Man is material - mortal (Job 4:17). He was FORMED from the
ground, the DUST of the earth (Gen.2:7). God is SPIRIT (John
4:24), that is God is composed of Spirit. He is HOLY, so God is
then Holy Spirit. His body and being is Spirit not physical,
though He can if He desires manifest Himself to man in a physical
manner as He did to Abraham (Gen.18).
The physical being alone is not COMPLETE until UNITED with
the spiritual. Man was made to receive the very Holy Spirit, the
very NATURE of God (2 Pet.1:3-4). To receive that nature we
actually then receive the LOVE, the POWER, the CHARACTER of God
WITHIN us as a GIFT (Rom.6:23; 5:5; 8:9-17; Gal.5:22,23; 2 Peter
1:3-4).
God knew by making mankind free agents and not robots, that
man could not have this perfection of character, which it is His
purpose to create within us, by an instantaneous flick of the
fingers. It requires time. It requires submissiveness, decision
making, co-operate will, self direction on mankind's part,
teaming up with the nature of God. This perfection of character
can only come through EXPERIENCE - with man/woman willing to
YIELD to the NATURE and the WILL of the Eternal.
Mankind was created with HUMAN NATURE which is a mixture of
GOOD and EVIL (Luke 6:45). Too much of the time the evil tends
to overpower the good (Rom.7:13-23). Man must come to the
KNOWLEDGE of his natural ways that are NOT God's ways.
He must come to EXPERIENCE REAL REPENTANCE of the evil side of
his nature - where he has THOUGHT, SPOKEN, and LIVED contrary to
the WILL and the WAYS and the THOUGHTS of the Lord.
A very large part of the Gospel concerns REPENTANCE! A very
LARGE part of the Bible contains the EXAMPLES of REAL repentance.
In this lesson we shall discover:
1) The importance of preaching REPENTANCE. 2) What we are to
REPENT of. 3) The experience of REPENTANCE.
PREACHING REPENTANCE
IN THE BEGINNING
Gen.2:17; 3:6; 4:8; 6:5
Has this world been EVIL from the BEGINNING?
Gen.6:12-13
Did the early people of this world CORRUPT God's way of
life?
What did God propose to do about all this corruption?
Ge. 6:14-18
Who only was found worthy to be saved from the utter
destruction that God would bring upon evil mankind?
Gen.7:1; 2 Peter 2:5
Was Noah a righteous person?
Did Noah PREACH righteousness to his wicked generation?
Note. Righteousness is defined in the Bible as God's COMMANDMENTS
(Ps.119:172).
As Noah was building the Ark he was also preaching to a wicked,
corrupt mankind God's true ways, the way of keeping and observing
God's commandments. He no doubt preached that people should
CHANGE their ways to conform to the Eternal's ways, to REPENT of
their evil deeds and thoughts and follow the RIGHT ways as
revealed by God.
Ezek. 14:1-11
1) Does God condemn Idolatry?
2) Who is God speaking to here?
3) What does He tell them to do?
4) What will the Lord do to those who persist in idolatry?
5) Will both the punishment of the False prophet and Those
that seek them be the same?
6) Why does God correct and punish?
Note. Even with ancient Israel when they went astray from God's
commandments He cried out to them to REPENT! They were to
repent of their TRANSGRESSIONS - their INIQUITY - the evil of
their hearts and to develop a NEW HEART. See Ezek.18:30-32.
JOHN AND JESUS
Matthew 3:1-11
1) What did John the Baptist PREACH?
2) What did the people confess?
3) Is repentance to produce FRUITS? What kind of Fruits?
4) Did John indicate that many of the religious leaders of
his day had never really REPENTED?
Mark 1:14-15
1) After the ministry of John, what was the Gospel Jesus
preached?
2) Is REPENTANCE a very important part of the Gospel?
Note. The purpose of John was to PREPARE the hearts of the
people for the coming of the Messiah. This he did by preaching
that men should REPENT - that they should confess their SINS and
walk in the STRAIGHT WAY of the Lord.
When the Savior of mankind began His public ministry He
continued to PREACH the theme that humanity should REPENT! Jesus
taught that REPENTANCE was absolutely necessary to be "saved" -
without it mankind would only PERISH (Luke 13:3).
One of the very purposes that Jesus came was to call SINNERS to
REPENTANCE (Matt.9:13). He said there is MORE JOY in heaven over
ONE sinner that REPENTS than dozens of just persons(in their
mind) who think they need no repentance (Luke 15:7).
When Jesus sent out the twelve to proclaim the Kingdom of
God, they first preached that men should REPENT (Mark 6:7-12).
Just before Christ ascended into Heaven, He told the
disciples what their great commission was to be. REPENTANCE and
REMISSION of SINS was to be preached to all nations (Luke
24:47).
THE APOSTLES - ONE OF THEIR THEMES
Acts 2:14-40
1) When did this sermon by Peter take place (see verses
1-13) ?
2) WHO did he preach to them about?
3) What question did the people put to the apostles?
4) What did Peter reply?
Acts 3:11-26
1) WHO again did Peter speak about to the people?
2) What did he tell the people to do?
Note. Peter boldly PREACHED Christ as Savior and that all men
should REPENT - be converted and turn away from their iniquities.
Then their SINS could be BLOTTED OUT through the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ.
Acts 8:1-12
1) Who were the only Christians in Jerusalem at this time?
2) What did the others do?
3) What did Philip preach?
4) Were many BAPTIZED?
Note. We have seen both from the ministry of John the Baptist
and the apostle Peter that REPENTANCE must come before baptism.
Philip in preaching Christ and the Kingdom of God must have
taught the people to REPENT in order for them to request
baptism. We shall study all about the subject of baptism in a
later lesson.
Acts 9:10-31
1) After Paul's conversion and baptism what did he preach?
2) By what we have studied so far, would preaching Christ
include the theme of REPENTANCE?
Acts 10:23-48
1) Did God show to Peter that Christ and Salvation should go
to the Gentiles?
2) What was the FOCAL point of Peter's message to Cornelius?
3) Did Peter preach the FORGIVENESS of SINS?
4) Were many Baptised?
Note. Peter was here again preaching his Pentecostal sermon -
Jesus Christ as Savior. Upon REPENTANCE and accepting Christ's
death and resurrection men could have forgiveness of sins and
eternal life through the Holy Spirit.
The THEME of the early Church was first, Jesus Christ as
Savior - repentance and Forgiveness of Sins. Second, the Return
of Christ and the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth.
Saving people was foremost on the minds of the apostles and
church members alike. Read the rest of the book of Acts and take
note of the speeches and sermons. As you do, note such passages
as Acts 16:30-31; 17:3, 30; 18:24-28; 26:17-18, 20; 28:23,
31.
WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
Note. Webster's Dictionary defines REPENTANCE as: " To feel
sorry or self-reproachful for what has done or failed to do; be
conscience-stricken......To feel such regret or dissatisfaction
over some past action, intention, etc. as to changed one's mind
about.......To feel so contrite over one's sins as to change, or
decide to change, one's ways......."
This is what VINE'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY ON NT WORDS has to
say on REPENT and REPENTANCE: ".......to perceive afterwards
(Meta, after, implying change, Noeo, to perceive; Nous, the mind,
the seat of moral reflections).......hence signifies to change
one's mind or purpose, always in the NT involving a change for
the better......."
Matt. 9:13
Who did Jesus come to call to Repentance?
Acts 3:19
What can be blotted out upon Repentance?
Acts 5:31
What is some of the work Jesus is NOW doing?
Note. The Scriptures clearly show that REPENTANCE has to do with
SIN! We are to REPENT of SIN. Repent of being a sinner - of
living, acting, doing, thinking, IN sin.
SIN - RIGHTEOUSNESS ?
1 John 3:4
Does God tell us in this verse what constitutes SIN?
Romans 7:7
What did Paul say showed him what sin WAS?
Is it not the TEN Commandment law that says: "Thou shalt not
covet."? (Ex.20"1-17).
Romans 3:20
Is Paul here telling us by what standard we can derive the
KNOWLEDGE of what sin is or is not?
James 2:10-12
1) Does this law have points?
2) What are some of its points?
3) Are these the same points as recorded in Ex.20:1-17?
James 2:10-12 (continued)
4) If we WILLFULLY break ANY ONE of these points of the
whole law, are we a TRANSGRESSOR - do we SIN (see again 1
John 3:4) ?
5) What is this law called (verse 12) ?
Note. We are to REPENT of breaking (transgressing) God's Holy
Spiritual law (Rom.7:12,14). Repent of BEING sinners and want to
DO and LIVE righteousness (Matt.5:17-20; 6:33). A Bible
definition of "righteousness" is ALL of God's COMMANDMENTS -
Psalm 119:172.
REPENT TOWARDS WHOM ?
Romans 3:23
How many have sinned?
Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30
How many are to REPENT?
Acts 20:21
Towards WHOM are we to REPENT?
HOW TO REPENT!
Deut.4:29; Isa.55:6
Are we to SEEK God? How much are we to seek for Him?
Isa. 57:15; 66:2
What KIND of a person will God LOOK AT?
2 Chron. 7:14
What else does the Eternal add to the ingredients of
REPENTANCE?
1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13
What TWO requirements are given in these verses in order to
obtain MERCY and FORGIVENESS?
Job 33:27, 28
God is looking for mankind to ACKNOWLEDGE what?
Isa.55:7; Jer.4:1, 2, 14
What is man to FORSAKE in order to return unto God?
Ezekiel 18:21, 30-31; Acts 17:30
Is God CALLING OUT for mankind to REPENT?
End of part one. To be continued with part two and three.
...........
First written in 1987. Re-written and revised in April 1997.
by Keith Hunt
The Experience Of Real Repentance Part Two EXAMPLES OF REPENTANCE
Genesis 50:15-21
1) Had the brothers of Joseph done evil?
2) Did they ask to be forgiven?
3) What was Joseph's reaction?
4) How did his brothers respond?
5) Was Joseph willing to forgive and help them?
Note. We could liked Joseph to God the Father and Joseph's
brothers to repentant individuals. As the brothers CONFESSED
their sins and asked forgiveness so should every repentant person
do the same before God. As they humbled themselves before the
feet of Joseph, we should also HUMBLE ourselves before God the
Father.
The brothers told Joseph they would be his servants. So
likewise are we to be SERVANTS of God.
Joseph WEPT when he saw their humble repentant attitude.
Tears of joy must fill the eyes of our heavenly Father when one
sinner repents. As Joseph went on to NOURISH and COMFORT his
brothers, so God the Father will nourish and comfort His
begotten children.
2 Chron.12:1-12
1) Did King Rehoboam and Israel FORSAKE God's way?
2) What then happened (verses 2-5)?
3) Did the King and leaders of Israel then HUMBLE
themselves?
4) What did God say He would do?
5) Was God MERCIFUL to the King and Judah?
Note. Some TURN AWAY from the Eternal and His Holy law, but the
Lord is always there ready to FORGIVE and show MERCY whenever
those individuals HUMBLE themselves and REPENT!
2 Kings 22, 23
1) Was Josiah very YOUNG when he began to reign in
Jerusalem?
