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Acts Study #10: Can water baptism wash away your sins?
Hechos Estudio #10: ¿Puede el bautismo en agua lavar lejos tus pecados?
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“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23
Acts, Chapter 1.1: Many Jews of the Diaspora believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1 - 2:47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave his Great Commission and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot (1:1 - 26)
¶Opposite The Lord gave his Great Commission to his first church (and all future churches) to take the Gospel to the entire Earth (1:1 - 8)
¶Opposite The apostles cast lots to choose an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot (1:9 - 26)
§Complement Peter preached the Gospel to foreign-born Jews and about 5,000 confessed Jesus as their Messiah (2:1 - 40)
¶Unique God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the apostles; and this miracle brought many foreign-born Jews around them (2:1 - 13)
¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)
¶Opposite Peter called the Jews to repent and turn to their Messiah; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)
§Unique The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new believers (2:41 - 47)
¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles (2:41 - 43)
¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly (2:44 - 47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot
¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission
Unique The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 1:3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:
Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Opposite Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Zion again to Israel?” And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.
Opposite “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.”
This is the sixth in a series of topical studies in the Book of Acts.
Normally, I don’t do topical studies, because I’m trying to demonstrate how the Golden Ratio design of “UCC-OO” is found throughout the Bible. But there are so many false teachings today about the Book of Acts that we need to stop and examine what the Bible actually says, so that we will be properly prepared to study the Book of Acts in detail. These studies will “plow the ground” properly so that the Seed of the Word of God will be planted in good ground when we get there.
Now, I want to take another look at water baptism, because there are many errors being taught today about baptism.
Error #2: Can water baptism wash away your sins?
I have already demonstrated in previous studies that Biblical water baptism is
1) Only for new Believers in Christ, never infants who cannot believe yet
2) Only in deep water, never by sprinkling or pouring
The teaching that water baptism washes away sin is a very old heresy, going back to the beginning of infant baptism in the centuries after the apostles.
I’ve already demonstrated in a previous study that water baptism, according to the Scriptures, is only for new Believers, and not for infants. This fact alone should tell you that water baptism cannot wash away sins of any kind. The reason is simple: their sins have already been washed away by the blood of Jesus, so there is no need for their sins to be washed away by water (which is impossible anyway). So baptism in water is symbolic for what actually happened when the new Believer called upon the Name of Jesus to save them. Baptism in deep water is a symbolic re-enactment (or a sign) of the Finished Work of Christ in his atoning death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, which is the Gospel.
“Do you not know, that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized as a sign of his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, in the same manner as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of Life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also walk in the likeness of his resurrection.” Romans 6:3 - 5
The Bible clearly declares that the Finished Work of Christ (his death, burial, and resurrection from the dead) is the only Way of Justification from sin:
“But now the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed (being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets): even the righteousness of God which is through faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.
For there is no difference, because all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the passing over of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness, so that God might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.” Romans 3:21 - 26
Now if water baptism actually played some role in Justification from sin, shouldn’t the apostle Paul have included water baptism in this text? Yes, he should have, if that were true; but he did not do that: demonstrating by omission that water baptism has no role whatsoever in Justification from sin.
In fact, in Romans 5:11, Paul wrote,
“And not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement.”
And then, AFTER this statement, Paul wrote of baptism in water and walking in the likeness of his resurrection. Then in 6:1 - 8:39, Paul wrote of the Believer’s struggle with the flesh and learning to obey the the Holy Spirit. Then in the rest of Romans, he wrote of election, serving one another in the local church, and so on. Clearly, there is a division in the letter of Romans between 1:1 - 5:21 (which speaks of being lost and condemned), and 6:1 to the end, which speaks of the spiritual growth that Believer in Christ must experience before he/she can be fully mature (which is the theme of Romans):
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from [saving] faith to [mature] faith” (Romans 1:17a)
This is very important to understand, because the sequence of teachings in Romans clearly shows that water baptism comes AFTER one has been saved by believing in Jesus Christ, which means that water baptism has no role in justification from sin.
Now, in light of the Biblical teaching of Paul on the subject of water baptism, let’s look at some of the most troublesome passages in the Bible on this topic to see what the correct interpretation is in each one:
“Nicodemus says to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born a second time?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born of water and also of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:4-6)
Since we now know that water baptism has no role in justification from sin, we can easily understand this passage by taking it at its face value. There is a parallel between 3:5 and 3:6:
“unless a man is born of water” = “That which is born of the flesh”
“also of the Spirit” = “that which is born of the Spirit”.
What happens when a woman gives birth to a baby? The placenta breaks and the water surrounding the baby comes out. So “born of water” means the first, natural birth into this world. It has nothing to do with water baptism!
