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Acts 2:38

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Salsa_1960

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I've attended a few churches that took widely different views of Acts 2:38. In context, I think it is best to include verses 36-39:
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."


How do many of you understand this/these verse/s?
 

Philip

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There are usually to things debated in this verse:

What does "for the forgiveness of your sins" mean?
What does "for you and your children" mean?

I have heard some people argue that "for the forgiveness of your sins" means "because your sins have already been forgiven". This is done be drawing a parallel to "Jesse James is wanted for robbery". In that sentence, "for" does mean "because of". However, the original Greek does not seem to allow for this interpretation. The Greek seems to say "to enter into forgiveness of sins".

I think "for you and your children" is clear. (Others will dispute that.) Children are to be included in baptism as well as the Gentiles ("for all who are far off"). Given that baptism replaced circumcision and Jews of the time were in the habit of baptising the children of their converts, it is hard imagine that the listeners would not have interpreted it this way.
 
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onetruechurch

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sandinmyears said:
I've attended a few churches that took widely different views of Acts 2:38. In context, I think it is best to include verses 36-39:
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."



How do many of you understand this/these verse/s?
this is a very simple verse- you have to be baptized to recieve forgiveness- it is just one of the steps to salvation- hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized, remain faithful- you'll be saved.
 
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micro

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Philip said:
I think "for you and your children" is clear. (Others will dispute that.) Children are to be included in baptism as well as the Gentiles ("for all who are far off"). Given that baptism replaced circumcision and Jews of the time were in the habit of baptising the children of their converts, it is hard imagine that the listeners would not have interpreted it this way.
I am one of those who interprets it differently.
Knowing that the holy spirit isnt transfered throught baptism(by water) But through the repentence,=recieving of christ. A child who dosnt have the faith in God. Baptism does nothing but get them wet!
Also it adds false security.
 
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micro

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onetruechurch said:
this is a very simple verse- you have to be baptized to recieve forgiveness- it is just one of the steps to salvation- hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized, remain faithful- you'll be saved.
Not correct baptism has nothing to do with salvation! It is done afterword to show a commitment, It is a first step in your walk and work for the lord.
 
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Philip

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micro said:
I am one of those who interprets it differently.
Knowing that the holy spirit isnt transfered throught baptism(by water) But through the repentence,=recieving of christ. A child who dosnt have the faith in God. Baptism does nothing but get them wet!
Also it adds false security.

Then how do you interpret the verse?
 
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Vxer1000

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I prefer using the KJV when it comes to this verse:


Acts 2
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
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.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.


Baptism is essential to have remission of sins. Look at another scripture:


Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.


The bible likens baptism to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.


John 3
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
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.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.


There is no way to get around this scripture. Jesus said you need to be born again of water and the spirit. I've seen a lot of confusion over this scripture, but keep in mind that the bible does not contradict itself(otherwise we could pick and choose what we want to believe). It fits perfectly with the other scriptures.
 
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Vxer1000

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1John5:3 said:
At least there is no discussion yet over "the name" that is supposedly to be used as baptism occurs (as if they spoke the English words, "Jesus Christ.")
You believe that baptism is to be performed using another name?
 
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1John5:3

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Vxer1000 said:
You believe that baptism is to be performed using another name?
There are religious, Bible-quoting people who "have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." They insist that you MUST be baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38). They may claim that there is no salvation unless you are batized with these English words (Jesus Christ)spoken by the person putting you under the water.

But I don't read of those words used exclusively. See my next post that follows by a few minutes.
 
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pmarquette

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Sandinmyears asked , how do you inerpret these passages :
36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
-- you missed the Messiah , who you failed to recognize due to heard hearts , blind eyes and deaf ears -- Ezekiel 18.31 ; 36.26 The gentiles found who they did not seek , for you did not -- John 1.11,12 ; Matthew 21.32

37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
had been deceived by the Pharisees and Saducees conviction of the Holy Spirit , to those who
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
the great commission : Matthew 28.18 baptize , preach , teach , heal in the name of the father, and son , and holy spirit ; Acts 19. 1-6 baptism's of John for repentance and of Jesus to wash away original sin ( of Adam ), that hands might be layed upon them to receive the Holy Spirit , as happended in Acts 2 , Acts 4 , and Acts 10 in the upper room and at Cornelius's home at the hearing of the Word ( born again of water = baptism ; and of spriti = confirmation ).

39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." Deuteronomy 28. 1-6 ; Isaiah 61.1-3 ; Isaiah 53.3 , Matthew 8.17 , 1 Peter 2.24
 
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1John5:3

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Matthew 28:19
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Acts 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.

Acts 8:16
(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Acts 10:48
And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Acts 19:5
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Acts 22:16
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

(Nobody was baptized in the name of "Jesus Christ" until a few hundred years ago. The English langauge had no "J" sound until after the 1611 KJV was written. They used an "I.") Read His name below from the KJV, 1611:
 
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AVBunyan

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Here is how I see it:

Context of Acts 2 – Peter is preaching a message in light of the events that took place earlier – the Holy Ghost coming down.

