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Most professing born again believers falsely purport that water baptism
is only a symbolic act with no real significance in the life of the
believer. While it is true that water baptism has symbolic import, it
is also true that water baptism has functional purpose. According to
scripture, true Christian water baptism identifies the believer with
the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Water baptism is
thus central to the Christian Faith, and necessary for true conversion.
Therefore if one fails to be baptized correctly, according to the scriptures,
he or she has failed to appropriate the efficacy of the death burial
and resurrection of Jesus Christ into his or her life. The following
scriptures prove that water baptism in the Name of Jesus identifies
believers with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ:
"Don't you know, 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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection." Romans 6:3-5
"Beware lest any man cheat you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. For in him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Deity
in Bodily Form. And you are complete in him, which is the head of all
principality and power: In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the
flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein
also you are raised with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who has raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and
the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he made alive together with him,
having forgiven you all trespasses..."
Colossians 2:8-13
The above scriptures plainly prove that water baptism into Jesus Christ
has the functional purpose of baptizing us into the death, burial, and
resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Hence the New Testament Scriptures teach
that we receive true Christian Baptism in order to be raised from the
deadness of our former lives to make us spiritually alive to walk in
newness of life. The circumcision made without hands is clearly water
baptism which puts off the body of the sins of the flesh. Jesus informed
Nicodemus that it is absolutely mandatory for one to be born again of
the water and of the Spirit in order to see and enter into the Kingdom
of God. Note how the following scriptures perfectly correlate with the
words of Jesus Christ found in John 3:3,5: "Truly, Truly, I say
unto you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.....Except
a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God."
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:
and the eunuch said, See, here is WATER; what does hinder me to be baptized?
Acts 8:36
"Can any man forbid WATER, that these should not be baptized,
which have received the Holy Spirit as well as we? And he commanded
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 10:47,48
"...eight souls were saved by WATER. The like figure whereunto
even BAPTISM DOES ALSO NOW SAVE US (not the putting away of the dirt
of the body but the answer of a good conscience toward God) BY THE RESURRECTION
OF JESUS CHRIST..." 1 Peter 3:20,21
"Out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word by
established." 2 Corinthians 13:1
Since the scriptures alone are our sole authority as to what we are
to believe, it is imperative that all professing Christians turn away
from the traditions and opinions of the masses in order to reflect upon
what the scriptures themselves have to say. We must be willing to "let
God be true, but every man a liar...(Romans 3:4)."
THE FIRST CENTURY CHURCH BAPTIZED CONVERTS WITHOUT DELAY
Since water baptism was a divine mandate given by Jesus Christ as
an essential part of the Great Commission, the apostles and evangelists
of the first century church baptized all of their new converts immediately
after they received the gospel through faith and repentance. There was
never a delay, nor a period of time in which the new converts were told
to wait to receive more religious instructions prior to baptism. Consider
the following examples found in the book of Acts:
"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 you
shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 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. And with many other words did he testify
and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this perverse generation. Then
they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand souls." Acts 2:38-41
"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,
both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was
baptized, he continued with Philip..." Acts 8:12,13
Upon the selfsame day of Cornelius' conversion and the Gentiles with
him, the apostle Peter straightly commanded, "Can any man forbid
water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy
Spirit as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus." Acts 10:47,48
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city
of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened,
that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when
she was baptized..." Acts 16:14,15
"...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house. And they
spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes,
and was baptized, he and all his straightway." Acts 16:30-33
"And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the
Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed,
and were baptized." Acts 18:8
"He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believed not shall be damned." Mark 16:16
"...finding certain disciples, He 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 unto
them, Unto what then were you baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Then said Paul, John truly 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." Acts 19:1-5
The above scriptures provide solid proof that the apostles invariably
preached the essentiality and urgency of water baptism to all of their
new converts who believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The honest
reader can clearly observe the connection between belief and water baptism.
True belief in Jesus Christ and water baptism into Christ are inseparably
linked together. The apostle Paul clearly solidifies this truth when
he informed the Ephesian disciples "that they should believe...on
Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of
the Lord Jesus." All those who truly believe on the Lord Jesus
should be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus without any delay.
WHAT ABOUT BAPTISM INTO THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT?
Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly commanded the apostles to baptize in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew
28:19). Did the apostles fail to obey Christ's command when they baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus? If the apostles were in error when they
always baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, then there would be a clear
contradiction within the pages of the Bible. Does God's Word contradict
itself? Or are many misinterpreting the Word of God? Let's take a closer
look at Matthew 28:19.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
Notice that the apostles of Christ were commanded to baptize in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus did not say, "in
the names of the Father, Son, and Spirit." He clearly stated, "in
the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit." The titles of Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are not names at all. They are titles or positions
that God holds. He is our Father as the creator, Son as our redeemer
manifest in the flesh, and Holy Spirit as God's indwelling Spirit within
the Church.
No one in their right mind would sign a check by writing, "Father,"
or "Son," or "Spirit." There are many fathers, many
sons, and many spirits who are holy (the angels of God and born again
believers who are truly living for God have holy spirits). Any grammarian
would state that the titles Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not names.
There must be a Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We know that
the name of the Son is Jesus. We also know that the meaning of the name
of Jesus means "Jehovah Saves." Scripture further states that
Jesus came in his Father's Name. John 5:43 states that Jesus said, "I
am come in my Father's name, and you receive me not..." Therefore
when we put all of the scriptures together we can clearly understand
that they do not contradict each other at all. They fit together in
perfect harmony much like a child fits many pieces of a jig saw puzzle
together in perfect harmony. When a Pastor or Elder carries out the
divine command to baptize in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
he will baptize in the Name of Jesus Christ. For Jesus, meaning "Jehovah
Saves," is the Name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.
It is truly enlightening when one considers that the very passage of
scripture that the Roman Catholic Church used to change the mode of
water baptism and formulate the false doctrine of a Trinity of three
divine people actually proves the Oneness of God, the full deity of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and water baptism in the Name of Jesus
Christ. For Jesus' command to baptize in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit proves that the singular name of Jesus Christ is the
name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. All three titles or manifestations
of God comprise the One Supreme Being we call Jehovah God. There cannot
be three divine Jehovah's. Jesus is not a second divine person of God.
Nor is Jesus Jehovah Junior. The scriptures plainly declare that our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the "Alpha and Omega, ... which
is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty (Rev. 1:8). And
again the scriptures declare that our wonderful Jesus is "the beginning
and the end, the first and the last (Rev. 22:13)." The Roman Catholic
Church developed the false creedal doctrine of the Trinity which states
that our Jesus is "the second person of a Trinity." A phrase
which clearly contradicts inspired scripture and is no where to be found
in the Bible.
One might argue that the concept of the Trinity is taught in the Bible.
I certainly agree that the concept of the plurality of God's Might and
Majesty cannot be denied in scripture. Nor can we deny the fact that
the One True God created all human beings after his own image and likeness.
Since man is a tripartite being of spirit, soul, and body - so also
God is a tripartite Being manifested to us as Father, Son (The Word
Incarnate), and Holy Spirit. The fact that Adam was created as one person
in the image and likeness of God (not three persons with three heads)
proves that God is also One Person. The whole concept of calling God
three divine co-equal, co-eternal persons is completely foreign to the
Bible. It is a false and misleading invention of the devil. It leads
to a pseudo form of Christian Baptism which takes the saving Name of
Jesus Christ out.
Just as the devil used the Sanhedrin Council to command the apostles
not to teach or preach in the name of Jesus, so the devil used the Roman
Catholic Councils of Nicea, Constantinople, and others to command that
it is heresy to preach and teach baptism in the name of Jesus. For centuries
millions of genuine Christians have died at the hands of the Roman Catholic
Church for their so called "heretical" Jesus Name Baptismal
Teaching. The devil hates the name of Jesus as he fully knows that there
is salvation, power, and efficacy in no other name. Take out the name
and you take out the blood. Faith in Jesus Christ and baptism into the
name of Jesus Christ are inseparably linked together. The devil who
"deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9) is deceiving
multitudes of professing Christians into bypassing the only "door
into the sheepfold." Jesus Christ is the only doorway into the
Kingdom of God. He that "climbs up some other way, the same is
a thief and a robber (John 10:1)." Friend, Jesus is the only door
to the Father. If you truly believe on Jesus as your Savior, the scriptures
command you to "be baptized... in the Name of Jesus Christ (Acts
2:38)." "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there
is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved (Acts 4:12)."