2) What is said of him (verse 2)?
3) Was Josiah still YOUNG when they found the book of the
law in the Temple?
4) What did Josiah DO when he heard the words of the LAW?
5) What did the King SAY about the words of God?
6) What did the prophetess Hudah say would happen for NOT
doing God's will?
7) What this punishment to take place in the lifetime of
Josiah? WHY not?
8) Did Josiah exhibit signs of real REPENTANCE?
Note. Josiah's repentance was GENUINE as can be seen by what he
DID. The FRUITS he bore, as shown in chapter 23. He gathered the
people together, both small and great, priest and prophet, and
read to them God's way. He RE-NEWED the COVENANT of God - to
walk after and KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS (verse 1-3).
Josiah was instrumental in bringing the people back to the
worship of the true God. He destroyed every sign of False
idolatry worship (verses 4-20). He RE-instituted the PASSOVER
(verses 21-23).
Josiah was a TYPE of what all people whom God calls should
do upon having their minds and hearts opened to His word and
truth. His heart was TENDER - receptive to the Eternal's truth
and ways. He did not argue with God's word, didn't justify his
own ideas and ways and thoughts. He was CHILDLIKE. Josiah
HUMBLED himself before God and FEARED His word (Isa.66:2). He
even WEPT when he realized how he and Judah had sinned against
the Lord God.
Josiah experienced true deep-felt REPENTANCE!
Nehemiah 8; and 9:1-5
1) What did Ezra read to the people?
2) When was this done (see also Lev.23:23-25)?
3) What was the people's attitude?
4) Were the people in a humble worshipful state of mind?
5) As they understood the ways of God, did they willingly
obey?
6) What else did the people do (chap.9:1-5)?
Note. The people of Judah had been many a year without a King.
They had been in Babylonian captivity and had LOST MUCH, if not
all the teachings of God. Here they were again in Jerusalem and
were being taught the words and ways of the Lord from the
LAW (first 5 books of the Old Testament). They were in a
submissive HUMBLE REPENTANT attitude towards God. They CONFESSED
their SINS, fasted and were willing to DO what the Eternal said
were HIS ways and commands.
An example for ALL those that God calls to salvation.
2 Samuel 11; and 12:1-15
1) Did David commit adultery with another man's wife?
2) What was the result of this affair (verse 5)?
3) Did David try to COVER UP his sin (verses 6-13)? Was he
successful?
4) Did David devise a plan whereby Uriah would be killed?
Did it succeed?
5) What did Nathan the prophet tell David these activities
were (chap. 12:9)?
6) Was David personally held responsible for killing Uriah?
7) When David finally came to his senses and realized the
gravity of what he had done, what did he confess (verse
13)?
Note. Ancient King David is a chief example of one who
EXPERIENCED REAL REPENTANCE for his sins. David's sincere
heartfelt repentant attitude endeared him to God. He is called in
Acts 13:22 a man after God's own heart.
Psalm 51 shows David's utterly broken-up attitude of mind
concerning his sins. Be sure to read the entire Psalm, and as you
do, ask and answer these questions: Did David attempt to justify
these sins or to explain them away? Did he freely confess them?
Did he admit that he was guilty of many sins? Did he thoroughly
abhor his sins? What did he ask God to do for him? Did he cry
out to the Lord to have mercy upon him?
David was one of the few under the Old Covenant to whom God
gave the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit was not yet made
available (John 7:38-39) except in special circumstances to
certain people. David obeyed God and overcame by the power of the
Spirit, even though at times he did stumble and fall. "For a
just (righteous) man falleth seven times, and riseth up
again......" (Prov.24:16).
So David, a man after God's own heart, is soon, at Christ's
coming, to be resurrected and born into the very Family of God,
the Kingdom of God, as a son of the Eternal and as the King over
Israel (Jer.30:9; Ezek.34).
God looks to those who are of a MEEK and CONTRITE spirit -
those who TREMBLE before the word of the Lord. God recognizes a
REPENTANT attitude of mind - a broken spirit, a HUMBLE person who
is seeking for FORGIVENESS and MERCY. He will honor the attitude
of all who are willing to turn from works and deeds which His
word brands as SIN.
True REPENTANCE requires a PERMANENT change of DIRECTION -
from the ways that seem right in man's eyes to the WAYS OF GOD as
revealed in His word.
REAL REPENTANCE is something MUCH DEEPER and vastly more
profound that what is generally being taught today by the
churches and religious preachers.
Godly REPENTANCE leads to ETERNAL LIFE!!
To be continued
......................
First written in 1987. Re-written and revised in 1997.
by Keith Hunt
The Experience Of Real Repentance Part Three Some may say: " Yes I know what the word repent means, I see
to whom I am to repent, I see some of the examples in the Bible
about repentance, but I am not sure HOW to repent. What words do
I use, what should I SAY to the Father in heaven?
Well friends, our Father in heaven even helps us to know
what kind of words to use in coming to Him in humble repentance.
He gives us examples in His word even to guide us in this end -
to know what to say.
PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE
EZRA
" Then were assembled unto me everyone that TREMBLED at the
words of the God of Israel, because of the transgressions of
those, that had been carried away........O my God, I am ASHAMED
and BLUSH to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our INIQUITIES
ARE INCREASED OVER OUR HEAD, and our TRESPASS IS GROWN up into
the heavens.......We have FORSAKEN THY COMMANDMENTS........Should
we again break they commandments, and join in affinity with the
people of these abominations? Would you not be angry with us
till you have consumed us........"(Ezra 9:4-14).
NEHEMIAH
" Let thine ear now be attentive......Both I and my father's
house have sinned. We have DEALT VERY CORRUPTLY against thee,
and have NOT KEPT THE COMMANDMENTS, NOR THE STATUTES, NOR THE
JUDGMENTS, which you commandest your servant Moses........You are
JUST........You have done RIGHT. But we have DONE WICKEDLY.
Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our
fathers, KEPT THY LAW, NOR HEARKENED UNTO YOUR COMMANDMENTS AND
YOUR TESTIMONIES......."(Nehemiah 1:6-7; 9:33-34).
JOB
" I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: BUT NOW MY
EYE SEETH THEE. Wherefore, I ABHOR MYSELF AND REPENT in dust and
ashes "(Job 42:5).
DAVID
" Have MERCY UPON ME, O God.......Bot out my TRANSGRESSIONS.
WASH ME THOROUGHLY FROM MINE INIQUITY AND CLEANS ME FROM MY SIN.
For I ACKNOWLEDGE my TRANSGRESSIONS: and my sin is ever before
me. Against thee......have I sinned......PURGE ME with hyssop,
and I shall be clean......Hide your face from my SINS, and BLOT
OUT ALL MY INIQUITIES. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and
renew a right spirit within me.......Take not thy Holy Spirit
from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation......Then will
I teach transgressors they ways; and sinners shall be converted
unto thee......For thou desirest not sacrifice.......You delight
not in burnt offering. The sacrifice of God are a BROKEN SPIRIT:
a broken and a CONTRITE HEART, O God, you will not despise"(Psalm
51:1-17).
ISAIAH
" .......Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of
UNCLEAN LIPS......For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts.......Our TRANSGRESSIONS ARE MULTIPLIED before thee, and
our SINS testify against us: for our transgressions are with us.
And as for our INIQUITIES, we KNOW THEM......But we are all as AN
UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE AS FILTHY RAGS; and
we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities like the wind have
taken us away"(Isaiah 6:5; 59:12; 64:6).
JEREMIAH
" O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do you
it for your name's sake: for our BACKSLIDINGS ARE MANY. We have
SINNED against you. We ACKNOWLEDGE, O Lord, our WICKEDNESS....
Let us SEARCH AND TRY our ways, and TURN AGAIN to the Lord. Let
us lift up our HEARTS WITH OUR HANDS UNTO GOD in the
heavens"(Jeremiah 14:7, 20; Lamentations 3:40-41).
DANIEL
" We have sinned, and HAVE COMMITTED INIQUITY, and have DONE
WICKEDLY, and have REBELLED, even by DEPARTING from thy PRECEPTS,
and from thy JUDGMENTS: neither have we HEARKENED unto thy
SERVANTS the prophets, which spake in thy name......"(Daniel
9:5,6).
CHRIST EXEMPLIFIES REAL REPENTANCE
PRODIGAL SON
" And when he CAME TO HIMSELF, he said.........I will arise
and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, I HAVE SINNED
AGAINST HEAVEN, AND BEFORE YOU, AND AM NO MORE WORTHY TO BE
CALLED YOUR SON. make me as one of your hired servants. And he
arose, and CAME TO HIS FATHER"(Luke 15:17-20).
PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN
" And He spake this parable unto certain which trusted in
themselves, that they were righteous, and despised others. Two
men went up into the Temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the
other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself: God, I thank you, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I
fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I posses. And
the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his
eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying: God, BE
MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER. I tell you, this man (the publican)
went down to his house JUSTIFIED rather than the other. For
everyone that exalts himself shall be abased; and he that HUMBLES
himself shall be exalted"(Luke 18:9-14).
A FINAL WORD
Some of you think you may be too young or too old to REPENT
and serve the living Eternal God. The prophet Jeremiah thought he
was too young to be called by God, but he was not. If you are a
middle teenager you may not be too young for God to call you to
real repentance. Even if you are still younger than a teenager
God may call you to begin to know Him and His way of life. We
have examples of Samuel and Jeremiah who were called to serve God
while still very young. David walked with God as a young boy
caring for his father's sheep.
What if you are old, maybe very old? Well as the saying
goes: You are never too old to learn. Whether you are 60 or 80
or 90 or 100, if God is calling you to REPENT then it is not too
late to do so!
Some of you have or are serving a prison term for various
crimes. You may think you are not worthy for God to have mercy
upon you. Well, no sinner(and that includes the ones who have
never been in prison or even received a parking ticket) is of
themselves worthy to be a child of the most High. But Jesus came
to die for you no matter what your sins and crimes against
society. You can friend, REPENT and be FORGIVEN, have your sins
WASHED AWAY by the blood of Jesus and start a new life
as a son or daughter of the heavenly Father.
Some of you may have been or still are, prostitutes,
homosexuals, lesbians, drug users, drug dealers, child molesters,
alcoholics, wandering street livers with no hope only despair.
Whatever your situation in life is at the present, YOU CAN REPENT
AND CRY OUT TO THE LORD FOR MERCY AND HELP! You can be forgiven
your sins and begin a new life in the service of the Eternal. It
is never too late.
Determine NOW to come out of the darkness and deception you
have been living in and ENTER God's world of LIGHT and
RIGHTEOUSNESS!
The rewards here and now are fantastic and the eternity to
come is beyond human imagination.
Some of you have been let down by religious organizations
and their leaders. You have seen the corruptions, play acting,
hypocrisy, abuse of power, abuse of monies, you have heard the
lies, experienced the cover-ups, and have come to realize you
were in many ways manipulated and brain washed with a cultic mind
set ruling you. Many of you have been turned off so much from
"religion" that you have left serving the true God and
gone back into the world of Satan, gone back into your former old
man and false un- righteous ways of living that God calls sin and
iniquity. You knew the basic truths of God at one time but now
you have possibly thrown them to one side, cast them away like
some old dirty garment. If this is you, then YOU can REPENT, it
is not too late. God calls you back to SERVE HIM! He calls you
back again to find that personal relationship with Him and not
some organization or some human man.
