Those who teach a salvation or "good spiritual
health" teach that God selects certain people to be saved. To prove
it the Holy Spirit as a "person" moves into the body and gives the
pre-selected person the faith
to be saved.
This is why Scripture is
distorted to mean what no
version is translated to mean:
Explanation from the web to
refute baptism:
It is also commonly
believed, because of faulty teaching, that the word "for" as used in Acts 2:38 MUST mean "in order to
obtain." However, this is NOT true either! In LUKE 5:13,14 we read of
a leper who was immediately healed when Jesus touched him and spoke.
After his healing, Jesus told him, "... go, and shew thyself to the
priest, and offer
FOR thy cleansing, according
as Moses commanded, for a
testimony unto them." Notice: the man ALREADY HAD his cleansing from
leprosy when Jesus told him to go to the priest and bring an offering
"FOR THY CLEANSING." If you tried to substitute "in order to obtain"
in place of the word "for" in Lk. 5:13,14 it would NOT
fit!
"Similarly, the
common remedy, "take two aspirins FOR a headache," refutes the idea
that "for" MUST mean "in order to obtain." (No one would take two
aspirins "in order to obtain" a headache!). If the doctor says, "Take
two aspirins for your headache" he really means "take two aspirins
for your cure."
Answer: This is not precision english. We
never take aspirins for a
headace (in order to get) but we take them for a cure. A headache is not the cure. Sin is the
headache: aspirin or baptism is the cure. Therefore, the correct way
to look at this is:
"Take two aspirins
for your cure" or
"Take two aspirins
for the remission of your
headache."
Another proof text from the
web: "While Jesus was in
one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When
he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus reached out his hand and touched the
man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately
the leprosy left
him. Then Jesus ordered
him, "Don't tell anyone, but go,
show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded FOR thy cleansing, as a testimony to them." Luke 5:
12-14
"...show yourself
to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded
FOR [in order to?, or because of?] thy cleansing, as a testimony to them." It should
be noted that the leper was healed
before he offered a sacrifice. The offering was "for thy cleansing"
or because
of - not to obtain it,
but a formal declaration in ceremony that it has already happened and
testimony to what God has done.
However, this man's physical
healing caused the spots to "go off" or "fly off" his body. Physical
healing is not spiritual salvation. The leper was told to submit to
the equivalent of baptism and
make sacrifices for or
in order to his spiritual atonement.
Let's begin by saying that physical healing has
nothing to do with salvation in the New Testament kingdom or
church:
Jesus answered and said unto them,
Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: Mt 11:4
The blind receive their sight, and
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up,
and the poor
(cringing) have the gospel preached to
them. Mt 11:5
Conclusion: healing is for a sign of the
Divinity of Christ. The gospel is preached to them for their
spiritual cleansing.
External manifestations such as speaking in
tongues or some other physical, bodily phenomena does not heal the
soul. To depend upon it may be legalistic. And to depend upon faith
is to place ones confidence in ones own belief and not in Jesus
Christ. This trust in faith is trust that one has been predestinated
to be saved, can do nothing to be saved and can do nothing to be lost
-- just a zombie.
Before looking at the New Testament Leper, it
is important that Jesus pointed the leper to the
Law of
Moses. Under the law there are several examples of the healing of
lepers. For instance, look at-
Naaman the Leper
Click for more
Under the law, Naaman the leper wanted to do
some great work to earn his
cleansing. This would be something
others could see or hear and judge that he had earned his salvation. However, God told him
to do something against
logic and human pride:
go wash your body in
water which has no healing power like
your own rivers and you will be healed by God. Now, Naaman already
had faith that the prophet could heal him but faith only had no
value:
And Elisha sent a messenger unto
him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again
to thee, and thou shalt be
clean. 2Ki 5:10
But Naaman was wroth, and went
away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and
stand, and
call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the
place, and recover the leper. 2Ki 5:11
Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be
clean? So he turned and went away in a
rage. 2Ki 5:12
And his servants came near, and
spake unto him, and said, My father, if
the prophet had bid thee do some great thing (for your healing),
wouldest thou not have done it? how
much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 2Ki
5:13
Naaman took "ten talents of silver, and six
thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing." He had total
faith in the promise of healing and he intended to impress the
prophet with money and his privileged position.
