COGIC ADULTS MENS SUNDAY SCHOOL BOOK November 11, 2025 Acts 16:1-5,8-15 KJV
West Angeles Cogic Church Cathedral Los Angeles California
My COGIC WORSHIP: 1Corithians 15:3-4 KJV My Interpetation I Acts 15:1-3 KJV I Reverence God Introduction My Interpetation: I Reverence the only God, word, voice- only seed of God ,fruit with submission, faith and promise. VV 8-12 My Interpetation I Reverence God that allows me to always be on time and word I ask To be bade in Holy Ghost giving me a word to be done for me and prospering, also Christian Church-Community ,making you want to listen and obey.
Thank you for your response Bennymkje. This question from your comment seems to reflect how you understood mine to Lbooth1955, "We walk by faith which entails work, don't you think?"
You may have misunderstood my comments, believing that I was denouncing works as the proper response to a genuine faith. Not at all, works that follow such a God-given faith must exist, or else it is no faith at all (and James deals with this quite well). So, it is not a work that results from faith that I refer to, but a work that must accompany faith to make our salvation real & effective.
The point I tried to make earlier, was that water baptism that accompanies repentance, belief, and faith, is a true baptism and not a work for it is part & parcel of one's testimony of a new life identified and received in Christ. And this is what I read in the Word by the many examples given ( Acts 2:38,41; Acts 8:12,13; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 9:17,18; Acts 10:21,44-48; Acts 16:14,15; Acts 16:30-33; Acts 18:8). All these folk were baptized immediately, or very soon after repenting and believing. Baptism here was not a 'work' added to salvation, but a very real part of one's witness before man & within oneself. In those days (as in some countries now), many would have suffered great loss or ostracization for turning to Christ, so baptism at that early stage was truly a bold declaration of love for the Savior & turning away from religion (& family) as a very real part of conversion.
Anything we do that adds to our salvation (even water baptism, if we deem it necessary to make our salvation real), is a work. And if that work, whether baptism, doing good deeds for others, attending to Jewish Law, etc., ensures our salvation, then our salvation is no longer of faith, but of works. For the salvation of God through His Son to be effective in our lives, it must be devoid of anything that attaches to that God-given faith; for that faith does save when it remains pure, free from all associations.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"
Acts 22:16
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Acts 18:8
"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
"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 16:15
"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."
Matthew 24:35
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Thanks again for your replies Lbooth1955. I've read through them and noted what GiGi has also responded, with good questions to you; so I won't repeat them here.
Though I would say, that I tried to do some research on this interesting perception of Peter preaching a Gospel of Grace under the Law, whereas Paul preached Grace alone. I referred to a long well written article by Shawn Brasseaux: "Did Peter and Paul preach the same message". I believe that he too aligned with your understanding, but the points that stood out to me, were still more in line with the secondary points of the ministry of the Gospel rather than its core (essential) points.
He raised Paul's use of the "revelation of the mystery", that some of Paul's words "were hard to be understood", "the Gospel of the uncircumcision & the Gospel of the circumcision", Peter's statement in Acts 2:38 as opposed to Paul's in Acts 16:31, or even Paul's reference to "my Gospel being kept secret". Having considered these points, I still fail to see any clear deviation from the pure Gospel message that both apostles preached, rather their words were given as they were led to speak (and act upon) that Christ might be magnified & that all men (whether Jew or Gentile) would turn to Him in faith. For the Jew, to cast off the adherence to the Law for salvation (for the compulsions of the Law & Grace through Faith are totally incompatible); and for the Gentile, to turn from idols receiving God's Grace by His Son through Faith.
As a rule; there were almost no personal prayers mentioned in the New Testament. We don't have record of most of Jesus' prayers and discussions with God but in terms of the Apostles the closest we get is Paul asking for boldness ( Ephesians 6:19-20).
This is intriguing indeed considering how bold Paul already was as to a prayer He would ask others to give on his behalf. Paul's prayers were ever for the church who He prayed for day and night; in the case of 2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night (was said by Paul to Timothy).
Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
This beautiful prayer certainly shows Paul's wishes for the Ephesian church; which makes the situation in Revelation 2:1-7 even more pitiful. They had forgotten their first love.
And of course as I am sure I pointed out before we have prayers for Peter's escape from prison ( Acts 12:5-17) and Paul's miraculous escape also Acts 16:25-34 when prayer and praise of Paul and Silas was followed by the gates opening. This would lead at least the jailor and his family to faith in the Lord.
Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe. ( 1 Cor. 14:22)
Nonetheless; we see one aspect of tongues in a heavenly language is for self edification and hence it is for the believer only if no interpretation exists and presumably it would have to be another earthly language if outsiders who were nonbelievers happened to hear it.
In the same passages of Corinthians we see prophecy discussed as being for edification of believers; nonetheless something like a famine and preparation for such would likely be observed by the world. What we don't see here as I emphasized in the last posting is some big demonstration on video of these true spiritual gifts to promulgate a sideshow; much like the enemy was doing with the possessed woman in Acts 16:16-18. We note that in this particular case the truth was being said Jesus was the way not just a way to be saved. This level of deception requires discernment that I would say is largely nonexistent today with error rife in so many so called ministries.
in short; of course we "all need each other". That is the purpose of the gifts to edify as well as of course in some cases draw those God has called. We are warned; for instance to not hastily lay hands on someone in 1 Timothy 5:22. We could end up either being affected by a demon or allowing someone not tested or mature to inadvertently or perhaps even deliberately pass on a demon to someone desiring healing.
There are two extremes as with any situation that we can fall prey to. In the first as stated above we can assume that we can trust those in our church fellowship who on the outside conform to what is considered normal church patterns of behavior without testing their convictions and fruit in their lives. We also can close our hearts to correction; to those who may visit from the outside or untrained laypersons of discernment.
Dear God Father in Heaven. We thank You for all things in the Holy Name of Jesus Christ! You who shall have all honor, all attention. We praise Your Holy Name from now on and forever. For You Lord distribute the Good Gifts. Thank You for meeting everyone who asks You Lord! Thank You for doing so. Thank You Lord Jesus. You see our striving, our worry and anxiety. Thank You Lord for strengthening Yours, here on earth. Amen
Dear "E" the only thing we can do is and would believe in Jesus. Everything comes from Him. You certainly do belive! You pray everyday. Personally, I believe that you have already received the Holy Spirit. Because when we come to believe in Jesus and thank Him, it eventually becomes clear that one has become a different person. We learn differently. We are to be members of His body. Therefore, we receive different gifts of grace. But everyone feels need in their hearts for their fellow human beings, because we want to tell/show them the good news about Jesus! And what is needed then is confession. Confess thank you Jesus! For everyone you meet. It is not difficult. It is just to go out into it. And the Lord Jesus will then confirm His presence and help you in all things. ps. I got a word from a brother last night. It says: Rev 3:20 and more, see here in the
Acts 2:38 and more. Try everything "E"! Peter and John were in the temple Acts 3:1-10 or when Paul and Silas were in prison described in Acts 16:25-34 This was new apostolic times and as then Jesus sends out the same Holy Spirit to those who confess His Name. So believe, confess Jesus and you will see the spiritual gifts. And you will burst into joy and praise to the Lord who is always with us all in our hearts.