Maybe you are just the nice guy or gal on the block. Never
done anyone any harm. Would not hurt a fly as they say. No big
sins in your life you might claim. You are a good wife, husband,
father or mother. You work at your job faithfully and honestly.
You help in local charities, and just live a decent moral
lifestyle.
All that is good and commendable, but friend, you HAVE
SINNED ALSO. You have said, thought, or acted at some point/s in
your life CONTRARY to the Holy Law of the Lord God. You have
somewhere at some time BROKEN ONE or MORE of the Ten
Commandments of God. You stand as a sinner in the eyes of the
Lord. You are CONDEMNED TO DIE UNLESS YOU WILL REPENT !
There is no way around it, from the hardened criminal to the
Mr.Nice guy, all of us must REPENT of our sins to obtain mercy
and find the pathway to eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
Repentance is the FIRST STEP on the road to living for all
eternity. REAL REPENTANCE is what all of us must EXPERIENCE if
we are to be saved.
".........Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of
the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled and the
Kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT YOU, and believe the gospel"
(Mark 1:14,15).
...............
First written in 1987. Re-written and revised in 1997.
by Keith Hunt
SAVING FAITH WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS IT IS - Part 1 Jesus, when looking at the time when He would return to this
earth said, ".....when the Son of man comes, shall He find THE
FAITH on the earth" (original Greek, Luke 18:8). Obviously
Christ did not expect the last generation before His return to be
exhibiting THE faith, in any large amount.
But is there not a religious REVIVAL sweeping our nations?
More are attending church today than 10 or 20 years ago. Surely
then, is not FAITH strong? According to Jesus He said THE faith -
the REAL faith of God would not be very evident at the end of
this age.
On another occasion Jesus said: ".....O you of LITTLE
faith....." (Mat.6:30). Then still at another time He said:
".....I have not found so GREAT faith, no not in Israel"
(Mat.8:10). It is possible then to have LITTLE or
GREAT.....FAITH!
To a woman Christ once said, ".....Your FAITH has saved
you....." (Luke 7:50).
A Christian is actually SAVED through FAITH. Paul was
inspired to write, ".....for by grace are you saved through
FAITH....." (Eph.2:8). And again, "But WITHOUT faith IT IS
IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: for he that comes to God MUST BELIEVE
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY
seek Him" (Heb.11:6). And so it is: "The just shall LIVE BY
FAITH" (Heb.10:38).
It takes FAITH to BELIEVE God, to OBEY God and receive His
gift of grace and eternal life.
Today the Lord is calling the "firstfruits" of His great
plan of salvation (James 1:18) in order to prepare them for
positions in His Kingdom. Only a FEW are being granted a
conscious CONVICTING KNOWLEDGE of His TRUTHS and WAYS (1
Cor.1:26). They are the "salt" of the earth sprinkled here and
there that Christ talked about.
In these Bible lessons of the foundation of redemption and
salvation, the way to be saved, God is granting you the knowledge
of His TRUTHS. He is calling YOU to REPENT of SIN, to accept His
Son as your personal savior and to LIVE by FAITH!
But WHAT IS faith? What KIND of faith do we need to please
God?
Before we learn the answer, let's first be sure we know what
faith is NOT.
FAITH is not a "pull yourself up by your own boot straps"
philosophy. This is man's method of self-salvation, and although
such ideas and practices may have some reward in this physical
life on a human level, it is as far as eternity goes, useless in
saving anyone. Such ideas that man can FORGIVE himself of sins
apart from God's grace, and live by his own standards of his
society, to be justified, and live forever, is SELF DECEPTION!
This way of man builds confidence in the SELF not God or Christ.
Wise King Solomon called persons who trust in their OWN heart, a
FOOL (Prov.28:26).
Many confuse faith with EMOTIONS - trying to work up faith,
which is to them an emotional feeling. But true emotional
feelings are not the evidence of SAVING FAITH. Faith is a
SPIRITUAL matter, not physical. To LIVE by FAITH does not mean
that you put on some sentimental feeling that tingles the spine,
act or speak in a certain "religious" manner or follow after some
mental or physical signs. This is not to say God's way is
emotionless. It is written, in the shortest verse in the Bible,
"Jesus wept." He also got righteously ANGRY at times, as when He
cleared the Temple of the money hustlers.
True living faith though is not FOUNDED on human emotions.
It's foundation is from the solid rock of God the Father and
Christ.
FAITH DEFINED BY GOD
Hebrews 11:1-6
1) Is "faith towards God" one of the foundational doctrines
of the Bible?
2) Is it possible to PLEASE God WITHOUT faith?
3) Did the people of God in the past ages LIVE by faith?
Did the Eternal give them a good report for so doing?
4) Do those that have faith seek and look forward to
promises and rewards which are not seen?
5) Does having faith towards God mean we BELIEVE God
EXISTS and He rewards us both in this life and that which
is to come?
6) Is faith coupled with our desire to diligently SEEK God?
Note. Faith is the "substance" - more accurately rendered
ASSURANCE or CONFIDENCE - "of things hoped for." You do not hope
for that which you already have. Faith then comes BEFORE
possession! Before you receive what you hope for, you already
have it in substance - in assurance that you shall possess it.
That assurance is FAITH!
Faith is expressed in absolute recognition that God exists,
but it is not a BLIND faith though. It has proved there is a God
by the physical creation around us (Romans 1:19-20). And that His
word contained in the pages of the Bible is INSPIRED and to be
believed and trusted (2 Tim.3:15-17).
God has given to Christians very real promises, some are for
this earthly life here and now, and some for the life to come.
Unseen as yet, some are. Faith is the assurance we shall possess
them.
Faith is ACQUIRED. You cannot "dream it up" or hypnotize
yourself into receiving true LIVING SAVING faith.
Faith comes by HEARING. Hearing about the promises and ways
of God. And hearing comes from a willingness to read, to study,
to listen, to understand the WILL of God through His WORD
(Rom.10:17; Eph.5:17).
What the Lord has promised He will also perform. It is
IMPOSSIBLE for Him to LIE because He is PERFECT HOLINESS
(Heb.6:18; Mat.5:48). We can have absolute confidence -
POSITIVE FAITH - that God will always do whatever He has
promised.
Faith is assurance that God's word is TRUE! That His
promises are sure and that it is impossible for God to lie! This
assurance, this reliance on God's word - this confidence - is
FAITH!
YOUR FAITH
You have studied in a previous lesson what the word of the
Lord has to say about REPENTANCE, SIN, JUSTIFICATION, and the WAY
of God to the beginning of the road of salvation. You have seen
that ALL have sinned (Rom.3:23). All have incurred the wages of
sin - death (Rom.6:23). That God calls you to REPENTANCE (Acts
17:30). Whatever you NOW DO (keeping God's law completely
perfectly) will NOT erase, blot out, justify you of your past
sins.
You have seen that God the Father sent Jesus Christ to DIE
for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2; John 3:16). That
through Him there is justification - reconciliation to God the
Father and ultimate eternal life (Rom.3:23-28).
You then have HEARD these truths. You have studied God's
word to understand these truths. You have found the promises of
God pertaining to FORGIVENESS and being reconciled to the Father.
YOU NOW MUST EXERCISE FAITH! You must have TRUST, ASSURANCE,
CONFIDENCE that what God has PROMISED He will do. Remember He
cannot lie.
God has said that upon your REPENTANCE and willingness to
CHANGE your life to conform to His WAY, He will apply the very
blood of His Son, the blood He shed on the stake in death, to
YOU! Your sins can be washed away by the blood of Christ.
YOUR PART is to BELIEVE this promise of God. To have FAITH
that the Father will DO as He has said. You must let go of your
doubts or worries. Throw yourself completely on God's love and
mercy. Cry out to Him in HUMBLE repentance. BELIEVE what God
has said, He is there wanting to forgive you, to justify you
through the death of His Son Jesus Christ.
When you have done this, exercised your trust and faith in
this PROMISE of God, then the Father has also PROMISED that you
can have the VERY FAITH that was IN Christ(while He lived on this
earth as flesh and blood). That very same faith the Father has
promised to PUT WITHIN YOU!
JESUS' LIVING FAITH
When Jesus walked the earth in human flesh, He possessed
TREMENDOUS FAITH! Few realize that what He did, His obedience to
God's laws and the miracles He performed, was not done by any
power of His OWN! Everything He did was done through FAITH in
the Father's POWER - the power of the Father IN Him.
John 8:38,42
Did Jesus' family say He came from God the Father?
Matthew 19:16
How did Jesus answer the question, "How can I have eternal
life" ?
Was Jesus talking about the Ten Commandments(verses 18-19) ?
John 15:10
Did Jesus say He could of Himself do nothing?
John 14:10
How did Christ LIVE and DO the works He did?
LIVING BY THE FAITH OF CHRIST
Romans 3:31
Does FAITH render the law of God VOID, unnecessary to
observe?
James 2:20-22
Is faith WITHOUT works, obedience, a DEAD useless faith?
Romans 1:17
Must those who are declared RIGHTEOUS - justified , forgiven
of sins LIVE by faith?
Phil.3:9
By WHOSE faith is a Christian's righteousness, obedience to
God's commands, made possible?
Rev.14:12
WHOSE faith does God's people have today?
Gal.2:20
Did Christ live WITHIN Paul?
By Whose faith did Paul live?
Romans 8:9-10
Does Jesus live within the individual Christian by the Holy
Spirit (see also John 14:16-18)?
Romans 5:5
What does the Holy Spirit impart to us?
1 John 5:3
What is the love of God?
Note. The false teaching being promulgated today is that Jesus
kept God's holy spiritual law in our stead, and that we don't
have to keep it!
But if you ask those people who teach this NO LAW doctrine
if they mean you can go out and MURDER someone, STEAL from the
supermarket, commit ADULTERY with your friend's wife or husband
etc. they will usually stammer around and say, "well, I, I, ....I
didn't say you could do those things."
The fact is that the no law teaching has come about because
of the 4th commandment, what it clearly states, and because most
of professing Christianity does not observe it.
No, Jesus did not live a good life FOR you - in your stead.
You are not excused from keeping God's commandments. You are
expected to obey them, to grow in spiritual grace and knowledge
(2 Pet.3:18), to ENDURE and OVERCOME to the END in order to
inherit eternal life (Mat.19:17; 24:13).
We must be willing to do these things to be saved. Yet we
cannot do them of ourselves - even Jesus could not do them by
Himself alone (John 5:30).
The answer is FAITH! The very faith of Christ IN us. The
same LIVING FAITH - the same POWER of God IN US that Jesus had in
Him.
That same faith of Jesus in us will ESTABLISH the law - will
lead and help us to OBEY God, to do His WILL!