In a nutshell: Peter preaches to the Jews saying, “This Jesus of whom your patriarch David spoke of was your Messiah and look what you did – you murdered him.” The Jews got convicted and said, “What must we do?” Notice they didn’t say, “What must we do to be saved? Like the jailer said later in Acts 16:30. The didn’t asked what to do to be saved because they were not hearing a message about salvation at that time for Peter did not even know about Christ dying for sins at that time. The Jews at Pentecost asked, “What must we do in light of us murdering our messiah?” Peter answers:

“Repent” – not of your sins but of murder and of their rejection of God the Father in the OT and of Jesus in the gospels!

“And be baptized” – according to John’s baptism - Now, why did John baptize? Look at John 1:31 - And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

The message during John’s time was, (my paraphrase) “Believe that Jesus was the messiah and to show you believe get baptized.” The issue was – were they going to believe that Jesus was their messiah for if not they would die in their sins - John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

The message wasn’t the message we preach today (I Cor. 15:1-5). The message was, “Believe Jesus is your messiah and get baptized.”

“in the name of Jesus Christ” – see above – the issue was believing that Jesus was the messiah not believing Jesus was your saviour as today.

“for the remission of sins” – notice Peter used the word remission not forgiveness. Israel would not be forgiven till the second advent (Acts 3:19,20).

“and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” – self-explanatory.

The tongues were there as a sign of judgment to the unbelieving Jews that were there (I Cor. 1:22; 14:22).

Don’t want to start another thread here but the reason the signs and gifts are gone today is because God is not dealing with Israel as a nation so the signs left off the scene. When God dealt with unbelieving Jews he always used signs. The tongues were a sign of their rejection of their messiah. Remember tongues are for a sign not to believers but for unbelievers. A little different from how people use tongues today.

That is enough for now but that is what I believe Acts 2:38 is – it is not a salvation message today whatsoever.

Your thoughts?
 
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Vxer1000

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Colossians 3
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.


Acts 4
10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.



"Name" is singular in it's usage in these passages.


Romans 16
24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:



The only mystery that was kept secret was the name of the Saviour. Everything else concerning His life and His death was known before Jesus was even born. God has called Himself by many names but there is a name above all names: Jesus.



Philippians 2
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


John 5
40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.
41 I receive not honour from men.
42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.


Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. The entire bible is written with reference to Jesus and His salvation. In John 17.6 Jesus said He was given His name by God and that the name also belonged to God. The bible also says we are baptized into "Christ".


Galatians 3
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.]


John 14
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.


We are baptized into Christ. Father, Son, Holy Ghost are titles or positions, not names. How many people sign their paychecks "Father" or "Son". You can call people by a title, but the relationship becomes more personal when you use their name.



Acts 16
28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.


Belief in Jesus and baptism are tied together. The guard was baptized later in this passage. In Acts 8 Phillip spoke with the eunuch and after the eunuch announced his belief in Jesus Phillip baptized him:


Acts 8
29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.
36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
 
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1John5:3

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"Name" doesn't equate to the phonetic vocalization of a word.

Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
(Is God's name Jealous?)

btw, I believe it is Biblical mandate for believers to be baptized by immersion. The words that are spoken by the baptizer are not to be thought of in the same vein as abracadabra, hocus pocus, open sesame, or shazam.
 
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Salsa_1960

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Here are a few other verses that discuss the significance of baptism.
1 Peter 3:18-22 (NIV)
18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, 19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

1 Peter 3:18-22 (KJV)
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.






 
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Philip

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AVBunyan said:
“for the remission of sins” – notice Peter used the word remission not forgiveness. Israel would not be forgiven till the second advent (Acts 3:19,20).

There is no difference between the words forgiveness and remission. The Greek word is amphesis. It appears 17 times in the NT. In the KJV, it is translated as remission (9 times), forgiveness (6 times), deliverance (once), and liberty (once). To try to develop a theology base on amphesis being translated one way in one verse and another way in another verse seems to be rather risky.
 
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Vxer1000

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sandinmyears said:
Here are a few other verses that discuss the significance of baptism.

1 Peter 3:18-22 (KJV)
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.


Good post Sand. This scripture shows that baptism does indeed save us. Couple that with Acts 4.12 where it says no other name can save us and what you have is Baptism in Jesus' name. The New Testament speaks a great deal about the name of Jesus and the importance of us coming to God in this name. Phillipians 2.9-11 says that name is above every name of things in Heaven and things in Earth and that every knee would bow.
 
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AVBunyan

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Philip said:
There is no difference between the words forgiveness and remission. The Greek word is amphesis.
There is a difference. They are both spelled differently. This is why I am a King James Bible Believer - I stick with the text as it stands perfectly in the 1611AV - I believe if God wanted forgiveness there then He would have put forgivness there. But I appreciate your comments.

Also the English definition carries with it, "Abatement; relaxation; moderation". (I know you will probably take the Greek over the Englsih but there ti is anywy) - this fits perfectly in the context for according to Acts 3:19 Israel as a nation will be forgiven as a nation when Christ comes back the second time to deal with Israel as a nation. During the tme of Acts 2 there was no body of Christ and nothing known about complete forgivness at that time. God "overlooked" the sins of Israel till He was ready to completely forgive them based upon the finished work at Calvary. Even though Calvary just took place God was not ready to complete the work with Israel as a nation until the second advent which could have taken place during the book of Acts.

Now I know you probably do not hold to the above view but this is how remission makes sense in the text and not forgiveness - it fits Old Testament and old covenant doctrine. Putting forgiveness there would have been "jumping the gun" in God's timetable with Israel.


So, do you believe Acts 2:38 is a salvation message for today?
 
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