Posts Tagged ‘baptism’
Can any Christian man baptize another person?
Question: Good day. I obeyed the gospel of Christ nearly ten years ago. My question to you is: Can I baptize someone? Let me give you the scenario. I go to worship service with my children, and my son wants to get baptized, but he is fearful of getting in front of the congregation to…
Read MoreBaptism
by J. W. McGarvey Since it has been announced that my subject would be baptism, I think it is highly probable that the question has arisen in the minds of some, Why another sermon on that old, hackneyed theme? Perhaps the objection has arisen that this subject has been discussed and debated for hundreds of…
Read MoreBaptism and Jesus Blood
by Dub McClish Despite the most explicit statements of Scripture to the contrary, most Protestant denominations deny that baptism is a condition of God’s forgiveness of our sins. Some reason that acceptance of such would equal salvation by one’s own works. Others reject the necessity of baptism because of their erroneous dictum of salvation by…
Read MoreDid baptism end after Jesus went to heaven?
Question: Good day, Pastor, Kindly throw light on this issue: Did baptism end after Jesus Christ went into heaven? Is water baptism still relevant to be a true Christian? I am of the opinion that it is no longer necessary, but I would appreciate it if you could kindly explain it to me in your…
Read MoreDid the Apostle Paul Baptize?
by Louis Rushmore Plainly, the apostle Paul acknowledged that he personally baptized some individuals. “Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of…
Read MoreWas there something else I could have said?
Question: I had a debate with someone about Colossians 2:11-12, specifically regarding how it was interpreted as referring to water baptism and that water baptism was a work of God. However, my opponent argued that “without hands” proved it was not water baptism since a man is involved in immersing you in water. To that…
Read MoreOn Baptism Into…
by Terry Wane Benton Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, stated that the Israelites were “baptized into Moses” when they crossed the Red Sea while fleeing Pharaoh and his armies. They were immersed under a cloud of water and with the walls of water on each side (I Corinthians 10:1-2). They had a choice to…
Read MoreWhy Resist Baptism?
by Marvin Rickett Nearly all denominations resist the Bible’s doctrine of baptism in one manner or another. Some resist it by saying it is not essential to salvation. One can be saved without ever being baptized. Others resist it by teaching that one is saved before one is baptized. He is saved at the point…
Read MoreWhy are “be baptized” in different voices in Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16?
Question: I would love your thoughts on this. In Acts 2:38, “be baptized” is a third-person verb in the passive voice, unlike the second-person verbs of “repent” and “hear” (Acts 2:22). This confirms that baptism is less of a work for the sinner to perform and more a work for the sinner to submit to.…
Read MoreIs baptism by immersion valid?
Question: Is baptism by immersion valid? Ezekiel prophesied, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you.” Doesn’t that verse mean baptism is to be done by sprinkling and not immersion? Peter said we are “sprinkled with the blood of Christ.” Also, Peter baptized in Jerusalem on Pentecost, where there wouldn’t have been deep enough water to…
Read MoreWhat Martin Luther Taught About Baptism
by Terry Wane Benton While Martin Luther may have taught the idea of salvation by “faith alone,” you might be surprised to learn that he did not think faith alone excluded baptism. It was an umbrella term that included repentance and baptism. So, he didn’t place baptism in the category of works of merit. Regarding…
Read MoreIs it wrong to attend a different church after being baptized?
Question: Greetings Brother, I want to know if it’s wrong, once we’re baptized, to worship at a church other than a Church of Christ. Answer: I’m puzzled. If you were baptized at a church of Christ because you realized you need to obey the Lord and you realized the church taught the truth regarding baptism,…
Read MoreWhere is God’s love, mercy, and compassion if baptism is necessary for salvation?
Question: My question concerns the role of baptism and whether it is necessary for salvation. I have heard explanations of how it is necessary to get baptized to be saved, yet they both make sense and don’t make sense to me. I have heard some people from the Church of Christ preach about water baptism…
Read MoreDo you need to be baptized again after falling away and returning?
Question: I trusted Christ as my Savior when I was a teenager, but I wasn’t baptized. Then I read Mark 16 and was scared, so I got baptized at a Pentecostal Church. However, they taught that baptism didn’t save, and I wasn’t sure if it did when I was baptized. A couple of years ago,…
Read MoreObervations on the Significance of Baptism
by Nathan Smelser I have a few observations on the oft-overlooked significance of baptism in the New Testament. When Paul writes to the saints and faithful brethren in Colossae, he repeatedly contrasts their formerly dead state with their present life in Christ. For example: “…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were…
Read MoreShould baptism be refused?
Question: Hi Jeff, Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I would need your insights on two questions. We are currently studying baptism, which may seem an unlikely topic for members of the Church of Christ. However, we aim to target some young people who may have lost interest in becoming…
Read MoreDoes falling back into sin make a baptism invalid?
Question: This idea has come up many times in Bible studies. It concerns sin before baptism and the process of repentance. The Scriptures teach that one must repent before baptism and that Christians will sin after baptism. I don’t know of anyone who would think that a Christian can live sinless. I also believe that…
Read MoreNot Every One Should Be Baptized
by Terry Wane Benton Babies should not be baptized. They haven’t sinned, don’t disbelieve or believe, don’t know what repentance is about, and can’t confess Jesus. Dunking such persons in water only gets them wet. Calling it baptism does not make it “in the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:38). The Ethiopian Eunuch asked Philip,…
Read MoreJustified then Sanctified?
by Perry Hall For those who don’t consider baptism the point at which God grants us His grace but rather an outward sign of inward grace, some propose moving baptism from the justification column to the sanctification column. Here are two problems with that. First, the scriptural problem considering Scripture is our authority. Notice how…
Read MoreWhat if I am afraid to be under water?