We are "justified" - forgiven our past sins - reconciled to
God the Father - through OUR faith in the sacrifice of Christ
(Rom.3:24-26, 28). But only those who will be willing to go on to
OBEY God's law will He justify (Rom.2:13). There are CONDITIONS
in order to be forgiven of sins. Jesus came to save us FROM our
sins, not IN our sins (Mat.1:21). We must REPENT, BELIEVE and be
WILLING TO OBEY!
The members of God's family have the very "FAITH OF Jesus."
It's not just OUR faith in Him, but HIS faith - the same
spiritual power He had - placed WITHIN us. So He lives His life
over again INSIDE our moral body and mind.
Jesus is said to be the "author" and "finisher" of our faith
(Heb.12:2). A better translation for the words "author" and
"finisher" is PIONEER and PERFECTER. Jesus led the way, setting
us the perfect example of LIVING FAITH (1 Pet.2:21). But Jesus
also PERFECTS His faith IN us!
We have seen Paul said he no longer lived by his OWN faith
(Gal.2:20) but by the very faith of Jesus Christ IN him, through
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God implanted
in Paul's mind the SAME KIND of faith, trust, and obedience, that
can be in YOUR mind. This faith - the very faith of Christ in
you - will enable you to be willing to obey God's commandments,
to serve the law and ways that are pleasing to Him, as it did for
the apostle Paul (Rom.7:12; 22-25).
Christ IN us - His faith in us - will give us the victory
over SIN and death. We will be able to overcome the world, sin,
and Satan. We will be able to endure to the end, and serve God
in humble obedience.
HOW TO RECEIVE THE FAITH OF CHRIST
Eph. 2:8-9
Is this living faith of Christ a GIFT from God?
Gal.5:22
Is this faith an attribute of the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:38
How can we receive the Holy Spirit?
Acts 5:32
To whom will the Holy Spirit be given?
Note. The very faith of Christ comes to us by means of the Holy
Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit BOTH the Father and Jesus can
come to live their lives in us. As Paul said, it is Christ IN US
that is the HOPE of GLORY (Col. 1:27). Read about the WORK of
the Comforter in John chapters 14 and 15. It is by means of the
life of Christ - the Spirit of Christ - HIS faith in us that we
are eventually SAVED (Rom.8:9-11; 5:10) to INHERIT the
Kingdom.
This saving LIFE - faith - is given to us as a gift from
God. You cannot EARN it, work for it, and so demand it as a
right from God. You cannot "work it up" emotionally, or receive
it by any thought of "I can do it on my own steam" philosophy.
God will give it to us as a gift, BUT just as any gift given
to us may carry certain CONDITIONS that we must meet in order to
qualify for the gift, so God has laid down TWO conditions for us
to receive His gift of saving life.
1) REPENTANCE. We studied about the experience of real
repentance in the previous lessons.
2) BAPTISM. We shall study all about water baptism in the
next lesson following part two of this study.
When these two conditions have been met by us, God has
PROMISED to GIVE us His Holy Spirit, the very saving power and
faith of Christ, that will enable us to obey and say with Jesus,
"not my will be done but thine."
FAITH MUST BE ACTIVE
James 2:14-20, 26
1) What must faith have in order to SAVE you?
2) How did James say he would declare his faith to others?
3) Do the demons BELIEVE in certain FACTS? Will mere
factual belief save them?
4) What kind of faith is a DEAD faith?
Note. We have seen that we shall be saved by the life of Christ
in us. The Holy Spirit which emanates from the Father through
Christ Jesus into us, gives us eternal life here and now (1 John
5:11-12). And if His Spirit remains in us to the end (our
physical death or Jesus' return) we shall be made immortal
(Rom.8:11). God's Spirit is a LIVING power. Faith is one of its
attributes. So the faith it will manifest in an individuals life
will be a LIVING FAITH!
James tells us that in order for faith to be living it must
have WORKS.
But what does the Bible mean by WORKS? Some of the EXAMPLES
recorded for us answer that question. James uses the example of
Abraham (verses 21-24 of chapter two). Abraham's life is a good
place to start, for he is known as the "father of the faithful."
To be continued
Written 1989
Saving Faith - Part 2 EXAMPLES OF LIVING FAITH
Abraham
Gen.12:1-7
1) When God called Abraham out of the land he was residing
in, did he ARGUE with God about leaving? Did he, in
FAITH, simply obey God?
2) Did God promise to make of Abraham a GREAT NATION
and bless him abundantly?
3) Did he BELIEVE God (see Gen.15:5-6)?
4) Was the land of Canaan promised to Abraham(see also
Gen.15:7, Acts 7:1-5)?
5) Did he have FAITH in God and His promises (Heb.11:9-10)?
6) Was there certain CONDITIONS Abraham had to meet in order
to inherit these promises (Gen.17:1-8)?
7) Was this promise of eternal inheritance of the land of
Canaan to expand and ultimately include the whole earth
(Rom.4:13; Mat.5:5; Rev.5:8-10)?
Note. In making His original promise to Abraham, God
conditioned it upon OBEDIENCE. The marginal reading for the word
"perfect" in Gen.17:1 is "upright" or sincere.
Jesus told his followers that they should strive to be
perfect(or mature) just as God in heaven was perfect or mature
(Mat.5:48).
Abraham met those conditions - he OBEYED God - Gen.26:5.
Abraham had faith in what God promised and he demonstrated that
faith - he performed that faith as James tells us (James 2:22) by
his WORKS - his OBEDIENCE to the Eternal's commands.
Abraham BELIEVED God, so God could JUSTIFY him, forgive him
of his past sins - declare him to be righteous, because the KIND
of belief or FAITH Abraham had led him to OBEY God (James
2:23-24; Rom.2:31).
The works that Abraham had were the works of OBEDIENCE to
the laws and commands of God.
Ge.17:15-19
1) Did God promise Abraham a SON through whom his family
would grow great?
2) How old were Abraham and Sarah at the time?
3) Did Abraham and Sarah TRUST God in FAITH, that what He
said He was able to perform (See Rom.4:18-21;
Heb.11:11-12)?
4) Did God fulfil His promise to Abraham (Gen.21:5-7)?
Note. The promise of God to make Abraham into a great nation,
was given when God called him out of Haran into Canaan
(Gen.12:1-4). Abraham was 75 years old at the time. He had to
wait patiently for 25 years for the son through whom his family
would grow as numerous as the sand on the sea shore. During those
25 years Abraham demonstrated faith in his obedience to His will,
though at times he did sin, for he was not perfect as God is
perfect.
Gen.22:1-19
1) Did God tell Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac?
2) Did he argue or rebel against the Lord, or did he obey
willingly?
3) Was Abraham ready to slay his son?
4) Did he have complete faith in God, that if necessary the
Lord would resurrect Isaac (See Heb.11:17-19)?
5) Did God stop Abraham from slaying his son?
6) Why did the Eternal test Abraham this way?
7) Because of Abraham's unquestioning obedience, did God
make His promises to him UNconditional (verses 15-18)?
Note. Abraham did not hesitate to obey God - he did not argue
with God, or try to reason around the command of the Lord.
Abraham simply OBEYED. He knew - he trusted God, had FAITH in God
that if Isaac was to be sacrificed, the Lord could raise him up
or give him another son to fulfil His promises.
Abraham was FULLY PERSUADED that whatsoever God had
promised, He was able to PERFORM.
Abraham's FAITH, trust in God, was COUPLED with WORKS - the
works of OBEDIENCE!
God had tested Abraham's willingness to obey in and through
FAITH. After he had been put to the test and found faithful,
God's promise then became UNCONDITIONAL (verses 15-18).
Abraham did faithfully obey God's commandments (Gen.26:5).
He is one of the great examples of LIVING FAITH.
I found this in religious magazine: "A noted Bible teacher
once explained the reason so many Christians get a let-down after
a great spiritual experience. ' They get their eyes on the gift,
and take them off the giver ' he said. ' This is the meaning of
the dramatic story of God asking Abraham to offer up his only
son, Isaac. God wanted to see whether Abraham loved the Giver,
God, more that the gift, Isaac. When He saw that Abraham's love
for the Giver was greater than his love for the gift, God allowed
Abraham to keep the gift as well.' "
NOAH'S FAITH
Gen.6:1-22
1) Was the world in Noah's day full of wickedness, evil and
corruption?
2) What did God say He would do?
3) How would God destroy mankind?
4) Who found grace - favor- with God?
5) Why did Noah find mercy with God?
6) What did the Lord instruct - command - Noah to do?
7) Did Noah OBEY God?
Note. In the days of Noah the whole earth had become corrupt
before God. Only Noah and his immediate family were worthy of
God's grace or mercy. Noah walked with God. He was told by the
Lord to build a ship that would serve him and his family from the
watery destruction that would come to destroy all life from off
the earth.
Noah BELIEVED God - he had FAITH in what the Lord said. He
willingly OBEYED the command. His trust and faith in God was
demonstrated by his works - his OBEDIENCE!
There was no physical evidence that a flood would come upon
the earth. It would be 120 years before it would come (Gen,6:3),
but, "Prompted by faith Noah.....took heed and diligently and
reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of
his own family....." (Amplified Bible, Heb.11:7).
Noah's LIVING, active faith, was rewarded. He and his family
were saved from destruction and death.
SHADRACH, MESHACH AND ABEDNEGO
Daniel 3:1-28
1) Did Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, build a great image
of gold?
2) Did he command all the people to bow down and worship
this idol at certain times?
3) What was to happen to those who would not obey the king's
order?
4) Is one of the commands of God against the bowing down to
idols(See Ex.20:4)?
5) Did the three Hebrew men obey the king's order or the
command of God?
6) What did the king of Babylon then do?
7) How did the three men answer the king?
8) What happened to them for staying faithful to God's
commandments?
9) What did the king see as he looked into the fiery
furnace?
10)Did God help, protect, and deliver, those three men?
11)What did the king say about Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego?
Note. This example of LIVING faith is one of the most thrilling
in the entire Bible.
King Nebuchadnezzar was probably the most powerful king on
the earth at the time. His very word or nod of the head meant
life or death! He built this image for all to worship. This was
in direct conflict to God's command that no idol was to be bowed
down to and worshipped.
What would YOU have done had you been there at this time?
Would you have said: "Well, I have to bow down to this image or
I'll be killed." Maybe you could have reasoned around it this
way: "God tells us to be subject to the powers of the state
government doesn't He? Then if I am killed for not obeying the
king, what will my wife and children do without me, or my close
relatives. Better to be a live coward than a dead hero."
It can be easy to excuse ourselves from having to OBEY God
if we are looking for an excuse.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, knew that where there was a
conflict between the laws of man and the commands of God, the
Lord should be obeyed (Acts 5:29). They knew that through FAITH
God makes it possible to obey Him!
These courageous men were adamant in their display of faith.
They firmly BELIEVED God was able to save them. They knew God
COULD save them if He so chose, yet IF God did not choose to
save them from literal death, they still would obey the Eternal
first, before breaking His commandment.
They had their eyes on the KINGDOM, on Eternal life, not
just this present physical life. They were not afraid of what
man could do to their physical bodies, but had that right kind of
reverend fear, of what God could do to their eternal life
(Mat.10:28).