Apostle Paul was super deep into Judaism as a Pharisee.
Acts 22:3
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Apostle Paul took in Timothy and circumcised him to welcome him in Judaism.
Acts 16:1
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, namedTimotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
There is no proof that Apostle Paul wrote Hebrews, but he did have a love for his Jewish people. Apostle Paul always addresses himself in all his epistles.
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18
17The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
Colossians 4:18
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
18The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
All we know, that Hebrews was written to Jews for the coming Tribulation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Acts 15:38 - But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
But Paul thought, and that is in the Imperfect Tense. Paul was continually thinking this is not good to take him with them, who departed, and departed here means defection in Greek. So, Paul and Barnabas are really going nose to nose here.
I mean Paul is flat out calling John Mark a deserter, not just somebody who went home. He says, it's not good to take him. He defected last time from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
And that's what Paul is looking at, is that he went through Cyprus with us through the good time, but when it came to the hard times, he wanted to turn around and go back.
Acts 16:16 - And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, and in the Greek text, it is called the spirit of python, a snake! It's the spirit of python.
In Greek mythology, Apollos won a victory over his enemy and in his celebration, he decided to embed himself into a body of a python.
So, they always felt that a demonic spirit, a pythonic spirit could indwell someone, and even though it is a snake, things could come out well in the human.
Check this out: A spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by fortune telling: That's where it comes from.
But please note, because you know the spirits not going to stay there, right? With Paul there? Notice that once the demonic spirit's cast out, she can't tell fortunes anymore, which means with the demonic spirit, she can tell people's fortunes. She was good at it!
Satan can give people the ability whether it is generalized or not to see in the future.
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
How can you come along side with those with fear and help them out of their fears?
My Respond:
In my days of living among the Christian Church community those who were Christian passed out gospel tracks with writings and scriptures which led people how to receive Jesus Christ as God as Saviour in repentance of sins and inviting them to learn about how to be saved and live in receiving Jesus Christ .I believe these too can be signs and in places , institutions that can change fear into confidence.
1 Peter 4:11 KJV
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Day 65 on GOD's calendar, of 153 day count spring/summer Pentecost rapture. Sunday is the REAL sabbath day. Get In the Ark NOW! BEFORE the Rapture - You MUST Only Believe in Jesus of Nazareth's Death, Burial and Resurrection to be eternally saved. 1 Cor 15:1-4 & Acts 16:31
AFTER the Rapture - You MUST Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe without shame. Romans 10:9-13
1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Daniel 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Isaiah 10:7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
When the Antichrist arrives; perhaps he doesn't even realize what his destiny is or how far Satan will lead him into destruction at the outset. Prophecy in Daniel mentions his flattery as well as understanding "dark sentences" or the occult. Dividing the land for gain also shows how everyone gets a piece of the action in the Daniel 9:27 covenant; which certainly sounds like some of the concepts going on today to get the Saudis involved as well as other nations to make the borders acceptable to all with the reconfigurations planned.
Going back to our lives today; we could look simply at food and clothing ( 1 Tim. 6:8) and be content (notice it doesn't even mention shelter). However as Paul stated he learned to be content in want as well as plenty ( Philippians 4:11-13). With peace of course we have joy; so that Paul and Silas could sing and pray joyfully in shackled chains ( Acts 16:25-26). The Lord gave them a quick deliverance at that point; with the jailor and his family coming to faith and being baptized before the authorities released them the next day along with Paul's insistence on escort out since they were Roman citizens. His later imprisonments would be longer although he had much latitude in leading other prisoners; and eventually of course he was martyred.
We are seated in heavenly places (Hebrews I think). We have peace the world can't have ( John 14:27). Let us warn others about false peace and avoid the pitfalls ourselves.
So the problem is: if God saves BEFORE we can believe - and Belief/Faith can only happen at the moment of salvation, what then is the penitent sinner believing & calling out to God in faith, if it is not Believing & Faith itself. Rather, it may be better stated, 'that the Holy Spirit at the proper time gives the needed Grace & Faith to believe ( Ephesians 2:8), yet the sinner coming to the Lord still needs Faith to believe by the Grace of God - and I believe that this Faith in no way contributes to God's Work of Salvation. As well, if a sinner is born again, he already has expressed belief/faith, therefore it cannot happen at or after salvation is given.
Acts 16:30,31, describes this matter well. The Philippian jailer, after seeing what took place in his prison, cried out to Paul & Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The jailer was still unregenerate at this point, when Paul & Silas said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house". The jailer, as all sinners, have to believe on Jesus & His finished Work for them - and this belief is when they are still in sin & not at or after salvation.
As to your question you have received several answers, my understanding in the Bible baptism is done only by immersion as the word means. As Jesse said sprinkling did not start until the 1300s and it was for the reason it was so inconvenient. So, this was done just because of convenience's sake, nothing Biblical about it. I agree with Giannis, and we must believe as Jesus said in Mark 16:16.
All we do is to be done in our Lord Jesus's name, Colossians 3:16-17. Many use Matthew 28:19 but we also see in the rest of Scripture that a person who is baptized in Jesus' name is someone who believes in Jesus as Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God who for us died, was buried, and was resurrected we acknowledge this by being baptized in His name, Acts 2:38Acts 8:12Acts 8:16Acts 10:48Acts 19:5Acts 22:16Romans 6:3Galatians 3:27Colossians 2:12Ephesians 4:5.
Paul shows the importance of being baptized in the name of Jesus, Acts 19:1-6. God has placed Jesus and His name above all that is in heaven and earth, Matthew 28:18Philippians 2:9-11. Salvation only comes in His name Acts 4:12Romans 10:13. The name of Jesus is the source of power and authority for healing, miracles, and deliverance, Mark 16:17Luke 10:17Acts 4:7Acts 4:30Acts 16:18.
We are to give thanks in Jesus's name, Ephesians 5:20. Our faith is through Him and in His name, Acts 3:16. We must believe in Jesus, John 3:16John 6:47Acts 16:311 John 3:231 John 5:13. Whatever we ask for we are to ask in His name, John 14:13-14. We are to pray to the Father in His name, James 5:14. Jesus is our priest and the only mediator between God and men, 1 Timothy 2:5.