Question: Hi, I have a question. I am talking with someone who has not been baptized but has a fear or phobia of being underwater. How could I biblically answer this? Thanks! Answer: I know several people who fear being underwater, including my own mother. I’m not minimizing the fear, but understand that courage is…
Read MoreIs Baptism a Symbol?
by Terry Wane Benton “Jesus’s blood saves us. It has nothing to do with baptism. Water baptism is symbolic of what happens to us when our sins are washed away by His blood.” Answer: Why do we need a symbol? If the real thing happened, it happened. How does baptism have any value if it…
Read MoreWhy didn’t Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus?
Question: Why didn’t Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus in the gospel of John when he asked? Answer: Great question. I love Nicodemus’s story, and I believe it can help us understand the need for water baptism. Firstly, I would like to say we don’t see the whole story of Nicodemus played out. All we see…
Read MoreBaptism, Grace, and Works
by Andy Belknap There are many people today who believe that baptism (immersion) is not essential to being saved. I truly believe this is one of Satan’s grandest lies that he has successfully spread throughout the ages. What greater way is there to snatch souls away from God than to sow deceit and confusion around…
Read MoreCannot!
by Don Hooton When Nicodemus came to Jesus, the chat was pretty brief. Nicodemus: “You must be from God because of the signs!” Jesus: “Seriously, you cannot…” Tilting the religious world upside down, Jesus said that some cannot. In our world, where possibilities are said to be behind every impossibility, we sometimes imagine wrongly that…
Read MoreDo I not have enough faith?
Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I have a question in one of your articles titled: Does true faith mean the command to be baptized does not save a person? You said that: “A person who does not obey demonstrates by his actions that he doesn’t really believe.” I have OCD, and I end up doubting Jesus…
Read MoreCleansing the Soul
https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cleansing-the-Soul.mp3 by Garry Floyd Download Audio
Read MoreDead and Raised
by Terry Wane Benton Paul describes our pre-conversion state as “dead in trespasses and sin” (Ephesians 2:1). We walked like others in the world, but we were spiritually dead toward God. But from our dead state, He “made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:5). We were “raised up together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6). This…
Read MorePharisaical Works Salvation?
by Terry Wane Benton One fellow said the following: “Terry Wane Benton, why must you be so wrapped up in your salvation by works just like the Pharisees? Jesus despised the Pharisees for this very mentality that you are showing. Grace and grace alone allow you to enter into heaven.” Grace is the only thing…
Read MoreBaptism in History
by Ed Harrell via Christianity Magazine, December 1984 My reading of the New Testament makes very clear the meaning and intent of baptism — it was a “burial” that put one “into Christ” and resulted in the “remission of sins” (Romans 6:3–4; Acts 2:38). Of course, we should always be willing to examine our reading…
Read MoreThe Like Figure Whereunto …
by Terry Wane Benton The flood water is the figure, the type, and baptism is the antitype, the real thing prefigured (I Peter 3:20-21) by the flood water. So, how was the flood water the figure? It was the chosen means to wash away a sinful world and deliver Noah and his family to a…
Read MoreBy One Spirit (Benton)
by Terry Wane Benton “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free persons, and all were made to drink one Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:13 LEB) The “by” tells us the influence that compelled us to be baptized (immersed) into the body of Christ. They were…
Read MoreThe Right to Become
by Terry Wane Benton “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Jesus gave certain people the right to become children of God. Unbelievers are not given this right. But even believers are not automatically in. The…
Read MoreAccording to the Pattern
by Jefferson David Tant An interesting passage in Hebrews 8 contains a statement that has an important message for us today, even as it did when it was written thousands of years ago. It mentions the fact that God has a “pattern” that is to be respected and followed. It points out that even Christ…
Read MoreThe Case of the Philippian Jailor
by Terry Wane Benton He wanted to know, “What shall I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The details of why believe in Jesus, what to believe about Jesus, and how to express faith in Jesus followed. In other words,…
Read More“Because Of” or “Into”?
by Terry Wane Benton The Argument: “In addition to Acts 2:38, there are three other verses where the Greek word eis is used in conjunction with the word “baptize” or “baptism.” The first of these is Matthew 3:11, “baptize you with water for repentance.” Clearly the Greek word eis cannot mean “in order to get”…
Read MoreFor (eis) the Remission of Sins
by Terry Wane Benton It is argued by some that “for” the remission of sins, as used in Acts 2:38, should be understood to mean “because of” the remission of sins you already have. They say it is like we use the term when saying, “Take some ibuprofen for your headache.” In that case, “for”…
Read MoreBaptismal Regeneration?
by Terry Wane Benton Some teach and believe that the water of baptism is in no way tied to regeneration or salvation. They think it is something you do after salvation as just a symbol of what already happened in your heart. We see no proof of that view in the scriptures. All verses that…
Read MoreSince baptism is a burial, shouldn’t everything be under simultaneously?
Question: Dear Minister, I was recently baptized. The water was not very deep, but the baptizer said it was deep enough. It was deep enough to be immersed in, but still shallow enough to be risky to have part of the body not fully immersed at the same time. The photo of my baptism shows…
Read MoreDid the Catholic Church edit Matthew 28:19?
Question: What baptismal proclamation was used in your baptism? Probably you were baptized, “In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Do you know that this Baptismal Proclamation is not the original text commanded by Jesus Christ as in Matthew 28:19? The Roman Catholic Church has edited and replaced…
Read MoreIf Baptism Was a Work
by Terry Wane Benton The claim is made that baptism cannot be part of the salvation process (the process from lost sinner to saved and justified in Christ) because it is claimed that “baptism is a work” and “we are saved through faith and not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, this claim is very faulty…
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