Early last week I received an email from a gentleman who wanted me to deal with his Bible question on our TV program. He has sent a number of questions in the past. This one centers around something John the Baptist stated in Matthew 3:11. It reads, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” He wants to know what the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire means.

Let me first deal with a serious problem we face with most people that misunderstand this text. That is, they try to answer it without looking at examples in the Bible where this is fulfilled. This we will do later on in this article. But before we get to that, we need point out what is not in this verse. It’s assumptions that lead to false teaching.

When you read the text, John was not saying that everyone was going to receive the Holy Spirit. This we will clearly see when we examine the fulfillment of this promise. To take this text and teach that everyone in the future will be baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit is a clear mishandling of scripture. This is why there is so much false doctrine in the world today because people do this very thing with many verses in the Bible.

Let’s now study the context. This should help in ascertaining the meaning of Matthew 3:11. If you look at verse 10 and verse 12, you will see that John was dealing with two classes of people. There are those who are faithful to the Lord and those who are not. Thus, we are dealing with those being rewarded for being righteous and those being punished for being wicked. Why would we conclude that verse 11 isn’t linked with these truths?

Fire, in scripture, is often used to deal with the consequences for being evil (Jude 7; Matt. 25:41; II Thes. 1:8; Rev. 20:15 etc.). The word baptize means to immerse, which is a fitting term to describe those who will be baptized with fire. On the other hand, the faithful obtain the “gift of the Holy Spirit” when they become Christians (Acts 2:38). This gift is the hope of salvation, which every faithful saint enjoys.

This brings us to the fulfillment of those baptized by Jesus with the Holy Spirit. We need to see the link with Christ baptizing with the Holy Spirit and with providing the gift of the Holy Spirit for all the saved. Consider the promise Jesus gave His apostles concerning the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:13; Acts 1:8).  Look at those passages carefully. For in them Jesus said His apostles would be guided into all truth and that it would happen when they were in Jerusalem. In Acts 2:1-4, the apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit. As they taught the life-saving message and people responded they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit – which was that hope of eternal life.

In one sense, what John stated would apply to everyone. After all, with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, all of mankind would be able to hear the gospel in order to be saved (Rom. 1:16). Then the baptism of the fire deals with all those who reject the Lord and do not obey the gospel (II Thes. 1:8). Please keep in mind this all has to do with the scheme of redemption Christ brought to this world.

I realize there are those who say they have had a “religious experience” and say they were “Baptized with the Holy Spirit and/or with fire”, however the Bible teaches otherwise. Even though Matthew 3:11 is used to support this idea, such is not the case. Let’s be sure we handle the word of God properly and do not twist the scriptures to our own destruction (II Pet. 3:16).

Chuck

We all know of people who know the truth, but for some reason there is something that is holding them back. Here is a list of things that are responsible for individuals not doing what they need to do.

1. More of a love for the things this world has to offer (Lk. 18:18-23).
    
2. More of a love for man than God (Jn. 12:42-43).
    
3. Not convicted of sin and is willing to live in it (Rom. 6:3-9,17,19).
    
4. Having a feeling of comfort in almost obeying (Acts 26:27-29).
    
5. Waiting for a convenient time (Acts 24:24-27).
    
6. Unwilling to gladly receive the word (Acts 2:41).
    
7. Lack of faith (Heb. 11:6) 
    
8. Lack of understanding (Acts 8:30) 
    
9. Simply not willing to make the commitment (Matt. 11:28-30).

Remember: Anyone willing and wanting to obey the gospel – can!

Chuck

I had a gentleman call last week after watching our TV program. He wanted to let me know that he agreed with what we taught about Bible baptism. He went on to tell me about what he did after reading in the Bible that he needed to be baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3) to be converted to Him (Acts 3:19).

After reading the Bible and realizing what he needed to do, the man called a Baptist preacher and asked if he would baptize him. The minister said to him, “Do you plan on coming to the church here?” He said no. Then the Baptist preacher told him, “I will not baptize you because you are to be baptized into the church.” The man eventually found someone to baptize him into Christ.

The point of this article is not to slam the Baptists. Like so many other religious sects, the Baptists teach a form of baptism that is not God-approved. Is that even possible? Yes, because it happened in New Testament times too. When you read Acts 19:1-6, you find that a group of people realized they were taught wrong about baptism. They were told that their previous baptism did not profit anything.

Does it really matter whether someone is baptized into the church? If the church is the body of Christ and a person is baptized into the church, are they not also inherently being baptized into Christ? The scriptures show that this is incorrect. We must understand why or else we might go through life thinking we are saved when we are actually still in our sins!

People are not baptized into a church because no person has the spiritual authority to do this. Closely read Acts 2:47. After the people were baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins, then the Lord added the newly-saved to His body, the church. The scriptures are also clearly showing that the Lord added them to His spiritual body, not a denominational church or a local congregation.

When you study these verses with most people, it becomes clear that they are confused about the idea of being baptized into a church but also about whether salvation comes before baptism. It is vital that we think this through. Again, Acts 2:47 depicted people being baptized into Christ for salvation, and then Christ added those saved to His church. The Baptist preacher believed that the man on the phone was already saved but wanted to baptize him into the church.

You might be scratching your head right now. If a Baptist was going to compare what they do with what Christ does, they would realize that trying to baptize “the saved” is essentially trying to save the already-saved. Remember, the Lord added the saved to His church. The Baptists are also trying to add the saved to their church. Since baptism now saves us (I Pet. 3:21), the Baptist teachings regarding baptism, salvation and church membership become a circular argument.

