. This is what it meant to go to the nations and baptize them in the name of Jesus Christ. It had nothing to do with dunking anyone in water, or doing some work of the law, or bringing forth fruit offerings meet for repentance, or any of that Old Covenant stuff. Peter merely preached the good news, and the Holy Ghost swarmed upon the crowd and converted them from death to life in an instant. This is the Gospel. This is speaking truth with power. He that has ears to hear, and hears and believes on the Son shall never die. Do you believe this? After this miraculous conversion, Peter made a mistake. He then commended these people who had just received the Holy Spirit to be baptized in water, AFTER they had just been saved! "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." Peter made a BIG faux paux here, as ONLY Jews under the Law of Moses were to be baptized by water. Water baptism was PROHIBITED to those who were not under the circumcision. That was the LAW. And a lot of Christians take this mistake that Peter made, and use it to prop up their modern doctrines on water baptism, which is a work of the law. And Paul rebuked Peter for this at Antioch: "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" Peter, why are you telling these Gentiles to do the works of the Jewish law! Stop it! Paul continued: "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified ..." By the works of the law [water] no one is justified. Period. We saw earlier that the Gentiles were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit the moment the believed the gospel. That is the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Peter recounted the events in question and said: "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. 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." You cannot mix the Law with grace, not even with something as small as washings and water baptism. It is one or the other. If you are going to be a law keeper or "obey the bible" then you must keep every jot and tittle of it. The Apostles address this fact in the same meeting: Acts 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Peter said that they should not, that they were saved only by believing and not by the law, and even declared that the Jews were also saved in the same way. "And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Here the Apostle says: 1. They were saved merely by hearing the good news, in that instant. 2. God knows their hearts and bore witness that their hearts were clean. 3. Their hearts were purified by grace alone, through faith alone. 4. Requiring circumcision or water baptism is the yoke of the law. 5. None of the Israelites were ever able to bear that yoke or keep it. 6. Strictly through the grace of Jesus we are saved. No. works. at. all. Paul shows us what baptism in the Name of Jesus means: "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." The were baptized in the NAME, as soon as they heard, not in a pool of water. The prior baptism of John did not save them. As soon as they heard the good news, they were immediately baptized in the power of the NAME of Jesus and immediately saved. Paul did not lead them to a pool and dunk them again. By hearing, they were baptized. "He that hath an ear to hear ... let him hear ..." "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." We are baptized now in the Spirit, not in water. Water baptism is unscriptural and unprofitable for believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." Washing your body in water cannot make you spiritually clean. The flesh profiteth NOTHING. "One Lord, one faith, ONE baptism." (not two baptisms) So which baptism do you want? Do you want to clean your body, or your heart? Since the scripture says there is only one baptism men must choose ONE. I know which one was chosen for me. Glory to God, and his Son Jesus Christ, whose name has the power to grant eternal life to them that hear it and believe. Glory to God and his Son Jesus Christ, whose words alone have the power to cleanse the heart of man and make it sanctified by his grace. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise ..." "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." "(John 15:3) Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." His word makes us clean of sin. His word saves us. He that has ears to hear, and hears and believes on the Son of God is baptized in his name and by his blood and shall never die. Do you believe this? If you heard this message, and truly understood it, and truly believe it, you are raised from death to life, and you have eternal life, and no one and no thing can ever take it from you. This is what it means to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. You do not have to say a 'sinner's prayer' or answer a 'altar call' or 'turn over a new leaf' or 'change your ways' or 'repent of sins' or any of that Pharisaical, religious nonsense. All you must do is hear the good news and believe on the Name of Jesus Christ and you will be saved and raised from death to life. There is no need to fear the religious nonsense pouring out of the Churches. They want to draw men into the law of Moses to condemn them. We have more religion and more Churches than you can shake a stick at, yet a famine for the word of God in the land. The one spiritual drink, the one spiritual bread for our hunger, is the name of Jesus Christ. If we eat of this bread, and drink of this water, we shall never hunger or thirst again. -- Nightbulb | https://blog.nightbulb.net | Flip the night switch. If tacky red hats annoy Pharisees I want to buy hats for the whole town.