Perhaps he believed that he was chosen of God and he could be
cleansed without the application of literal, humiliating
water.
Jesus and the Leper's "Baptism"
And it came to pass, when he was in
a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy; who seeing Jesus fell
on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst
make me clean. Lk 5:12
The man believed but his skin was
not healed. It took the contact of the hand of Jesus purely out of
compassion to affect his physical healing. I don't know of anyone who
has that power and therefore there is no need for supernatural signs
to prove ones mission if it is based upon faith in the finished work
of Jesus Christ.
And he put forth his hand, and
touched
him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the
leprosy departed (went
off) from him. Lk 5:13
And Jesus, moved
with compassion, put forth his hand,
and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. Mk 1:41
Katharizo (g2511) kath-ar-id'-zo; to cleanse (lit. or fig.): -
(make) clean (-se), purge, purify.
Any scaly skin condition might be called
leprosy. This man's condition was sores or scales over his body.
Because they were obvious blemishes he could not go to the
temple. When Jesus touched the man the scales simply
"went
off" his
body. This had nothing to do with the forgiveness of sins or salvation.
This leper would be cut off from a
relationship with the Lord. For example, when Uzziah presumed to
offer incense in the sanctuary he was chastized and as a result
leprosy rose up in his forehead:
And Uzziah the king was a leper
unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several (hospital) house,
being a leper; for he was cut
off from the house of the Lord: and
Jotham his son was over the kings house, judging the people of the
land. 2Chr.26:21
Only after lepers were clear of any signs of the
disease could they go to the priests to be brought back into relationship with Israel and God. He had to display his physical
healing as a testimony to the priests or to satisfy the priest that
he was physically clean of the disease. Therefore, Jesus commanded
that the leper follow the law:
And he charged him to tell no man:
But go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as
Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. Lk 5:14
And saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man:
but go thy way, shew
thyself to the priest, and offer
for thy
cleansing those things which Moses
commanded, for a testimony unto
them. Mk 1:44
The man had been cleansed of the skin
condition. In order to
be in covenant relationship with God
under the Law of Moses he had to be washed for or in order to his spiritual
atonement.
Before he washed and was cleansed, the man had
to make an offering. This allowed him to be cleansed which is not the
same as the instantaneous cleansing of the leper's skin by Jesus. It
is:
Cleansing
is: Katharismos (g2512)
kath-ar-is-mos'; from 2511; a washing off, i.e. (cer.)
ablution, (mor.) expiation: - cleansing, / purge,
purification, (-fying).
And John also was baptizing (Baptizo) in enon near to
Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were
baptized. Jn 3:23
Then there arose a question between
some of Johns disciples and the Jews about purifying
(Katharismos). Jn 3:25
This carries the same meaning of baptism
for the
remission of sins:
Baptizo (g907) bap-tid'-zo; from a der. of 911; to
make whelmed (i.e. fully wet); used only (in the N.T.) of ceremonial
ablution, espec. (techn.) of the ordinance of Chr.
baptism: -
baptist, baptize, wash.
Jesus healed the man's skin (Katharizo)
but He directed Him to the Law of Moses for cleansing or
(Katharismos). Therefore, His command to offer for thy cleansing is the same as baptize for
remission or purifying.
The leper lived under the
law. The difference now is that believers must be baptized according
to the commandment of Jesus for spiritual cleansing and not according
to the law of Moses.
Peter reminded us that:
But he that lacketh these things is
blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was
purged
from his old sins. 2Pe.1:9
This is the same purging the Leper was to
undergo which was a form of baptism.
The man obviously was not saved because he
immediately disobeyed Jesus. By refusing to obey and receive
atonement after the washing the man actually hindered the work of Jesus.
