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ON THIS PAGE: · Why don’t we see any of the Holy Spirit’s Scriptural Gifts and Miracles in baby-baptizing churches? · Those who obey Jesus’ water baptism of disciples must content with the hatred of Satan and his disciples · ‘Baptized for the dead’ and Scriptural truth (1 Cor. 15:29) SHOULD WE BE DUNKED THREE TIMES IN WATER BAPTISM OR ONLY ONCE?Scriptural baptism occurs by one short submersion of the disciple into ordinary water, (a river, the sea, swimming pool, bath, etcetera,) and it occurs once in the context of the following words, “On your own confession of Jesus Christ as your personal God, Lord, Savior and Redeemer, and at your own request, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!” (Mt. 28:19-20.) Jesus, the True God of the Bible, is One God: The Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, many Pentecostals baptize believing disciples by submerging them three times in water: once for the Father, once for the Son, and once for the Holy Spirit, as if the Godhead can be separated into three gods. Of course, that is impossible. Jesus is One God: the inseparable Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
THE LITTLE CHILDREN AND WATER BAPTISM – WHAT IS SCRIPTURAL? Jesus declared in Mark 10:13-16 and Matthew 19:13-15 that little children, who are too young to know right from wrong and who are, therefore, not accountable for their actions, ‘naturally’ belong to Him. There is no such thing in the Scriptures that un-baptized or unchristened babies will “burn forever in hell!” Jesus never ‘christened’ or ‘baptized’ babies or little children. He commanded that no one should forbid the little children to come to Him. Then, He laid His hands on them and blessed them – despite their temple-affiliation. Older children such as teenagers, who can understand the Gospel and the responsibilities of discipleship in Christ, and choose to truly accept Jesus as their personal God, Lord, and Savior, are a different matter. But all that is necessary for the babies or children of sincere believers, is to informally and prayerfully lay hands on them to dedicate them to God and to bless them. To ‘baptize’ little ones and other unbelievers is completely out of the question, as the real baptism that Jesus demonstrated and commanded means to submerge genuine believers completely into water as a symbol of their Scriptural and personal rebirth in Christ. As said, babies cannot believe or understand Jesus’ Gospel, repent from false religion, and accept and follow Jesus as disciples according to His Word. · So, all those who were christened in an unscriptural, so-called ‘saving’ ritual, were definitely not baptised at all. They were merely incorporated into a political-religious order; an idolatrous church system, (Rev. 18:4.) As in all unscriptural practises, this religious ritual contains no spiritual value, Holy-Spirit power, or the blessing of God. It merely brings people into bondage to manmade systems of religiosity without the truth of Jesus, (Mt. 22:29; Mark 7:13; 2 Pt. 2:19.)
WHY DON’T WE SEE ANY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT’S SCRIPTURAL GIFTS AND MIRACLES IN BABY-BAPTIZING CHURCHES? Jesus Himself promised in Mark 16:15, [and this was never annulled or erased from Scripture,] “Go into all the all the world and preach the Gospel to every person, [who is open to the Gospel, of course.] He who believes and [then] is [water] baptized [according to Jesus’ own example and commandment] will be saved…” Thus, it is not the so-called “ordained god-man” minister or “reverend,” the ‘holy’ water itself, or the church doctrines attached to the ‘sacrament of baptism’ that “save,” but sincere obedience to Jesus’ Gospel and Scriptural baptism, which is the outward symbol of the personal rebirth of His disciple/followers, (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:3-5; Mt. 28:19-20.) Mark 16:16-18 continues, “And these signs, [1 Cor. 12:4-11; 14:22-25,] will follow those who believe, [and were water baptized as born again disciples.] In My Name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So, concerning the sprinkling of babies in a so-called ‘saving,’ ‘holy-spirit baptizing’ church sacrament — why don’t one see any of those babies (or adults) perform any of