The Unreachable And The Unteachable Are Not Savable
Archive for the ‘2. Biblical Message’ Category
Are Good Intentions Good Enough To Save You?
You surely have heard the old proverbial saying, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” How many people go through life day after day, constantly intending to do something they’ve been neglecting to do or to stop doing something they know they should not be doing? Such intentions cover a wide range of behavior.
How many tobacco smokers, out of personal concern for their health and for others, intend to quit smoking but never quite achieve it? How many alcoholic drinkers intend to quit drinking, because they know their behavior is destructive to themselves and to others who come near them but cannot conquer their compulsion? How many illegal drug addicts find themselves in the same situation? They know their lifestyle is self-destructive, and they intend to get off drugs, but they never seem to do so.
How many people are concerned about their health because they realize they’re seriously overweight? Every month finds another diet routine that seemingly doesn’t work for them. They’re going to lose weight, firm up, look trim and feel good. They’re going to start tomorrow, as soon as they finish that wonderful chocolate cake they just bought. We know the conclusion to that story.
How many unfaithful Christians intend to start back to church services, to renew their spiritual dedication, and get their spiritual lives right with God? However, it seems that there are things they think need to take care of first. However, while they continually intend to take care of those things, they never quite accomplish their good intentions.
How many good Christians intend to talk to a family member, a friend or a co-worker about salvation? They see them often, but they never quite find the opportunity or the courage to speak up. Or, maybe they just can’t think of the right thing to say at the right time. How many keep intending to get more involved in the work and activities of the church? But the time never seems to be quite right. How many members intend to have some of the newer families over to encourage them and get to know them better. But the house always seems to need cleaning, and there’s always something else to do, and we’re tired, and…
How many people who know they’re not walking with the Lord fully intend to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins? But they never seem to make up their mind that now is the right time. Good intentions, every one of them, but so many of them never get past the intention stage. You must have heard the old scenario, “What if a man was on his way intending to be baptized but dies on the way”? Does God save this man? They say yes, and this they do to justify their own procrastination. However, God doesn’t judge us by what we intended to do, but what we actually did. It is true, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions”, but the road to heaven is paved by our obedience and faithfulness to his holy Word (Matt 7:21 ff; Mk 16:16; Rev 2:10).
There Is Only One Baptism
Is there only one baptism approved of by God’s Word? Yes, only one, according to Ephesians 4:5. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”
Which baptism is the one approved of by God since many are mentioned in scripture? The answer is discovered in Acts 19:1-7. Here, we are told that while in Ephesus Paul baptized (immersed in water) 12 men in the name of Jesus.
Paul did exactly what Peter taught thousands to do in Acts 2:38. He was doing the same thing Philip did in Samaria (Acts 8:12) and with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:35-38). Each of these men, Peter, Philip and Paul simply taught the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus (the Gospel: 1 Cor 15:1-4) and then baptized those who believed in the name of Jesus, that is, by his authority. We know by the commandments of Jesus and his apostles that all who heard the gospel and believed in their heart that Jesus was the Christ and confessed such with their mouth (Rom 10:10), and who had repented of their sins (Lk 13:3) were granted baptism (Acts 2:38).
Notice that the apostle Paul baptized the men in Ephesus in the name of Jesus despite the fact that they had already been baptized under the baptism of John. Obviously, the one baptism was not the baptism of John.
The men at Ephesus had also not been baptized with the Holy Spirit, as they confessed to Paul that they had not heard whether there was a Holy Spirit. After they had been baptized in Jesus name, Paul laid his hands on them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. The one baptism then is not Holy Spirit baptism. Baptism in Jesus’ name is the same one Ananias had encouraged Paul to receive, according to Acts 9:17-18 and Acts 22:12-16.
Baptism in the name of Jesus was what Peter and Philip preached. Ananias was sent by Jesus himself to baptize Paul in his name. Paul baptized the Ephesians in Jesus’ name. These men were simply fulfilling what Jesus himself had taught in Matthew 28:18-20.
The one baptism found in Ephesians 4:5 is the one Jesus gave us to the end of the age. Thus what Jesus said after his resurrection is true today as it was then: “And he said unto them, Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes not shall be condemned.” All who obey not the gospel shall be punished with everlasting destruction. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thess 1:7-9).
Biblical Proof 
Written
on Dec. 13, 2022