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NASB | Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
Bible Question: I recently read the Purpose Driven Life. In it he states there are "no" delayed baptisms in the Bible. If there are "none" in the Bible, why are there "any" today. In fact being baptized is commonly put off months if not years in most churches. If you substitute Peter's sermon in all of the conversion stories(spoke the word of Lord to him, began with that passage of scripture and told about Jesus, opened her heart to respond to Paul's message, he told the people to beleive in the one coming after him that is Jesus, etc. I think they all responded to the message by being baptized immediately because "that was the message" they all heard. When sharing our faith today, no one ever hears Peter's sermon. Insted they hear "pray jesus into your heart", or accept Christ as their personal saviour so that is all they do. Different sermon evokes a different response. Doesn't it make sense that everyone would have the same response to the Gospel message that the people in Acts did if they all heard the same message today as well! |
Bible Answer: Hello arrow1, I just recently finished a book entitled Ancient-Future Evangelism by Robert Webber. In it he shows where the shifts in spiritual formation occured. 1. In scripture we see baptism happening shortly after a profession of faith. 2. After the apostles and before Constantine, the persecutions caused elders to test and train professing believers before baptizing to stem false professions. See The Apostolic Tradition by Hippolytus (ca. 210-220) for one reference. 3. After Constantine came to power and Christianity became popular, theologians shifted to infant baptism. It was safe to do. 4. During the middle ages, baptismal regeneration came into vogue. By the 1300's, baptism was considered the beginning step of a seven-step process to get to heaven. Roman Catholics still abide by these today. 5. During the Reformation there was another shift. Luther and Calvin retained infant baptism as a sign of a covenant relationship but rejected the sacramental process. They maintained that grace was was made available through baptism with varying nuances (and I still am not sure how this theology works). 6. Anabaptists also arose during the Reformation. These went back to scripture for their pattern of a radical conversion followed by baptism. Steve |