the signs, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit that naturally and effortlessly “follow” all His disciples as described in the truth of the Bible, and which definitely never ceased since that day at Pentecost until now? Well, what happened to those church systems which do not manifest the miracles of the Spirit, is that they deliberately grieved the Spirit, and quenched His Scriptural work and power by rejecting His supernatural Being and gifts, although they confess Him in their dogmas. They have literally ‘snuffed out’ His work through their pagan, Christianized sacraments, which substitute the Scriptural atonement, truth, and power of the Lord Jesus Christ! Thus, the Holy Spirit has written ‘Ichabod’ over them and departed from their assemblies, (Eph. 4:30; 1 Ths. 5:19.) · No wonder the Spirit’s miracles and powerful gifts, (or signs of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence,) have disappeared from among those who practice the ‘baptism of regeneration’ and other false Roman-Catholic/Protestant dogmas, (1 Cor. 14:22; Mark 16:17.) Paul warned in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, “Do not quench the Spirit [by] despising prophecies” and His many other gifts, “but test all things, [teachings, church practises, and the manifestation of supernatural things to see if they are from God.] Hold fast what is good and abstain from every form of evil, (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 1 Jn. 1:1-4.) What those Jesus-baptism and Holy-Spirit deniers have done to God’s True Word and Holy-Spirit gifts and miracles can be termed as “every form of evil.” Their excuse why they reject the gifts and miracles of the Holy Spirit of the Bible and thus the Holy Spirit Himself, is that the clergies of the Reformed and other churches teach them, (just like Jesus’ true Gospel that is interactively connected to His water baptism of disciples,) “the miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit have ‘ceased,’ because they were only for that time while the apostles were alive!” However, none of the Scriptural gifts or signs of the Holy Spirit have ‘ceased’ at all. Sadly, Charismatic churches have unrepentantly perverted His power and signs through their false doctrines and Christianized occult practices, but the Holy Spirit of the Bible remains “the same yesterday, today, and for all eternity!”
THOSE WHO OBEY JESUS’ WATER BAPTISM MUST CONTEND WITH THE HATRED OF SATAN AND HIS DISCIPLES We are and remain spiritually alive through personal faith in Christ, and we can be certain that obedience to the real water baptism carries the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, (Mt. 3:16-17.) Thus, the thief and father of all lies, (Jn. 10:10; 8:44-45,) never lets go of a soul without a real and rowdy fight. Jesus said a servant is not above his Master. If Jesus Himself “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” after His water baptism, all earnest believers, once baptized in water, will have to face the temptation to turn back to the easy, broad-way, or the religious world, which they declared they have left behind. Such temptations are extremely strong. I have seen many believers who were at first on fire for the Lord, turn their backs on Christ to return to their oppressing spouses, raging family, and friends to find solace in their former dark world of church religion. Better then that such double-minded people never accepted Jesus, than to fail this first and most important test because they suffer from spiritual schizophrenia and “crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame,” (Heb. 6:1-6.) Again, as per Jesus’ own example, this persecution and temptation after water baptism is the real, Scriptural ‘baptism of fire’ - the tests, which Jesus warned, every true disciple must face for righteousness sake and for obedience to the truth of God’s Word, (Mt. 3:11; Lu. 12:50.) Therefore, the Baptism of Fire is not Jesus’ baptism with the indwelling Holy Spirit or the so-called “evidence of speaking in tongues with the laying on of hands,” as Pentecostal/Charismatic churches teach. That strange so-called ‘tongues-baptism of fire’ is not found in the true context of the Bible, or in the practical implementation of the gifts of the Spirit, (1 Cor. 14:22; Mark 16:15-17.)
