Subject: Teacher, are you willing to learn? |
Bible Note: Yes, Acts 11.17 would support this. In Acts 2.41, Yes, in response to the message from Peter and the question asked, "Brethren, what shall we do?" they believed, repented, and were baptized. Acts 5.14, yes, because believing includes all of these. Matt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." This passage in Matthew includes the command to make disciples. How are disciples made? Through baptism. Then Jesus commands them to teach all that he has commmanded them, so, if baptizing is a command, being baptized would be the result of that command, and if the disciples were to teach all that Jesus commanded them, this would necessarily include teaching baptism. Cornelius and Co. could be baptized into John's baptism the same way those at Ephesus were in Acts 19.1-5. I have made an assumption based on scripture that if Cornelius' reputation of a "devout, God fearing man", being in the position he was (a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort), would have heard of the baptism of John. This may or may not be true because scripture is not that explicit in his case. Regardless, Cornelius and Co. did respond to the gospel call, they received the gift of speaking in tongues a sign to the Jewish Christians, and they were baptized for the remission of sin. What they received from the Holy Spirit, as divine in nature as it was, did not save them from their sin. Baptism into Christ was necessary for that. No where in the bible does it teach that the Holy Spirit cleanses us from sin. The bible teaches that the blood of Jesus, meaning his death, does cleanse us from sin. 1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. Did the 12 follow John or Jesus ... so why would they baptized in the former? Were the 11 rebaptized after His death? Let me ask you, how could the 12 be baptized into Christ while Christ was still alive? They couldn't because when we are baptized we are baptized into his death (Rom 6.4). John's baptism was to prepare the way. It was a baptism of repentance and it was necessary as the old law was coming to an end and the new law was coming into effect, at Jesus' death. Acts 19.1-5 clearly teaches that those that were only baptized of John's baptism, yes, had to be rebaptized into Christ. This would have included the eleven. |