Month: May 2020

(Hebrews 6:1-2) As previously indicated in my earlier posts, to move on to perfection, it is necessary that we are able to be weaned from the rudiments upon which the Christian doctrine is built.

And of laying on of hands. This is the fourth element or principle of the Christian religion.

The Jews practiced the laying on of hands on a great variety of occasions. It was done when a blessing was imparted to any one; when prayer was made for one; and when they offered sacrifice they laid their hands on the head of the victim, confessing their sins,

(Lev 16:21), And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:

(Lev 24:14), Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him

(Numbers 8:12).And the Levites shall lay their hands upon the heads of the bullocks: and thou shalt offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, unto the LORD, to make an atonement for the Levites.

It was done on occasions of solemn consecration to office, and when friend supplicated the Divine favor on friend. n like manner, it was often done by the Savior and the apostles.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry laid his hands on children to bless them, and on the sick when he healed them,( Mathew 19:13),Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

( Mark 5:23, Matthew 9:18).

In like manner, the apostles laid hands on others in the following circumstances:

(1.) In healing the sick, (Acts 28:8) And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.

(2.) In ordination to office,( 1Timothy 5:22), Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure. (Acts 6:6). Whom they set before the apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.

(3.) In imparting the miraculous influences of the Holy Spirit,( Acts 8:17-19) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. ( Acts19:6). And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

The true doctrine respecting the design of laying on the hands, is said here to be one of the elements of the Christian religion. The custom of laying on the hands, as symbolic of imparting spiritual gifts, prevailed in the Church in the time of the apostles, no one can doubt. And here is why;

• The apostles were endowed with the power of imparting the influences of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous or extraordinary manner. It was with reference to such an imparting of the Holy Spirit that the expression is used in each of the cases where it occurs in the New Testament.

• It would be observed that the Lord Jesus did not appoint the imposition of the hands of a “bishop” to be one of the rites or ceremonies to be observed perpetually in the Church.

• No one now is entrusted with the power of imparting the Holy Spirit in that manner. There is no class of officers in the Church that can make good their claim to any such power. So the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is imparted at the rite of “confirmation is a form of traditional Christianity which is a fallacy.
• It is liable to be abused, or to lead persons to substitute the form for the thing; or to think that because they have been “confirmed,” that therefore they are sure of the mercy and favor of God. Still, if it be regarded as a simple form of admission to a church, without claiming that it is enjoined by God, or that it is connected with any authority to impart the Holy Spirit, no objection can be made to it, any more than there need be to any other form of recognizing church-membership. It should be noted that it is by one Spirit are we all baptized into the mystical body of Christ and not by joining.
• However every pastor has a right, if he chooses, to lay his hands on the members of his flocks and to implore a blessing on them; and such an act, on making a profession of religion, would have much in it that would be appropriate and solemn.

God bless and Shalom!

In the Christian faith, perfection is needful. The bible says in ( Mathew 5:48 ) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. We must pattern our lives to that of Christ.

However if the principles of the doctrines of Christ is not properly laid as a foundation, to go on to perfection is futile. Apostle Paul was saddened when the early converts to the faith, the Jews spent so much time on the rudiments of the christian faith as some are doing today.

My earlier posts, I touched on repentance from dead works, faith towards God. Lets us look into the doctrine of baptisms.

(Hebrews 6:2) Of the doctrine of baptisms.

This is mentioned as the third element or principle of the Christian religion. The Jews made much of various kinds of washings, which were called baptisms.

(Mark 7:4) And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

To understand the true doctrine respecting baptism was one of the first principles to be learned then, as it is now, as baptism is the rite by which we are initiated or born into the Church of the living God. This was supposed to be so simple, that young converts could understand it as one of the elements of the true religion; The truth is, it was probably regarded as among the most simple and plain matters of religion; and every convert was supposed to understand that the application of water to the body in this ordinance, in any mode, was designed to be merely symbolic of the influences of the Holy Ghost.

So it was important that the true doctrine on the subject should be stated as one of the elements of the Christian religion, that they might be recalled from superstition, and that they might enjoy the benefits of what was designed to be an important aid to piety. It will be observed that the plural form is used here as baptisms.

It is supposed, also, that they were in the practice of baptizing proselytes to their religion. (Mathew 3:6) And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

The baptisms whose necessity is taught by the Christian religion

1. baptism by water

In the New Testament the whole matter is perfectly plain. The uniform meaning of “dip” for baptizo and the use of the river Jordan as the place for baptizing by John the Baptist makes inevitable the notion of immersion. Sprinkling infants in baptism crept into the church during the dark ages when traditions and dogma ruled the church.

( Peter 3: 20-21) In the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

The baptism of Noah’s day foreshadowed the salvation made possible by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Eight people entered the ark and were buried in a watery grave. Then Noah and his family came out of that wooden tomb to start a new life on a cleansed planet.

The children of Israel “were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Corinthians 10:2).

The Red Sea was the water of separation that divided God’s people from their enemies and those who were saved from those who were damned.

(Mathew 3:6) “And they were baptized of him in the river Jordan. In (Mark 1:9-10 ) “was baptized of John in the Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw.”

So in (Acts 8:38) we read: “They both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit…… caught away Philip.”