The following is an extract from the book, ‘Relationship Versus Religion:’ “Strangely, Catholicism did not persecute the Calvinist ‘heretics’ of the Reformation. However, it is enlightening to note that during the 16th century, the German Kaiser aided the Protestant Reformation, which was born directly from Roman Catholicism, with his troops. The Kaiser’s motive was similar to that of his Catholic predecessors - the establishment this ‘new’ type of Christianity to further his political goals. So, from time to time, Luther, Calvin and their contemporaries joined forces with their Roman Catholic ‘enemies’ to rid the world of those who opposed their many unbiblical doctrines. Just as the Catholic crusades during the Dark and Middle Ages, their incomprehensibly violent crusades spread through Europe like wildfire, as Protestantism also contended for the hand of the reigning monarch in each country. · As early as 1527, the Reformers declared the death penalty for all those who obeyed Jesus’ commandment to baptise His disciples, (Mt. 28:19.) The Baptists stated that Jesus died for every person and the human spirit must be reborn through a personal and willing acceptance of Christ, (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:3-5; 1 Ths. 5:23.) Once the human spirit is reborn, baptism by submersion is a symbol of the believer’s inward, spiritual birth. Hence, Scriptural baptism only pertains to sincere, adult believers, (Acts 8:36,37,38.) [The vital verse, Acts 8:37, was omitted by the NU.] As the Baptists rejected the so-called rejuvenating power of the Christian baby christening, they were unjustly called “Ana-Baptists,” which means they were christened as babies, but as adults they baptised themselves ‘again.’ During the battle of FRANKENHAUSEN in 1525, Luther and the Kaisers murdered 100,000 farmers – 100,000 people in one battle, because the German government and the Catholic-Protestant church would not grant them their God-given right to serve Jesus Christ in spirit and in truth, and to fulfill His Biblical commission, (Mt. 28:19-20.) Michael Servetus is but one of John Calvin’s victims, whom he tortured to death on a fiery stake. With the battle of MÜNSTER in 1535, Catholics and Lutherans again marched against the Baptists and murdered hundreds in cold blood. The Catholic/Protestant sword of Christianity drenched 16th century Europe in human blood. Eventually, its razor-sharp blade scourged islands, the Americas, Australia, Africa, and Asia. · Yet, Christians still admire those unscrupulous persecutors and murderers of thousands of true martyrs; even ascribing the title of ‘father,’ or ‘reverend’ to them, (Rev. 16:5-6; 19:2.) Generation after generation, mesmerised by the false ‘power’ of Roman Catholicism and her equally blood-thirsty Reformed daughter Protestantism, followed their soul-consuming church doctrines, (Rom. 1:32.) Wilfully, either through a lack of knowledge or through a ‘lack of love for the truth,’ the descendants of those callous crusaders still continue to associate themselves with their atrocities; kneeling at their church altars that were soaked in the blood of the innocent, (2 Ths. 2:9-10.)
‘BAPTIZED FOR THE DEAD’ AND SCRIPTURAL TRUTH (1 Cor. 15:29) Scripture clearly refutes the practise of ‘baptising yourself for the dead.” Hebrews 9:27 inarguably states, “It is appointed for all men once to die, and after that, the judgement.” Death is the end of life as we know it and there is absolutely no ‘second chance’ to be saved after death. Yet, many churches still baptize their members for the dead, and some actually baptize the deceased themselves because of this once-off verse in the Bible, (1 Cor. 15:29,) which states, “What will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all…” In this passage, Paul was not saying we must baptize the deceased or baptize ourselves in their place so they can inherit eternal life. He was defending Scriptural salvation, Jesus’ true water baptism, Jesus’ resurrection, and the resurrection of the dead at Jesus’ once-off return, because the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. Yet, they were baptizing themselves ‘for the deceased,’ as their spiritual descendants still do. So, in 1 Corinthians 15:30, Paul asked, “Why stand in [danger] every hour… [bringing the truth to all those who believe false doctrine,] if the deceased is not raised at Jesus’ return, [in incorruptible human bodies; similar to Jesus’ glorified body, which could appear through walls, eat physically, and ascend into heaven?]” Paul was not referring to those who ‘stand in for the deceased’ to identify with their church and allegedly ‘suffer persecution,’ “just like their church members before them did, who were willing to die for Christ.” Those people baptize themselves for the dead because, [other than the Sadducee sect of Paul’s day,] they confusingly believe that “resurrection is real and they do not want their deceased ones to ‘miss That Day when Jesus returns.’ Thus, they ‘stand in for the deceased’ in a so-called ‘saving baptism rite.’