When we consider that the apostles always baptized all new converts
in the name of Jesus Christ, we are forced to conclude that the apostles
had perfect understanding as to the meaning of baptism in the name of
the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore Jesus must be the name of
all three titles or offices of the One True God. What a powerful proof
of the Deity of Christ and of the Oneness of God?
Apostolic Faith Christians teach and practice water baptism in the Name
of Jesus Christ for the same reason that most Evangelicals teach and
practice water baptism by full body immersion. Evangelicals baptize
by immersion because nowhere in the Bible can we find anyone being baptized
any other way. All who were baptized in the Bible were completely immersed
under water. Apostolic Christians use this same reason for their firm
conviction that true Christian water baptism must be taught and practiced
in the name of Jesus Christ.
How can the Holy Scriptures lie in any way? How can anyone dare state
that first century Apostles of Christ were in error when they invariably
taught and practiced water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ? We know
that the Apostles wrote our New Testament Scriptures. Those who believe
that the Apostles were in error for baptizing in the Name of Jesus would
be stating that the Word of God is lying to us by advocating false Christian
Baptism. The Bible cannot be wrong or our whole Christian Faith would
be brought into question.
Those who claim that God does not care one way or the other how the
Church baptizes must ask themselves some poignant questions. What happened
to King Saul when he did not carry out the LORD'S command? What happened
to King Asa when he presumptuously entered The Holy Place? What happened
to Uzzah when he disobeyed the Word of God by touching the ark of the
covenant? Remember that God's Word was in the ark of the covenant. Those
who try to touch God's Word by changing it to suit their own theology
are in danger of the same judgment as Uzzah. What happened to Achan
and his family when he transgressed the commandment of the LORD? What
happened to Ananias and Sapphira when they lied to God? When we lie
to God's people about water baptism are we not lying to God? Jesus stated
that when a professing Christian does something either good or bad to
His brethren, he has done it unto Him (See Matthew 25:40-46). How can
a Pastor face God in judgment when he has lied to God's people about
water baptism? God forbid that we should be found liars and false witnesses
of God's Word.
WATER BAPTISM
1. In the Titles, Father, Son & Holy Spirit?
- or -
2. In the Name of the Lord Jesus?
Which of the above teachings were practiced by the
Apostles and Evangelists of the first century Church?
____________________________________________________
Below are two columns for listing the scriptures where the Apostles
and
Evangelists of the Early Church either taught or practiced water baptism:
IN THE NAME OF JESUS FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT
_______________________________________________________________
"Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins..."
Acts 2:38
"They were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus." Acts 8:16
"And he commanded them to be baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 10:48
"They were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus." Acts 19:5
"...so many of us as were baptized into Jesus
Christ, were baptized into his death? Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism..."
Rom. 6:3,4
"In whom also you are circumcised...with the
circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in
baptism..." Col. 2:11,12
"For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ." Gal. 3:26,27
"And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus..." Col.3:17
______________________________________________________________________________
The above Bible evidence proves that True Christian Water Baptism must
be carried out in the Name of Jesus Christ. Churches that opt to baptize
by stating, "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit," are not actually using the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit at all. They are merely repeating the command of
Christ as recorded in Matthew 28:19. The name (not names) of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit has to be Jesus. The actions of the apostles prove
this to be true. Otherwise there would be a flagrant contradiction within
the pages of inspired scripture. All Ministers who teach that the apostles
were in error by baptizing in the name of Jesus are doing great violence
to the Biblical Doctrine of the Infallibility of The Holy Scriptures.
For if we say that we believe that the Bible is truly inspired by God,
then there can never be any contradictions found within it's pages.
Hence, the actions of the apostles reveal true fulfillment and obedience
to the command of Christ in Matthew 28:19 without any contradiction.
WATER BAPTISM
SHOULD YOU BE IMMERSED OR SPRINKLED?
BELOW ARE TWO COLUMNS LISTING THE MODE OF WATER BAPTISM FOUND IN THE
NEW TESTAMENT:
IMMERSION & SPRINKLING
____________________________________________________
"And John also was baptized in Aenon...because
there was MUCH WATER THERE." John 3:23
"They went down both into the water...and he
baptized him." Acts 8:38
"They were come up out of the water."
