Identifying The New Testament Church, Part 14
A. Last time in our study of Identifying the New Testament Church
we saw that man had
made changes in Gods pattern of worshiping Him in Spirit
and in Truth. One of those
changes was in the mode of administering baptism. Eph. 4:4-6,
There is one body and one
Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one
Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all,
and in you all.
If there is only one baptism commanded and accepted by God which
one is it? I ask that question because, there are at least, four
different types, or modes, of baptism practiced in todays
religious world called Christianity. Paul, speaking by inspiration,
says, There is only one. Question? Which one is it?
Is it sprinkling with water, pouring of water, or being immersed
in water? Or is it a baptism with the Holy Spirit as some claim?
Lets do what weve done before. Look at the original
language, History of the Catholic Church and the Protestant Founders
and Denominational Leaders and then look at the Scriptures.
a. Testimony of the original language in the New Testament. The
New Testament was
written in the Koine Greek language. In that original language
there are three verbs that
are used to convey three totally different actions. They were
Epicheo, Rhantizo and
Baptisma.
(1) Each had a different meaning. They were never interchangeable.
Epicheo was
never used to mean Rhantizo and Rhantizo was never used to mean
Epicheo and
neither was ever used to mean Baptisma or visa?versa. These verbs
are defined
as follows:
(a) EPICHEO, "To pour upon." It is used in Lk. 10:34,
to describe what the
"Good Samaritan" did when he "POURED" oil
upon the wounds of the man who fell
among robbers.
RHANTIZO, "To sprinkle," In Heb. 9:13, this word describes
the Old Testament practice of SPRINKLING blood and ashes of a
temple sacrifice.
BAPTISMA, "To immerse, submersion, to dip." In Matt.
21:25; Eph. 4:5;
1 Pet. 3:21, this word is used of John's baptism and of Christian
baptism, both of
which were immersion in water.
Now which of these three verbs did Jesus and His apostles use
when they commanded taught believers to be baptized? Did they
say, "Repent and be EPICHEO (poured upon)?" Did they
say,"Repent and be RHANTIZO (sprinkled)?" The answer
to both questions is NO! You cannot obey Christ's command to be
RHANTIZO (sprinkled) because He never commanded sprinkling. What
He did command was, "Repent and be BAPTISMA (immersed)."
If you were sprinkled you received man?made baptism and not the
Covenant Baptism ordained by God. If you have not been Immersed
you have not received the baptism Jesus commanded in the Bible.
Is it possible to receive God's Covenant Seal without receiving
it in the way God commanded it to be given?
The Bibles description of baptism teaches that it is an
immersion, burial, covering
with water, Acts 8:37?39. Why did they go down into the water?
Why not just dip a
cup of water and pour it over the eunuch?
Where did John the Baptizer go to baptize people and Why did he
choose that particular place to baptize them? Jno. 3:23. Why did
John need a place with much water If he only needed
a few barrels full to sprinkle a few drops of water on the people
who were being baptized?
The answer is found in Rom 6:3?4, Do you not know that as
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into
His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into
death... When was the last time you witnessed Campbell Funeral
Home lay a coffin on the ground and sprinkle a little dirt on
it? Thats not a burial. Baptism is a burial, a complete
covering with water and not a sprinkling.
(1) Protestant Denominations and Catholic Error. Why do protestant
denominations and the Catholic church teach and practice error
instead of Biblical truth? The answer is found in the origin and
history of both groups.
(1) Martin Luther was a Catholic priest who studied the Bible
and realized the doctrinal departures by Catholicism. He left
the Catholic church and started the "reformation." His
intent was to reform the Catholic church and return to the Original
Doctrines of New Testament Christianity.
(2) Likewise, John Calvin came from a Catholic background. He
rejected the departures from New Testament doctrine by the Catholic
church, joined the reformation and started the Presbyterian church.
(3) King Henry VIII was a member of the Catholic church when he
asked Pope Clement VII for a divorce from Kathryn so he could
marry Ann Bolin. The pope refused and Henry left the Catholic
Church to start his own church. He created the Church of England
(Anglican Church) and appointed the office of Archbishop of Canterbury
as it's head. The Archbishop immediately granted Henry a divorce
from Kathryn so he could marry Ann.
The Lutheran, Presbyterian and Anglican churches are all hybrid
off?shoots of the Catholic church. When they left Catholicism
they carried with them the Catholic's practice of baptism by sprinkling.
(1) John Wesley was an Anglican preacher who came to America to
establish the Church of England in the colonies. Wesley, also,
ended up with a hybrid off?shoot, called Methodism. This new denomination
called the Methodist church retained the Church of England's practice
of baptism by sprinkling which had been inherited from the Catholic
church.
(2) The practice of Sprinkling as Baptism is not a New Testament
doctrine. It was never taught by Jesus or His apostles. It was
never practiced by Jesus or His apostles. It is a man?made tradition
started by the Catholic church and perpetuated by the protestant
denominations who broke away from the Catholic church and carried
the practice with them.
(2) Why give allegiance to man-made doctrines? Why not just Read
the Bible, Believe the Bible, Obey the Bible and be saved?
(3) Acts 20:32.
Spur - 08/04/2002 am
|