The second (or, the New) Birth occurs when a sinner repents of their sins and asks Jesus Christ to become their Lord and Savior. This New Birth in Christ is the second Birth spoken of by Jesus, that must occur if a sinner will ever enter into the Kingdom of God, and later, into Heaven itself.
We were all born “of water” when we were born by our mother. At that point, we were sinners, separated from God by our sins, and lost for all Eternity.
If we want to enter Heaven someday, then we must be “born again”, as Jesus said; that is to say, we must receive Christ as our Savior; and then we will be “born of the Spirit” into Eternal Life.
This passage is not talking about baptism in water, period.
“Then Peter said to them, “Repent; and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 2:38)
I already proved in a previous study that this statement was spoken to Jews who were ALREADY saved under the Old Covenant, so their sins were ALREADY washed away, and therefore, the water baptism they received was “a sign of the forgiveness of sins”, and also a testimony that they had transferred their faith from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Water baptism, in this case, had nothing to do with Justification from sins, and everything to do with symbolism (or, a sign) of identification with Christ their Messiah.
“And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, having already called upon the Name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16 (Kingdom Study Bible)
“And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Acts 22:16 (King James Version)
“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ Acts 22:16 (New International Version)
Many Christians are confused by the King James Version translation, because it seems to teach that Ananias was telling Saul to be baptized in water, so that his sins would be washed away! But in fact, a close examination of the original Greek reveals that “called” is a middle/passive participle, επικαλεσαμενος, which literally means that Saul had ALREADY called upon the Name of the Lord on the road to Damascus, which qualified Saul for baptism in deep water, which was a symbol of washing away his sins.
The New International Version translation is even worse than the KJV! No wonder most Christians are confused about this doctrine! The Bible versions they read are either weakly translated or are deliberately twisted to support the heresy of salvation through water baptism, as the NIV, which even replaces “the Lord” with “his name”.
The Kingdom Study Bible is the only correct translation of this text that I can find, except for the “Disciples Literal NT”.
“...which at one time were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which few, that is, eight souls were delivered by water. Which in corresponding fashion baptism also now delivers us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ;” 1 Peter 3:20-21 (Kingdom Study Bible)
“Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:” (King James Version)
Now this passage in 1 Peter is simple to understand in the light of Paul’s teachings on water baptism in Romans, if you are reading the Kingdom Study Bible; but if you are using the KJV or some other modern version, you will probably be tripped up by “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us”. Once again, a poor translation causes misunderstanding and confusion. The word “save” should be “deliver”, because there is no teaching here about salvation from sin, but “the answer of a good conscience toward God”.
“Eight souls were saved by water”:
means that eight people were “saved”, or delivered from destruction by the Great Flood by the Ark that they were riding in. Again, nothing to do with justification from sin is found in this text, but many Charismatics and Pentecostals love to quote it, as if it was actually teaching that water baptism washes away sins!
I hope that this will help you when some earnest Christian tries to use these passages from the Bible to teach that water baptism washes away sins. The Bible doesn’t teach it, period. It is a false teaching. If your pastor is teaching that water baptism actually washes away sins and saves people’s souls, then you need to immediately depart from that church, and find a Bible-believing, Fundamental Baptist church to learn the Word of God correctly.
Many Biblical “problems” become non-problems when the original Greek or Hebrew is examined carefully. Sadly, many pastors of churches have no skills in studying the original languages of the Bible, so they teach heresies such as this one, because they can only read their bad or weak translation. And maybe they are not saved themselves, because that’s how they “became a Christian”, by being baptized in water.
Finally, many people were baptized as babies, so even though they want nothing to do with Jesus Christ now, they falsely believe “I’m probably ok” because they were baptized as infants, believing that their “original” sins were “washed away” by water. How sad when they realize after death that they have trusted in a lie! Because it will be too late to be saved then.
How to be saved
The Bible clearly states that salvation can only be obtained if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.
Luke 13:3: “I say to you, no; but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Romans 3:21-24: “But now, the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed (being testified by the Law and the Prophets), even the righteousness of God as it is through the faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
It is impossible to keep the Law of Moses! The sole purpose of the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments) is to make you understand that you are a sinner who has sinned against God. It cannot make you righteous in God’s eyes:
Romans 3:19-20: “And we know that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be shut, and everyone may become guilty before God; therefore by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.”
Sins can only be paid for by the finished atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross! We cannot pay for our own sins with our suffering, neither in this life nor in the fictitious place called “Purgatory”!
Romans 3:23-26: “For all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has publicly exhibited, to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of past sins, through the patience of God; to declare, I say, at this time his justice; that God may be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.”
Here is how you can be truly saved TODAY, and know that you have Eternal Life, right now!
The Bible says,
“that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart, man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for it is written, “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13
Are you ready to do that? If so, then find a place to pray privately, and pray this prayer with all of your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ:
“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”
If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.
