Baptism is the GREAT battle for control over you or for your liberty in Christ.

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wordsponge

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[SIZE=10pt]The devils know that when you go to Christ, you become his happy property and a liberated child of the Highest.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]They can never get you back.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Your Father and your maker, Jesus, own all things and can supply all things to you.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]John.10[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt][27] My sheep (the children of the Highest), hear my voice.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]I, (the Shepherd of Israel = the God of Israel), know them and they follow me (and not men)
[28
] I give to them eternal life and they shall never perish,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]nor shall any man (devil) pluck them out of my (Strong) hand.
[29
] My Father (the Most High), who gave them to me (as my inheritance), is greater than everyone.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]No man (no devil), is able to pluck them out of my Father's (Strong) Hand. (Jesus is the Strong Hand of GOD)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]The devils will say or will do almost anything to have you not go to the good Jesus.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Correct baptism results in immediate change that unfolds into the manifold grace of GOD and Christ.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]*[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]GOD had promised a good and happy earthly life and beyond >>[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Do not be hindered or seduced into control, perishing, confusion and Spiritual death.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Grace to all.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Everyone loves grace… :)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]PS. be sure to study and action the Post called: JESUS IMMEDIATELY responds...[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt].[/SIZE]
 

Elizabeth

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wordsponge said:
[SIZE=10pt]The devils know that when you go to Christ, you become his happy property and a liberated child of the Highest.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]They can never get you back.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]2 Peter 2:20-22- “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.[/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”[/SIZE]
 

Questor

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Elizabeth said:
[SIZE=10pt]2 Peter 2:20-22- “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.[/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”[/SIZE]
I was sown to as ground of all four types, and each sowing somehow changed me, but not enough that i did not need to be resown and resown. I turned back to my vomit again and again, and somehow Yeshua held onto me.

I still rebel, I still sin, I disobey, and forget, and have to be taught again, and return to the Word, and to Yeshua.

Perhaps even as I danced in the ungodly, and rejoiced in the power of divination, I was crying out, and Abba heard me? Somehow I was caught up from my sin and my rebellion and my disobedience, just long enough to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit, calling me back?

Perhaps I was not fully entangled...perhaps YHVH had mercy on me.

How does my situation comply?
 

wordsponge

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Elizabeth said:
[SIZE=10pt]2 Peter 2:20-22- “For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.[/SIZE] [SIZE=10pt]But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”[/SIZE]
A person MUST know which ONE he or she is.

1 Cor.6
[9] Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
[10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
[11] And such were some of you (IN THE PAST):
BUT ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus (IN BAPTISM, and by the Spirit of our GOD.

No one is exempt from the LAW of GOD.
Obedience is s sign of good relations...
If CHRIST cannot a person then how is he God?
Questor said:
I was sown to as ground of all four types, and each sowing somehow changed me, but not enough that i did not need to be resown and resown. I turned back to my vomit again and again, and somehow Yeshua held onto me.

I still rebel, I still sin, I disobey, and forget, and have to be taught again, and return to the Word, and to Yeshua.

Perhaps even as I danced in the ungodly, and rejoiced in the power of divination, I was crying out, and Abba heard me? Somehow I was caught up from my sin and my rebellion and my disobedience, just long enough to hear the whisper of the Holy Spirit, calling me back?

Perhaps I was not fully entangled...perhaps YHVH had mercy on me.

How does my situation comply?
Jesus makes the person into the NEW MAN = NEW CREATION.
Jesus gives the NEW HEART, the NEW Spirit, the LAWS written in the HEART...
Jesus is the MAKER.. WE are willing and yield... Always praying for his help to be vicrorious.
I left CHurch so that I would not have to ask anyone's permission to OBEY.

This is GREAT LIFE that starts with CORRECT BAPTISM.
THEN ALL 3 are engaged..in your life...
If a person have no contact with Jesus now then Jesus ids not doing the N.T.
work as detailed...
clark thompson said:
I don't see how baptism is a battle at all.
No problem if you want to baptize in the name of Father Son and Holy Spirit.
The Church is full of heresy as predicted...
Individual thinking and action are required UNTIL...
The best to you..
 

