Selene
New Member
YOU were the one who said that a person must make a personal decision to accept Jesus as Savior in order to receive the Holy Spirit. I just showed you through scripture that your belief is in error. God can give the Holy Spirit to whomever He wants....including to people who did not make a personal decision. So, this belief that God only gives the Holy Spirit to people who make a personal decision is already an error. God has free will and can give His spirit to whom He wants. He does not follow man's rules of "meant for everyone" and "this is an exception." Those are man's rules and God is not bound by the rules of man.Niki said:Well, you know, if Jesus did not baptize infants, then why do you want to baptize them? So, if Jesus cousin John was filled with the Spirit of God in the womb, does that mean
every child should be? I think there may be a problem of understanding the difference between MEANT FOR EVERYONE and THIS IS AN EXCEPTION.
So, you are saying that St. John the Baptist did not suffer from sin just because he was already filled with the Holy Spirit?? How did you come to this conclusion?? John also suffered from sin just like everyone else. John suffered persecution and death. He suffered from the sins of others. All the Apostles suffered persecution, trials, and temptations despite that they had the Holy Spirit in them. Tell me......did Jesus suffer from sin??Actually, why would you think He does? Again, you are looking at an exception and claiming it is the truth for everyone when it is not. God is capable certainly, but that is
obviously not His choice because if every infant were filled with the Holy Spirit the world would not suffer from sin as it does. Infant baptism precludes choice yet God Himself
says "Choose they day whom you will serve." Infants cannot do that. Which you actually really do understand unless you have seen them walking up for communion with
their diaper hanging out. (humor)
Jesus also suffered from sin.......OUR sins. It was our sins that made Christ suffer. It was the sins of the people that made Christ suffer. As long as we are in this world of sin, we will suffer. The only time you will see absolutely no suffering is in Heaven. Why? Because there is no sin in Heaven. No one in Heaven suffers, but everyone on earth suffers because sin didn't just enter mankind. It also entered the entire world (See Romans 5:21), which is the reason why we have disease, old age, and all kinds of calamities. Old age and disease does not exist in Heaven. Therefore, every infant born also suffers because they carry the Original Sin that was passed down from Adam and Eve, and God brought baptism so that even Original sin can be removed.
The fact that the Early Christians of the first century practiced infant baptism is already evidence that infant baptism is part of God's plan.
John 21:25 Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.
Do you remember this scripture above that I once posted to you. One of the things that Jesus did which was not written down was allowing infant baptism.......and the fact that the Early Christians of the first century practiced infant baptism is the evidence for it.