But he went out, and began to
publish it much, and to blaze
abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus
could no more openly enter into the
city, but was without in desert places:
and they came to him from every quarter. Mk 1:45
But so much the more went there a fame abroad
of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be
healed by him of their
infirmities. Lk 5:15
The leprosy left the man because Christ healed
him. He had his body
healed but he was not religiously pure. By
looking where Jesus pointed we can understand how the leper could be
restored to spiritual purity. Only then could he enter into spiritual
with God. This involved a form of putting away all of the signs of
defilement, baptism and an offering for or in order to
religious cleansing.
While the shadow is not directly paralled in
the New Covenant, the symbolism is clear. The man washed his body in water
and he was physically clean. However, it was the priest (Jesus
Christ) in the Temple (Heaven itself) who took his sacrifice and
made atonement before the Lord. Did the water atone for his sins? No.
But what if the man has said: "Oh, we reject water regeneration and
we will just skip the bath for the body?" Would the priest honor his
sacrifice? No. However wise it seemed to the leper, he would have
been outside the God-ordained "kingdom" for that time.
Look at the Process:
After the leper's body has been cleared of the
external
skin problems Jesus told him to do what all Jews had to do
for or
in order
to their
cleansing. Early baptizers insisted that the candidate be naked. This
would be much like the leper: he has taken off every thing which
might hide sores or physical blemishes. He has confessed his sins and
repented
of his sins and has
turned away from them and gone as far
as he can go. However, even then the water does not atone for his
sins. Only the blood of Christ can do that:
But it shall be on the seventh day,
that he shall shave all his hair off his
head and
his beard
and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall
wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall
be clean. Lev 14:9
Therefore, when Jesus said "for thy cleansing"
Moses said "wash and ye shall
be clean."
In a figurative sense, when one has
taken off the "old clothing" and been buried in the waters which
Christ commanded, the person comes face-to-face with the one
he lamb
Who was offered for us. Only by being in Christ does He as high
priest make an atonement before the Lord.
Whosoever therefore shall confess
me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in
heaven. Matthew 10:32
And on the eighth day he shall take two he
lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish,
and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with
oil, and one log of oil. Lev 14:10
And the priest that maketh him clean
shall present the man that is to be made
clean, and those things,
before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: Lev
14:11
And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of
oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord: Lev
14:12
And the remnant of the oil that is in the
priests hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be
cleansed: and the priest shall make an
atonement for him before
the Lord. Lev 14:18
Atonement is:
Kaphar (h3722) kaw-far'; a prim. root;
to cover (spec. with bitumen); fig. to expiate or condone, to
placate or
cancel: - appease, make (an)
atonement, cleanse, disannul,
forgive,
be merciful, pacify, pardon, purge (away), put off, (make)
reconcile
(-liation).
And he shall offer the second for a burnt
offering, according to the manner: and the priest shall make an
atonement
for him for his sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
Le.5:10
All of these types have been fulfilled in
Christ Who offered the once-for-all sacrifice.
The Parallel to Confession
As Christ confesses us before God when we are
baptized, the leper having undergone a type of baptism then presented
himself to the priest as a witness or confession that
the old man was gone and the new, purified man was ready to accept
atonement:
And saith unto him, See thou say
nothing to any man: but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and
offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded,
for a testimony unto
them. Mk 1:44
The testimony is from the Greek and means that
the Leper had to do what Moses commanded before his actions could be
a clear testimony:
Martus (g3144) mar'-toos; of uncert. affin.; a witness (lit.
[judicially] or fig. [gen.]); by anal. a "martyr": - martyr, record,
witness.