Wormwood

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So our liberty in Christ is hindered by the command of Christ? *shaking head*
 

wordsponge

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Wormwood said:
So our liberty in Christ is hindered by the command of Christ? *shaking head*
Submissiveness to Christ, the Mighy God, is wisdom.
The majority of Israelites failed...
We are supposed to learn from past errors.
GOD has cut off any who are disobedient to the Mighty God and his Apostles.
My effort is too help whomever...
I am not church mad BUT Christ made..
Best guess in Church did not help me.
Christ did...
The Word is there for anyone to apply.
Honesty and respect come from within.

Keep well.
 

Wormwood

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Yes, and submissiveness to Christ means obeying his commands. He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations by teaching them everything I have commanded you and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." The Apostles obeyed these commands as seen clearly in the book of Acts as they baptized all who believed.

So are you trying to say a person shouldn't be baptized in this OP? I really am not even sure what you are trying to say as most of your sentences are incomplete.
 

wordsponge

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Wormwood said:
Yes, and submissiveness to Christ means obeying his commands. He said, "Go and make disciples of all nations by teaching them everything I have commanded you and baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." The Apostles obeyed these commands as seen clearly in the book of Acts as they baptized all who believed.

So are you trying to say a person shouldn't be baptized in this OP? I really am not even sure what you are trying to say as most of your sentences are incomplete.
Hello,
Christianity is experienced.

Try to imagine that, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead entered you.
That is not a passive experience.
Try to imagine that Jesus gave you a new heart and a new spirit.
Do you think that you might know a great change?

Non-churched people are understanding easier.
We must be completely honest when dealing with Chris and his Father,

Regarding Matt. 28:19
[SIZE=10pt]CATHOLIC CONFESSIONS[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Catholic Encyclopedia, II, page 263[/SIZE]:
[SIZE=10pt]"The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]to the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church in the second century."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Jerusalem Bible, a scholarly Catholic work, states: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"It may be that this formula, (Triune Matthew 28:19) so far as the fullness of its expression is concerned,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]is a reflection of the (Man-made) liturgical usage established later in the primitive (Catholic) community[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]It will be remembered that Acts speaks of baptizing "in the name of Jesus,"..."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. 1923,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]New Testament Studies Number 5: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Lord's Command To Baptize An Historical Critical Investigation.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]By Bernard Henry Cuneo page 27.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"The passages in Acts and the Letters of St. Paul.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]These passages seem to point to the earliest form as baptism in the name of the Lord."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Also we find. "Is it possible to reconcile these facts with the belief[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]that Christ commanded his disciples to baptize in the trine form?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Had Christ given such a command, it is urged, the Apostolic Church would have followed him,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]and we should have some trace of this obedience in the New Testament.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]No such trace can be found.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The only explanation of this silence, according to the anti-traditional view,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]is this the short Christological (Jesus Name) formula was (the) original,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]and the longer trine formula was a later development."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Catholic Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]He makes this confession as to the origin of the chief Trinity text of Matthew 28:19.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"The basic form of our (Matthew 28:19 Trinitarian) profession of faith took shape[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]during the course of the second and third centuries in connection with the ceremony of baptism.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]So far as its place of origin is concerned, the text (Matthew 28:19) came from the city of Rome.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]“The Trinity baptism and text of Matthew 28:19 therefore did not originate from the original Church[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]that started in Jerusalem around AD 33.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]It was rather as the evidence proves a later invention of Roman Catholicism completely fabricated.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Very few know about these historical facts. [/SIZE]
***
Baptism is easy but it has to be done as GOD requires.
I try not to use many of my words.
If Scripture cannot convince a person then ????
The best to you.
 