Acts 8:39
"And were baptized of him in Jordan (a river),
confessing their sins." Matthew 3:6
"And were all baptized of him in the river of
Jordan, confessing their sins." Mark 1:5
"...Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and
was baptized of John in Jordan." Mark 1:9
"And straightway, coming up out of the water,
he saw the heavens opened..." Mark 1:10
"We are buried with him by baptism..."
Rom. 6:4
___________________________________________________________________________
The Bible Evidence gives absolutely no indication that anyone was every
baptized by sprinkling in the New Testament. All of the evidence points
overwhelmingly to full body immersion. The Greek word for baptism is
"baptizo," which literally means to "immerse" or
"submerge." The Greek word for sprinkle is "rantizo,"
which literally means to "sprinkle." If Christians were suppose
to be sprinkled when baptized, why did not God have the inspired writers
of the New Testament use the word "rantizo" when referring
to water baptism? Yet the Biblical writers always used the Greek word
"baptizo" for water baptism. Many translations of the Bible
use the word "immersion" rather than Baptism because this
is the exact meaning of the word. The Bible does not say, "be rantizoed
[Sprinkled] in the Name of Jesus," it clearly commands Christians
to "be baptizoed [Immersed] in the Name of Jesus." The actions
of John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostles prove that Biblical Water
Baptism is by Immersion only, not by sprinkling.
________________________________________________________________________________________
TRUE CHRISTIAN BAPTISM
ACCORDING TO HISTORY
By Pastor S. S. Ritchie
Many modern day Pastors and Teachers have falsely reported that the
"Jesus Only" Baptism is a "New Issue"invented by
twentieth century Pentecostal Heretics. We must remember that the way
of truth has always been evil spoken of. The book of Acts records "as
concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against(Acts
28:22)." Not only is the Jesus Name mode of water baptism clearly
taught in the Bible, it was clearly taught and practiced by the majority
of believers in the first two centuries of the Christian Church. The
historical evidence proves that this truth of God's Word has continued
to be taught and practiced in every century since the days of the first
century Apostolic Church.
The following quotations from the annals of history not only prove that
water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ was the oldest form of New
Covenant Water Baptism but that this truth continued throughout the
Centuries of the Age of Grace. The annals of history further prove that
the Earliest Christians believed that water baptism was necessary for
true salvation.
The great preponderance of historical scholars agree that the Jesus
Name form of water baptism was the oldest form of baptism held by The
Church.
A recent article entitled "Baptism Into the Name of Jesus and
Early Christology" states:
"There is little doubt that baptism was practiced by the first
Christians as a kind of initiatory right, when they received new believers
into their community. Also, we can be quite certain that this baptism
was given into the name of Jesus."
Church Historian, Kenneth Latourette, A History of Christianity - page
193 - affirms that the Post Apostolic Christians [Those who lived within
the centuries immediately following the death of the original apostles]
believed that water baptism was necessary for salvation:
"Baptism was believed to wash away all sins committed before it
was administered. After baptism, the Christian was supposed not to sin."
Latourette further acknowledges from the writings of the Post Apostolic
Bishops:
"Baptism seems to have been regarded as requisite for the remission
of sins and for the new birth through which alone one could enter the
Kingdom of God."
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics states with respect to the teachings
of the first and second Century Christians::
"The dominant ideas were those of forgiveness of sin, regeneration,
and the gift of the Holy Spirit. . . The change effected by baptism
was attributed to the 'name' and to the water, which were regarded as
actually effective and not merely symbolic."
The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics further acknowledges:
"The earliest form, represented in the Acts, was simple immersion.
. . in water, the use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of
hands."
The book, Early Christian Baptism, page 389 acknowledges:
"In connection with the name. . . the question of formula arises.
The earliest known formula is 'the name of the Lord Jesus. . ."
The Hastings Dictionary of the Bible admits that one could draw the
following conclusion from the historical evidence:
"The original form of words was 'into the name of Jesus Christ'
or 'the Lord Jesus.' Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later
development. . ."
The second century book entitled, The Acts of Paul and Thecla, written
by a second century Presbyter from Asia Minor gives the following account
of water baptism:
". . . in the name of Jesus Christ." Although "Acts of
Paul and Thecla is acknowledged to be a fictitious novel, the account
of water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ gives support to the belief
that this mode of baptism was common in the second century churches
of Asia Minor.