These men refused to break God's commandment against
idolatry, even if it meant their death. They trusted - had faith
- in God for their ultimate salvation. Their faith was
manifested in works - OBEDIENCE to the laws of God.
God made these men face this trial and test. They were
brought to the door - still willing to die than disobey God -
they were cast in. God allowed them to be tested to the
very end - all the way. They were faithful to the end.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, had real LIVING FAITH - the
kind of faith that SAVES.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF FAITH
Paul in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews - commonly called
the FAITH chapter - enumerates MANY examples of faith. Such as
JACOB who in faith blessed the sons of Joseph and said they would
become a NATION and a MULTITUDE/COMPANY(or fullness) of NATIONS.
And that Joseph's descendants would be in the latter days like
a fruitful vine by a well, whose branches would spread abroad -
they would possess the riches of the earth (see Gen.35;
48:22-26). This was a LAST DAYS prophecy (Gen.49:1).
There can be no doubt today that Jacob's faith - his trust in
God's promises - has been rewarded. These prophecies are
fulfilled in the peoples of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic race,
who have inherited the wealth of the earth and have spread abroad
around the world. Joseph has truly become a company of nations
and a great nation. Jacob knew that what God had promised, HE was
able to PERFORM.
There is recorded the faith it took to bring down the WALLS
of the great city of Jericho (Joshua 6). In this account notice
that God told them to DO SOMETHING - walk around the city for
seven days, on the seventh day they were to walk only when told.
There was to be OBEDIENCE to God's commands - the people did obey
- the walls of Jericho fell! Faith and obedience produced the
right results.
David had faith that God would deliver him from the huge
mountain of a man called Goliath. David had FAITH in God (1
Sam.17:37) for deliverance, but he also had WORKS - he had
practiced for months, years, with his SLING SHOT - he was an
expert marksman. David did not have BLIND faith - he took FIVE
stones from the brook (verse 40) just incase he missed with the
first. He was humble enough to realize he could miss.
Interestingly, the number five is used by God in the Bible as the
number for GRACE. David had trust - faith in God, humility and
WORKS. He loved the law of God and throughout his life had the
attitude of wanting to OBEY and do the will of the Lord. He
was always ready to confess his sins and repent of them. He
wanted God to even reveal to him his secret faults and sins. All
this can be found in the many Psalms David wrote which are part
of the Bible for us to read, study and meditate upon.
Daniel was another man full of the LIVING faith of God. A
plot was undertaken to destroy Daniel. He was to be accused of
breaking the law of the land, because he would not stop praying
to the true God (Dan.6:1-13). The penalty for such violation of
this law of man was carried out - he was cast into the lion's den
(verses 14-17). Daniel was, if it was the will of God, prepared
to DIE for his faith - his way of life with the Eternal. He had
faith that no matter what the outcome, life or death in the
physical, he was God's. He looked beyond this life to the next
life and the resurrection, to eternity. His faith lead to works
of obedience. He believed God could deliver him from the lions.
God did choose to send His angel to deliver him from death.
It does take faith to obey the laws and commandments of God,
even in the face of death.
On and on we could go, with example after example, of the
people of God who are recorded in the Bible, that exhibited by
their life and deeds they had LIVING FAITH. There's the examples
of GIDEON, BARAK, SAMSON, RAHAB, MOSES, SAMUEL, RUTH, ESTHER and
many more. Read their life stories, and as you do note their
faith, their LIVING faith.
We are indeed saved by GRACE through FAITH and not of our
works(Eph.2:8). All our good works from the beginning of our
life to the end, cannot pay for one single sin. All the good
works a murderer can do in his life cannot take away the penalty
of death for the one murder he committed. He is still on death
row for that sin. Only grace from the judge of the land, only
pardon from the authorities can release him from the death
sentence that hangs over his head for his sin. Yet when that
grace is shown to him, he cannot go out and murder again. The law
against murder has not be made void because grace and mercy has
been shown to the guilty murderer. The law is still in effect.
Grace, pardon, mercy, may be shown to the murderer upon the
CONDITION he deeply repents of his sin, and promises to abide by
the law from that time forward. He is not saved from death by
works, by any good deeds, but the grace shown to him, and he
having faith in that grace, will and must lead him to LIVING
OBEDIENCE within the law.
We are not saved by our works, but being saved by grace will
lead us to LIVING obedience to the law and will of God. That
living obedience takes faith. It is the faith of Jesus IN us that
we live by as Paul said in Gal.2:20. The life he lived was by
the faith OF Jesus who lived in him. Actually Jesus promised
that BOTH the Father and He would come and live WITHIN the true
child of God (John 14:23). They are ALIVE, they live! So the
faith that is in us, is THEIR faith in us, because they live in
us, and so it is a LIVING FAITH.
They live within us by and through the means of the Holy
Spirit, which is their NATURE (2 Peter 1:3,4). One of the fruits
of the Holy Spirit is FAITH (Gal.5:22). Another basic attribute
of the Holy Spirit is that it is the LOVE of God (Rom.5:5). And
the love of God is that we will KEEP, OBEY His commandments - 1
John 5:3.
So it all fits together like a perfect picture in a jig-saw
puzzle, when all the parts are collected and put together we have
a perfect whole.
Many are not able to put all the parts together, they are
confused over many scriptures that seem to contradict each other,
as to the truth of the matter about being SAVED BY GRACE. I have
an in-depth article on the subject of being saved by grace
through faith, and it will make the truth plain, so you will
understand about grace and living obedient faith as never before.
Please request it. I can send it to you either E-mail, or Regular
mail. It is free.
The land of Canaan - the promised land - the land of REST -
was a TYPE of the ETERNAL LAND OF REST that God offers to all
people who will REPENT. Who will look to God in FAITH for
FORGIVENESS of SIN, through the shed blood of JESUS. Who will
be BAPTIZED as an outward expression of that repentance and
faith, and who will then live by the faith OF Christ - the same
faith He had - given to them by the indwelling of the very Spirit
and Nature of God.
Such persons will have a LIVING - SAVING FAITH - a faith
that BELIEVES all the promises of God, that He is able and will
perform all He has promised, a faith that leads to a humble life
of OBEDIENCE to God's will and commandments.
That is the faith OF Christ in us. A faith that will ensure
all those who have it, ETERNAL LIFE in the very family and
Kingdom of God.
Our next study will be ALL ABOUT BAPTISM. We shall find
truth, inspiration, and also a few surprises along the way.
.......................
First written in 1989. Re-written and revised in 1997.
ALL ABOUT WATER BAPTISM
(Section One, Part A)HOW SHOULD IT BE DONE, BY SPRINKLING, POURING, SPLASHING? WHEN
SHOULD IT BE DONE AND BY WHOM? WHERE SHOULD IT BE DONE? IS WATER
BAPTISM NECESSARY FOR SALVATION? THESE AND OTHER QUESTIONS WILL
BE ANSWERED AS WE LOOK AT THIS IMPORTANT DOCTRINE OF THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
by
Keith Hunt
Did you know that baptism is not just a New Testament(NT)
doctrine? On one very specific and special occasion, thousands,
if not a few million, were baptized, so says your NT (see 1
Cor.10:1-2). Israel was the "church in the wilderness" - the Old
Testament(OT) church of God (Acts 7:38). It is written:
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how
that our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the
sea. And were all BAPTIZED unto Moses in the cloud and in the
sea."
IS BAPTISM NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?
We are saved by Christ's LIFE - His Spirit in us (Rom.5:10;
8:9,11). How do we RECEIVE that Spirit of life? God inspired
Peter to tell us: ".....REPENT and be BAPTIZED.....and you shall
RECEIVE the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).
God is a God of principle and order. He lays down the rules.
He is the one in charge of things and not ourselves. He says His
thoughts and ways are not our thoughts and ways (Isa.55:8,9). He
does require us to perform TWO basic things to be saved -
1) REPENT 2) BE BAPTIZED. Then He says He will give us the
Spirit of LIFE that saves.
John the Baptist knew Christ had no need to be baptized. But
what did Jesus say? He said this: ".....Suffer it to be so now;
for thus it becomes us to fulfil ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Mat.3:15).
You may ask: What is righteousness? The Bible answers:
".....ALL thy COMMANDMENTS are RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Psalm 119:172).
Being BAPTIZED is RIGHTEOUSNESS! It is a COMMANDMENT of
God. Peter was inspired by God on that day of Pentecost to TELL
people WHAT TO DO when they asked him what they should do.
Christ also set us an EXAMPLE that we should do as He did
(1 Peter 2:21).
Further, to the importance of this ordinance, we have more
words from Peter. "Christ also has once suffered for sins, the
just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God; being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened(made alive) by the
Spirit......the LIKE FIGURE whereunto even BAPTISM does also NOW
SAVE US.......by the RESURRECTION of Christ" (1 Peter 3:18-21).
Baptism is a command of God. It is part of His
righteousness. Christ will not save anyone that He cannot rule
over! "But those mine enemies, which would not that I should
reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me" (Luke
19:27).
Christ only gives His SAVING Spirit to those who will OBEY
Him (Acts 5:32).
Baptism then IS NECESSARY for salvation or to be saved. Not
that the act itself saves you, for no literal physical work can
save you, (as you are saved by grace through faith and not by
works - Eph.2:8-10), but REBELLING at the will and wish and
command of God earns for you DEATH (Rom.6:23). A heart and
attitude of WILLFUL "no I will not do it God" puts you out of His
grace and into willful sin, which if not repented of will
eventually lead to the second death in the lake of fire.
The question is then asked: What about the person who DIES
or is KILLED in an accident etc. BEFORE he/she can be baptized.
Are they then NOT saved?
God looks upon the HEART, the attitude of mind. If an
individual has be called of God, chosen by God, and is truly
REPENTANT - understands what God basically requires of him, and
WANTS to conform to the will and commands of God, wants to be
BAPTIZED and REQUESTS(possibly they may even die before doing the
literal requesting, but they do so intend to do) to be baptized,
but before they are ACTUALLY baptized they die, God(who is the
one in charge of all things, and has permitted the person to die)
WILL NOT HOLD HIM GUILTY!
The HEART and MIND of the individual concerned was RIGHT!
They will be saved! BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, if an individual
KNOWS what is the will of his Master - the Eternal God - and
STUBBORNLY REFUSES to do His will, then that is REBELLION; that
is SIN. For to him who knows to do good and does it not, to him
it is sin (James 4:17). God will never save such a willful
rebellious "snub your nose at God" sinner (Heb.10:26-31).
BAPTISM - SPRINKLING, POURING, SPLASHING?
What does the word "baptism" mean? Here is what Strong's
Concordance of the Bible has to say: " 'Baptizo' from 'bapto' - a
prim verb; to whelm - i.e., cover wholly with a fluid."
Please take the time to look up this Greek word in other
Greek Lexicons and Dictionaries.
Now, does a few "sprinklings" or "dabbings" with water COVER
WHOLLY?
Let us look at the examples of the NT and see if we can find
HOW people were baptized.
"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway OUT OF
the water......" (Mat.3:16).