If we don't have assurance of salvation then of course we are fickle in any witnessing endeavors and it is hard to reflect the hope within us ( 1 Peter 3:15). We must have confidence and as Phillipians 1:28 states And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Part of this is giving a bold defense of judgment to come as John 16:8 states is how the Spirit works on men's hearts. If we doubt ourselves because of what men think; or somehow think we can dodge verses that state categorically that what is stated in 2 Timothy 3:12 about all who are Godly suffering persecution we are only fooling ourselves. Society today has gone to great lengths to ensure we don't offend anyone but the Gospel IS an offense ( 1 Peter 2:8). Having a proper foundation of scripture is necessary to give a sound testimony. Hell and judgment should be taught with fear and trembling; not with a proud attitude but nonetheless must be preached.
We have made too much of presentation in form rather than substance with a sideshow of music and a "two spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down" to quote an old tune probably not familiar to young folks here. Revelation 10:10 states that although it tastes sweet it was bitter in the stomach (in regard to the prophetic words John was to speak). When we are surrendured to the Spirit we will see reactions like the jailor in Acts 16:30 "what must I do to be saved?" NOWHERE in scripture to we see pleading and cajoling for any individual to be saved. God draws all those who He eventually saves; so we should let Him do the work and get out of the way ourselves and any agenda that isn't Biblically sound. Only the Spirit convicts of sin and until it does that work we can only sow a seed. The numbers game where prizes are offered when a certain number of new converts a day make a confession is an abomination.
Things didn't work out this time for my trip; won't bore anyone with the details.
I am meditating on Phillipians 1:12-14
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
There are other verses as well that show God using Paul; such as the story in Acts 16:33-35 where the jailor and his family were baptized.
There is no doubt that what caused people to grow bolder was Paul's continuing determination under fierce persecution as well as his heartelt love and committment to the churches he founded. Today; it seems with many missionaries in far away countries at least here in the USA people can keep their distance in terms of feeling a close kinship; and in the intensity of prayers. Of course it is reciprocal to some degree as it was with Paul who was encouraged by those who gave which made up for the lack of others. Paul of course was the perfect example of a selfless believer; accepting hunger and thirst when necessary and doing work of menial labor of tentmaking to supplement monies so as not to be a burden.
Such opportunities do exist today among certain organizations that write to prisoners in restricted countries who are incarcerated due to their faith in terms of written communications with careful restrictions for their own safety as to the contents. God measures every tear in a bottle as ( Psalm 56:8). Psalm 30:5 says For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. This verse is better suited for the explanation of the chastisement of God with Israel and their eventual restoration but also shows that our sufferings in this life are temporal.
I was in a very odd situation with a former OPC church I attended where I was granted a sort of "partial" membership without ascribing to their stance on infant baptism. There are a couple other issues which would keep me out of a similar place in the future (that church shut down 6 or 7 years ago due to lack of attendance). I will say that it wasn't required that I believed in their stance on Postmillenialism; although I may have mentioned here in the past when it was brought up how foolish it was to believe in the Antichrist and Mark of the Beast in one of their sermons and I took them up on that they sort of backed down. It wasn't a requirement to adhere to their eschatology, although it was a rather cliquish sort of mentality at that place. I agreed to disagree with them without such banter so I thought it only fair; however of course it was their belief.
In any case; infant baptism has cast a rather nebulous picture in my mind as to explanations; somehow holding what children or infants were commemorated with when they become adults and rebel as if they had some sort of inherent partaking of a covenant; I suppose equivalent to the Israelites who were "baptized" by crossing the Red Sea. ( 1 Cor. 10:2). No one I know actually thinks someone is saved through infant baptism but nonetheless they seem in my mind to have carried on a Catholic tradition through the Reformers in the past. I also had a "rebaptism"; having argued beforehand the sprinkling of water should also be legitimate ( Ezekiel 36:25). In my case I had it done that way along with my wife at the time because she had a balance issue going totally underwater; but I rededicated myself to a commitment as a church member when I had an immersion at the founding of a church I used to attend at its inception almost 10 years ago. Seeing how quickly Philip baptized the eunuch in Acts 8; and the jailor with his family ( Acts 16:33) it should follow salvation quickly.
Acts 16:30-33 states: And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
This passage shows what appears at first glance to be a statement that supports the idea of infant baptism; or that entire households as a given are saved as a result of one person coming to faith. I would take it more as a word of knowledge on Paul's part. We see in this passage in verse 32 that the Gospel was spoken to the entire household of the jail guard first; and immediately afterwards baptism occurred (although it is not clear where that was done in the middle of the night).
The main concept here is that with the earthquake and releasing of chains at midnight of Paul and all the prisoners brought great fear; and that this shows the Biblical prescident for faith; that is an emphasis on the fear of the Lord and a desire for the individual to come to faith without prodding or compulsion by others as is the style today. When we see other verses such as in Acts when Agrippa almost was convinced to be a Christian ( Acts 26:28) it was through Paul's eloquent appeal. Repent and believe is a general call; but I can't find any specific verses where an individual is called to make a confession of faith such as in modern day "altar calls". This shows that a heart must be ready; and how frequently such commitments are made due to pressure from man; rather than genuine conviction. The appeal in Acts to the Jews was that the one they had crucified was indeed the Christ ( Acts 2:23). Such response brings persecution as all who are giving a genuine convicting message of truth; this is opposed to today's easy believism without counting the cost which happens often.
Hebrews 11:1 states: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." In my last post I discussed the concept of repentance and that it isn't something we merely learn by our own wisdom or intuition but that it is a gift from God as many scriptures state. 2 Timothy 2:25 as well as scriptures in Acts; 2 Peter and Romans show how repentance is granted or given by the Lord. As stated in my earlier comments no contrition on our part is able to save us. This is not to say; however that the admonition in Romans 6:1-2 isn't pertinent; we shouldn't seek to sin more for more grace. Our testimony should come from a genuine admission of realization of our state before salvation. We realize that we are no better than a murderer; adulterer or any other sinner that is repugnant to society at large. Of course our NATURE has to be understood; or else we are as Judas Iscariot did just sorry for our actions rather than realizing the cause is a rotten heart needing to die to itself and be rebirthed. Peter had a downfall and Thomas doubted but they recognized the Lord when He made Himself known to them.
