WHY STUDY YOURSELF PART 6

Do we have to be baptized? Do we have to go under water? What of those who do not get baptized? The answer to all three of those questions are in one scripture. We will start at Luke 23:39
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “ Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
41 “And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

This man did not ask for forgiveness, he admitted to another in the presence of Jesus that he was responsible for his actions. He said that his fate was justly, it was his due. He asked Jesus to remember him. It was that act of admitting his sins and asking Jesus to remember him that got him to heaven. There was no one to baptize him, he died on that cross. But because he called on the Father he was saved.

We serve a just and righteous Father. He will not hold against us what we do not know, but we are held accountable for what we do know. In one of the earlier articles we found that the proper way to be baptized is in the Name of Jesus. Jesus is not going to hold it against us if we in true repentance get baptized in Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or in The Name of the Lord. It is the sincerity of the act. At the same time by reading and studying the scriptures and seeing that Jesus is the only one that died, was buried and was resurrected, and the Lord lays it on your heart to be baptized again, then please do so. It is the obedience to God that is most important.

The point of this article with all its parts is for you to see that studying the Bible can lead you to a new better and correct truth. We cannot in this day and age accept the words of anyone; we must seek and study ourselves.

We will not sit here and say this is the right religion or the wrong religion. What we do is say the Bible says this and that is the truth. We are aware of churches that baptize in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost; churches that do it in the Name of the Lord; churches that believe that if you call on the name of the Lord, or Jesus and you shall be saved. And each church can back up their belief and practices in scriptures. The catholic church can show proof of pouring water over a baby’s head. There are churches outside the Christian belief that also baptize.

Our point is for you to see how easy it is to take the scriptures and give them different meaning. This is only one subject. Homosexuals have proof from scripture that it is okay to be gay. There are churches that teach that you do not need to tithe. I must mention churches that teach long dresses for woman and long sleeves and no short pants for man and woman. There are churches that teach that you have to leave everyone in the world alone, no contact, even with family. This all comes from taking scripture out of context, and the list could go on.

In writing I have used only a few books: King James New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance; Vondervan Handbook To The Bible; Webster’s New Riverside University Dictionary; and the Bible I used was the New King James Version.

I will end with this quote from Mike Murdock “There are several things God will not do: God will not decide what you discover; God will not decide what you know; And God will not decide whom you trust.

Thank you.
rECj