Lesson 1122

(Lesson 1122)(10-19-14) Acts 4:5-12

"And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 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. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

In today's lesson, Peter and John were set in judgment before all the Jewish leadership and were again asked by what power they had healed the lame man. Peter said; "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."

Peter and John took no credit for the healing of the lame man, but rather gave all the credit to God through the power granted them by Jesus Christ. They renounced the ways of Judaism and identified Jesus as the corner stone of the new church and again affirmed that being immersed in the blood of Jesus is the only means by which a lost soul can be saved.~

Lesson 1121

(Lesson 1121)(10-18-14) Acts 4:1-4

"And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand."

Today's quote tells us that, after they had, that day, preached salvation through faith in the blood of Jesus, Peter and John were taken into custody by the Jewish authority.

This lesson also tells us that from among the throng who had gathered, because of the message preached, and the miracle performed by Peter and John, five thousand more souls were saved and converted from among the Jews.~

Lesson 1120

(Lesson 1120)(10-17-14) Acts Chapter 3

"Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ancle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God: And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

The body of today's quote relates how, after Peter and John had healed the lame man, the Jewish men who were gathered there at the temple were amazed at what they had witnessed and began questioning Peter and John about their power over what had crippled the man.

Assuming that those Jews had crucified Christ out of ignorance, and because of their intense interest, the Apostles took the opportunity to preach, from the beginning, God's plan of salvation just as it had been preached at the miraculous Pentecost celebration.

Concerning their redemption and the remission of their sins, Peter told those men the exact same thing he had told the three thousand souls that were added to the Church at Pentecost, he simply stated it differently.

This time, instead of using a variation of the term "baptize" Peter simply said in verse 19; Repent ye therefore, and BE CONVERTED, that your sins may be blotted out. Being "converted" meant that those men should give up their belief that obedience to the law could save them and rather, to rely, through faith, on the blood of Jesus Christ for their salvation.

The term "converted", as Peter applied it herein, better defines the process of salvation because it does not allow for the confusion the term "baptize" sometimes creates.

We should make note that Peter made NO mention of water in these instructions, he merely stated what had to be done, those men would need to be CONVERTED and have their sins blotted out by the blood of Jesus Christ crucified.

The confusion over the word "baptized" stems from the fact that the Jews had practiced it for thousands of years to prepare an unclean person for any form of worship, it was Hebrew law throughout the ages.

Although water is sometimes the implied medium in to which a person is to be baptized, it most certainly is not always, nor is it in connection with salvation. Accordingly, the baptism of John the Baptist, a water immersion, merely 'prepared' the unclean Jew for 'conversion'. John said,"I indeed baptize you with water UNTO REPENTANCE: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: HE SHALL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY GHOST, and with fire:" (Matthew 3:11)

When properly studied, it becomes vividly clear that water baptism has nothing to do with remittance of sin, but alternatively, baptism into the blood of Jesus Christ is indeed the ONLY remitter of sin. Jesus very clearly said; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

I can't repeat the importance of this study enough because almost every "Christian" religion on earth erroneously teaches that water baptism is one step in the process of achieving eternal life. It is our duty as servants of Jesus Christ to see to it that this horrible misunderstanding be made clear to every soul who is willing to listen.

"For by grace are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)~

Lesson 1119

(Lesson 1119)(10-16-14) Acts 2:40-47

"And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

In verse forty one of today's quote the Author says; "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." It is very important that we apply yesterday's lesson to this statement so as to understand that the word "baptized", as it is applied herein, is not in reference to a water immersion.

It should be said that in all practicality it would have been physically impossible for those few men to have baptized three thousand souls in water within the few hours available while they continued to preach the gospel throughout the day.

What verse forty one actually intends is that those who believed and accepted God's promise, as presented by the Apostles' sermon at Pentecost, were immersed in the soul saving blood of Jesus Christ upon accepting the Apostles words, by faith.

Those three thousand souls were indeed "baptized" in the blood of Christ, NOT in water. Those three thousand souls, after having been saved by being "baptized" into the blood of Jesus Christ through believing in Him, were then added to the Church.

Today's quote goes further to relate that all the members of the Church were in full accord, all pulling in the same direction, and prayerfully dedicated to the task that was charged to them by Jesus Himself.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if today all those who claim to be Christian were pulling together toward what Jesus actually intended for His Church?

It is important to note that ONLY the saved were added to the Church. These last few lessons have explained in detail how a lost soul is to be saved, they are verified by Paul and Silas in Acts 16:31 when asked; Sirs, what must I do to be saved? they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

These chosen men of God made NO mention of water baptism as having anything to do with either eternal salvation, or as a qualification for entry into the Church.~

Lesson 1118

(Lesson 1118)(10-14-14) Acts 2:39

"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. 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."

I have reposted yesterday's quote to further demonstrate the true intent of Peter's use of the term "baptized" as it appears in verse thirty eight of that quote.

I hope also to clear up the ill conceived notion that water was the medium into which Peter was advising those Jews to be "baptized".

As we have established in previous lessons, the Greek term "baptizo" from which our English word "baptize" was transliterated, as it is applied throughout the New Testament, and simply defined, means to place one 'something' into another 'something' so as to change or alter the nature of the first 'something'.