My earlier statements should by no means detract from the importance of emulating external actions which are outflows of GOOD FRUIT in our lives. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (easy to memorize with this numbering) gives Paul's exhortation to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Demonstrations of such behaviors are much like a parent to a child in this case. How we need such examples in church leadership today! How many of these mega pastors live even close to Paul who would work for himself so as not to burden the churches and suffer as he did with deprivation and imprisonment for the cause of Christ?
We are not to idolize people but those of Godly character should motivate us; and also bring the fear of the Lord and His holiness to unbelievers as Paul did with the prison guard ( Acts 16:30-33). Our lifestyles must back up our words.
I am glad to hear you had a great time over the holidays, I hope you were able to rest your heels of travel. Yes, it is the circumcision of the heart that the reformation begins, and the Holy Spirit inspires true worship. Worship is our response to what the Spirit reveals to us about God.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We do this with our renewed minds led by the Spirit not with our wisdom and emotions, they can be deceived. Being deceived is to be easily caught up or carried away or taken out of the way, the favorite tool of Satan, like prey taken in the mouth of a lion.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: If we are deceived, we are devoured. We must be vigilant daily to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, Jesus. Daily, as the Apostles did in the beginning, preaching the Gospel of Jesus every day, Acts 2:46-47Acts 5:42Acts 16:5.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
The scriptures show multiple times such as Matthew 27:19 with Pilate's wife (who may or may not have come to saving faith) and with Paul in particular (with the jailor who he had a chance to bring to faith along with his whole family) in Acts 16:30-33. The jailor even showed compassion in washing the stripes from whipping of Paul that apparently occurred earlier. There were others who Paul was able to bring to faith who were often wives of important officials.
Jesus; of course knew what He was talking about since we ALL start out as enemies of God. This puts us on an even playing field so to speak; so that we cannot understand how God can change the heart of a serial killer but not of someone who always seems to be a "nice person" whether our family members or friends. It isn't so much important to browbeat someone as to their sinfulness to convince them to repent; ASSUMING that we are preaching about the sorry state of human souls in general with unregenerate hearts. This is how the Gospel was preached; those in authority were given general and very harsh rebukes by Christ as part of the general call. WE certainly need to clearly speak of how Jesus saved us from total depravity or however we want to describe our sorry state before salvation.
Matthew 10:28 shows what we should NOT fear (our death) and what our persecutors SHOULD fear (see also Philippians 1:28).
Easier said than done; actually not possible apart from the Spirit giving us the utterance (see Luke 12:12).
We must remember God determines when our last day is on earth not Satan or man. No doubt Satan desires 24/7 to destroy us so we must always be vigilant and not let our guard down. The same should be said in prayer for those suffering persecution today.
Well maybe David0921 I may have misunderstood you (which caused you to be puzzled). You did state, "God does not save anyone BECAUSE we Believe. But if and when God Saves an individual by His MERCY and GRACE alone, they will Believe. Our BELIEF, our REPENTANCE are good works that we do as a RESULT of our Salvation." When I read this statement, it appeared you're stating that Belief & Repentance are necessary (good works) but are the result (could read it as, products) of our Salvation. If something results from an activity, it is assumed that the activity takes place first. So, if Salvation comes first, then how does Belief & Repentance result from it?
As well, in this last comment from you, you write, "Repentance and Belief of someone whom God has saved or plans to savedoes NOT contribute in any way whatsoever TOWARDS their salvation. These are good works that we do because God has saved us or in the process of drawing us to salvation". So even here it seems that Repentance and Belief, though non-contributing to salvation (and I agree to this part), but are evidences post-Salvation or during Salvation. Maybe your thought of Repentance is the continual attitude of the believer in his day-to-day life/warfare, and not of an initial repentance required for salvation; or even, if someone is the Elect of God, he must be saved from the beginning even as a sinner, but only has to repent & believe when he realizes his state. So, I too remain perplexed for I too don't believe that Repentance & Belief can be added to God's Gift of Salvation or else they would be considered as Works; YET I know that Repentance & Belief are necessary to grant Salvation ( Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).
I believe, David 0921, that my "decision to accept Christ" was the response of a Work of God the Spirit before that. Let's look at the example in Acts 16:18-34 (of the Philippian Jailer & his salvation).
When he asked Paul & Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?", Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house". Clearly, the jailer had to do a work (= to believe). Was it a requirement to gain salvation which as you reminded us, is all of Grace alone? Not at all - it was a Response to receive the Gift- he had to believe to receive.
So what went on prior to this moment when the jailer cried out to know the way of Salvation? All we're told is that he witnessed an earthquake, saw prison doors flung open, & prisoners' chains falling off. What else took place? We're not told, but from we have before us, with the extraordinary events taking place before his eyes which he couldn't deny, caused him in a moment to re-examine his obstinacy towards the God of Israel, have a glimmer of the Truth from the witnessors search his heart, and of course, the Work of the Holy Spirit to convict.
In answer to the jailer's question, Paul said, "Believe". And no doubt when Paul & Silas "spake unto him the word of the Lord (the Gospel), and to all that were in his house", they would have acknowledged their sins & repented. True, Salvation is all of Grace, but the sinner still needs to repent (a work), & still needs to believe (a work). All these must take place prior to salvation being given - not after. None of it are contributions towards a person's salvation - but all are responses to the Spirit's Work.
There are a few places in Acts that speak of the whole household being baptized. it doesn't explicitly exclude babies and children. For those who adhere to infant baptism, it is seen as entering into a covenant with God an His community of faith-filled believers. Infant baptism is seen as bringing upon an infant the saving work of God in Christ as parents obey the command of Jesus to baptize ALL nations and instruct these who are baptized in the life of faith in Jesus. Those who practice infant baptism recognized that all are born dead to God and need to be made alive in Christ, which they believe happens through baptism of infants and children because their parents' consent to obey this command of Christ. These believe that the Holy Spirit implants faith in the infant or child in baptism, whereas before they had not faith to believe. They believe in such baptism all the work is done by God in the infant or child. He gives the faith, He gives the forgiveness of sins with the washing of His Word (the gospel) spoken over the child. Denominations that practice infant baptism besides Catholicism are Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian/Anglican, and perhaps others.
Others, who do not embrace infant baptism, allow for children to be baptized upon an open confession of faith in Christ by the child. Some have an age limit, others do not because Jesus said that we are not to hinder children from coming unto him.
Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16; Acts 2:3; , Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33Acts 22:16
Others only allow what is called "believer's baptism" where one must believe the gospel in order to be baptized. Jesus says in Mark 16:16 to believe and be baptized. See also: Acts 2:41; Acts 16:18:8
I think that there is Biblical merit to all of these teachings about Baptism. Each person must pray for the Holy Spirit to lead them as to whether or not their children should be baptized when very young.
Reading your posts unto me, I remember Acts 16:16-18KJV : "It came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, and the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high GOD, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her".
