Question:
In his message, the Apostle Peter spoke of salvation and of baptism. Are we to understand that baptism is a necessary part of salvation? Certainly not. Oops, sorry, Tom…you just committed a fatal error! Jesus Christ Himself said that those who believe AND are baptised will be saved – Mark 16:16! Please, please don’t teach others that Jesus did not mean what He said! Their precious souls are far more important than the "faith only" doctrine! – In His Service, The Preacher http://www.angelfire.com/tn/cdwatson/index.html "Aint nothing coming up today that the Lord and I can’t handle!"
Response:
Sunday, April 27, 1997 In Your Absence: In this week’s lesson, which came from Acts 1:4-5, 8, 2:1-6, 17-18, and = 36-39, we saw a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power. His most obvio= us use of that power has been and is that He can change a person’s heart = from one that seeks the evil, wicked devices of this world to one that lo= ves and serves the Lord. Because of the events of this particular Pentec= ost, many have confused the role of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age, bu= t His role has never been more clear than when He made that first appeara= nce in Jerusalem. He did not come so that the early followers of Christ = could babble in either foreign or unknown tongues. He also did not come = so that He could provide some kind of unique, spiritual thrill for those = who had assembled. He was there with an important mission, to tell other= s about Christ! The Holy Spirit, as our Pastor has said, does not teach = and proclaim Himself. Instead, He always teaches about and exalts the Lo= rd Jesus Christ. Therefore, as Christians, we need to understand why the= Holy Spirit is here and why He indwells us. We also need to be faithful= to follow His leading. = Our lesson this week showed that the Holy Spirit can overcome barriers. = At Pentecost, He had to overcome the barrier of language. Those who had= assembled at Jerusalem were from all over the area, and they did not spe= ak a common language. Thus, the Holy Spirit had to find a way to communi= cate the Gospel among peoples of different languages and cultures, and He= chose to do so by having Christ’s followers miraculously speak the langu= ages of those who had come. Notice in this passage that no one was left = out! These words from the Book of Acts clearly suggest that everyone hea= rd the Gospel in their own tongue or language. Two important conclusions= from this are that the Holy Spirit used everyone who was willing to be u= sed. He also presented the truth about Jesus to everyone who wanted to k= now that truth. Christian living and serving the Lord should not be a lif= e of wandering about in darkness, either of trying to secure our salvatio= n or of attempting to define our calling. If you want to know the truth = about the Lord, He, through the Holy Spirit, will teach you. If you want= to be used of God and to make your life count for Him, then regardless o= f your station in life, He will find a purposeful way to use you. Think = how wonderful it is that our Creator allows us to participate in His grea= t ministry. Not only that, but as we learn to lean more and more on Him,= the Holy Spirit will bring about positive results in our life. The Apos= tle Peter had denied Christ just a few weeks earlier, but at Pentecost, h= e was a mighty spokesman and defender of the Faith. In his message, the Apostle Peter spoke of salvation and of baptism. Are= we to understand that baptism is a necessary part of salvation? Certain= ly not. We are, however, to see that being baptized is a first step of o= bedience to our Lord. We are also to see that baptism is a way that we a= ssociate ourselves with Christ and the Church. Three thousand people wer= e saved at Pentecost, but none of them were saved because they had either= spoken in tongues or been baptized. They were saved because they had se= en themselves as sinners, because they had recognized Jesus as their Sacr= ifice, Savior, and Lord, and because they had turned to Him. This is the= wonderful Gospel message that we now celebrate and try to share with oth= ers. Please make it your goal to serve Him as you go through this week, = and be sure to tell others what the Lord has done for you. Tom of Spotswood "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath= not life." = (I John 5:12) Also posted on the Internet to the following newsgroups: ALT.RELIGION.CH= RISTIAN, ALT.RELIGION.CHRISTIANITY, ALT.RELIGION.CHRISTIAN.CALVARY-CHAPEL= , ALT.RELIGION.MORMON, and ALT.RELIGION.ABORTION ?? = =
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