"then Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins..."
My Baptists friends tell me that they believe that this verse was incorrectly translated by the King James translators. The "for" in that verse should really be "because of". Do most Baptists believe this?
I have looked at numerous other English translations of the Bible (ESV, New King James, and others), but they all translate the Greek word "eis" as "for" not "because of".
Even Luther's German translation translates that word as "to".
How do Baptists explain this?
Why don't Baptists believe Acts 2:38 literally?
Discussion in 'Other Christian Denominations' started by Wittenberger, Jul 23, 2012.
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remission for the sins are in him, not in the baptism itself! -
That is not what the simple, literal language of the text says.
It says this: 1. repent.
2. be baptized for the forgiveness of sins.
Any other interpretation is not a literal interpretation. You are putting words in God's mouth.
Believe the Bible literally, my Baptist friends, not your non-literal interpretation which has only been around since the time of the Anabaptists.
a Lutheran Christian
www.LutherWasNotBornAgain.com -
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I was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, not in the name of John the Baptist, or in the name of any other baptizer. -
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So Jesus did not literally mean that the thief on the cross next to Him would be with Him in paradise. After all he had not been baptized.
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We are saved by the power of God's Word alone.
But when does God choose to use the power of his Word to save us and to give us the Holy Spirit? When we decide to be saved or when he decides we will be saved?
Lutherans do not believe that any sinner has ever made a free will decision to be saved. According to the Bible the sinner is spiritually dead. God chooses whom and when to save. (See the second chapter of Colossians and Ephesians).
Lutherans and most orthodox Christians believe that God chooses to save us by the power of his Word in two circumstances:
1. When a non-believing adult hears/reads the Gospel and believes.
2. When the Word of God is spoken during infant baptism.
God always does the saving, not something man does. Our decision to be baptized does not saves us. Praying a prayer does not save us. God ALWAYS saves us by the power of his Word, at the time of his choosing, not ours.
God predestined and elected us to be his children before the world existed. Then, sometime during our lifetime, at his choosing alone, He quickens us to be spiritually alive. Once we are spiritually alive, God gives us the gifts of faith, belief, repentance, and eternal life. None of these actions are performed by the sinner of his own free will because according to the second chapters of Colossians and Ephesians, the sinner is spiritually dead. Dead men cannot believe, have faith, or repent.
Salvation is 100% a gift from God. He does it all! We are only passive participants to his saving action.
We do not do good works to be saved. We do not say special prayers to be saved, whether it is the Rosary or the Baptist/evangelical "Sinnner's Prayer".
This is why Lutherans and many other orthodox Christians believe that salvation can occur in two different situations:
1. When an adult hears the Word and believes.
He is saved the moment he believes. He doesn't have to wait to be baptized to be saved. If he dies without being baptized he will go to heaven.
2. Acts chapter 2 promises salvation to the children of believers.
In the Great Commission we are told to baptize all nations. There is no age restriction. Therefore Lutherans and other orthodox Christians baptize our children believing that God will use the power of his Word, spoken at baptism, to save/regenerate our children. It's not us doing anything that saves us. We are only following God's command to baptize them. It is God who does the saving, and He alone, in baptism. Magic words, magic water have no power. God's Word has incredible, supernatural power.
Was it the water that healed Naaman in the OT or was it the power of God's Word?
Remember believing and repenting are not acts of man, but acts of God. The sinner is spiritually dead, remember? So if God gives belief and repentance to the sinner, who can deny that God has the power to give faith, belief, and repentance to the infant?
Orthodox Christians have supporting historical evidence. For instance, the Christians in the catacombs of Rome were baptizing their infants. This is before the state church was established by the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Church was not yet apostate but yet Christians were baptizing their infants all over the Roman Empire. There is no record of any schism in the Church over this issue.
The idea of adult-only baptism is a European invention during the second millenium after Christ.