West Angeles Cogic Church Cathedral Los Angeles California
My COGIC WORSHIP: 1Corithians 15:3-4 KJV My Interpetation I Acts 15:1-3 KJV I Reverence God Introduction My Interpetation: I Reverence the only God, word, voice- only seed of God ,fruit with submission, faith and promise. VV 8-12 My Interpetation I Reverence God that allows me to always be on time and word I ask To be bade in Holy Ghost giving me a word to be done for me and prospering, also Christian Church-Community ,making you want to listen and obey.
You may have misunderstood my comments, believing that I was denouncing works as the proper response to a genuine faith. Not at all, works that follow such a God-given faith must exist, or else it is no faith at all (and James deals with this quite well). So, it is not a work that results from faith that I refer to, but a work that must accompany faith to make our salvation real & effective.
The point I tried to make earlier, was that water baptism that accompanies repentance, belief, and faith, is a true baptism and not a work for it is part & parcel of one's testimony of a new life identified and received in Christ. And this is what I read in the Word by the many examples given ( Acts 2:38,41; Acts 8:12,13; Acts 8:36-38; Acts 9:17,18; Acts 10:21,44-48; Acts 16:14,15; Acts 16:30-33; Acts 18:8). All these folk were baptized immediately, or very soon after repenting and believing. Baptism here was not a 'work' added to salvation, but a very real part of one's witness before man & within oneself. In those days (as in some countries now), many would have suffered great loss or ostracization for turning to Christ, so baptism at that early stage was truly a bold declaration of love for the Savior & turning away from religion (& family) as a very real part of conversion.
Anything we do that adds to our salvation (even water baptism, if we deem it necessary to make our salvation real), is a work. And if that work, whether baptism, doing good deeds for others, attending to Jewish Law, etc., ensures our salvation, then our salvation is no longer of faith, but of works. For the salvation of God through His Son to be effective in our lives, it must be devoid of anything that attaches to that God-given faith; for that faith does save when it remains pure, free from all associations.
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:"
Acts 22:16
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Acts 18:8
"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
"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 16:15
"And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us."
Matthew 24:35
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Blessings
Thanks again for your replies Lbooth1955. I've read through them and noted what GiGi has also responded, with good questions to you; so I won't repeat them here.
Though I would say, that I tried to do some research on this interesting perception of Peter preaching a Gospel of Grace under the Law, whereas Paul preached Grace alone. I referred to a long well written article by Shawn Brasseaux: "Did Peter and Paul preach the same message". I believe that he too aligned with your understanding, but the points that stood out to me, were still more in line with the secondary points of the ministry of the Gospel rather than its core (essential) points.
He raised Paul's use of the "revelation of the mystery", that some of Paul's words "were hard to be understood", "the Gospel of the uncircumcision & the Gospel of the circumcision", Peter's statement in Acts 2:38 as opposed to Paul's in Acts 16:31, or even Paul's reference to "my Gospel being kept secret". Having considered these points, I still fail to see any clear deviation from the pure Gospel message that both apostles preached, rather their words were given as they were led to speak (and act upon) that Christ might be magnified & that all men (whether Jew or Gentile) would turn to Him in faith. For the Jew, to cast off the adherence to the Law for salvation (for the compulsions of the Law & Grace through Faith are totally incompatible); and for the Gentile, to turn from idols receiving God's Grace by His Son through Faith.
Onto Page 2.
This is intriguing indeed considering how bold Paul already was as to a prayer He would ask others to give on his behalf. Paul's prayers were ever for the church who He prayed for day and night; in the case of 2 Timothy 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night (was said by Paul to Timothy).
Ephesians 3:14-21 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
This beautiful prayer certainly shows Paul's wishes for the Ephesian church; which makes the situation in Revelation 2:1-7 even more pitiful. They had forgotten their first love.
And of course as I am sure I pointed out before we have prayers for Peter's escape from prison ( Acts 12:5-17) and Paul's miraculous escape also Acts 16:25-34 when prayer and praise of Paul and Silas was followed by the gates opening. This would lead at least the jailor and his family to faith in the Lord.
Nonetheless; we see one aspect of tongues in a heavenly language is for self edification and hence it is for the believer only if no interpretation exists and presumably it would have to be another earthly language if outsiders who were nonbelievers happened to hear it.
In the same passages of Corinthians we see prophecy discussed as being for edification of believers; nonetheless something like a famine and preparation for such would likely be observed by the world. What we don't see here as I emphasized in the last posting is some big demonstration on video of these true spiritual gifts to promulgate a sideshow; much like the enemy was doing with the possessed woman in Acts 16:16-18. We note that in this particular case the truth was being said Jesus was the way not just a way to be saved. This level of deception requires discernment that I would say is largely nonexistent today with error rife in so many so called ministries.
in short; of course we "all need each other". That is the purpose of the gifts to edify as well as of course in some cases draw those God has called. We are warned; for instance to not hastily lay hands on someone in 1 Timothy 5:22. We could end up either being affected by a demon or allowing someone not tested or mature to inadvertently or perhaps even deliberately pass on a demon to someone desiring healing.
There are two extremes as with any situation that we can fall prey to. In the first as stated above we can assume that we can trust those in our church fellowship who on the outside conform to what is considered normal church patterns of behavior without testing their convictions and fruit in their lives. We also can close our hearts to correction; to those who may visit from the outside or untrained laypersons of discernment.
look I now that sometimes we should curse the Devil in jesus' name
and praise the Lord in every thing ! Acts 16: 25- 26!
Dear "E" the only thing we can do is and would believe in Jesus. Everything comes from Him. You certainly do belive! You pray everyday. Personally, I believe that you have already received the Holy Spirit. Because when we come to believe in Jesus and thank Him, it eventually becomes clear that one has become a different person. We learn differently. We are to be members of His body. Therefore, we receive different gifts of grace. But everyone feels need in their hearts for their fellow human beings, because we want to tell/show them the good news about Jesus! And what is needed then is confession. Confess thank you Jesus! For everyone you meet. It is not difficult. It is just to go out into it. And the Lord Jesus will then confirm His presence and help you in all things. ps. I got a word from a brother last night. It says: Rev 3:20 and more, see here in the
Acts 2:38 and more. Try everything "E"! Peter and John were in the temple Acts 3:1-10 or when Paul and Silas were in prison described in Acts 16:25-34 This was new apostolic times and as then Jesus sends out the same Holy Spirit to those who confess His Name. So believe, confess Jesus and you will see the spiritual gifts. And you will burst into joy and praise to the Lord who is always with us all in our hearts.
Rom 5:1 and in Rom 10:9-11
Love u in Christ Jesus He wants!
