The "Rebaptisms" of Acts 19

Read your post awhile ago, and then had a cup of tea and fooled around on a couple of other threads, reading, responding, still thinking about this one.

I'm not sure WHY, exactly, as a believer is a believer is a believer...

But I think there is a picture here and one I have considered for a long time. I was just nervous about bringing it up here.

Sometimes, when I am reading Bible, other passages will spring to mind and I will start exploring with connections between them. That is what sparked the following -- it started a number of years ago and I still am considering it, from the Bible alone, perhaps pretty accurate (not to a Calvinist, but I'm ready for the onslaught!):

John the Baptist came ahead of Jesus, preparing the way.

Preparing the way was repentance. His baptism was one of repentance, not of renewal.

Every religion in the world is based on the inside knowledge every man has that something is not right, or needs fixing, or exchanging, or whatever. But no horse or dog or cat feels this way! Only man.

Most people SEEM (I refuse to judge) to make excuses for themselves -- "Compared with Joe Blow, I'm not half bad!", or "If you knew the way I was raised...", or "Hey, the good I do really outweighs the bad, so I'm OK." This attitude is totally fed into by the New Age garbage and the "I'm OK, you're OK" stuff.

But some don't buy it. Some respond to the truth the Lord confronts them with regarding the state of their own lives and instead of making excuses, they want to change. They are not at all fond of the mess they see inside themselves! Some call it low self-esteem and try to boost it artificially, but that is not the answer, as we know, at all.

Nevertheless, some people don't like who they are and want to change.

And that may well be the "baptism of John" in today's world. Admitting sin, however the person calls it at that point (maybe "I'm just not the person I want to be and I can't seem to get there!"), is part of repentance.

But that is not enough.

Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." "Seek the narrow way."

Those who want to change are certainly invited by God to look at the truth of Christ and the change that is possible there.

But again, it seems most people who want to change would rather have a go at it themselves. They strive for money, education, inner peace, physical beauty, good works....the list is pretty long. But all of it is a way a person tries to change himself. And he can't.

Because there has to be 'step two.' One has to give up to Christ. One has to be willing to be put to death by our Lord and raised again as a new creature.

And THAT, in its real essence, is the baptism of Christ, as Paul states in Romans 6:3.

It is not enough to repent. John's baptism, whether real as a symbol or simply symbolic in and of itself, is only the first step. Only the preparation for Christ.

Being killed and raised by Him and following Him is the second step. One cannot simply repent of being something, the old creature. But, then, one cannot be willing to die if one does not repent, can one?

So it seems to me to be a two-step process, represented by the 'two baptisms.'

Fire away...

 

Perhaps the reason is right in the text. They said they had not heard of the Holy Ghost but John had talked about Jesus coming and baptizing in the Holy Ghost. It would seem that these men had not heard the complete message of John and perhaps were not saved. Then when they heard the message they were saved and baptized after their salvation

 

Baptism is an act of obedience following salvation. One is not baptized in order to be saved, or in order to receive Christ as Savior. John's baptism was by a Jew for Jews under the old economy: law. There was no saving grace in that act. After these 12 had that explained, they received Christ as Savior and were simultaneously filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they were baptized (not for salvation) as an act of obedience under the new economy: grace.

 

The book of Acts is a transitional book. We must be careful about formulating doctrine strictly based on what we read there. Always compare scripture with scripture, in context, according to historical and grammatical principles. The New Testament was not yet completed at the time Luke wrote the book. People have always been saved by faith in God (according to the revelaed Word of God.) Whenever there is a supposed problem withere it asppears that there is a conflict, ie., a difficult passage, we must realize that there is an answer, whether we have it revealed to us at this time or not. We must trust God that His Word is without werror on not in conflict with itself.

I would like to believe that those baptized in Acts 19 came to a saving knowledge of Christ amd were baptized in obedience to our Lord's command.

 

There are two things that may help in your determinations. 1) Apollos was well versed in the Scriptures. The reference to "Scriptures" refers to the Old Testament Hebrew. He was an Alexandrian Jew, and was probably well educated at the College and Library there, which was considered one of the best in the then known world. Secondly, he preached the "pathways" of God, and He was called aside and the "Pathways of God" were expounded unto him more perfectly (completely). After that he went forth with recommendations.

He had baptized these Ephesians and they were asked "unto" (Greek "eis" referencing) what were you baptized, or what was the reference point of your baptism? They replied their reference point was John's baptism, to which the apostle replied they John preached they should believe on Christ and when they heard this, (that is, when they heard of Christ). Paul preached unto them the story of Jesus, which they had evidently not heard. What they had heard is "prepare ye the pathway of the lord" etc by Apollos.

When they heard they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (He was the one they referenced in their baptism) and therefore they baptism at the hands of the apostle and for the right reason with the right reference was valid; the Holy Ghost signifying this by his presence upon them.

In Acts 2:38 the phrase "eis aphesin harmartion" translated "remission of sin" was a phrase used in the Old Testament by the writers of the Septuagint when they translated the Hebrew into Greek. It was the phrase they used for the scapegoat in Lev 16. "All of you repent and each one of you get dipped referencing the scapegoat of your sins."

Hope it helps some.

Headshrinker