"John did baptize......and there went out unto him all the
land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of
him IN the river Jordan......." (Mark 1:4,5).
"And John also was baptizing in Aenon, near Salim, because
there was MUCH WATER there......" (John 3:23).
"And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went
DOWN both INTO THE WATER, both Philip and the eunuch, and he
baptized him" (Acts 8:38).
There is not one verse in the Bible that uses the words
"sprinkling, pouring, splashing, dabbing" in connection with
being baptized. But we do find phrases like "went up.....out of
the water" "baptized....in the river" "much water there" "went
down into the water."
For a full in-depth technical study on this Greek word for
baptism, I refer you to the SECOND section of this study.
If baptism could be done merely by "splashing" a few drops
of water over someone, you would not need "much water" and you
would not need a river. The person doing the baptism in the
river would not have to go "down into the river" nor would the
one BEING baptized. A cup or less of water from someone's house,
or well, or even the river, would do. But we CANNOT find any
example, or indication, in God's word that baptism was done with
only a few drops of water.
The word "baptism" means to COVER WHOLLY. The examples in
Scripture show us that people were fully IMMERSED in water when
baptized.
The THIRD section of this study will show you that for a
number of CENTURIES after the start of the NT church of God, even
the popular "Christianity" that became known as the Roman
Catholic Church BAPTIZED by COMPLETE IMMERSION in water, AND ONLY
MUCH LATER adopted their present practice of baptizing with a few
drops of water.
WHAT BAPTISM SYMBOLIZES
Paul wrote in Col.2:12, "BURIED with Him in baptism, wherein
also you are RISEN with Him through the faith of the operation of
God, who has raised Him from the dead."
Again Paul states: "Know you not, that so many of us that
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His
death......" (going down under the water is symbolic of our dying
as Christ died. He died for our sins - the transgression of the
law of God, see 1 John 3:4; Rom.7:7. We are saying that by going
under the waters that we will die to sin, that sin will no longer
rule us, and that we accept the death of Christ as our
reconciliatory sacrifice with God, see Rom.5:10; 6:12,14)
"Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism into death....."
(Rom.6:4).
Yes, if we DID NOT come up out of the water we would drown -
DIE! Baptism is AS IF we died - because in actual death we would
be free from sin. We would not be able to sin. So our sins -
past sins - sins committed up to the point of going under the
water - are cleansed away, FORGIVEN. The slate is clean!
Nothing now stops us from entering God's presence (Isa.59:8-9).
And it is Christ's DEATH, His shed blood, that gives us
JUSTIFICATION (Rom.5:9).
But Paul does not STOP with Christ's death, and our going
under the water to show we accept His sacrifice. He goes on to
say, "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....."
(Coming up out of the watery grave symbolizes our acceptance that
we will live a new life, where sin no longer reigns but where
righteousness is our desire. Just as Christ was raised from the
dead and is now completely free from even the temptation to sin,
remember He did no sin, but was tempted as we are, see Heb.4:15.
So our goal and desire is to live a sinless life) ".....for if
we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we
shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve
sin......" (We are not to serve, obey the dictates of sin, the
breaking of the law of God) ".....Likewise reckon you also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God......Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body......but
yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the
dead......" (Rom.6:1-13).
Romans chapter six is one of the main sections of the
Scriptures that give us the MEANING of WATER BAPTISM. I
recommend you read this chapter in some of the modern
translations such as the Amplified Bible, Phillips, Living Bible,
and others.
WHEN SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED?
As baptism is the recognizing of sin - that we have broken
God's law - that we are guilty before God - that we have incurred
the death penalty (Rom.3:23; 6:23) and only Christ's death - His
shed blood - can reconcile, justify us to God (Rom.3:19-25). As
baptism is also declaring to God that you intend to put away sin
- to change your life from a life of going the opposite to God's
law - to a life of serving the Eternal in righteousness, which is
the keeping of the law (Rom.6:11-13; Ps.119:172). As baptism
means ALL OF THIS, it should be plain to see that baptism is NOT
FOR SMALL CHILDREN OR INFANTS.
Baptism is for people who KNOW exactly what it MEANS. Who
can accept Christ as their PERSONAL Savior; who have COUNTED THE
COST (Mat.10:37-38; 19:16-27; 7:21-27; 13-14; 6:24; 5:17-20;
18:3-4; Mark 4:14-20; 10:28-30; Luke 6:46-49; 14:25-35).
God gives us no SPECIFIC AGE as to when baptism should be
performed. There is NO scripture that says: You must not baptize
anyone until age.....such and such. The examples we have in the
NT are of ADULTS being baptized. It must be remembered that
in Jewish culture you were an adult at the age of 12 years.
Jesus at 12 was in the Temple doing "His Father's business" (as
He told His mother Mary) when His mother came looking for Him, as
He had not followed them to their home after observing the feast
of the Passover (Luke 2).
Jesus never sinned, so it is written. What He did on this
occasion was not dis- honoring His physical parents. He was
regarded in their culture to be an adult, as He was now 12 years
old. To us this may seem very strange and may seem to be still
very young, yet in a religious home as Jesus would have been
raised, the amount of maturity for a twelve year old would have
been considerably more than most average twelve year old
youngsters in our Western cultures. Most marriages took place in
Jewish societies during the middle teenage years. It was counted
a family shame if a daughter was not married by the age of
eighteen.
So under certain situations it is quite possible that a
teenager could be CALLED and CHOSEN by the Lord to His Spiritual
family and Kingdom. Jeremiah was but a child (Jer.1:6-7) when
called by God. The phrase is understood by some chronologists as
Jeremiah being in his teens when called.
In our Western Nations the average person does not reach
maturity of mind until in their late teens or early 20's as a
general rule of thumb, BUT like many other things there are
exceptions to the rule. Each must be taken on an individual
basis. Between Spirit filled parents(or parent if only one is
baptized) and the Elders of the church, knowing the youth,
studying the counting of the cost with the youth, praying and
even fasting about the situation, the Spirit of the Lord will
lead to ascertaining if this person is ready for baptism or not.
After a person is brought by God to REPENTANCE (see 2
Tim.2:25; Acts 11:18), how long should they wait BEFORE they are
baptized? The Ethiopian eunuch was brought to repentance and
belief in Christ as personal Savior with one sermon(of course
he was already a reader and observer of the word of God as best
he understood, as the context makes clear) by Philip. And Philip
baptized him IMMEDIATELY (Acts 8:26-39).
Peter said: "....Repent, and be (then after be)
baptized...." (Acts 2:38). Baptism should take place in the life
of a mature adult, as soon as REAL REPENTANCE is clearly
discernable by those who are going to perform the ceremony or are
responsible for having others perform it (Paul he stated did not
baptize very many but others baptized those God called through
his teaching and preaching - see 1 Cor.1:14-17).
The reader may want to request my in-depth study article on
the subject of REAL REPENTANCE. It can be sent either via E-mail
or regular Post Office mail.
WHY SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED?
Peter was inspired to say on the Day of Pentecost (the day
that God poured out His Holy Spirit on the NT church - Acts
2:1-4), "......Repent and be baptized every one of you......and
YOU shall receive the GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT" (Acts 2:38).
God is a God of ORDER. He is not a God of CONFUSION (1
Cor.14:33). He told the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) DO
THIS, and I will DO THIS for YOU! Obey Him and He told them He
would BLESS them! If they DISOBEYED then they would NOT be
blessed, but would have CURSES! (Deut.28:1-68).
God tells us through Peter - REPENT and be BAPTIZED, and
THEN I will give you the Holy Spirit. THAT'S THE ORDER friends.
I did not write it. It's been in your Bible for nearly 2,000
years. Those are the TWO basic and general CONDITIONS that God
lays down to receive His GIFT. It is a one, two, three, general
process. God does not leave it up to us to decide how we shall
receive His Spirit. He PLAINLY TELLS us HOW! All we can do is
either obey or not obey. But He even tells us that He gives His
Spirit ONLY to those who have the heart and mind attitude of
OBEYING Him (Acts 5:32).
Why do we need God's Spirit? Paul answers: ".....Now if any
man HAS NOT the Spirit of Christ, he is NONE OF HIS.......If the
Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead DWELL IN YOU, He
that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN(make
alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit that DWELLS IN YOU"
(Rom.8:9-11).
Unless we have God's Spirit IN us we CANNOT be saved, for we
are saved by His LIFE (Rom.5:10).
God's Spirit is Christ IN US (living His life again within
us - His mind in us - Phil.2:5; Gal.2:20). It is the POWER of
God to enable us to do His will (Acts 1:8). It is God's LOVE
flowing from Himself and Christ into us. It enables us to keep
His commandments (Rom.5:5; 1 John 5:3). God's Spirit LEADS to
TRUTH (John 16:13).
WE NEED TO BE BAPTIZED IN ORDER TO RECEIVE GOD'S SPIRIT, AND
SO BE SAVED (see also Acts 19:1-6).
A GOOD QUESTION
Someone is bound to say: But what about Cornelius and the
Gentiles; did they not receive God's Spirit BEFORE being
baptized?
Yes, they did! But let's read the whole context and
understand the circumstances. It will become plain to see that
God was telling Peter and the Jews that the Holy Spirit
was now available to EVERYONE - Jew and Gentile! Remember, the
way of God, His covenants, promises, were ONLY given to Israel
under the OT (Rom.9:4). A Gentile could become (under the old
covenant law) an Israelite by being circumcised, adopting
the religion of Israel and living among the nation of Israel.
The Gentile nations as a whole, were NOT GIVEN God's truth or
ways or His Spirit(Eph.2:11-12), even in Israel, it was only the
few that were given God's Spirit (see Num.11).
God was here, showing the Jews and the NT church that His
Spirit and Gospel was NOW to go to all the world (Acts 11:1-18;
Luke 24:46-47). He told them this by sending down His Spirit on
those Gentiles in a somewhat similar manner as when He poured it
out upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost.
This was a SPECIAL TIME in history. It was a FIRST! It had
to be SHOWN in a SPECIAL WAY. Or shall I say, God chose to show
it in a special way. God wanted Peter and the other Jews to
CLEARLY UNDERSTAND God's PLAN and purpose!
Notice! After the Lord poured His Holy Spirit on those
Gentiles, Peter STILL said they should be BAPTIZED! (verses
47-48).
If God did, for a SPECIAL reason, (or for no special reason
but that He is God and can make exceptions to the norm if He
chooses), give His Spirit to an individual PRIOR to baptism -
that individual would STILL be commanded to be BAPTIZED. That is
the CLEAR teaching in this example. If he refused, it would be
proof that he really never did have God's Spirit in the first
place, but some other spirit from another spiritual power, that
is in REBELLION to the will and ways of the true Almighty God.
For as we have before proved, those with the Spirit of God will
OBEY that God, just as Jesus did, who was baptized when He had no
need to be baptized, but He would as He said, fulfil all
righteousness.
God's OVERALL teaching is - 99.9% of the time - a ONE, TWO,
THREE step! REPENT, BE BAPTIZED, THEN receive the Holy Spirit!
