Dr Paul Allen

The first aspect of baptism in the Gospels we need to consider is the mindset of Judaism. When trying to understand the Gospels’ teaching on baptism, one might ask the question: Where did baptism come from? We don’t find anyone being baptized in the Old Testament, and we rarely find words relating to baptism used in the Old Testament. However, the first person we encounter in Mark’s Gospel is John the Baptist, who comes baptizing. How, then, would original readers of the Gospels have interpreted baptism? The first thing that would have shaped the thinking of the original audience would have been the meaning of the terms being used for baptism. The terms for baptism come from the Greek root bapto, which was used by ancient Greeks to denote a ship sinking into the water and being submerged. This word rarely appears in the Old Testament, only showing up twice in the canonical books of the LXX (Isaiah 21:4; 2 Kings 5:14), indicating the New Testament writers used a term to describe baptism...

There are several ways we could divide the different positions various churches and denominations hold for baptism. To keep things brief and simple, we’ll break this exercise up into the six major views of baptism that exist in the church today to discover the recipients, mode, and meaning of baptism for each one. Cripplegate The first view of baptism is the Roman Catholic Church. In Roman Catholicism, the recipients of baptism are new converts and their children. Roman Catholicism predominantly practices infant baptism, sometimes called paedobaptism, from the Greek word for infant. The mode of baptism is typically pouring water on the head of the one being baptized. The meaning of baptism in the Roman Catholic Church is complex. In summary, though, we can say it teaches that baptism washes away a person’s sins and includes that person as a member of the church. A sinner, therefore, cannot be saved under Roman Catholicism without receiving water baptism. According to this view, regener...

Baptism with the Holy Spirit also called baptism in the Holy Spirit or infilling the Holy Spirit, is a significant concept in Christian theology, particularly in Pentecostal and Charismatic traditions. Here’s an overview of what it entails: Biblical Basis John the Baptist’s Prophecy : Matthew 3:11 (NIV) : "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Mark 1:8, Luke 3:16, John 1:33 : These gospels make similar statements, emphasizing that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Promise : Acts 1:4-5 (NIV) : "On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 1:8 (NIV) : "But you will rec...

J. Cotrell Living in a physical world in material bodies, even Christians are constantly vulnerable to the error of materialism. Theoretically, we believe in spiritual realities—God, angels, demons, our souls. But on a practical level, we often live as if none of these spiritual realities are real. We limit our conscious lives to what can be perceived through our five senses—all of which are physical. Even in our relation to God, the physical often takes priority. In prayer, for example, we focus on physical blessings and needs. In group prayer sessions, when prayer requests are solicited, usually, the great majority of such requests are for some kind of physical healing of physical ailments. It is certainly not wrong to be fully aware of and thankful for this physical creation, and it is quite appropriate to petition and thank God for our physical well-being. However, we must always resist the temptation to limit our concerns to the material aspects of reality. I pray that those who h...

Do unbelievers get a second chance at salvation after death? Can you explain 1 Peter 3:19–20 and 1 Peter 4:6, this idea that the gospel was preached to the dead? Some go so far as to imply second-chance salvation. Is there one?” I don’t have complete confidence that I know what Peter is referring to when he says that Christ in the spirit preached to those who are now in prison. Here’s what that verse says so everybody can be up to speed with us. Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which [that is, in that spirit] he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal ...

On at least four occasions (arguably five) Luke describes, with a form of the verb pimplēmi, people who have already received the Holy Spirit as being “filled” with the Spirit . Each time this verb is employed to describe someone being “filled with the Spirit,” extraordinary things follow —an inspired proclamation of the Gospel (2:4; 4:8, 31), restoration of sight and subsequent proclamation (9:17), or authoritative denunciation (13:9–11).49 Whereas the phrase “full of the Spirit,” using plērēs/plēroō, is generally used to characterize a believer’s lifestyle , Luke’s use of the verb pimplēmi to describe a filling is reserved for temporary bursts of the Spirit’s power. Other instances of pimplēmi in Acts demonstrate the temporary nature of “fillings” described with this verb. In response to the healing of the lame man, all the people are “filled with wonder and amazement” (3:10). In response to the immense success and influence of the apostles (5:12–16), the high priest and S...

The term baptism translates the Greek noun baptisma; the verb is baptizo. Baptizo means to immerse or dip. Besides the practice of baptism, baptizo is used in the NT for ceremonial washing (Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38). It is also used metaphorically in a number of ways (Matt 20:22; 1 Cor 10:2; 1 Pet 3:19–21).  1. Background. Christianity was not the only religion to practice baptism. In fact, during the NT era several different groups used some form of baptism in their religious rites to attain the removal of guilt, moral cleansing, and a new birth or start.  The Oriental mystery religions of that day used some form of immersion, at times in blood, as an initiation rite into their communities. The Jews began at about the time of Jesus to require a ritual bath, or baptism, of its Gentile converts seven days after circumcision. Also the sectarian Jewish community of Qumran (famous for the Dead Sea Scrolls) had a highly developed practice of religious washings, which included...