Neither was Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:30, referring to those who supposedly ‘stand in’ for the deceased by baptizing themselves on behalf of the dead and thus allegedly turn themselves into church ‘martyrs.’ Paul asked in 1 Corinthians 15:29, “What will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead are not raised at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?” It seems even Paul was baffled by this ‘baptism,’ as it could not accomplish anything. The Sadducees of his day did not believe that the deceased will be raised at all — so what could be the point of their baptism, even if it could have had an effect on the dead? This silly baptism could not and still cannot change anything for the deceased, or for those who baptize themselves in their place, as “the dead [are either in heaven or in hell,] and know nothing; they have no more part in anything done under the sun [or in this life,]” (Eccl. 9:5-6.) · The suffering Paul refers to in verse 30 has nothing to do with this so-called “church martyrdom on behalf of the deceased” or baptizing corpses. He was referring to his own suffering and 'dying daily' to self-centeredness. He asked, “Why am I suffering so much (as described in verses 31-33,) and why do I die daily to sin if there is no resurrection?” He was suffering for God’s righteousness and Scriptural truth, like all true believers do, (2 Tim. 3:12 KJV.) To warn against this great folly, he warned in 1 Corinthians 15:30-34, "Do not keep evil company, which corrupts your good [understanding of the truth.] For if the dead will not be raised, Christ was not raised. Then, our faith is futile. Let us then eat and drink and enjoy life in sin, for tomorrow we die [supposedly without any consequences and hope of the resurrection.]” Confusingly, people allow themselves to be 'baptized for the departed' and they even baptize corpses, although we cannot and may not communicate with the deceased in any way, (Deut. 18:10-14.) As said, they are either in heaven or in hell; their time to worry about things on earth is over, (Eccl. 9:5-6.) I think those church members mainly commit such abominations because they so desperately want to know that their departed loved ones are in heaven, but in reality, their loved ones also had to choose eternal life in Christ before they died. We can cut, martyr, and baptize ourselves “in their place” as much as possible, but we will never be able to change anything about the eternal fate that the deceased have chosen for themselves, (Jn. 1:12-13.) · In baptizing themselves ‘for the deceased,’ the Latter Day Saints, (ancestors of the Pentecostal Charismatic Movement,) who have their roots in Mormonism, stated, “Baptism for the dead is central to Jesus’ Gospel, as He said, “The dead will hear My voice and live…” But Jesus was not talking about the deceased; He was referring to the living that are in spiritual death without Him. They are not in eternal ‘hell’ after death yet, but in ‘Hades,’ the allegorical grave of those who are living without a sincere relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the Latter Day Saints still practice substitute or proxy baptism by submersing or sprinkling a living person on behalf of someone who died, like family members who never accepted, or got the chance to accept the doctrines of that church, and even for those who refused to accept Jesus. Furthermore, there are some other Apostolic churches who also baptize their deceased, because they believe the ‘power of the water’ or the “water god,” applied by their ‘anointed’ priests, can even ‘save’ the deceased after death. · Roman Catholics and others still practice ‘death bed baptism’ by sprinkling the dying with so-called “holy” water, as they did to Caesar Constantine on his death bed. The members of other churches are also baptized ‘for’ their deceased relatives outside the church who refused, or never got the chance ‘to be saved.’ Still others, with the corpse in the bed, get under the bed to answer the questions of a priest concerning salvation “for” the deceased; supposedly accepting Christ and then being sprinkled-baptized, (while others dunk those stand-ins in water,) on behalf of the dead person. · What “foolish faith!” God gave us all the incredible privilege to choose our eternal destiny virtually throughout our lives on earth. Personally, while minister to the dying, I have not witnessed a single ‘death bed’ salvation. God gave us a whole lifetime to make our decisions, and He Alone is the Judge of those who seemingly did not have the chance to know and accept Him. All human efforts to ‘save’ our loved ones and church members stem from foolish faith, because only those who decidedly believe in, accept, and follow Jesus, belong to Him for all eternity, (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:16-17.) Read this article from the beginning
ADDITIONAL STUDIES ON WATER BAPTISM: · THE ‘SAVING’ CHURCH SACRAMENT OF ‘WATER BAPTISM’ AND ITS UNGODLY DOGMAS · CHURCH SACRAMENTAL ‘SAVING WATER BAPTISM’ IS INITIATION INTO THE MYSTERIOUS CHURCH KINGDOM · So you desire to be baptized like Jesus illustrated and commanded? Here’s how! · Church and its clergies are totally unscriptural. “God does NOT dwell in temples made by hands and is not served by hands, [clergies] as if He needs anything, (Acts 17:24-25.) Repent from false doctrine and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior Why must I be a temple of the Holy Spirit? · What is the Scriptural Baptism with the Holy Spirit and how do I receive it? |