The apostles were "eye-witnesses." We are
secondary witnesses when we martyr the old man of sin and are buried
with Christ in baptism. After baptism we are said to receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit or a changed and holy life as a witness that we
have confessed Christ:
And we are his witnesses of these things;
and so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that
obey him. Ac.5:32
There is only one time the Holy Spirit or the
Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2) is said to be given as a result of obedience
to what the Holy Spirit has revealed as "spirit and life" in the Word
(Jn 6:63). That gift comes after baptism:
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. Ac 2:38
The so-called "baptismal formula" is now a
place for arrogant men to lay one hand on the candidate and point the
other at God and claim to baptize them in the name of the Father, the
Son and the Holy Ghost. This may cheat the candidate from naming or
confessing Christ as baptism. Jesus said:
Also I say unto you, Whosoever
shall confess me before
men, him shall the Son of man also
confess
before the angels of God: Lu 12:8
But he that denieth me before men
shall be denied before the angels of
God. Lu.12:9
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and
nine just persons, which need no
repentance. Lu 15:7
When the Spirit (of Christ) spoke to Philip and
sent him to preach to the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading about the
"lamb"
dumb before his shearer. Beginning with this passage Philip "preached
Jesus" unto him. You see, you cannot preach Jesus without preaching
baptism because:
And as they went on their way, they
came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water;
what doth hinder me to be
baptized? Ac 8:36
And Philip said, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said,
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God. Ac 8:37
No formula. They both went down into the water.
Philip baptized the eunuch. They both came up out of the water (8:38)
They descended into the water.
From history we know that when one confessed a
master they named the
name:
"At the latter ceremony two
disciples of the wise stood by to tell him more of the light and
heavy commandments. When he came
up after the immersion, those assembled
addressed him saying: 'Unto whom has thou given
thyself? blessed art thou, thou hast
given thyself to God; the world was created for the sake of Israel, and only
Israelites are called the children of God... After his baptism he was
considered (reckoned to be dead and now alive) to be a
new man,
'a little child newly born'; a new name was given him." (Int Std
Bible Ency, Proselyte).
"The effect of this baptism was
held to be complete
regeneration; he was born anew. He was called a
little child just born, the child of one day. All his sins were remitted
because God cannot punish sins committed before he was born."
(Barclay, William, Romans, p. 84)
But, it is protested: "This was the Old Law and
we aren't under that Law any more." That is correct but the Leper was
and Jesus would not command him to violate one jot or tittle of the
Law until it had been "filled full" with spiritual meaning.
By the rituals and ceremonies of the old
Tabernacle shows that the way into the True Tabernacle (in heaven but
represented on earth by the believer) was not available until Christ
took His blood into the True Holy Place:
The Holy Ghost this signifying,
that the way into the
holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while
as the first tabernacle was yet standing: He 9:8
Which was a figure for the time then
present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that
could not make him that did the service
perfect, as pertaining to the
conscience; He 9:9
Which stood only in meats and drinks,
and divers washings (baptismos), and carnal ordinances, imposed
on them until the time of reformation. He 9:10
But Christ being come an high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; He 9:11
The leper was healed of his skin scales
miraculously. Jesus spoke and the spots flew off. However, the leper
was under the blood of bulls and goats. In order to be atoned for
(at-one-ment with God), the man had to go beyond belief to purging himself
of sin (repentance), have his body washed
with pure water (the bath was
prescribed by volume), he was to go to the priest to confess and
claim the
merit of the shed blood.
Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own
blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. He 9:12
For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the
flesh: He 9:13
How much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? He 9:14
And for this cause he is the
mediator of the new
testament, that by means of death,
for
(in order to) the redemption of the transgressions that were under
the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise
of eternal inheritance. He 9:15
By a new and living way, which he
hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his
flesh; He
10:20
Baptism, which corresponds to this,
now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God
for a clear
conscience, through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ, 1Pe 3:21
The Old Testament washing brought atonement
between the worshiper and God. However, the next time he sinned his
conscience was under bondage and he had to go sacrifice and get
washed again. The difference with Christ is that He offered a
once-for-all sacrifice to purchase our atonement. And we submit to
the washing as the time and place where we ask for and receive the
clear conscience. This relieves us of the misery of ceremonial leagalism in
attempts to find the lost God and feel good again.