If we were to start reading the New Testament from the beginning, we would not be able to get very far before we encountered something called baptism. As early as Matthew 3:1 , we run into a man by the name of John, who is otherwise known as “the baptizer,” and, a few verses later, we see why. This John, we are told, devotes his life to “baptizing” many different people (vv. 6, 7, 11), the Lord Jesus Himself being one of them (vv. 13–17). The baptisms that we encounter in these early chapters of Matthew’s gospel are described simply as occurring. Very little explanation is given as to how they were performed or why they were performed. We are left to conclude that the practice of “baptism,” whatever it is, must have been something that was familiar to Matthew’s Jewish audience in the first century. The same thing can be said for all the baptisms that we see in the New Testament. Thus, when Jesus commands His followers to go and make disciples in Matthew 28:18–20 , He instructs them ...

Apostle Paul received the gift of the Holy Spirit when Ananias laid hands on him and prayed for His healing. Ananias said, “The Lord Jesus has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). Paul received the Holy Spirit’s gift at the same time the scales fell from his eyes. Paul greatly appreciated receiving his spirit language. During the following years as he discovered all the purposes and spiritual benefits of praying in tongues, he became so thankful that he spoke in tongues. It motivated him to emphatically declare to the Corinthian church, “I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all” (1 Cor. 14:18). Paul wrote more about speaking in tongues than all the other authors of the books of the Bible. Paul’s abundance of speaking in tongues is what helped activate the spirit of wisdom and revelation within him, which empowered him to work miracles and be inspired to write fourteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testame...

Though Tertullian had provided the church with the formula that God is one substance, consisting in three persons, he had by no means given the world a complete understanding of the Trinity. Indeed, this doctrine has puzzled the greatest theologians. Early in the fourth century a pastor of Alexandria, Egypt — Arius —called himself a Christian. But Arius also accepted Greek theology, which taught that God is unique and unknowable .  According to such thought, He is so radically different that He cannot share His substance with anything: Only God can be God. In his book Thalia Arius proclaimed that Jesus was divine, but not God. Only God the Father , Arius said, could be immortal, so the Son had to be a created being. He was like the Father, but not truly God. Many former pagans felt comfortable with Arius’s views , because they could preserve the familiar idea of an unknowable God and see Jesus as a kind of divine superhero, not much different from the divine-human her...

Many Christians believe that for faith to be authentic, it must be free from any doubt. While this may be an ideal, it’s far from realistic. Many characters in God’s Word—including Abraham and John the Baptist —experienced episodes of doubt. Though hopefully such experiences are the exception rather than the norm, the truth is, most Christians occasionally struggle with doubt—even apologists . So what is the proper relationship between faith and doubt in the lives of believers? To even come close to answering that question, we must confront an even more fundamental issue. Do we have to prove Christianity beyond a reasonable doubt? Dr. Mike Licona has grappled with such questions for years. This has led him to dispel  claims about contradictions in the Gospels and, most notably, look to the resurrection of Jesus as a litmus test for the truth of Christianity. Christians claim that the resurrection of Jesus was a historical event with theological implications. If Jesus rose ...

If there is anything else a man can do other than preach, Martyn Lloyd-Jones maintained, he ought to do it. The pulpit is no place for him. The ministry is not merely something an individual can do, but what he must do. To enter the pulpit, that necessity must be laid upon him. A God -called man, he believed, would rather die than live without preaching . Lloyd-Jones often quoted the famed British pastor Charles H. Spurgeon : "If you can do anything else do it. If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out of the ministry." In other words, only those who believe they are chosen by God for the pulpit should proceed in undertaking this sacred task. "Preachers are born, not made," Lloyd-Jones asserted. "This is an absolute. You will never teach a man to be a preacher if he is not already one." It was clearly the case in the life of Lloyd-Jones. He realized he was not joining a volunteer army. What constitutes this call to preach? Lloyd-Jones identifie...

Since there is so much confusion about Roman Catholicism, many faithful men have stood up and provided helpful tools to equip the Church in reaching Catholics. The more you understand Roman Catholicism the easier it will be to explain the Gospel with clarity. I have been helped by all these books and heartily recommend them to you. 1 –  Are we Together?  – R.C. Sproul “This book is not what you might assume: a rehearsal of slogans. Rather, it is an intelligent and engaging primer for Protestants and Roman Catholics alike about what Rome actually teaches and what are the profound issues that continue to separate confessional, evangelical Protestants from the Roman communion. This is a book that Protestants should give to their Roman Catholic neighbors and that Protestant pastors (after reading it) should give to their members. It is also a book that more than a few theologians and historians should read before the next round of ecumenical discussions and docume...