Author: Jason

You Want Christ, But Not His Church?

Perhaps you have heard statements like these: “Salvation is in Christ, not in a church.” “Your relationship with Christ is not defined by your attendance at a church.” “I want Christ, but I don’t want the church.” “Christ did not die for us to be religious, but for us to be like Him.” “I don’t attend church, but I read my Bible and pray every day, so I know I’m right with God.” Do statements like these accurately express what God expresses in His Word?… Read more

Simple Logical Arguments for Baptism

  • Salvation/reconciliation to God is only in the one church/body of Christ (Eph. 2:16; 5:23; cf. 1:22, 23; 4:4). One is not in the one body/church of Christ until he is “baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:38-41, 47); therefore, one is not saved/reconciled until he is baptized (cf. Jn. 3:5; Mk. 16:16; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:27; Eph. 5:26; Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:11-13; Titus 3:5; Heb. 10:22; 1 Pet. 3:20, 21).

  • Salvation is “in Christ” (2 Tim.
… Read more

Sincere, but Sincerely Lost

Just because someone is sincere and religious, that does not mean that he is a saved child of God. Even if he believes in Christ, that does not automatically make him saved. There were sincere religious people in the Bible who were lost, and even people who believed in Jesus were still lost until they were “baptized into Christ” (Gal. 3:27; Rom. 6:3; cf. Acts 2:36-41; 1 Pet. 3:20, 21).

The Ethiopian was sincere, but sincerely lost until baptism (Acts 8:26-39).… Read more

Maybe You Don’t Really Know God

Just because someone thinks he knows God, that does not mean he really does. God can be known through His Word (Jn. 17:3; 1 Cor. 2:9-13; 1 Jn. 2:3-6), but God is who He says He is, not who someone may imagine He is. God said, “…Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee…” (Psa. 50:21). Let us not be quick to assume anything about God, based on our own feelings or experiences, for God says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.… Read more

Nobody Will “Smooth Talk” His Way Into Heaven

Some people seem to think they can smooth talk their way out of any situation. They take pride in their ability to weave words in such a way that allows them to “get away” with whatever they have done or may want to do. Surely some of their confidence comes from a prideful assumption that they are smarter or craftier than the individual to whom they are speaking. Sometimes that may be the case, but true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord (Psa.… Read more

Holy Spirit Baptism, or Water Baptism?

When Paul wrote his first inspired epistle to the church at Corinth, he wrote these words: “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

When reading the verse above, those who are familiar with the Bible probably automatically think of similar passages, such as Acts 2:38-47, when people were added to the church upon baptism, or Galatians 3:26-28, where Paul said we are “baptized into Christ” and “there is neither Jew nor Greek…neither bond nor free,” etc.… Read more

Which Comes First – Salvation, or Baptism?

Can alien sinners (sinners who have never been saved) be saved before water baptism, or without water baptism?

Notice the Biblical order:

  • Believeth…baptized…saved (Mark 16:16).
  • Born of water and of the spirit…enter the kingdom (John 3:5).
  • Repent…be baptized…remission of sins (Acts 2:38).
  • Gladly received his word…baptized…added to the church (Acts 2:41, 47).
  • Be baptized…wash away thy sins (Acts 22:16).
  • Baptized into Jesus Christ…raised to newness of life…made free from sin (Romans 6:3-18).
  • The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God…And such were some of you: but ye are washed…sanctified…justified in the name of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; cf.
… Read more

20 Things to Understand About Romans 10:9, 10

Romans can be a difficult book to understand. Even Peter said some of Paul’s writings are difficult to understand (2 Pet. 3:15-18), but one should not get discouraged like those of John 6:66. Be like Peter, who persevered (Jn. 6:67, 68). Sadly, Romans 10:9, 10 has been misunderstood or twisted by untold numbers of people. Some seem to think this is the only passage in the Bible telling man how to be saved, and many have interpreted this confession to be “the sinner’s prayer.”… Read more

NOBODY

  1. Nobody can predict when Jesus will return; Jesus Himself did not know (Mt. 24:36, 42, 43, 50; 25:13; Mk. 13:32, 33, 35; 1 Thess. 5:1-3; 2 Pet. 3:10).
  2. Nobody today can perform miracles (Zech. 13:1-3; Jn. 11:17; 1 Cor. 13:8-12; Eph. 4:8-14).
  3. Nobody today is an apostle—an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ, able to give others miraculous powers (Acts 1:22; 8:12-18; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8, 9; Rev. 2:2).
  4. Nobody today receives Holy Spirit baptism, because only “one baptism” remains: “the washing of water” (Eph.
… Read more

The Times of Refreshing and Restitution (Acts 3:19-21)

Acts 3:19-21 can be a difficult passage to understand, especially when trying to understand it without really examining the surrounding context and comparing with other passages. However, when one notices that the Holy Spirit (via Peter) is actually using the same kind of language He used in many other passages, the meaning becomes clearer. Acts 3 is the second recorded sermon of Peter after Christ’s ascension. Many marveled at the healing of a lame man in the temple, and Peter used the occasion to preach the Gospel, with the last words of the sermon being these (Acts 3:19-26):

(19)  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; (20)  And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: (21)  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.… Read more

If Repentance is Required, So is Baptism

The honest person will concede that repentance is required for salvation; however, when he does, he simultaneously concedes that John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, and Romans 10 do not explicitly state everything a person must do to be saved (because repentance is not mentioned in any of those passages). In fact, neither “repent” nor “repentance” is found in the Gospel of John or Ephesians at all, and repentance is only mentioned twice in the 16 chapters of Romans, though it is absolutely necessary for salvation.… Read more