Wormwood

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Well it seems clear we are either dealing with a JW or a Oneness Pentacostal. This is obviously an anti-Trinitarian thread. I have no use for this discussion and its conspiracy theories.
 

wordsponge

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Wormwood said:
Well it seems clear we are either dealing with a JW or a Oneness Pentacostal. This is obviously an anti-Trinitarian thread. I have no use for this discussion and its conspiracy theories.

PS, Anytime you read something like "very few know about these historical facts" usually means they aren't facts.
Amen...
Arnie Manitoba said:
Sponge:

What is "correct Baptism" ?

What is "incorrect baptism" ?

Just trying to make sense of your posts.
It is in the post that you refused to read.
We all must take our responsibility even to steer clear of the smiling, friendly, enemy...

Keep well,
 

Arnie Manitoba

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wordsponge said:
It is in the post that you refused to read.
We all must take our responsibility even to steer clear of the smiling, friendly, enemy...

Keep well,
I did read it and it does not make sense.

Why the mumbo-jumbo and riddle-speak ?

Can people not speak clearly anymore ?

Hidden agenda perhaps ?
 

wordsponge

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Arnie Manitoba said:
I did read it and it does not make sense.

Why the mumbo-jumbo and riddle-speak ?

Can people not speak clearly anymore ?

Hidden agenda perhaps ?
Honestly tell me;
Do you find the Bible hard to understand?
Do you want to pefrorm the Ba[tism of just want to know?

I like you..
 

Mungo

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wordsponge said:
Hello,
Christianity is experienced.

Try to imagine that, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead entered you.
That is not a passive experience.
Try to imagine that Jesus gave you a new heart and a new spirit.
Do you think that you might know a great change?

Non-churched people are understanding easier.
We must be completely honest when dealing with Chris and his Father,

Regarding Matt. 28:19
[SIZE=10pt]CATHOLIC CONFESSIONS[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Catholic Encyclopedia, II, page 263[/SIZE]:
[SIZE=10pt]"The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]to the words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by the Catholic Church in the second century."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Jerusalem Bible, a scholarly Catholic work, states: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"It may be that this formula, (Triune Matthew 28:19) so far as the fullness of its expression is concerned,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]is a reflection of the (Man-made) liturgical usage established later in the primitive (Catholic) community[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]It will be remembered that Acts speaks of baptizing "in the name of Jesus,"..."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Catholic University of America in Washington, D. C. 1923,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]New Testament Studies Number 5: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The Lord's Command To Baptize An Historical Critical Investigation.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]By Bernard Henry Cuneo page 27.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"The passages in Acts and the Letters of St. Paul.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]These passages seem to point to the earliest form as baptism in the name of the Lord."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Also we find. "Is it possible to reconcile these facts with the belief[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]that Christ commanded his disciples to baptize in the trine form?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Had Christ given such a command, it is urged, the Apostolic Church would have followed him,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]and we should have some trace of this obedience in the New Testament.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]No such trace can be found.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]The only explanation of this silence, according to the anti-traditional view,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]is this the short Christological (Jesus Name) formula was (the) original,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]and the longer trine formula was a later development."[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]***[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Catholic Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]He makes this confession as to the origin of the chief Trinity text of Matthew 28:19.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]"The basic form of our (Matthew 28:19 Trinitarian) profession of faith took shape[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]during the course of the second and third centuries in connection with the ceremony of baptism.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]So far as its place of origin is concerned, the text (Matthew 28:19) came from the city of Rome.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]“The Trinity baptism and text of Matthew 28:19 therefore did not originate from the original Church[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]that started in Jerusalem around AD 33.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]It was rather as the evidence proves a later invention of Roman Catholicism completely fabricated.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Very few know about these historical facts. [/SIZE]
***
Baptism is easy but it has to be done as GOD requires.
I try not to use many of my words.
If Scripture cannot convince a person then ????
The best to you.

wordsponge,

Not a single one of your "Catholic Confessions" are from authoritative Catholic sources.