For more information on the Lutheran doctrines of Baptism and Justification and many scripture verses to support them go to:
http://www.LutherWasNotBornAgain.com -
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The Biblicist Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Re 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for (Gr. eis) pain,
Did the gnaw their tongues in order to get pain or because of pain? -
We receive the Holy Spirit by the power of God's Word alone.
We are saved by the power of God's Word alone.
But when does God choose to use the power of his Word to save us and to give us the Holy Spirit? When we decide to be saved or when he decides we will be saved?
Lutherans do not believe that any sinner has ever made a free will decision to be saved. According to the Bible the sinner is spiritually dead. God chooses whom and when to save. (See the second chapter of Colossians and Ephesians).
Lutherans and most orthodox Christians believe that God chooses to save us by the power of his Word in two circumstances:
1. When a non-believing adult hears/reads the Gospel and believes.
2. When the Word of God is spoken during infant baptism.
God always does the saving, not something man does. Our decision to be baptized does not saves us. Praying a prayer does not save us. God ALWAYS saves us by the power of his Word, at the time of his choosing, not ours.
God predestined and elected us to be his children before the world existed. Then, sometime during our lifetime, at his choosing alone, He quickens us to be spiritually alive. Once we are spiritually alive, God gives us the gifts of faith, belief, repentance, and eternal life. None of these actions are performed by the sinner of his own free will because according to the second chapters of Colossians and Ephesians, the sinner is spiritually dead. Dead men cannot believe, have faith, or repent.
Salvation is 100% a gift from God. He does it all! We are only passive participants to his saving action.
We do not do good works to be saved. We do not say special prayers to be saved, whether it is the Rosary or the Baptist/evangelical "Sinnner's Prayer".
This is why Lutherans and many other orthodox Christians believe that salvation can occur in two different situations:
1. When an adult hears the Word and believes.
He is saved the moment he believes. He doesn't have to wait to be baptized to be saved. If he dies without being baptized he will go to heaven.
2. Acts chapter 2 promises salvation to the children of believers.
In the Great Commission we are told to baptize all nations. There is no age restriction. Therefore Lutherans and other orthodox Christians baptize our children believing that God will use the power of his Word, spoken at baptism, to save/regenerate our children. It's not us doing anything that saves us. We are only following God's command to baptize them. It is God who does the saving, and He alone, in baptism. Magic words, magic water have no power. God's Word has incredible, supernatural power.
Was it the water that healed Naaman in the OT or was it the power of God's Word?
Remember believing and repenting are not acts of man, but acts of God. The sinner is spiritually dead, remember? So if God gives belief and repentance to the sinner, who can deny that God has the power to give faith, belief, and repentance to the infant?
Orthodox Christians have supporting historical evidence. For instance, the Christians in the catacombs of Rome were baptizing their infants. This is before the state church was established by the Roman Emperor Constantine. The Church was not yet apostate but yet Christians were baptizing their infants all over the Roman Empire. There is no record of any schism in the Church over this issue.
The idea of adult-only baptism is a European invention during the second millenium after Christ.
For more information on the Lutheran doctrines of Baptism and Justification and many scripture verses to support them go to:
http://www.LutherWasNotBornAgain.com -
Bro. James Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
The reason the translators translated like that was because they were pedobaptists. They believed in baptismal regeneration and infant baptism. They showed a similar bias by not translating baptizo which means to immerse dip or plunge in Greek. The English baptism is a transliteration. The translators were not practicing immersion--immersion would be contrary to their dogma.
This also points to the fact that translators are not inspired.
Baptism is a work: it requires a candidate to submit and an administrator to perform.There are some reports of self-baptism. However baptism is still a work. Baptism is a picture of something which has already happened: death, burial and resurrection in which believers show they are following Jesus. Sprinkling infants pictures none of this.
This is the same kind of schism which came up early in the churches--some said one had to be circumcised to be saved.
Man somehow still thinks his righteous acts will gain access to heaven. See the Letter to the Ephesians ch. 2.
Peace,
Bro. James -
The Biblicist Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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