Church Historian, Otto Heick, in "A History of Christian Thought"
- pages 54, 62, 27 - observed that the Post Apostolic Fathers taught
that "baptism confers the forgiveness of sins." was considered
"a washing of forgiveness and a regeneration." and that which
"brings pardon and the new life, and is therefore necessary for
salvation."
Heick further acknowledges:
"At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually
in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
The First Century Epistle of Barnabas (unanimously believed by the early
Christian Bishops to be written by the 1st century companion of the
apostle Paul) records that water baptism is for the remission of sins:
"Concerning the water, indeed, it is written, in reference to the
Israelites, that they should not receive that baptism which leads to
the remission of sins, but should procure another for themselves. The
prophet therefore declares, 'Be astonished, O heaven, and let the earth
tremble at this, because this people has committed two great evils:
they have forsaken Me, a living fountain, and have hewn out for themselves
cisterns." The Ante-Nicene Father, Volume 1, page 144.
Again The Epistle of Barnabas records (on page #144; Volume 1 of the
Ante-Nicene Fathers):
"Blessed are they who, placing their trust in the cross and have
gone down into the water. . .we indeed descent into the water full of
sins and defilement, but come up, bearing fruit in our heart, having
the (fear of God) and trust in Jesus in our spirit."
The Early Second Century Epistle of Ignatius To The Ephesians records
(on page 56, Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers):
"For our God, Jesus Christ, was, according to the appointment of
God, conceived in the womb by Mary, of the seed of David, but by the
Holy Spirit. He was born and baptized, that by His passion He might
purify the water."
The early second century book entitled "The Shepherd of Hermas"
records (on page 14, Volume 2 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers):
"Why was the tower built upon waters. . .Hear then why the tower
is built upon the waters. It is because your life has been, and will
be saved through water. For the tower was founded on the word of the
almighty and glorious Name. . ."
Again The Shepherd of Hermas records (on page 49& 50, Volume 2 of
the Ante-Nicene Fathers):
"They were obliged. . . to ascend through water in order that they
might be made alive; for, unless they laid aside the deadness of their
life, they could not in any other way enter into the Kingdom of God.
Accordingly, those also who fell asleep received the seal of the Son
of God. For before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead;
but when re receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains
life. The seal then, is the water: they descent into the water dead,
and they arise alive. And to them, accordingly, was this seal preached,
and they made use of it that they might enter into the Kingdom of God.
. . All the nations that dwell under heaven were called by hearing and
believing upon the name of the Son of God. Having, therefore, received
this seal, they had one understanding and one mind; and their faith
became one, and their love one. . . On this account the building of
the tower became of one color, bright as the sun."
Irenaeus, the late second century Bishop of Lyons records (on page 574,
Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene Fathers):
"It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from
leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an
indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by
means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old
transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new born babes, even
as the Lord has declared: 'Except a man be born again through water
and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven."
Justin Martyr, a mid second century Christian Teacher believed that
baptism was necessary for salvation (page 183, Volume 1 of the Ante-Nicene
Fathers):
"they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated
in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. . .they then
receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, 'Except you be
born again, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.' . . .And
for this [rite] we have learned from the apostles this reason. Since
at our birth we were born without our own knowledge or choice, by our
Parents coming together, and were brought up in bad habits and wicked
training; in order that we may not remain the children of necessity
and of ignorance, may become the children of choice and knowledge, and
may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly committed, there
is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has repented
of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the universe."
Tertullian, the second century Bishop of North Africa also believed
that baptism is necessary for salvation (page 669, Volume 3 of the Ante-Nicene
Fathers):
"Happy is our sacrament of water, in that , by washing away the
sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal
life. . . But we. . after the example of our Jesus Christ, are born
in water. . ."
Although some of the above Christians writers began teaching false doctrines,
all of the Early Christian Teachers unanimously believed that it was
necessary for all to be baptized by water in order to enter into the
Kingdom of Heaven. They quoted the words of Jesus in John 3:5 to prove
that it was necessary to be born again of the water in order to enter
into the Kingdom of God. Even Martin Luther and the Anabaptists continued
to believe in baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins. The
rejection of the necessity of water baptism for salvation came during
the later Protestant Reformation.