Apostle Paul was super deep into Judaism as a Pharisee.
Acts 22:3
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.
Apostle Paul took in Timothy and circumcised him to welcome him in Judaism.
Acts 16:1
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, namedTimotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:
There is no proof that Apostle Paul wrote Hebrews, but he did have a love for his Jewish people. Apostle Paul always addresses himself in all his epistles.
2 Thessalonians 3:17-18
17The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
Colossians 4:18
18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
18The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen.
All we know, that Hebrews was written to Jews for the coming Tribulation of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Acts 15:38 - But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
But Paul thought, and that is in the Imperfect Tense. Paul was continually thinking this is not good to take him with them, who departed, and departed here means defection in Greek. So, Paul and Barnabas are really going nose to nose here.
I mean Paul is flat out calling John Mark a deserter, not just somebody who went home. He says, it's not good to take him. He defected last time from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work.
And that's what Paul is looking at, is that he went through Cyprus with us through the good time, but when it came to the hard times, he wanted to turn around and go back.
Acts 16:16 - And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, and in the Greek text, it is called the spirit of python, a snake! It's the spirit of python.
In Greek mythology, Apollos won a victory over his enemy and in his celebration, he decided to embed himself into a body of a python.
So, they always felt that a demonic spirit, a pythonic spirit could indwell someone, and even though it is a snake, things could come out well in the human.
Check this out: A spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by fortune telling: That's where it comes from.
But please note, because you know the spirits not going to stay there, right? With Paul there? Notice that once the demonic spirit's cast out, she can't tell fortunes anymore, which means with the demonic spirit, she can tell people's fortunes. She was good at it!
Satan can give people the ability whether it is generalized or not to see in the future.
May I ask, Where in scripture does it say speaking in tongues is the (EVIDENCE) of the Holyspirit being in us?
Also, If the Holyspirit is with us it's because he's IN us!
If you don't have the Holyspirit IN you you haven't been born again!
Do one have to speak in tongues to be saved? NO!
There's instances of some believers using the gift of tongues, but that does not teach that speaking in tongues is EVIDENCE of salvation.
None of the gospel presentations in the New Testament mention tongues.
John 3:16-18
Ephesians 2:1-10.
Acts 4:12.
Acts 16:31;
Romans 10:9-13.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8. Ephesians 2:1-10. ect
If speaking in tongues was necessary for salvation, or even the primary signifier of salvation, we would expect to read much more about tongues.
We have been given Christ!
We have Christ spirit in us!
There's gifts of the Spirit and that is performed by one gift. CHRIST!.
There's also fruit of the Spirit.
That's what needs to be present in a believer. Fruit!
If it's evidence what one is looking for it should be fruit! That means you are connected to the Genuine vine as mentioned in John 15
God requirements for righteousness is perfect and the only way a believer achieves that is Christ righteousness imputed over unto us.
You are given a covering, (Robe of righteousness) to cover the imperfection within you!
You're not perfect and don't meet God's requirements without this covering witch is an atonement for your sins.
Just to think you are perfect in the flesh shows an sinful nature.
1 John 1:8-9.
Blessings.
God bless.
30 He then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
31 They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household."
32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized.
COME LORD JESUS
But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
How can you come along side with those with fear and help them out of their fears?
My Respond:
In my days of living among the Christian Church community those who were Christian passed out gospel tracks with writings and scriptures which led people how to receive Jesus Christ as God as Saviour in repentance of sins and inviting them to learn about how to be saved and live in receiving Jesus Christ .I believe these too can be signs and in places , institutions that can change fear into confidence.
1 Peter 4:11 KJV
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Published by REDAPPLETREATY4MEONLY
AFTER the Rapture - You MUST Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and Believe without shame. Romans 10:9-13
amen
1 Thessalonians 5:3 KJV: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Daniel 11:43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Isaiah 10:7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
When the Antichrist arrives; perhaps he doesn't even realize what his destiny is or how far Satan will lead him into destruction at the outset. Prophecy in Daniel mentions his flattery as well as understanding "dark sentences" or the occult. Dividing the land for gain also shows how everyone gets a piece of the action in the Daniel 9:27 covenant; which certainly sounds like some of the concepts going on today to get the Saudis involved as well as other nations to make the borders acceptable to all with the reconfigurations planned.
Going back to our lives today; we could look simply at food and clothing ( 1 Tim. 6:8) and be content (notice it doesn't even mention shelter). However as Paul stated he learned to be content in want as well as plenty ( Philippians 4:11-13). With peace of course we have joy; so that Paul and Silas could sing and pray joyfully in shackled chains ( Acts 16:25-26). The Lord gave them a quick deliverance at that point; with the jailor and his family coming to faith and being baptized before the authorities released them the next day along with Paul's insistence on escort out since they were Roman citizens. His later imprisonments would be longer although he had much latitude in leading other prisoners; and eventually of course he was martyred.
We are seated in heavenly places (Hebrews I think). We have peace the world can't have ( John 14:27). Let us warn others about false peace and avoid the pitfalls ourselves.
So the problem is: if God saves BEFORE we can believe - and Belief/Faith can only happen at the moment of salvation, what then is the penitent sinner believing & calling out to God in faith, if it is not Believing & Faith itself. Rather, it may be better stated, 'that the Holy Spirit at the proper time gives the needed Grace & Faith to believe ( Ephesians 2:8), yet the sinner coming to the Lord still needs Faith to believe by the Grace of God - and I believe that this Faith in no way contributes to God's Work of Salvation. As well, if a sinner is born again, he already has expressed belief/faith, therefore it cannot happen at or after salvation is given.
Acts 16:30,31, describes this matter well. The Philippian jailer, after seeing what took place in his prison, cried out to Paul & Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" The jailer was still unregenerate at this point, when Paul & Silas said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house". The jailer, as all sinners, have to believe on Jesus & His finished Work for them - and this belief is when they are still in sin & not at or after salvation.
As to your question you have received several answers, my understanding in the Bible baptism is done only by immersion as the word means. As Jesse said sprinkling did not start until the 1300s and it was for the reason it was so inconvenient. So, this was done just because of convenience's sake, nothing Biblical about it. I agree with Giannis, and we must believe as Jesus said in Mark 16:16.
All we do is to be done in our Lord Jesus's name, Colossians 3:16-17. Many use Matthew 28:19 but we also see in the rest of Scripture that a person who is baptized in Jesus' name is someone who believes in Jesus as Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God who for us died, was buried, and was resurrected we acknowledge this by being baptized in His name, Acts 2:38 Acts 8:12 Acts 8:16 Acts 10:48 Acts 19:5 Acts 22:16 Romans 6:3 Galatians 3:27 Colossians 2:12 Ephesians 4:5.