The faith which
saves is the faith of Christ. Faith
stands for the Christian system as Law stands for the dispensation of
bulls and goats. We have that faith when we believe and follow Christ
into the bath:
But the scripture hath concluded
all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe. Gal 3:22
But before faith came, we were kept
under the law, shut up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:23
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by
faith. Gal
3:24
But after that faith is come, we are no
longer under a schoolmaster. Gal 3:25
|
The WHAT
|
- For ye are all the children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:26
|
|
The HOW
|
For
as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have
put on Christ. Gal 3:27
|
The Greek Eis can mean
in order to or because
of depending upon which end of the act
we are looking. For instance, we can look at verse 27 from both
ends:
|
Obedience: You have put on Christ because you have been
baptized
|
- Because: as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:27
|
|
Command: Every believer be baptized
in order
to put on
Christ
|
- In order to: as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:27
|
Only by being baptized into Christ's body or
"clothing" is there a spirit of oneness or unity so that the old
walls are broken down inside the body:
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. Gal3:28
The Spirit or Mind of Christ gives everyone
different abilities. These are to be used to minister to the body and
prove that the body has the "spirit of oneness."
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.
1Co.12:13
Pneuma (g4151)
in addition to Christ the Spirit, means a spirit, i.e. (human)
the rational soul, (by impl.) vital
principle, mental disposition.
We are buried or overwhelmed by a spirit of
unity by being baptized into the one body. Thereafter, both Jew and
Gentile can take of the water of life freely, drink and be
filled.
Under Law which could not save
The blood of bulls and goats could
not save.
The washing was often a token washing. At times
things were purified by simply sprinkling blood on them.
Under the Faith (system) which could can
save
Jesus performed the literal baptism
and literally shed his blood.
His blood can save.
To accept that sacrifice our bodies are
completely immersed or "overwhelmed" with water. This is the time and
place where we confess Christ before men so that He will confess us
in heaven. Because the Lamb is gone into heaven, baptism is the time
and place where we ask Him for the atonement available only through
the blood.
A Baptismal Liturgy 4Q414 Dead Sea
Scrolls:
Frag. 2 Col. l 1[ . . . And he shall] say [in response,]
"Blessed 2 [are You, . . . ] The unclean for the festivals of 3 [ . .
. ] Your [ . . . ] and to make atonement for us 4 [ . . . to be] pure
before you 3 [ . . . ] in every matter 6 [ . . . ] to purify oneself
prior to 7 [ . . . ]. You made us [ . . . ]
Frags. 2 + 3
Col. 2 1 And you shal1 clean[se him for Your holy
statutes . . . ] 2 for the first, [the third and the sixth . . . ] 3i
n the truth of Your covenant [ . . . ] 4to cleanse oneself from
uncleanness [ . . . ] 5 and then he shal1 enter the water [ . . . ]
6And he shall say in response, "Blessed are Y[ou . . . ] 7 for from
what comes out of your mouth [ . . . ] 8men of impurity [ . . . ]
Frag. 10
1s[ou]l [ . . . ] 2 he is [ . . . ] 3to Yourself as a pu[re] people [
. . . ] 4 And I also [ . . . ] 5 the day which [ . . . ] 6 in the
times of purity [ . . . ] 7 the Yahad. [ . . . ] 8 in Israel's pure
food [ . . . ] 9 [and] they shall dwell [ . . . ] 10 And it will
happen on [shag day [ . . . ] 11 a female and she will give thanks [
. . . ]
Frag. 12 1 For
You made me [ . . . ] 2 Your will is that we cleanse ourselves
befo[re . . . ] 3 and he established for himself a statute of
atonement [ . . . ] 4 and to be in rig[hteous] purity Sand he shall
ba[t]he in water and sprinkle up[on . . . ] 6 [ . . . ] And then they
return from the w[ater . . . ] 7 cleansing His people in the waters
of bathing [ . . . ] 8 second time upon his station. And he shall
[say] in re[sponse, "Blessed are You, . . . ] 9 [ . . . ] Your
purlfication in Your glory [ . . . ] 10 [ . . . ] eternally. And
today [ . . . ]
- Kenneth Sublett
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