As the phone conversation came to a close, I commended the gentleman for seeking out proper baptism. However, I did not want him to think that becoming a Christian meant he did not need to belong to a local church. Again, he was not baptized into the church – rather, the Lord added him to His church (Matt. 16:18). Having become a Christian, the man now has an obligation to assemble with other Christians so they could come together as a church (Christ’s) and worship (I Cor. 11:17-18; Heb. 10:25).

A person who was baptized properly cannot say, “I am a Christian but not a member of the church.” Being part of the church of Christ is not to be overlooked (Rom. 16:16).

                                                                                              Chuck

We are told that there is a “common salvation” (Jude 3). This means that if you are a Christian, then anyone familiar with the Bible should know exactly what you did to be saved. Does that describe you? If not, something is amiss.

Anyone who was born again did so after receiving the word of God, which is what is able to save our souls (I Pet. 1:23; James 1:21).  The gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be heard in order to produce faith (Rom. 10:17; Acts 11:14). There is no way anyone can be saved without first hearing the message about Christ (Acts 8:35).

Not everyone who hears the gospel message believes it.Only those who believe the message can be saved (John 8:24; John 20:31: I Cor. 1:21). Keep in mind that faith makes it possible to be saved, but faith alone does not save (James 2:26). Those who believe the gospel message are those that gladly receive the word (Acts 2:41).

Those who truly believe in Jesus must be willing to confess their faith in Him (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:37). It is possible to believe in Jesus but not be saved if we are unwilling to confess Him before men (John 12:42-43). Again, confessing Christ only makes it possible to be saved, but just confessing faith in Christ does not save you (Matt. 8:28-29).

When someone is willing to confess their faith in Jesus, he or she must make up their mind to change their ways, turn to Christ and repent of their sins (Acts 3:19; II Cor. 7:10; Acts 2:38). There must be a desire to turn away from walking in sin (Col. 3:5). But again, just stopping sinful activity does not save you. It just makes it possible to be saved.

To be born again, one must be born of water and the spirit (John 3:5). This is where one puts off the old man AND puts on the new man by being baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-7; Acts 22:16; Col. 2:12). Like the previous point, baptism does not save unless the other steps were also done. If not, one just gets wet (Acts 19:1-5). Does this describe perfectly what you did to be saved? If not, then something is wrong. Please contact us if you want to discuss further.

Chuck 

Who would do that?

This past week, a gentleman called me to ask me what I thought about a scenario. A man came forward in church and wanted to get baptized for the remission of his sins. The preacher knew this man was living with a woman. The man came forward, and the preacher said baptized him without a word about his situation at home. The man continued living with the woman. The caller finally asked me, “Chuck, would you have baptized this man?”

Let’s take a closer look at this as scenario clearly demonstrates a couple of common problems in the Lord’s church. One, the man who wanted to become a Christian did not know everything he needed to know. Two, the preacher failed to tell the man what he needed to know. When people preach baptism rather than being converted to Christ, some baptisms will result in people who merely got wet. What good is a baptism without a conversion? Nothing!

Too often, baptism is perceived as a “get out of jail free” card. Some people treat it as though the act of getting wet means a person’s actions no longer matter. Let me be clear - that could not be farther from the truth. Peter stated that those who want to be saved must repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Look closely at that text. The word “and” makes repentance and baptism equally important.

Paul pointed out that godly sorrow leads to repentance (II Cor. 7:9-10). To repent is to turn away from sin, not go right back into it. Did this man know that fornication is still fornication whether you are baptized or not? The point of being baptized into Christ is to put off the old man of sin (Rom. 6:4-7). Only those who have godly sorrow for transgression will turn away from it. Those who do not turn away from sin have not repented. In the example scenario, this means that the man went down a dry sinner and came up a wet sinner.

Could this person have been baptized properly if he was sorry for all his sins (including fornication) and had no plans to return to that lifestyle?  Of course! People also sometimes get the wrong idea that when you become a Christian, the sins you were committing before baptism are no longer considered sin after conversion (meaning you can continue those same activities without penalty). Again, this reasoning is flawed. This is why there are many “Christian” couples in a unlawful marriages (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). They think that by being baptized, the marriage is now acceptable to God. His word is clear – if it was unlawful prior to being baptized, it is unlawful afterwards!

When someone wants to become a Christian, the teacher must make sure that they count the cost. They need to be informed of what will take place during the baptism and what God expects afterward. Without that understanding, a person was not baptized scripturally (Acts 19:1-5). Remember, the blood of Christ only washes away sins that are repented of (Rev. 1:5; Acts 22:16; Gal. 3:27).

Allow me to explain one more detail. When someone becomes a Christian, they have not learned everything. People often become a Christian without knowing that certain things are sinful. This should be expected! As the new Christian learns and grows, he may realize that a certain activity is sinful. Does he have to get baptized again? No – he simply needs to repent of that sin. This is exactly what Simon was told when he sinned shortly after his baptism (Acts 8:18-24).

Sin is always sin, and ignorance is not an excuse (Acts 17:30). Sin is washed away by a proper baptism, but activities that were sinful before baptism remain sinful after baptism. This is why baptism alone is not enough – we must grow in knowledge, recognize these things and repent of them. May we all recognize this.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Chuck