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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. |
Subject: Baptism-What Does the Bible Teach? |
Bible Note: I must admit, at first glance your post seems to be well written and appears quite logical but there's a big flaw in the logic. For some strange reason there seems to be a growing tendancy to question the fact of the Apostles being baptized when the Scriptures don't address that issue EXCEPT for this one instance. Acts 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake." 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after laying his hands on him said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened. Now for several days he was with the disciples who were at Damascus, You might notice that here Paul is baptized in a hurry (like the Phillipian jailer) as he does so before he eats a meal after 3 days of fasting. If baptism wasn't required for salvation, don't you think he could have waited? Similar to the jailer, if baptism isn't important, he could have waited till daybreak especially since he placed a high priority on tending to the ex-prisoner's wounds. You see, the whole logic of your article falls apart. The Bible simply doesn't address the issue of the other Apostles getting baptized at all, only Saul, later Apostle Paul. But throughout the Bible, I can see there are a few minor places where the emphasis isn't quite as plain as in Acts 2:38 so ultimately a person is faced with a quandry in his lap. 1) Should I be conservative, play it safe and be baptized to have my sins forgiven as cited in Acts 2:38 OR 2) Should I take a chance, take my salvation for granted like others do and get baptized at a later date? I've said this many times now and will repeat myself again and again as needed. When the Bible places these kind of options in front of us in response to this issues, I'll always recommend the "better safe than sorry" approach as endorsed by our Lord with his parable about cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye. Why take a chance with a controversial handful of verses when they ARE very definitely some few verses that clearly depict what I'm saying to be true. It's also in keeping with the practice of circumcision. A convert to Judiasm was NOT considered a Jew until AFTER the circumcision and we both know how our God truly is a bloody God. And since the Bible doesn't say one or the other about the Apostles, it's safe to say they were baptized before receiving salvation, since they would want to be consistent with what they were preaching. I do hope you'll keep studying and praying on this subject. God bless. Rowdy |