Bible Discussion Thread

Only those translations that are saying "remission" of sins are correct to the original Greek which is the word "Aphesis". Remission & forgiveness are not the same. But above all, The Name Of The Lord JESUS Christ must be spoken, & both the baptizer & the one receiving the baptism must be qualified for it. The one must be an apostolic minister or anyone who has already been baptized in the Name of the Lord, & the one who goes through the baptism, to be taught prior to it, the importance & the revelation of the Name, & have full faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Below is a good article:

THE BIG
MISTAKE
This message is no doubt one of the most important messages you will ever read. It concerns a
commandment that was given by our Lord Jesus Christ, which is being carried out incorrectly by
nearly every church that is professing Christianity. This statement is true, even though the
command is plain and easy to understand. I am referring to the clear teaching of water baptism.
The various religions of this world baptize people with water 635 different ways. In the realm of
nominal Christianity, people are baptized primarily one way; this way omits the use of any name
at all. Thus, Satan with his crafty devices has seen to it that almost everyone who has been
baptized has been baptized wrong!
In the denominations of nominal Christianity, the Scripture verse of Matthew 28:19 is misused in
a very clever way. Matthew 28:19 reads as follows: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” We must bear
in mind that when this command was given, no actual baptism was happening at the time. A
command was given, and God intended that it be carried out, not just repeated. Countless
thousands of ministers repeat the exact words of the command without ever doing what the
command says to do. Jesus specifically ordered that we are to be baptized in the NAME
(singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost! In order to find out what that name
is, we simply look in the Bible at incidents of water baptism after Calvary as administered by the
apostles of Jesus Christ. We will find that there is not one incident ever where anyone was
actually baptized using the words, “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.” It was always done in the
saving name of Jesus, which fulfills the command to use the singular name. When we say the
words, “I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,” we are in full obedience of Matthew
28:19. Jesus said, “I am come in my Father’s name….” ( John 5:43). The angel of the Lord said
to Joseph regarding Mary, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins” ( Matthew 1:21). In John 16:7, Jesus said He would
send the Holy Ghost. It all happens in the name of Jesus!
We will now look at actual events of baptism to see exactly how it was done by the Apostles of
Jesus Christ. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, we will begin with chapter 2 where many
people who were listening to Peter were convicted of their sins and were looking for the remedy
to the problem. In Acts 2:37-39 we read as follows: “Now when they heard this, they were
pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren,
what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call.” As we can see, the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not even
alluded to by Peter as he answered their question, because the Apostles understood full-well that
Jesus commanded his saving name to be used to fulfill Matthew 28:19. Were the Apostles
correct in this matter? In Acts 2:41 we read the following: “Then they that gladly received his
word were baptized and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.”
Another example of an actual baptism is found in Acts 8:14-16 as follows: “Now when the
apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent
unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet he was fallen on none of them: only they were baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus.)
Yet another example showing how the singular name of the Lord Jesus Christ was being used in
water baptism is found in Acts 10:47-48, which tells us, “Can any man forbid water, that these
should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord….” In this example, we must also note that water
baptism was not simply suggested, but it was commanded! This is consistent with the very words
of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, when he commanded in Mark 16:15-16, “….Go ye into all
the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
One question that frequently arises regarding water baptism is whether or not a person should be
rebaptized if they had not previously been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. In Acts 19:3-5
that question is answered, and the matter is settled. The Apostle Paul met with some people who
had been disciples of John the Baptist and were baptized by him. We know that when John
baptized, no name was used, but it was simply done unto repentance, opening the way for people
to receive Jesus, the Lamb of God. After Jesus shed his blood on the cross, the saving name was
required in baptism. Even those who had received the valid baptism of John needed to be
rebaptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. That is why we read of this in Acts 19:3-5 as follows:
“And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of 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.”
At this point I must also point out that the word baptize, comes from a Greek word that means to
make fully whelmed, which means to put completely under the water. It was the Roman Catholic
religion that started baptizing by sprinkling and pouring during the time of the building of St.
Peter’s Basilica. Because they charged money for baptizing, they began to baptize infants,
because they needed the money.
We must also remember that the Bible tells us that we are not to be baptized into a church, but
rather into Christ! Romans 6:3-4 tells us in no uncertain terms the following: “Know ye not, that
so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death: 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.”
When we consider the subject of water baptism, it is essential that we remember that it is in the
Gospel! In I Corinthians 15:1-4, the Gospel is clearly defined as the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Thus, our repentance is the death of our old sinful self; baptism
with water in the name of our Saviour, Jesus, is our burial; and receiving the Holy Ghost is our
first resurrection unto a new life. The resurrection of all people at Judgment Day is the final
resurrection from the earthly graves. We cannot ignore any part of the Gospel, or we have
ignored the whole Gospel.
So much more could be said about this subject, and we can learn so much by reading our Bibles
rather than reading catechisms and other church books, which contain doctrines of men. The
points we must remember are: 1. Baptism is commanded. 2. Baptism must be by immersion. 3.
Baptism must be done using the name of Jesus. 4. Baptism must be done once the Gospel is
understood. Babies are not to be baptized.
It is a sad fact that nearly everyone that has been baptized in these last days has accomplished
nothing more than getting wet. It is a problem that can be easily corrected. Acts 4:12 will meet
all of humanity on Judgment Day, and it should be heeded now, while there is still a little time.
That powerful verse still echoes down the corridor of time with these words, “Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved.”
Pastor David J. Meyer
Last Trumpet Ministries International