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Friday, October 27, 2017

Faith in John; Baptism in Acts; Variety in How Jesus Offers Life?

 

When you read John 3:16, you hear God say this:

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

When you read Acts 2:38-39, you hear /God say this:

 

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

 

So in one place, Jesus says that whoever believes should have eternal life, while in the other place, Jesus’ apostle says that God forgives the sins of everyone whom the Lord calls to Himself through repentance and baptism.

 

What is going on here? Which one do we listen to?

 

The gospel of John shows what Jesus told people while he was with them on earth 2000 years ago.

 

The Book of Acts shows what Jesus told people after he had returned to heaven and was no longer personally

teaching people on earth. In fact, Acts reveals Jesus’ followers telling the world what Jesus’ parting instructions

were, after His death and resurrection, for all people for all time until the end of time. See Acts 1:8 and the following:

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

 

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. Mark 16:15-16

 

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. Luke 24:45-47

 

The only thing here that is really different, from what Jesus taught during his ministry, is baptism into His name, because Jesus personally taught of the need for belief and repentance. We’ve seen the belief taught in John 3:16. Here’s the repentance:

 

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Luke 13:1-5

 

Baptism is into Jesus’ death and resurrection. Romans 6 explains this clearly. It wouldn’t have made sense to baptize into Jesus’ death and resurrection before Jesus had died and been resurrected!! Baptism brings about a union of the saved sinner with the dead and raised Christ. It’s where the new birth to resurrection life occurs. A new life in Christ.

 

The mistake many make today is in applying Jesus’ salvation teaching while he was in Israel to the world’s people today, but ignoring how Jesus adapted this to fit His New Covenant. So, using John 3:16, they say all we need to do is to believe in Jesus to be saved, missing born again of water and the Spirit. John 3:3,5. Justification has always been by faith in God and not by Law-keeping, under the Old Covenant, Habakkuk 2:4; Ps 32:1-6 – in fact a universal principle. See Abraham and Jonah.  They take this principle – salvation is by faith in God and not works of Law – and ignore Jesus’ applying it through baptism as the mechanism for the new birth under the New Covenant. John 3:3,5; Romans 6:3-4; Titus 3:5. These people see water baptism as an example of working for your salvation. This contradicts Jesus’ command for faith and baptism as essential in the New Covenant. Let’s look at a typical example of this erroneous thinking when applied to an example often used from Acts.

 

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26 and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27 When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” 29 And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Acts 16:25-31

 

What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. See! Just believe and you’ll be saved, as in John 3:16. But this isn’t the complete account of what the Philippians were told to do!! What does “believe in Jesus” mean? Let’s continue the account:

 

32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34 Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. Acts 16:32-34

 

Notice:

1.     After telling them if they believed on the Lord Jesus they would be saved, the preachers then “spoke the word of the Lord to him … and the same hour of the night he was baptized at once.”

2.     Why? Why teach them more after telling them to believe? Why baptize them … and at once??

3.     Because the household needed information about who Jesus is and what Jesus did before they could believe, but also, in order to be saved, they needed to know what Jesus commanded, as per Matthew 28, Mark 16 and Luke 24. This would have been part of “they spoke the word of the Lord to him.”

4.     Observe that after being baptizedhe rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.”

5.     Believing included being baptized, as in Acts 18:8,27. Rejoicing happened only after baptism, as in Acts 8:39.

6.     Remember Jesus teaching “if you love Me, keep my commands.” John 14:15. Cornelius, in Acts 10:33,47-48, said, “We are all here present before God to hear everything you have been commanded by the Lord.” Then Peter “commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Baptism is not a work of human merit.

7.     Baptism is practised everywhere throughout Acts as an essential part of the salvation package. See 22:16.

 

Now that we’ve put the cat among the pigeons with that one, let’s return to the time of Jesus’ ministry and note

how varied on eternal matters his teaching is with different people:

1.     Mark 2:1-12. Some men bring a paralytic to Jesus, who sees their faith and says to the paralytic, “Your

sins are forgiven.” Let’s look at this a bit closer.

(i)     Yes, I know Jesus uses this to show the Pharisees He is God – having the power to forgive sins, and heal paralysis, but I want to concentrate on the granting of forgiveness.

(ii)    Notice that nobody asks for forgiveness.

(iii)   Also, Jesus notices they all have faith.

(iv)   And yet Jesus grants forgiveness, but only to the paralytic.

(v)    Why? Is it just because the paralytic presents an easy example to display his divine power?

(vi)   Would Jesus “use” the paralytic just to prove a point to those stubborn Pharisees?

(vii)  After all, we’re talking about a man’s eternal future, aren’t we, when we speak of God forgiving sins?

(viii)  Also, Jesus makes no demands of this man – such as “Repent,” “Follow me,” “don’t sin any more”!

 

2.    Let’s leave that example, and look at another one.

 

John 8:21-32, So he said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “Will he kill himself, since he says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23 He said to them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.” 27 They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. 29 And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

 

Let’s discuss this and compare it a little with the previous example:

(i)     Jesus tells some Jews he is going where they cannot come, and they will die in their sins if they don’t believe “I am.”

(ii)    The Jews ask Jesus who He is. Jesus tells them He is just as He has been telling them from the beginning.

(iii)    After a little while many believed in Him.