And moreover you are a blatant liar.

I have a copy of the Jerusalem Bible and the footnote to Matthew 28:19 states "This formula is perhaps a reflection of the liturgical usage of the writer's own time."
Nothing like what you claim it to be.

As to your quote from the Catholic Encyclopaedia it makes no such admission.

Here is a link to the article about Baptism in the 1913 version - http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Baptism

And a link to the article about Baptism in the current version.- http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm

They both contain the following quotes:

“The requisite and sole valid form of baptism is: "I baptize thee" or "This person is baptized" in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." This was the form given by Christ to His Disciples in the twenty-eighth chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel, as far, at least, as there is question of the invocation of the separate Persons of the Trinity and the expression of the nature of the action performed.” (my emboldening)

“In addition to the necessary word "baptize", or its equivalent, it is also obligatory to mention the separate Persons of the Holy Trinity. This is the command of Christ to His Disciples, and as the sacrament has its efficacy from Him Who instituted it, we can not omit anything that He has prescribed. Nothing is more certain than that this has been the general understanding and practice of the Church.” (my emboldening)

The first century document “The Didache” states this concerning baptism:
“And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living [running] water. But if you have no living [running] water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit.” (chap 7 - my emboldening)

Wormwood said:
wordsponge,

are you a Jehovah's witness?
Probably - they are always lying about Catholics and quoting from non-authoritative sources.

Do you notice he gives no links. If you did manage to follow them up, then - as I have shown - they are fabricated.
 

Wormwood

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Yeah, I tend not to follow up on links. Anyone can put up a website and call themselves "Dr" or write whatever they want without having to have their facts checked by a publisher. Its why I tend to cite published sources from creditable publishers and would urge everyone to be cautious of getting their facts from websites or youtube videos. I find most have their own minds already made up and do Google searches to find anything or anyone who will validate what they already believe. It is not hard to do unfortunately.
 

Mungo

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At least he recognises that the Catholic Church was around in the 2nd century! Most anti-catholics claim it was invented by Constantine in the 4th. :)
 

Wormwood

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Well, that's another thread...but its not like the CC as we have it today for sure. There was just the universal Church...and how it operated then was far different than how any of us (Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox, etc.) operate today. Hopefully the church as a whole can be unified entirely once again before the last trump :)
 

Floyd

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Salvation; can it be lost ?





This is a frequently asked question by many Christ-Ones, especially in the early years of their Christian life, and especially after listening to various “teachers” and “preachers” who advocate in their sermons and lectures, that such can be the case!

Before looking at the subject in more detail, it has to be stated, that although there are many respectable teachers, preachers, vicars and priests; many do not have a Biblical grasp of their subject, and only teach what they themselves have been taught. These people are usually of one Sect or another, or one Church or another, where there is a fixed “doctrine”, which is often not Scriptural, defined here as conforming to the Bible, or “their” Bible, which may vary from Denomination to Denomination. Veracity of the Bible:



How then to know which Bible is Authentic? The following link gives the writers definition of the True Word of God Almighty. Canon of Scripture:



Working from the Christ Authenticated Scriptures, we can examine what He has to say on the subject in hand.



In Genesis 49, Jacob, who was about to die, gave prophetic comment on his sons. In verse 18, he movingly comments on what his hope is! (“I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord”) KJV. The comment is in bkts, which relates it to the previous verse, regarding Dan, which was the first of the Tribes to fall away into idolatry, and relates Dan to “a serpent”!



So; falling away from the will of God Almighty, is related to the “serpent”.

The account in Gen. 3 of the temptation of Eve, and Adam, relates the perversion of the Words of God by the “Serpent” (Satan), to pervert at that early stage of that Creation, the Truth and veracity of the Word of God, (“Ye shall not surely die” v.4).