Now, there is also a difference between God's Spirit LEADING
a person and God's Spirit being IN a person. Everyone whom the
Lord calls to repentance and His truth is being LED by the Spirit
(1 Cor.2:11,14; 2 Tim.2:25). But AFTER baptism God's Spirit is
IN (UNITED WITH, AS AN EGG AND SPERM BECOME UNITED IN HUMAN
REPRODUCTION) THAT PERSON (Rom.8:11). The person is BEGOTTEN
again (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3) by the resurrection and LIFE of
Christ.
This is, as I have stated, the OVERALL way of the Lord, BUT
as He is God, He can make EXCEPTIONS to the rule of things, or
the norm. But in this we must be careful that we do not make the
exception the rule, or the rule will become the exception, and
we will have turned black into white, and put the cart before the
horse.
We need to be baptized in order to receive the Spirit of God
that is the LIFE of God, that IN us will give us the gift of
Eternal life in the Kingdom and family of our heavenly Father.
BY WHOM SHOULD WE BE BAPTIZED?
Jesus Christ did not baptize one single soul!! "The Lord
knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized
more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself baptized NOT, but
His disciples)" (John 4:1-2).
Paul only baptized a relatively few!! ".....for Christ sent
me NOT TO BAPTIZE, but to preach the Gospel" (1 Cor.1:17).
When Christ's disciples were baptizing they were doing it by
His authority. They were His agents, acting on His behalf. They
were students of Christ - His followers - His servants. It was
yes, a different situation then, than now, for at that time the
Holy Spirit had not come to fill them. They were technically
unconverted in one sense of the word (Luke 22:31-32; John
16:7-13; Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4). Yet they were in heart and attitude
committed to the Lord(all except Judas who betrayed Him).
The IMPORTANT thing for us to see from all this is that the
person DOING the baptizing represents God to the very best of
their knowledge and understanding at the time. That they DO IT in
the name of or by the authority of, Jesus Christ. That they, and
the one being baptized, realize it is really Jesus doing the
baptizing but through a human person. And of course that the one
baptizing does it in the basic CORRECT way, as we have seen, by
complete IMMERSION in water.
The BAPTISM itself is the MAIN issue and not so much as to
which sincere Spirit filled(coming now to the present, after the
day of Pentecost of Acts 2) person actually performs the rite on
the one desiring to be baptized.
This then should answer a lot of questions such as: It the
person who baptized me should loose their faith, is my baptism
valid?
Quite frankly no human can know what another human may do 5,
10, 20 etc. years from now. God only knows such things. Your
repentance, conversion, and baptism is NOT dependant on any human
individual. It only is dependant on the Eternal, and we need to
be ever thankful that that is the truth of the matter. The
person doing the baptism is not to be looked at in some special
way as being tied to your person relationship with God in heaven.
It is God and Christ that you need ALWAYS to look at from the
beginning to the end, and that will then include your baptism.
The age of the person doing the baptizing, their height,
their physical looks, their color of hair, the color of their
skin, and whatever else about them is physical, is NOT
important. What IS important is REPENTANCE in the heart of the
one being baptized, and that they are being baptized as an
outward sign to God that they are willing to die to sin and live
to righteousness, as they accept the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.
IN WHOSE NAME IS BAPTISM DONE?
Should you be baptized in God the Father's name only? Or
should it only be in Christ's name? Maybe some would argue it
should be in only the Holy Spirit's name (although I've never met
any such persons). Or should baptism be performed with a
combination of the above three names?
Some of the scriptures on this are:
".....Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ......" (Acts 2:38).
"......And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of
the Lord" (Acts 10:48).
"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5).
There are to be sure a number of such scriptures as the
above in the NT.
Then there is: "Go you therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit" (Mat.28:19).
Those words were spoken by Jesus, personally. The debate
and arguing in the churches of God over the years concerning this
question of "in whose name" has been long and vociferous at
times. Some want to pit one set of scriptures against others.
Some want to say Matthew 28:19 was not in the original Greek.
Still others want to take the majority of verses, so Matthew
28:19 is relegated to the trash pile.
I have found the harmonizing of all the verses not really
that difficult. It is quite simple to retain them all and come
up with a basic baptism formula that covers all the bases. Here
is what I will say(after I have possibly said other things) to
the person being baptized, if I'm officiating the ceremony.
"As you have confessed that you repent of your sins. As you
have confessed that you have accepted Christ as your personal
Savior, confessed that His shed blood cleanses you of sin. As
you have confessed that you desire to die to sin and live to
righteousness, to follow in the steps of Jesus, I now baptize you
in the name of, which is by the authority of, Jesus Christ, into
the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
THE LAYING ON OF HANDS
After the disciples were scattered abroad, Philip went down
to Samaria and preached Christ unto them. Many indeed BELIEVED
and were baptized (Acts 8:4-12). Yet when Peter and John came
from Jerusalem to them, they discovered that the Holy Spirit had
not come upon any of them. Notice what is written in verses
15-17.
"Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they
might receive the Holy Spirit (for as yet he was fallen upon none
of them: only they were baptized in name of the Lord Jesus).
Then LAID THEY THEIR HANDS UPON THEM; and they received the Holy
Spirit."
Here we have people being baptized, correctly I might add,
for not one word is said about it not being performed incorrectly
up to a certain point. Then we are told that when Peter and John
prayed and laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came into them.
Another example is found in Acts 19:1-6.
".....Paul.....finding certain disciples, said unto them:
Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed? And they
said unto him: We have not so much as heard whether there be any
Holy Spirit. And he said to them: Unto what then were you
baptized? And they said: Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul:
John truly baptized with the baptism unto 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. And when Paul HAD
LAID HIS HANDS UPON THEM, the Holy Spirit came on them......."
I see no other reason than that these examples as given to
us so that we might know that a very important part of the
baptism ceremony and rite, is that after those being put under
the water have come up from the grave(in type), prayers and the
laying on of the hands of those who have gone before and in whom
dwells the Spirit, is also to be performed, for the receiving of
the Holy Spirit.
WHERE SHOULD A PERSON BE BAPTIZED?
Baptism is the complete cover of the person being baptized
by water. This is the important thing; not WHERE it takes place!
The COLOR of the water is not important. The TEMPERATURE of
the water is not important(unless it must be a certain
temperature for health reasons). It does not matter to God if a
person is baptized in the sea, in a lake, in a swimming pool, in
a deep bathtub, or in a 50 gallon drum, as long as they are
completely immersed in the water for a few seconds.
The PLACE and the CONTAINER of water is unimportant to God.
ARE SOME BAPTISMS VALID BEFORE COMING
INTO THE SABBATH KEEPING CHURCHES OF GOD?
This can be a large topic, covering many points, and it is
not the purpose of this article to go into detail answering all
the ramifications that could be argued. I think we
can condense the answer to a few sentences.
God is the one who calls a person to Himself and to His
truths. He is looking for a heart attitude in the main. A heart
attitude of humility and repentance, one that says I want to do
all your will Lord. I want to be led by your Spirit, I want to
obey your commandments, I desire to put away sin, and to live and
follow after righteousness. I desire to grow in grace and
knowledge, to be taught and to be corrected.
This is what God is looking for. Then He will lead and teach
and correct error AS HE SEES FIT AND WHEN HE SEES FIT. There is
no one who can claim 100% knowledge and truth of God's WAY and
PERFECTNESS upon their baptism(outside of course Jesus Christ
when He was human). No one! We must all GROW in spiritual
knowledge as we are led by the Spirit into all truth.
Can God call someone say in the Sunday observing churches,
who sincerely believes Sunday is the 7th day, or is the NT
Sabbath, and observes it accordingly, thinking they are obeying
the 4th commandment. Can God call them, see their attitude
of mind is correct, given them His Holy Spirit upon correctly
being baptized, and leave them for A TIME in their blindness to
the Sabbath truth, only to reveal it at a later date to them?
Yes, I believe God can! Well, God of course can do anything, for
nothing is impossible for Him, as it is written. So we should
say, has God done such a thing at times? I think He has!
There are, as I've stated before, EXCEPTIONS to the rule.
Could the question I pose and the answer I've given be an
exception to the general rule? I believe so. Please do not
misunderstand. The Lord will never leave someone He has called
and chosen and given His Spirit to, in sin as concerning His TEN
Commandment law. He will at some point REVEAL to them their
error, so they can do as the Scriptures admonish, and that
is "become you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is
perfect" and "grow in grace and knowledge of your Lord and Savior
Christ Jesus."
Each of these previous baptisms of persons must be taken
and judged on an individual basis. Time, prayer, meditation,
seeking God's direction and answer to such questions, will net
the desired result for each person coming from that background.
Some, may only need the laying on of hands(it may never have been
done at their baptism).
SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS AND BAPTISM
The young person or adult who was raised in an environment
of righteousness (in a God-fearing family or church) sometimes
has more trouble coming to deep repentance than those who came up
in the "dirt and mire" as we say. They have been "good people"
have they not? So what does real repentance mean to them, or how
do they understand what it is?
The life of Job will I think help us here. Immediately, in
the very first verse it is said that Job was BLAMELESS and
UPRIGHT, someone who FEARED God and SHUNNED EVIL! Wow, now that
is righteousness for you! In verse eight God even said to Satan
that Job was blameless. No other man alive was like him. Satan
answered that it PAID Job to be so - he had nothing but good
things. If those "things" were taken away Satan said, then Job
would curse God. So the Lord allowed the Devil to strip Job of
most of his physical goods,
Ah, Job did not do what Satan expected him to do. And God
still called Job blameless in chapter 2:3.
Then the Devil was allowed to inflict physical pain on Job;
but he still did not sin with his lips (verses 4-10).
Job's three friends finally came along and tried to accuse
Job of being a sinner, of clandestinely keeping a great sin
hidden somewhere in his closet. They wanted him to pull it out
and confess it to the whole world, but Job answered them one by
one and showed he was not practicing some secret sin (chapters
4-31). Just look at the righteousness of Job. He would put most
Christians of today to utter shame if they tried to compare
themselves against his standards and righteousness.
Job never took a bribe (chap.6:22).
He never committed violence (16:17).
His prayers were pure (16:17).
Job obeyed all of God's commandments (23:11-12).
He never lied or was deceitful (27:4).
His heart was clean - it never condemned him (27:6).
Job helped the poor and fatherless (29:12).
He helped the widows, the blind, the lame, etc. (29:13-15).
Job never lusted after a woman (31:1)
More of Job's righteousness is listed in chapter 31. He was
in human terms indeed blameless! God never once said Job lied or
was wrong in claiming to be righteous. Job was probably the most
perfectly righteous person, next to Christ, who ever lived.
Now, you who have been raised in a God fearing manner, can
anyone say they have NEVER lied, or spoken untruth, never been
angry without cause, never been disobedient or rebellious against
their parents, never been deceitful, never lusted in their mind,
never broken the Sabbath day? Can you say your heart has never
condemned you? Have you always been kind, polite, thoughtful,
self-controlled, thankful, giving and serving? Can you say you
have NEVER had jealousies, resentment, and revenge in your
mind and heart against someone?
Can you really say with Job, you are BLAMELESS? I think
maybe not!