It is interesting to note that Tertullian is given credit for beginning
the development of the creedal definition of the trinity. Twenty first
century Trinitarian Christian Believers must acknowledge that all of
the founding Fathers who developed their Trinitarian Doctrine unanimously
believed that water baptism was necessary for salvation. Even the Trinity
Dogma defined at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople includes an
anathema clause which pronounces a curse on all who reject the Catholic
Baptismal Formula into the Trinity. Protestants should know that all
who reject baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins are also
anathamatized under the Trinitarian Creed.
Oneness believers are everywhere persecuted for rejecting the Nicene
and Constantinopoliltan Creed. Yet Protestant, Evangelical, and Trinitarian
Pentecostal Groups who reject Oneness Believers as heretical for their
refusal to accept this Catholic Nicene Creed must also acknowledge that
they are in fact, rejecting a major part of this Creed by rejecting
baptismal regeneration for the remission of sins. Trinitarian Christians
must acknowledge the historical fact that the very creed which postulates
the theory that there are three co-equal and co-eternal divine persons
within the Deity also contains a harsh curse against all who reject
the Catholic view that all must be baptized into the trinity in order
to be born again.
Oneness believers agree with this Catholic Council that it is necessary
to be baptized in order to be saved. But Oneness Believers reject Trinitarian
Baptism because it robs the believer from receiving the efficacy of
the Name of Jesus Christ in water baptism. Water Baptism into the Name
of Jesus Christ is clearly a Scriptural Command, not an option (See
Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-6; Colossians 3:17).
The Encyclopedia Brittannica, 11th edition, volume 3, pages 365-366:
"In the third century baptism in the name of Christ was still so
widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage,
declared it to be valid." Note that Bishop Stephen was not called
"a Pope" until the fourth century. This title was not used
by the Bishops of Rome until the time of Emperor Galarius.
"A Treatise on Baptism" believed to be written by a third
century Bishop name Ursinus:
"Heretics who are already baptized in water in the name of Jesus
Christ must only be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
This document affirms that baptism in the name of Jesus Christ is the
correct mode of baptism. This treatise exhorts Christians who had held
other heretical views, not to be rebaptized if they had already been
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (even though the Church which baptized
them had other false doctrinal views).
The fourth or fifth century document "The Constitution of the Holy
Apostles"(Not written by the Apostles) - page 503 - condemned those
who perform only "one immersion, which is given into the death
of Christ" and requires all baptisms to be performed in the Trinitarian
formula of three immersions.
Why did the Catholic Church condemn water baptism by one immersion into
the death of Christ if people were not continuing to do so in defiance
of the State Church?
The Roman Bishop Pelagius of the sixth century - 556-561 recorded:
"There are many who assert they are baptized in the name of Christ
alone with only one immersion. But the evangelical precept which the
very God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, handed down warns us to
give each one holy baptism in the name of the Trinity and with a triple
immersion also..."
Pope Gregory I wrote on June 22, 601 A.D.:
"Those heretics, however, who are not baptized in the name of the
Trinity....these, when they come to the holy Church, are baptized, because
what they received while in their error, not being in the name of the
Holy Trinity, was not baptism." If these alleged heretics were
not baptized in the alleged name of the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit - they must have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thomas Edwards of England in 1646 taught that it was heresy to use the
words Father, son, and Holy Ghost in baptism as it was a man-made tradition
and that true Christian Baptism is "only in the name of Jesus Christ."
The eighteenth century Baptist Historian, Robert Robinson (1735-1790)
wrote a book entitled, "Ecclesiastical Researches and The History
of Baptism. Under the subtitle, Apostolical Baptism, Robinson made the
following observations::
"It is observable, there is no mention of baptism in the name of
the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Peter exhorted the Jews
of Jerusalem to repent and be baptized every one of them in the name
of Jesus Christ. Philip baptized the Samaritans in the name of the Lord
Jesus. Peter commanded the believers at Caesarea to be baptized in the
name of the Lord. Many Christians taking it for granted, that the apostles
thoroughly understood the words of the Lord Jesus (Mat. 28:19) ... administer
baptism in the name of Christ, and think themselves justified by the
book of the Acts of the Apostles."