Almighty God, at that stage, put in place the solution to the problem of the Serpent’s lie and guile, and his success with Eve. In verse 15; “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel”. In this verse is The Promise, that at its fulfilment, shall see Christ fully vanquishing Satan (The Serpent), after the Serpent had bruised His heel, (at the Calvary Cross)! It is of extreme importance to notice that it is the woman’s seed, not man’s, to which the prophecy applies. It is also interesting to note, that as Satan (Serpent) had tempted Eve, not Adam, the solution also in God’s Wisdom, is via (her seed), a woman! However; in the order Ordained by God at Eden, the man Adam, carries the responsibility!



The quoted verse 15, did not say anything about people, in the sense that they could help themselves out of the trap of death, which resulted from Eve's and Adam's sin, but God’s solution, and promise! This first occasion shows that mankind cannot undo what entered the world then, death, physical death, the death of the body given by God! We know from Scripture that there are other levels of existence. Satan himself is of one of those levels. His intention is to be "as God", and in the Loving Plan of God Almighty, Satan is at present being allowed to pursue that objective.

We know from Revelation that he has converted to himself a third of all heaven's population, and at the earliest stage of the new creation on earth by God, he is successful with the first two inhabitants!



In God’s timing, He chose a people for Himself. They all came from one man, Abram, later called Abraham. His descendant Jacob, later called Israel, had twelve sons, who make up the twelve Tribes of Israel. The grouping became a nation after they had been delivered from Egypt. That delivery was as a result of the contest between Moses and Pharaoh, which resulted in the Angel of Death “passing over” all the households of Egypt. The Jews who had smeared the blood of a “perfect lamb” onto the lintel and side posts of their doorways, were passed over untouched by the angel. Those that had not, lost the firstborn in their household to death! That of course meant that Pharaoh, and all of his people, lost their first born, both of their children and of their animals!



In the Feasts of Israel, this is known as Passover; because the Angel of Death passed over the Jews, because they had obeyed the voice of Jehovah via Moses! They were given the Rules by which they should live as a nation, called the Ten Commandments. They promised to live by the Rules, and also not to marry the women of the local tribes in Canaan, as they were linked to Pagan practices, and races of peoples with a spiritual and physical anti-God history. They were also given the commission by God to witness to these peoples, and to all they came into contact with, as to the only True God Jehovah Zebaoth, which they promised to do! They failed on all counts, and in fact joined themselves to the local tribes and their abominable pagan practices! God on numerous occasions forgave them, and gave them “atoning” sacrifices and procedures to allow them to continue to survive! God had made promises to their forefathers, one of which was that they would never be annihilated as a people, and that He would provide a solution (a way of Salvation) for His people! There are many references to this promise in the Old Testament (OT), and again in Gen. 49, verses 8, 9,and 10, the Tribe of Judah is named as the source of the Saviour!



The result of the sin of Israel, is death, not the first physical death, which all people must undergo, and is as a result of the successful temptation of Adam and Eve; but the second death, which is controlled by Almighty God, and is after the “Great White Throne Judgement” mentioned in Rev. 20.



The question may well be raised, what has all this got to do with Salvation now? Everything. The ultimate solution to the Eden fall, as shown in Gen. 3:15, is in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He came, as is shown in the New Testament (NT), by a woman called Mary, who was chosen by God (the seed of the woman), to bear Jesus, after conceiving Him “by the Holy Spirit”, and remaining a virgin, until after His birth! She was of the line of Judah, and of King David, as per. prophecy, as also was her husband to be Joseph. Jesus was therefore of no earthly father! He was/is in fact The Son of Almighty God Himself, (Luke 1:35)!


Here is the delicate nub of the matter. The Christian Bible states in Luke 1, that Gabriel told Mary she would conceive a child by "The Holy Ghost", that the Father was to be none other than God, v35, and that His name was to be "Jesus"! The name, “Jesus” (Heb. Hoshea, Num.13:16) is correctly translated; "God our Saviour", or "God who is Salvation". The NT attests that He is the “Chosen One”, the “Elect One”, The Messiah (Grk. Christ) of God, and as Messiah, “Immanuel” God with us, Isa. 7:14!