Hechos Estudio #10: ¿Puede el bautismo en agua lavar lejos tus pecados?
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“¡Esta es la obra de Jehová! Es maravilloso a nuestros ojos”. Salmo 118:23
Hechos, Capítulo 1.1: Muchos judíos de la Diáspora creído al evangelio de Jesús Cristo (1:1 - 2:47)
§El complemento Introducción: Jesús dio su Gran Comisión y los apóstoles eligieron un reemplazo para Judas Iscariote (1:1 - 26)
¶Lo opuesto El Señor dio su Gran Comisión a su primera iglesia (y todas las iglesias futuras) para llevar el evangelio a toda la tierra (1:1 - 8))
¶Lo opuesto Los apóstoles echan suertes para elegir un apóstol para reemplazar a Judas Iscariote (1:9 - 26)
§El complemento Cuerpo: Pedro predicó el evangelio a judíos nacidos en el extranjero y unos 5,000 confesaron a Jesús como su Mesías (2:1 - 40)
¶Único Dios derramó su Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles; y este milagro atrajo a muchos judíos nacidos en el extranjero (2:1 - 13)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que el milagro de hablar en idiomas extranjeros provenía de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:14 - 21)
¶El complemento Pedro predicó que la crucifixión y resurrección de Jesús también provenían de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:22 - 28)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro señaló el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo desde Jehová como prueba de la resurrección de Jesús (2:29 - 36)
¶Lo opuesto Pedro llamó a los judíos a arrepentirse y volverse al cristo, y ser bautizados como señal del perdón de sus pecados (2:37 - 40)
§Único Conclusión: La asamblea en Jerusalén comenzó a expandirse rápidamente con muchos creyentes nuevos (2:41 - 47)
¶El complemento Después del bautismo, los nuevos conversos continuaron en la enseñanza y la comunión de los apóstoles (2:41 - 43)
¶El complemento El crecimiento espiritual de los nuevos conversos resultó en la salvación de más almas (2:44 - 47)
§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot
¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission
Unique The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 1:3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:
Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Opposite Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Zion again to Israel?” And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.
Opposite “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.”
Introducción
La traducción al español de este estudio está pendiente.
¿Exactamente cómo y cuándo naciste de nuevo?
He aprendido por experiencia que aquellos que se niegan a responder lo hacen porque nunca han nacido de nuevo; no tienen idea de lo que significa, y por eso no pueden responder.
Si ese es tu caso, entonces tu destino eterno en este momento es el Infierno; y más tarde, el Lago de Fuego.
Afortunadamente, podemos cambiar nuestro destino eterno del Infierno al Cielo, si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados y recibimos a Jesucristo como nuestro Salvador personal.
Primero, debemos creer que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios; que fue crucificado por nuestros pecados, que fue sepultado y que resucitó de entre los muertos al tercer día.
Romanos 10:8-11: “Pero ¿qué dice? “La Palabra está cerca de ti, incluso en tu boca y en tu corazón”, es decir, la Palabra de fe (que predicamos), que si confesarás con tu boca al Señor Jesús, y creerás en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, tú serás salvado: porque con el corazón, el hombre cree para justicia, y con la boca, la confesión se hace para la salvación: porque la Escritura dice, “cualquiera que en él creyere, no será avergonzado”.
Entonces, debemos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados e invocar el Nombre del Señor Jesús para salvarnos.
Romanos 10:12-13: “Porque no hay diferencia entre el judio y el gentil: porque el mismo Señor sobre todo es rico a todos los que le invocan: porque está escrito, “Cualquiera que llamará sobre el Nombre del Señor será salvado”.
Juan 1:12: “Pero cuantos le recibieron, él les dio autoridad para convertirse los niños de Dios: incluso a aquellos quien creen sobre su Nombre”.
Cuando hacemos eso, entonces nacemos de nuevo instantáneamente en el Reino de Dios.
Estas listo para hacer eso? Si es así, entonces busca un lugar para orar en privado y haz esta oración con todo tu corazón al Señor Jesucristo:
“Señor Jesús, sé que he pecado contra TI. ¡No soy bueno y usted eres justo! Creo que moriste en la cruz por mis pecados, fuiste enterrado y resucitaste de entre los muertos al tercer día. Quiero que vengas a mi vida y seas mi Señor y Salvador. Por favor entra en mi corazón ahora mismo. Perdóname por todos mis pecados y salva mi alma. En el poderoso Nombre de Jesús, oro, ¡Amén!”
Si se apartó de sus pecados y aceptó a Jesucristo como su Señor y único Salvador desde el pecado, por favor envíeme un mensaje a través de Facebook y hágame saber que lo ha hecho, para que pueda orar por usted y alegrarme con usted en lo que Dios tiene hecho en tu vida. Amén.