(iv)    Jesus told those who had believed in Him that to truly be His disciples, they must abide in His word, whereby the truth they learn will set them free from sin.

(v)     There is no mention of forgiveness of their sins, or the free gift of eternal life. Instead, to repeat, if they continue in His word (implying obeying His word) they will be set free from sin.

(vi)    As the encounter continues, we learn that these “believers” actually want to kill Jesus!

(vii)   Their earlier believing in Him is a farce.

 

So, you see, there’s more to believing in Jesus than just saying “I believe.” Surely Jesus would not promise eternal life to or forgive these so-called believers in John 8. To truly believe in Jesus unto eternal life includes contrition, obedience, whole-hearted commitment. See Matthew 5-7; Mark 4:20-25; Luke 9:23-26; 18:9-14; 19:1-10; John 15:1-17.

 

So let’s return to the paralytic. There must have been much more to the paralytic’s faith than meets the eye. Jesus is not about to forgive someone who does not have a serious turning to God and trust in God, and a willingness to obey Jesus’ commands. Jesus isn’t so flippant about salvation that he would just say “I forgive you” only because he feels sorry for someone! Even John the Baptist required of his disciples a change of heart and life when they were baptized in a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Malachi 3:14-18; 4:5-6; Mark 1:4-5;  Luke 3:7-18. Note that Jesus is teaching when the paralytic arrives. Jesus obviously knew a lot more about the paralytic than is revealed in the account. For example, we do not know if he had been previously exposed to more of Jesus’ teaching – even heard him teaching as he arrived, but Jesus would have known this. Perhaps this is why he doesn’t forgive the men who brought him, though He saw their faith, too.

    These are all things Jesus would have personally observed in people he granted eternal life to. But Jesus is not personally communicating with those he forgives today. What he requires now for salvation he requires equally of all people. He gave these requirements to his apostles and commanded that they be passed on to all men everywhere in the world for all time until he returns to judge the world. This is the problem with applying the sinner’s prayer from Luke 18:9-14 in today’s context. The penitence and humility is spot-on, but it must be set in the context of baptism in Jesus’ name in the New Covenant, and not temple worship under the Law of Moses when there was no requirement by Jesus for baptism in His name.

 

This brings us back to the first point in this essay. Let us be careful to check what it is Jesus requires of us, now, and not simply assume that an example in Israel 2000 years ago is also ok for us today. What Jesus told the thief on the cross, and the rich, young ruler in Matthew 19:16-30, are other examples of Jesus fitting His grace to someone personally, yet who today would use what Jesus told the rich, young ruler as an example to emulate?

As a final excellent example, why do we believe we today must be born again, as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3-7? Ah, good question! The answer? Because being born again  is found everywhere in the New Testament. See Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 4:15; Ephesians 4:20-24; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3,20-25. Jesus was telling Nicodemus what would soon be standard practice! In one way or another, the repentant, changed life, from self to Christ, is what receiving Christ and believing in Him means. The Baptism of John the Baptist, trust in Jesus, being born again, and repentance. Baptism into Christ brings the believer into saving union with Christ’s death and resurrection.

Salvation is God’s Way of Providing for Our Access to His Life: Escaping the Rottenness of the World to Partake of the Divine Nature

 

Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:

2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Peter 1:1-4

 

In John’s gospel, Jesus is God who has come to show the world who God is, so they can believe in Him for eternal life. John 1:1-34; 6:35-40; 14:1-9; 20:26-31. The Good Shepherd has come to guide us to still waters and fill our cup with the good life. John 10.

 

In Matthew, Jesus again is “God with us,” Matthew 1:23, to bring us back to Himself. Matthew 11:27-30. God - teaching His commands from a mountain, Matthew 5-7; God - transfigured on another mountain to show His supremacy over Moses and the prophets, Matthew 17:1-8; God, whose teaching, when heeded, results in sinners baptized into the possession of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 4:4; 7:29; 28:18-20.

 

Salvation is a remarkable thing. Yes, a rescue from sin and condemnation, but it’s more than that.

 

Israel knew that God alone is Saviour. Isaiah 43:10-11. Jesus comes into the world as God and Saviour, Matthew 1:20-25; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 1:1-4, whereby they can see, face to face, the God who will take them to the heavenly Father to live forever. John 14:1-11; 17:1-26; Colossians 1:19-23.

 

He saves us by atoning for our sins with his own body and blood, thus granting us eternal life and access to God the Father and heaven. John 6:45-57.

 

Access into God’s very presence … the greatest of all possible gifts.

 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2

 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5

 

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 2:4-6

 

For through Jesus we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Ephesians 2:18

 

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Colossians 1:19-23

 

The saying is trustworthy and everyone should believe it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners … 1 Timothy 1:15

 

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 10:19-22

 

Take in the full import of Colossians 1:19-23, my ‘Scripture of the week’. God’s fullness was in the flesh and blood Jesus when he died on the cross so our friendship with God could be restored forever, provided we maintain the faith and hope of the gospel. God personally stooped to enter our corrupt world, bear our sins, earn death as the wage for this humiliation, be raised from this death to live in glory forever, thus save us from our sins, and be with his redeemed people forever. Then compare with Philippians 2:5-16.

 

“The saying is trustworthy and everyone should believe it! Christ came to our world to save sinners.” Dear friend for whom Christ died: consider believing, since there is no other way to live forever and escape God’s condemnation.

 

--David Hunter

 

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