When Jesus was on the eighth day to be circumcised, a man called Simeon came to Him in the Temple, as he had been promised by God that he would see His Salvation before he died, and his beautiful words confirmed the many prophecies; “Lord (Master), now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy Word: for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation”, (Luke 2:25-38).



Thirty-three years later, Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross outside Jerusalem, at a place called Golgotha, and after His Resurrection on the Third day and as the “first fruit” to God the Father (1Cor.15:23), became the “substitute” offering to God, in the place of Israel and all their failure and sin, and all mankind and their failure and sin (Acts 28:28), to all who would/will receive it!



Until Acts 28:28, the Gentiles were not subject to the Law. They are still not subject to the Law, but are subject to a decision for or against Christ in their lifetime; who is the completion of the Law!



What is the essential element of Salvation? In the account given in John 3:1-8, Jesus Himself gives the clear definition. In verse 5, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born (begotten from above) of water (the spiritual water) and the spirit, he cannot (is not able) to enter into the kingdom of God”.

Verse 6 is emphatic: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”!



So we know that there is a Spiritual rebirth. So how does this take place, and what happens when it does? The provision as shown for the Jews is similar to what is required now!



When Jesus died on the Calvary Cross, He gave His life as a substitute for many! At that time Israel was the main focus for this provision, but they as a nation rejected The Sacrifice, and would not accept that God had sent His “Only Begotten Son”, in the form of Jesus of Nazareth! Many individual Jews accepted/accept Him as Saviour, and are now in the position of being in “The Body of Christ”. The Nation would not, and in the event, are now rejected by God, for a time period. This is well described in Acts 28.



In Acts 28:28, the refusal of Israel, opened the door for the Salvation to be offered to the Gentile nations, as prime receivers, and that has been the case since approx. AD 62!



So; any person can open themselves to the “rebirth” described above, at which point the Spirit of Christ indwells the person. That indwelling brings a change in the person, they have new priorities, their minds change, and the rest of their lives become a new sort of striving; to be more Christ like, and to have His Mind!

At the same time as the “new birth”, the individual is “sealed in heaven” (2Cor.1:22) (Eph.1:13, 4:30), to await the completion, after they have given up their earthly body! This "sealing in Heaven" is the core of this subject, as to whether Salvation can be lost, see comments below.



This “new birth” is totally personal between Christ and the individual! Although there may be ceremonial surrounding the event, such as a witness water baptism, this is not essential to Salvation, only the heart of the individual together with Christ, know the Truth, and no person, or earthly authority has any part or say in the matter. In fact, when seeing the history as shown above, only the Provision of God is successful, which is why Christ is called “The Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the World” (John 1:29) and (Isa.53:7).



Many teachers, pastors as well as many Christians generally try to say that a person can lose their Salvation, and they will use (misuse) Scriptures taken out of context, and even out of “Dispensation”, to try to convince people. Their motives are wrong, and often it is to coerce and control people into one action or another, which is to control people for wrong reasons! However, many are sincere in their doubts, because their leaders and teachers cannot/will not use Scripture properly in context, to show the proper meaning.





All of a Christ-Ones actions are reviewed by Christ Himself at what is called by some “the Bema” judgement, which is one of cleansing and/or reward, not loss of Salvation, (2Cor. 5:10) and (Rom.14:10).



So; from the Scriptures we see that a Christ-One (Christian), who has truly taken Christ into their hearts, as “The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the World”, who was slain for our sin and sins on the Calvary Cross on the eve of Passover approx. 2000 years ago, is saved from death (the second) and “is passed from death unto life eternal” (John 5:24)!



This Salvation is not contingent on anything we can do, except give our will! It is not linked to water baptism, or any work or deed of ourselves, in fact all of our efforts are as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6)!



This knowledge gives freedom to the Christ-One, which liberates them from the minds and rules of men! In Christ we are “free indeed”!