Paul shows the importance of being baptized in the name of Jesus, Acts 19:1-6. God has placed Jesus and His name above all that is in heaven and earth, Matthew 28:18 Philippians 2:9-11. Salvation only comes in His name Acts 4:12 Romans 10:13. The name of Jesus is the source of power and authority for healing, miracles, and deliverance, Mark 16:17 Luke 10:17 Acts 4:7 Acts 4:30 Acts 16:18.
We are to give thanks in Jesus's name, Ephesians 5:20. Our faith is through Him and in His name, Acts 3:16. We must believe in Jesus, John 3:16 John 6:47 Acts 16:31 1 John 3:23 1 John 5:13. Whatever we ask for we are to ask in His name, John 14:13-14. We are to pray to the Father in His name, James 5:14. Jesus is our priest and the only mediator between God and men, 1 Timothy 2:5.
God bless,
RLW
If we don't have assurance of salvation then of course we are fickle in any witnessing endeavors and it is hard to reflect the hope within us ( 1 Peter 3:15). We must have confidence and as Phillipians 1:28 states And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Part of this is giving a bold defense of judgment to come as John 16:8 states is how the Spirit works on men's hearts. If we doubt ourselves because of what men think; or somehow think we can dodge verses that state categorically that what is stated in 2 Timothy 3:12 about all who are Godly suffering persecution we are only fooling ourselves. Society today has gone to great lengths to ensure we don't offend anyone but the Gospel IS an offense ( 1 Peter 2:8). Having a proper foundation of scripture is necessary to give a sound testimony. Hell and judgment should be taught with fear and trembling; not with a proud attitude but nonetheless must be preached.
We have made too much of presentation in form rather than substance with a sideshow of music and a "two spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down" to quote an old tune probably not familiar to young folks here. Revelation 10:10 states that although it tastes sweet it was bitter in the stomach (in regard to the prophetic words John was to speak). When we are surrendured to the Spirit we will see reactions like the jailor in Acts 16:30 "what must I do to be saved?" NOWHERE in scripture to we see pleading and cajoling for any individual to be saved. God draws all those who He eventually saves; so we should let Him do the work and get out of the way ourselves and any agenda that isn't Biblically sound. Only the Spirit convicts of sin and until it does that work we can only sow a seed. The numbers game where prizes are offered when a certain number of new converts a day make a confession is an abomination.
I am meditating on Phillipians 1:12-14
12 But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
There are other verses as well that show God using Paul; such as the story in Acts 16:33-35 where the jailor and his family were baptized.
There is no doubt that what caused people to grow bolder was Paul's continuing determination under fierce persecution as well as his heartelt love and committment to the churches he founded. Today; it seems with many missionaries in far away countries at least here in the USA people can keep their distance in terms of feeling a close kinship; and in the intensity of prayers. Of course it is reciprocal to some degree as it was with Paul who was encouraged by those who gave which made up for the lack of others. Paul of course was the perfect example of a selfless believer; accepting hunger and thirst when necessary and doing work of menial labor of tentmaking to supplement monies so as not to be a burden.
Such opportunities do exist today among certain organizations that write to prisoners in restricted countries who are incarcerated due to their faith in terms of written communications with careful restrictions for their own safety as to the contents. God measures every tear in a bottle as ( Psalm 56:8). Psalm 30:5 says For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. This verse is better suited for the explanation of the chastisement of God with Israel and their eventual restoration but also shows that our sufferings in this life are temporal.
We're in this together
I was in a very odd situation with a former OPC church I attended where I was granted a sort of "partial" membership without ascribing to their stance on infant baptism. There are a couple other issues which would keep me out of a similar place in the future (that church shut down 6 or 7 years ago due to lack of attendance). I will say that it wasn't required that I believed in their stance on Postmillenialism; although I may have mentioned here in the past when it was brought up how foolish it was to believe in the Antichrist and Mark of the Beast in one of their sermons and I took them up on that they sort of backed down. It wasn't a requirement to adhere to their eschatology, although it was a rather cliquish sort of mentality at that place. I agreed to disagree with them without such banter so I thought it only fair; however of course it was their belief.
In any case; infant baptism has cast a rather nebulous picture in my mind as to explanations; somehow holding what children or infants were commemorated with when they become adults and rebel as if they had some sort of inherent partaking of a covenant; I suppose equivalent to the Israelites who were "baptized" by crossing the Red Sea. ( 1 Cor. 10:2). No one I know actually thinks someone is saved through infant baptism but nonetheless they seem in my mind to have carried on a Catholic tradition through the Reformers in the past. I also had a "rebaptism"; having argued beforehand the sprinkling of water should also be legitimate ( Ezekiel 36:25). In my case I had it done that way along with my wife at the time because she had a balance issue going totally underwater; but I rededicated myself to a commitment as a church member when I had an immersion at the founding of a church I used to attend at its inception almost 10 years ago. Seeing how quickly Philip baptized the eunuch in Acts 8; and the jailor with his family ( Acts 16:33) it should follow salvation quickly.
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
This passage shows what appears at first glance to be a statement that supports the idea of infant baptism; or that entire households as a given are saved as a result of one person coming to faith. I would take it more as a word of knowledge on Paul's part. We see in this passage in verse 32 that the Gospel was spoken to the entire household of the jail guard first; and immediately afterwards baptism occurred (although it is not clear where that was done in the middle of the night).
The main concept here is that with the earthquake and releasing of chains at midnight of Paul and all the prisoners brought great fear; and that this shows the Biblical prescident for faith; that is an emphasis on the fear of the Lord and a desire for the individual to come to faith without prodding or compulsion by others as is the style today. When we see other verses such as in Acts when Agrippa almost was convinced to be a Christian ( Acts 26:28) it was through Paul's eloquent appeal. Repent and believe is a general call; but I can't find any specific verses where an individual is called to make a confession of faith such as in modern day "altar calls". This shows that a heart must be ready; and how frequently such commitments are made due to pressure from man; rather than genuine conviction. The appeal in Acts to the Jews was that the one they had crucified was indeed the Christ ( Acts 2:23). Such response brings persecution as all who are giving a genuine convicting message of truth; this is opposed to today's easy believism without counting the cost which happens often.
My earlier statements should by no means detract from the importance of emulating external actions which are outflows of GOOD FRUIT in our lives. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (easy to memorize with this numbering) gives Paul's exhortation to imitate him as he imitates Christ. Demonstrations of such behaviors are much like a parent to a child in this case. How we need such examples in church leadership today! How many of these mega pastors live even close to Paul who would work for himself so as not to burden the churches and suffer as he did with deprivation and imprisonment for the cause of Christ?