If you are honest with yourself you will have to admit you
are not even close to being what Job was, let alone the perfect
Christ. And good old Job, well he was not perfect either. For
within and among all his wonderful righteousness he had never
really seen the TRUE PERFECT ALMIGHTY GOD of this universe.
A fourth friend of Job's finally spoke up and hit the nail
on the head, took the two by four plank and struck him between
the eyes with it. He showed Job how GREAT GOD WAS and how
little, weak, puny, and insignificant was Job and all mankind
when compared with the Eternal God (chapters 32-37).
Afterwards, God Himself stepped in and really laid it on Job
(chap.38-41). The Lord with His Spirit HUMBLED Job; brought him
to DEEP REPENTANCE! God helped him come to really SEE with
spiritual insight the AWESOMENESS and PERFECT HOLINESS of the
one who created all things. Job came to see very clearly that
all HIS personal righteousness was nothing but FILTHY RAGS when
placed next to the PERFECT POWER, MIGHT, GRACE, WISDOM, and
JUSTNESS of the God of heaven.
Job came to the point, as we all must do(if we want to be
saved), where he could say: "I have heard of you (only) by the
hearing of the ear; BUT NOW my (spiritual) eye SEES YOU.
Therefore, I LOATHE (my words) and ABHOR myself, and REPENT in
dust and ashes" (Job 42:5,6 Amplified Bible).
When you get to that point. When God has given you REAL
REPENTANCE, then you are ready to be BAPTIZED!
.............................
Part B follows next
THE LAYING ON OF
HANDS
One of the principle foundation doctrines of Christ is the
doctrine of "the laying on of hands" (Heb.6:2). In this study we
shall only concern ourselves with the laying on of hands as it
relates to the receiving of the Holy Spirit in the ordinance of
Baptism.
There are only THREE clear passages in the NT that connects
the laying on of hands with the receiving of the Holy Spirit,
They are: ACTS 8:14-19; 9:10-18; 19:1-7.
It is debatable whether the passage in 2 Tim.1:6-7 is
referring to receiving the Holy Spirit or the special gift given
to Timothy through the Eldership (see the Bible Commentaries).
Let us look at the THREE passages in the book of Acts.
ACTS 8:14-19
Philip had recently been set apart by the multitude of the
disciples and 12 apostles as one of the "diakonos" (Acts 6:1-7).
After the persecution in Jerusalem and the scattering of the
church there, he went down to Samaria and preached Christ to
them. Many believed and were baptized. The apostles sent Peter
and John to serve and help. Coming, they found that the Holy
Spirit had not yet come upon these newly baptized persons. How
they knew this is not related to us. Why had they not yet
received the Holy Spirit? They had been baptized in the name of
Jesus!
From the context of what happened, it would seem that Philip
did not understand that he should have laid his hands on them.
Notice verse 17, "Then LAID THEY THEIR HANDS UPON THEM, and they
RECEIVED the Holy Spirit."
It would seem Philip's understanding was limited at this
time. He knew HOW to baptize and WHY to baptize, but he did not
know about the laying on of hands.
Surely, this specific incident is recorded for OUR
INSTRUCTION today, so we might see that the "laying on of hands"
is a PART of the baptism ceremony to receive the Holy Spirit.
ACTS 9:10-18
Ananias is sent by God to restore the sight to Paul or Saul
and to BAPTIZE him. He is shown by God in a vision to "put his
hands on him" so Saul might receive his sight again (verse 12).
But notice verse 17 and what else is added to this "putting his
hands on him" - the receiving or being filled with the Holy
Spirit! A second example recorded for us of the "laying on of
hands" in connection with being filled with God's Spirit.
ACTS 19:1-7
Paul came to Ephesus and found disciples who had not even
heard about the Holy Spirit. They had been baptized under John
the baptist's ministry. Paul revealed to them the baptism of
Jesus Christ as the true Christian baptism; and they were
baptized accordingly. Verse six says, "And when Paul had laid
his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them."
The above three recorded examples should be enough for God's
children to realize and understand that the doctrine of the
"laying on of hands" is an important part of baptism and the
receiving of the Spirit of God.
WHEN SHOULD HANDS BE LAID ON?
Should the laying on of hands be done BEFORE or AFTER
baptism?
In Acts, chapter 8 and 19, the example given is that of the
laying on of hands AFTER baptism.
In Acts 9 Ananias laid hands on Paul BEFORE baptism. But it
is plain to see that in this case the laying on of hands had a
dual purpose. It was also to restore Saul's sight. It would be
much easier to baptize a person with his vision than as a blind
man.
Of course he may have laid hands on Paul again after
baptizing him, but the record does not inform us of this.
Two out of three of these examples are AFTER
baptism........yet, these three examples do show us that God is
FLEXIBLE. He is not bound by strict RITUALISTIC service in
certain special circumstances.
WILL THE HOLY SPIRIT BE GIVEN
WITHOUT THE LAYING ON OF HANDS?
In Acts 8 the people of Samaria did BELIEVE. They had
REPENTED and they had accepted Jesus Christ. God's Spirit had
worked WITH them - opened up their minds, given them repentance
(2 Peter 3:9; Rom.2:4). It had led them to the truth about
salvation and Christ (John 16:13; 6:44,65; 16:7-8). They were
baptized CORRECTLY! But until they had HANDS LAID ON THEM the
Holy Spirit did not unite with their minds(verse 17). It was
still WITH them but not IN them. That is the only way this
passage in Acts can be understood, for it plainly says that they
received NOT (as a begettal) the Holy Spirit until they had had
the laying on of hands.
But Cornelius and others received the Holy Spirit BEFORE
baptism and the laying on of hands (Acts 10:44-48), some will
say.......and yes, indeed that is so! What this shows is that
God is NOT BOUND BY STRICT RITUAL. He is FLEXIBLE! When He
decides, for whatever reason He decides!
This was SPECIAL - Cornelius was the FIRST Gentile to
receive the Holy Spirit. There CAN BE EXCEPTIONS to the general
rule. God is in charge of His plan of Salvation, not mankind.
So, exceptions yes, but the overall rule and instruction stays as
is: 1) Repent 2) be Baptized (which includes the laying on of
hands) 3) YOU SHALL RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT (Acts 2:38).
Question: If the person doing the baptism does not lay
hands on the one being baptized, and if the one being baptized
does not know about the doctrine of the laying on of hands, but
has repented and accepted Jesus as their personal savior, will
God withhold begetting them with His Spirit, uniting the Spirit
with their minds?
Answer: That question cannot with any firmness (by the
examples recorded) be answered in the positive or the negative.
GOD MAKES THAT DECISION!
Yet, anyone coming LATER to the truth about the "laying on
of hands" should take Peter's admonition to Cornelius and the
others in Acts 10:4 and re-phrase it something like this: "Can
any man forbid that these should not have the laying on of hands
as we did?"
WHO CAN PERFORM BAPTISM
AND THE LAYING ON OF HANDS?
Is it only SPECIAL people, or only those "ordained" to the
Eldership or Deaconship, who can baptize and lay hands upon
someone to receive the Holy Spirit?
I may SHOCK some of you reading this, but I will challenge
anyone to find the NT scripture that gives plain instructions
that it is only an "ordained" person who can baptize and lay
hands on another to receive the Holy Spirit. Get looking for it,
search the scriptures daily, see if you can find any such
teaching or instruction. Paul sure had lots of space to write
such dogma in his 14 epistles, but he never wrote one word about
it being ONLY ordained persons that could baptize and lay hands
on people to receive the Holy Spirit. And none of the other
writers of the NT did either !
Philip, in Acts 8, did not lay hands upon those people he
baptized not because he was not qualified, but because he DID NOT
KNOW he should do so! That knowledge had not been made known to
him until Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to explain it
to him and to those he had baptized.
Philip went on after this experience and explanation to
BAPTIZE the Ethiopian eunuch and, now knowing what he knew, he
would have also laid his hands on him (Acts 8:26-39). Philip was
a servant of God. He had the gift of God's Spirit. Was he
qualified to pass on that gift to someone else? The eunuch went
on his way back to Ethiopia as a baptized Spirit filled child of
God. Philip was qualified as a true child of God to pass on that
gift of God's Holy Spirit!
But some may say: Philip was ordained to the "diakonos"
(Acts 6:1-7) and so could perform the laying on of hands and
baptism to receive the Holy Spirit.
What about the eunuch then? Are we to suppose he never
shared his faith with anyone in Ethiopia? Are we to suppose that
God never used him in that part of the world to bring others to
Christ? Hardly now, it certainly would not seem logical to so
reason. It is I submit more logical to believe that God had
Philip taken to this eunuch to baptize him (and so receive the
Holy Spirit) so that God could use him to bring others to
repentance and salvation in Ethiopia and other parts of the
African continent. It is again unrealistic to think that those
brought to baptism in Ethiopia would have to wait for the
laying on of hands by the ordained ministry in Jerusalem. It is
far more realistic to view this eunuch as a chosen vessel in the
hands of the Lord to spread the Gospel in Ethiopia, to baptize
and lay hands on those whom God would call to receive His Spirit.
This is all SPECULATION, someone will shout. Well, let me
show you an example that is part of God's word - no speculation!
We have referred to this passage already - Acts 8:10-18, but
many MISS an important teaching and lesson from this example,
concerning WHO can baptize and pass on the gift of the Holy
Spirit.
Notice.........Paul was indeed baptized and received the
gift of the Spirit of God (verses 17,18). WHO baptized and laid
hands upon him? Why, it was ANANIAS. Now, WHO was Ananias?
Look in your Bible Dictionaries or Bible Hand books. VERY little
is known about him! Was he called an "apostle" ? No! Was he
called an "evangelist"? No! Was he called a "prophet"? No!
Was he called a "deacon"? No! What was he called then?
Verse 10, "And there was a certain DISCIPLE at Damascus."
Ananias is mentioned ONLY as a "disciple." He was a
FOLLOWER of Christ; a child of God. The Greek word here used for
"disciple" is the SAME one used EVERYWHERE in the NT for
"disciple" and means, literally: "a learner (from "manthano"
to learn, from a root "math" - indicating thought accompanied by
endeavor). Hence, it denotes one who follows one's teaching, as
the disciples of John, Mat.9:14; of the Pharisees, Mat.22:16;
of Moses, John 9:28. It is used of the disciples of Jesus"
(Vine's Dictionary of NT Words, page 308).
Now, an apostle is a disciple of Jesus, as is any of the
ordained Ministry or Eldership. But as NO OTHER DISTINGUISHING
remark is made of Ananias other than that he was a "disciple" in
Damascus, the FIRST and most important logical understanding is
that he was a FOLLOWER - a baptized Spirit filled child of God,
who held no other function or ordained position in the church of
God.
It was he whom the Lord chose to baptize and lay hands upon
Paul, a man whom the Eternal would greatly use to do His work.
Summary: A person that has himself been baptized, had the
laying on of hands, and is filled with the Spirit of God is
qualified, and can be used by that same God to pass on His gift
of the Holy Spirit to other repentant believers.
.........................
First written in 1983. Re-written and revised in June 1997.
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