For example, to make pickles, one must baptize cucumbers into a brine or vinegar solution and leave them there so as to change them from cucumbers into pickles.

If one simply dips cucumbers in brine and brings them right back out one simply gets wet briny cucumbers, NOT pickles. In order for a cucumber to become a pickle it must remain in the brine solution until it is consumed.

The same is true with the soul saving baptism Peter intended. If a lost soul is merely dipped in water and taken right back out, it merely becomes a wet, lost soul. Whereas, if you immerse that lost soul, by faith, into the shed blood of Jesus Christ and leave it there, it becomes a perfectly righteous, eternally redeemed soul and a brother or sister to Jesus Himself. "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."(Galatians 3:27)

Some might say, why couldn't one be baptized into the blood of Christ then taken right back out?

The answer is simple, once a lost soul is buried within the blood of Jesus Christ it cannot come out on its own, nor can it be taken out, it is sealed there by the Holy Spirit of God; "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, WHEREBY YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPEION." (Ephesians 4:30)

Therefore, we can easily see that Peter's intent was that those Jews who believed in Jesus were NOT to be simply dipped in water but rather they were to be buried by faith in the soul saving blood of Jesus Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Further, as was also stated by Peter, each redeemed soul, after having been baptized into the blood of Christ, would receive the power of the Holy Ghost.~

Lesson 1117

(Lesson 1117)(10-13-14) Acts 2:37-39

"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? 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. 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."

In verse thirty eight of today's quote Peter makes a statement that Roman Catholicism along with the so-called Churches of Christ and many other isms use as part of an erroneous claim that water baptism is an essential step in the process of eternal salvation.

That contention is so totally wrong, and if it is accepted as truth by the lost, it causes them to place their faith, not solely in the saving power of Christ, but rather in a physical act of man, water baptism.

Belief in Jesus Christ the man, and Faith in His soul saving sacrifice, is the ONLY precondition to eternal salvation. "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:15 in part)

Most every Judeo-Christian religious group acknowledges that we are all born sinners because of the disobedience of Adam. Those who have studied the bible at all know that sin is what condemns our souls to hell. We also know that in order to receive salvation we must be completely free of sin in the spirit, having had our sins absolutely forgiven, or remitted, by God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then remanded to the safe keeping of the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist was divinely sent to teach the coming of Jesus by whom sin would be remitted, speaking of the purpose of John's coming, Luke said; "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people BY THE REMISSION OF THEIR SINS, Through the tender mercy of our God". (Luke 1:77-78 in part). Thereby we see that God demanded that in order for us to reunite with Him, our sins must be remitted and that Jesus is the only remitter.

What then is able to remit sin, is it water? No, it is the blood of Jesus Christ; "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matt. 26:28)

Jesus' blood was shed explicitly for the remission of sins.

Jesus gave us an example of how FAITH is what it takes to have our sins forgiven through the blood of Jesus Christ; "And when he saw their FAITH, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee." (Luke 5:20) Jesus made it very clear to that man that it was FAITH that caused his sins to be forgiven. "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:26)

Another example demonstrating that Jesus is the source of remission of sin; "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him SHALL receive remission of sins." (Acts 10:43)

When Peter said "Repent, and be baptized", he was NOT implying that those men should be baptized in water to receive remission of sin, he meant that they were should, through faith, be baptized in the blood of Jesus Christ to receive remission. And then, after their sins were remitted by the blood of Christ, they would assuredly receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter was in fact referring to a baptism into the blood of Jesus Christ.

There were actually two distinctly different applications of the term "baptize" that were implied in that sermon at Pentecost. One being the baptism into the blood of Jesus Christ through the faith of those who believed, and the the baptism of the Holy Ghost which followed their salvation.

Today's lesson is one of the most important to be found in the New Testament and should be studied thoroughly by every serious bible student.

It is our commanded purpose to make sure that God's word is taught within its true context and with it's true intent.

I hope I have made this lesson clear enough to be understood. If I haven't, please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Tomorrow's lesson should further verify today's.~

Lesson 1116

(Lesson 1116)(10-08-14) Acts 2:16-21

"But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Today's quote restates a prophesy made by Joel projecting the coming of the Holy Ghost. That prophesy was fulfilled at the Pentecost celebration when the Church received the Holy Ghost immediately following Jesus' ascension.

By quoting this prophesy to the mass of Jewish men, Peter was demonstrating the authenticity of the ministry and gospel of Jesus Christ as it had been affirmed throughout Jewish history.

The actual prophesy from Joel is as follows, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:28-32)

In the very last part of the original prophesy, Joel noted that there would be only a few from among the Jews who would be saved subject to the Lord's "call".

This is important because a great part of the New Testament text is to, or about, the Jews and their refusal to accept Jesus as the promised Messiah.

It seems that Paul and the others had no problem converting Gentiles, but were hunted and continually threatened by the Jewish leadership as they went about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Through the transformation brought about by Jesus and the establishment of His Church, the Jews lost their "chosen" status and became no more to God than the Gentiles; "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." (Galatians 3:28)~