We are not to idolize people but those of Godly character should motivate us; and also bring the fear of the Lord and His holiness to unbelievers as Paul did with the prison guard ( Acts 16:30-33). Our lifestyles must back up our words.
I am glad to hear you had a great time over the holidays, I hope you were able to rest your heels of travel. Yes, it is the circumcision of the heart that the reformation begins, and the Holy Spirit inspires true worship. Worship is our response to what the Spirit reveals to us about God.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
We do this with our renewed minds led by the Spirit not with our wisdom and emotions, they can be deceived. Being deceived is to be easily caught up or carried away or taken out of the way, the favorite tool of Satan, like prey taken in the mouth of a lion.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: If we are deceived, we are devoured. We must be vigilant daily to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, Jesus. Daily, as the Apostles did in the beginning, preaching the Gospel of Jesus every day, Acts 2:46-47 Acts 5:42 Acts 16:5.
God bless,
RLW
Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2 Acts 18:4
"Protestants do not realize that by observing Sunday they accept the authority of the Spokesperson, the Pope." ( Our Sunday Visitor February 5, 1950.)
Matthew 5:44 states:
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;"
The scriptures show multiple times such as Matthew 27:19 with Pilate's wife (who may or may not have come to saving faith) and with Paul in particular (with the jailor who he had a chance to bring to faith along with his whole family) in Acts 16:30-33. The jailor even showed compassion in washing the stripes from whipping of Paul that apparently occurred earlier. There were others who Paul was able to bring to faith who were often wives of important officials.
Jesus; of course knew what He was talking about since we ALL start out as enemies of God. This puts us on an even playing field so to speak; so that we cannot understand how God can change the heart of a serial killer but not of someone who always seems to be a "nice person" whether our family members or friends. It isn't so much important to browbeat someone as to their sinfulness to convince them to repent; ASSUMING that we are preaching about the sorry state of human souls in general with unregenerate hearts. This is how the Gospel was preached; those in authority were given general and very harsh rebukes by Christ as part of the general call. WE certainly need to clearly speak of how Jesus saved us from total depravity or however we want to describe our sorry state before salvation.
Matthew 10:28 shows what we should NOT fear (our death) and what our persecutors SHOULD fear (see also Philippians 1:28).
Easier said than done; actually not possible apart from the Spirit giving us the utterance (see Luke 12:12).
We must remember God determines when our last day is on earth not Satan or man. No doubt Satan desires 24/7 to destroy us so we must always be vigilant and not let our guard down. The same should be said in prayer for those suffering persecution today.
It may not be our timing or our method; but the LORD'S way is always best.
May we press on and seek to learn more of our LORD and KING through scripture.
GOD bless all on this forum. I pray that everybody had a peaceful time in CHRIST name during Christmas. Have a happy New Year everyone!
The LORD to shine HIS glorious face on all who trust and believe in HIM.
December 26, 2023
As well, in this last comment from you, you write, "Repentance and Belief of someone whom God has saved or plans to savedoes NOT contribute in any way whatsoever TOWARDS their salvation. These are good works that we do because God has saved us or in the process of drawing us to salvation". So even here it seems that Repentance and Belief, though non-contributing to salvation (and I agree to this part), but are evidences post-Salvation or during Salvation. Maybe your thought of Repentance is the continual attitude of the believer in his day-to-day life/warfare, and not of an initial repentance required for salvation; or even, if someone is the Elect of God, he must be saved from the beginning even as a sinner, but only has to repent & believe when he realizes his state. So, I too remain perplexed for I too don't believe that Repentance & Belief can be added to God's Gift of Salvation or else they would be considered as Works; YET I know that Repentance & Belief are necessary to grant Salvation ( Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).
I believe, David 0921, that my "decision to accept Christ" was the response of a Work of God the Spirit before that. Let's look at the example in Acts 16:18-34 (of the Philippian Jailer & his salvation).
When he asked Paul & Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?", Paul answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house". Clearly, the jailer had to do a work (= to believe). Was it a requirement to gain salvation which as you reminded us, is all of Grace alone? Not at all - it was a Response to receive the Gift- he had to believe to receive.
So what went on prior to this moment when the jailer cried out to know the way of Salvation? All we're told is that he witnessed an earthquake, saw prison doors flung open, & prisoners' chains falling off. What else took place? We're not told, but from we have before us, with the extraordinary events taking place before his eyes which he couldn't deny, caused him in a moment to re-examine his obstinacy towards the God of Israel, have a glimmer of the Truth from the witnessors search his heart, and of course, the Work of the Holy Spirit to convict.
In answer to the jailer's question, Paul said, "Believe". And no doubt when Paul & Silas "spake unto him the word of the Lord (the Gospel), and to all that were in his house", they would have acknowledged their sins & repented. True, Salvation is all of Grace, but the sinner still needs to repent (a work), & still needs to believe (a work). All these must take place prior to salvation being given - not after. None of it are contributions towards a person's salvation - but all are responses to the Spirit's Work.
There are a few places in Acts that speak of the whole household being baptized. it doesn't explicitly exclude babies and children. For those who adhere to infant baptism, it is seen as entering into a covenant with God an His community of faith-filled believers. Infant baptism is seen as bringing upon an infant the saving work of God in Christ as parents obey the command of Jesus to baptize ALL nations and instruct these who are baptized in the life of faith in Jesus. Those who practice infant baptism recognized that all are born dead to God and need to be made alive in Christ, which they believe happens through baptism of infants and children because their parents' consent to obey this command of Christ. These believe that the Holy Spirit implants faith in the infant or child in baptism, whereas before they had not faith to believe. They believe in such baptism all the work is done by God in the infant or child. He gives the faith, He gives the forgiveness of sins with the washing of His Word (the gospel) spoken over the child. Denominations that practice infant baptism besides Catholicism are Orthodox, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopalian/Anglican, and perhaps others.
Others, who do not embrace infant baptism, allow for children to be baptized upon an open confession of faith in Christ by the child. Some have an age limit, others do not because Jesus said that we are not to hinder children from coming unto him.
Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16; Acts 2:3; , Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33 Acts 22:16
Others only allow what is called "believer's baptism" where one must believe the gospel in order to be baptized. Jesus says in Mark 16:16 to believe and be baptized. See also: Acts 2:41; Acts 16:18:8
I think that there is Biblical merit to all of these teachings about Baptism. Each person must pray for the Holy Spirit to lead them as to whether or not their children should be baptized when very young.
Reading your posts unto me, I remember Acts 16:16-18KJV : "It came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, and the same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high GOD, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her".