Robinson goes on to write:
"All the classes, who did not hold the doctrine of a trinity of
persons of God, whether called Artemonites, Paulianists, Arians, Monarchians,
Patropassians, Sabellians, or by any other name, administered baptism
in the name of Christ..."
"...others deemed heretics by the Catholics were literally Anabaptists
in regard to the Catholics. Themselves were baptized once by dipping
in the name of Christ: but when Catholics, who had been dipped in the
name of the trinity, joined their churches, they rebaptized them. The
Catholics resented this, and considered it, as it really was, a tacit
denial of the whole of their religion."
"They all held (Anabaptist Groups), that the catholic corporation
was not a church of Christ, and they therefore rebaptized such as had
been baptized in that community, before they admitted them into their
own societies. For this reason they were called in general Anabaptists."
"...they baptized converts from pagans and jews, they rebaptized
all catholics; and they baptized none without a personal confession
of faith. They called themselves Christians; they censured the fraud
and folly of those, who imposed on the world by calling themselves Catholics,
and who ought rather to call themselves Cyprianites, being the apostate
followers of that pretended saint; they quoted abundance of scripture
to prove that a new testament church consisted of only virtuous persons,
born of water and the Spirit; they separated from the Catholics on account
of the impurity of their church; they despised councils, and expressed
their astonishment, that Christians should approve of such superficial
writings as those of Cyprian, and others called fathers; and they took
the new testament for the rule of a Christian's faith and practice."
I also find it astonishing that the majority of twenty first century
believers claiming to reject Catholicism are in all actuality continuing
in some of the same apostate practices of their Mother. The false doctrine
of the trinity both robs the believer of the efficacy of the Name of
Jesus Christ in water baptism and perverts the full Deity of Christ.
We must acknowledge that The False Doctrine of the Trinity was developed
by the Councils of the Roman Catholic Institution and not by the Apostles
of Christ.
Oneness Believers are also condemned because they also reject the Apostate
Form of Pseudo Christian Baptism developed by the Catholics and insist
on rebaptizing all who had been misled into being baptized into the
Trinitarian Formula. The Catholic Church use to baptize by full body
immersion three times, one for each alleged person of the Deity.
Perhaps most Evangelicals and Trinitarian Pentecostals would not require
rebaptism if the Catholic Church was today baptizing by full body immersion
into the alleged Trinity of Persons. True Christian Believers must reject
the corrupt teachings of the harlot church and be baptized into Jesus
Christ. It is obvious that the Mother of Harlots has produces Protestant
Daughters who have followed her form of False Christianity.
When Christians reject the Name of Christ they are an offence to the
bridegroom. The True New Testament Church is called "the Bride
of Christ." What kind of bride would reject her husbands name?
Will not such a bride be rejected by Christ when He returns? Will He
not say, "I never knew you. Depart from Me. For you bear not My
Name."
The historical evidence proving that the Jesus Name mode of baptism
continued throughout the centuries of The Church is overwhelming. If
rebaptism into the name of Jesus Christ was not a continuing problem
for the Catholic Church, why did the Catholic Councils so viciously
condemn Jesus Name Baptism through the centuries? The following Councils
condemned the Jesus Only form of Baptism:
The Council of Constantinople in 382 A.D. specifically condemns Sabellian
(Oneness) baptism into Jesus Christ. This Catholic Council mentions
that the Sabellian form of baptism was prevalent in Galatia in A.D.
382.
The Justinian Code of 529 A.D. declared the death penalty for both
anti-Trinitarian baptism and rebaptism.
The Council of Constantinople of 553 A.D. again condemned Sabellian
(Oneness) baptism for:
"retaining single immersion under a single name."
The devil hates Jesus Name Baptism. This is why the harlot church
continued to persecute the True Church of Christ. And this is why the
Jesus Name Movement of the twenty first century continues to be persecuted
today. True Christians must come out from the whole catholic institution.
The Catholic Church has been the greatest channel of deception that
has deceived whole nations and peoples. God's Word says, "Come
out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins (Rev. 18:4).
. ."
"And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials,
and talked with me saying, Come here; I will show unto you the judgement
of the great whore that sits upon many waters: With whom the kings of
the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth
have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. . . And upon
her forehead was written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with
the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
. . And here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sits.
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