Bible Discussion Thread

God bless you all or all of you. As I read through the 19th chapter of Acts, verses 4-6, I understand why there are so many divisions in the body of Christ. I understand why so many denominations have been established. Someone took this one segment of scripture, and made a doctrine that "one must go down in the water, in Jesus' name" or you are are not baptized, correctly. The disciples to whom Paul had preached had their understanding enlightened to the point that they had gone from being disciples at the "preaching of repentance" by John the Baptist to the "preaching of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus" by Paul. It was, only through believing on and receiving the doctrine of Jesus that they were able to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This conversion had nothing to do with a water baptism. Immersion in water nor the sprinkling of water can save noone. It is only by believing on the name of Jesus can we be saved, not by being dipped in the water, in Jesus name. Thus, being a member of a so-called "Jesus Only" church won't guarantee us eternal life. I have met some of the more angrier, ready to fight, and will fight people attending "Jesus Only" churches. So, remember the teaching of Jesus to His disciples, in Mark, Chapter 16, "go ye into all the world...baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost. No man can come to the Father, except they come in by Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life". Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins ( Acts 2:38). Amen!

SO that i do not get in toruble here with the lord i recommend saying the lords prayer i dont kow verses yet but until i do i say his prayer and my views are mine based on my christian upbringing iam not a priest not a preacher the father of my heritage a humble honest man who is not god but only a servant of the lord god and may he rest in heaven and peace and may his name be given to the lord for protection and his family be held in fellowship and saftey for all of the good lords days bless you all and thnk you for letting me type my thoughts do not tell anyone these are bibke they are discussions about our good lord thank u we do not have enemy on earth it is in heaven we are in heaven on earth

Thank you Rosetta for those very valuable & pertinent comments. I also see a similar situation: there were some followers of Jesus (at Ephesus) who were, can I say, 'caught in the middle'. They only knew of & received John's baptism (of declaring their sin & repentance), & they also knew of Jesus, but had never been taught any further nor received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

So, to bring them to the full Truth & incorporation into the Body of Christ, they were then baptized, not according to John's baptism, but to Jesus' baptism, which was not merely identification of their sinful state, but releasing their sin on the One Who was able to bear it, forgive them, & make them new by the indwelling Spirit. Something John's baptism was never designed to do. So yes, the baptism 'formulae' can't be based on this verse ( Acts 19:5), as it only showed that they were now baptized in Jesus' Name & not to John, according to the meaning of John's baptism.

May God bless you more abundantly, Chris. Thank you for additional comments on the subject of the baptism in Jesus' name. I do appreciate your comment, which enlightened me.