Welcome to Christian Forums, a Christian Forum that recognizes that all Christians are a work in progress.
You will need to register to be able to join in fellowship with Christians all over the world.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!
People should be very slow to decide for others what will or will not work. To Elijah He spoke in a still small voice, but surely God is not limited to that specific means of communicating or acting.For a person who comes to the realization that he is lost and in need of Jesus Christ to save him (Romans 3:23; 6:23) he may obtain salvation only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. (Ephesians 2:8,9) One needs to understand that Jesus Christ, God in human form, took his sins and paid the penalty for his sins by His sacrifice on the cross of Calvary, was buried, and rose again the third day, and he needs to make a genuine and willful decision to totally trust in Jesus Christ as the ALL-sufficient means of his salvation.
Now if subsequent to such a decision, the person would like to pray what some call a "sinner’s prayer," (calling on the name of the Lord to save him) he may do so, as long as he understands that it was his decision to trust in Jesus Christ for salvation that apprehends his salvation and not simply reciting a prayer in of itself. Reciting a prayer, in of itself does not save, as if it's a magical formula to recite a set of words, but prayer may be used to sincerely call upon the name of the Lord. (Romans 10:13)
One has to give up their own ambitions and adopt the ambitions the Lord has for us. They are superior to our own.Jn 3:5
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
The phrase “ask Jesus into your heart” is not in the Bible.
To be born again means to be regenerated and renewed in the Holy Ghost.
This happens "not through works of righteousness which we have done" (Titus 3:5).
However, being regenerated and renewed means that we are now inclined towards doing good works; in fact, now that we are born again we ought to be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).
However, to him that worketh not, but believeth on him who justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness (Romans 4:5).
This indicates that salvation is a free gift.
The gift itself is righteousness (Romans 5:17).
And righteousness is a practical thing (1 John 3:7, Matthew 5:6, Romans 5:19).
So, while we are not born again through any works that we might do, once we are born again it should be true of us that we will begin to walk in good works.
For the love of the Lord is shed abroad in our hearts through the infilling of the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5).
And the genuine love being spoken of there is not impractical (1 John 3:17-18).
Born again by the Spirit, means you have been changed spiritually and you abide in the Spirit and you are awakened to the Spirit’s leading.
Born again by the water means you have been changed by the message of God’s Word and you have been awakened by His words and you abide in those words and it’s leading as if God is actually speaking to you (through His Holy Word, i.e. the Bible).
Born again by the Spirit, means you have been changed spiritually and you abide in the Spirit and you are awakened to the Spirit’s leading.
Born again by the water means you have been changed by the message of God’s Word and you have been awakened by His words and you abide in those words and it’s leading as if God is actually speaking to you (through His Holy Word, i.e. the Bible).
See again my verses in post #47.
Yes; consider that post #52 preaches the word of the Lord to you.
@heartwashed
In Acts of the Apostles 2:38: I believe Peter was speaking the correct words by the Spirit, but his understanding was not correct on what the word “baptize” meant for the New Covenant. Thus, Peter baptized with water (fulfilling OT pictures and symbols of the inward reality), but the Lord truly desired him to be more perfect on this matter and to simply baptize only with the Spirit (Which is not his own work alone, but the work of God). For at Pentecost: The 3,000 were indeed to be baptized but the real baptism was ultimately to be by the Spirit and not by water (Which was more fully realized by the apostle Paul). We have to understand that the disciples acted in obedience to the Lord's words in ways that were not always in perfect understanding. For example: Jesus told his disciples to buy a sword. While the Lord allowed their misunderstanding to fulfill prophecy, the real meaning of what our Lord meant was the spiritual sword (the Word of God, Scripture) because Jesus rebuked Peter for chopping off Malchus's ear. Jesus said that he that lives by the sword shall die by the sword. So Peter’s understanding was not perfect. But his words at Pentecost are 100% true.
Acts of the Apostles 2:38
“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Repent means to seek forgiveness with the Lord by way of prayer to Him over your sins (To see the biblical proof that “repent” means to seek forgiveness with the Lord: See my write up here and here).
In fact, in Mark 1:4-5, it says John preached the "baptism of repentance" for the remission of sins (verse 4), and it then defines this "baptism of repentance" by saying they confessed their sins when they were baptized (verse 5).
Romans 6:4
“…we are buried with him by baptism into death…”
Romans 6:5
“…if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,…”
We are buried with Christ in baptism - Romans 6:4.
But… this baptism is in the LIKENESS of his death (Meaning, it is a symbolic picture).
Jesus’ death washed away our sins literally with His death.
This applies to our life when we come to the Lord by faith or belief in Jesus as the Savior or believing the gospel message and or in seeking forgiveness with the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s God’s grace and not works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Note: This does not mean there is not a secondary aspect of salvation that follows in living holy unto the Lord by the Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13) (Romans 8:13).
But believers are Initially Saved by God’s grace without works (Ephesians 2:8-9) (Romans 4:3-5) (Titus 3:5).
Water baptism was a symbolic of Christ’s death and Christ’s death washed away sin. When a person seeks forgiveness of their sins with Jesus (Which is repentance), this is the sacrifice of Christ being applied to their life. They are being forgiven of their sin by trusting in what Christ did for us with His death, burial, and resurrection. So repentance (seeking forgiveness with the Lord Jesus) is the literal remittance of sin, and the baptism in water part in Acts 2:38 is the symbolic picture of what repentance by faith, and believing in the redemption of Christ accomplished. The act of baptism does not save because Peter basically says that baptism does now save us not for the filth of the flesh (sin), but as an answer of having an already cleansed conscience before God. They had a cleansed conscience by their confessing their sins to the Lord Jesus and trusting in His death, burial, and resurrection for salvation.
Why would I believe this way?
Well, if Acts of the Apostles 2:38 was the only verse in the Bible, then I probably would conclude as you do.
But there are other verses that flat out contradict Acts of the Apostles 2:38 (like 1 Corinthians 1:17, etcetera).
But we know God’s Word does not contradict itself and so we have to compare Scripture with Scripture to properly harmonize it.