If one could still be in doubt about the matter, Paul sets it at rest by the symbolism used in (Romans 6:4), “We were buried therefore with him through baptism unto death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”

In (Colossians 2:12) Paul again says: “having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

The submergence and emergence of immersion thus, according to Paul, symbolize the death and burial to sin on the one hand and the resurrection to the new life in Christ on the other.

There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purifying. What this questioning was we are not told. The word “therefore” doubtless refers to the baptisms just mentioned, so that the dispute probably related to the necessity or purifying effects of that ordinance. But whatever the dispute was about, it brought to notice the fact that Jesus was baptizing more than John, a fact which some of the disciples of John quickly resented.

2. baptism by the Holy Ghost: The first of which is symbolic of the second. These are stated to be among the elements of Christianity, or the things which Christian converts would first learn. The necessity of both is taught. “He that believeth, and is baptized shall be saved,” (Mk 16:16.) “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,”(John 3:5).

On the baptism of the Holy Ghost, It is the Lord himself who baptizes with the Holy ghost. (Mathew 3:11; Acts 1:5; Acts 19:1-6).

(John 16:13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

In the Old Testament, God sealed his covenant with Abraham with the sign of circumcision.

(Romans 4:11) And he [Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised:
Now God seals the covenant he makes with “whosoever believeth in him” with of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

(Ephesians 1:13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the gifts he manifests through us make possible a new level of communion with God.

3. The Baptism of Fire (Matthew 3:11-12)
He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Fire refines and purges all the dross away. Therefore all who come to the Lord Jesus Christ would be tested and every one’s deeds would pass through the fire to see what sort is made of. The prosperity gospel of feel good without testing of ones faith is not the gospel our early fathers stood for.

(1 Peter 1:7) That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”

(Zechariah 13:9) And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”

(Proverbs 17:3) The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.”

Shalom!

Apostle Paul said that the creation around us is evidence that God exists.
(Rom 1:20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
But those who hold to the scientific method for determining facts demand a different standard of proof.
Is a scientific approach the best way to establish whether there is God?

Some say that the Bible is religion and Science is truth, and that means the two are incompatible. But if the Bible is only a religious book, then we might as well not study gravity, hydrological cycle, and the importance of blood in living things, because Scripture describes all these scientific facts:
• The earth floats in space – (Job 26:7) He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”
• Wash under running water, dealing with diseases – (Leviticus 15:13) And when he that hath an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean.
• Information in the blood – (Leviticus 17:11) for the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
• The circle of the Earth – ( Isaiah 40-22) It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
• The Bible and oceanography – (Psalm 8:8) the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
• Light waves and radio waves – (Job 38: 35) Canst thou send lightening’s, that they may go, and say unto thee, here we are?
• The first Law of thermodynamics – (Genesis 2:1) thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
• The Bible and Quarantine – (Leviticus 13:46) all the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.
• The Bible and dinosaurs – (Job 40:15-17) behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.
Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.
He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.
The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.
Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares

God bless!

(Hebrew 6:1) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, “Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. “And this will we do, if God permit.”

Therefore, the doctrine teaches that once we accept Jesus as our Savior, we need to have faith that rests on God. The only way I know to acquire this type of faith is to read the Word of God and also hear it taught by anointed and chosen vessels of God.

Faith is a foundation, or fundamental principle, without which it is impossible to please God; and without which we cannot be saved.

By repentance, we feel the need of God’s mercy; by faith we find that mercy.

In the Levitical law; the painful observances and awful denunciations of divine wrath against every breath of the Law, was well calculated to produce repentance and make it grievous and bitter thing to sin against God.

As to faith in God that was essentially necessary; in order to see the end of the commandment; for without faith in him who was to come all that repentance was unavailable; and all the ritual observance without profit.

Thus, having faith towards God

What is faith?

Faith means to believe and have assurance of something. To believe means to have trust. The words “faith, believe, and trust” all mean the same thing when we use them in relation to God. The Bible defines faith as: Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). For this reason, the Bible declares that we must walk or live by faith (Heb. 10:38; Rom. 1:17;). Once we are Christians, we receive all things from God by using our faith.

Faith is a Revelation, because it is something that is revealed to you… Faith is the Revelation of God… The Church, the entire Body is built upon a Revelation.

It is the Revelation of God that will give you authority over the devil… There is nothing of such prevailing power as the revelation of the Word. It takes the Holy Ghost to give us Revelation or we fail to get it

“Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” (Romans 3:2-3)

Apostle Paul, is emphasizing the great privilege and responsibility that was committed to the Jews when God gave His “oracles” to them, a word implying “divinely inspired utterances.”

Hebrew Christians who had still not learned the very “first principles of the oracles of God,” despite having been professing Christians for a long time ( Hebrews 5:12).

So it is with us gentiles who were wild Olive branch grated into the true Vine partaking of the same nourishment from the vine. We also need to go unto perfection. But if we do not grasp the first principles how do we perfect ourselves?

Finally, the apostle Peter urged “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God”( Peter 4:11). That is, anyone who presumes to speak for the Lord must “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). It is not our words, but His words that are “quick, and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). In fact, Stephen called them “the lively |or ‘living’| oracles” (Acts 7:38).

In all these references, it is clear that these “oracles of God”…. that is, the Holy Scriptures…..constitute the very utterances of the living God. They were given to and through believing Jews and are preserved for us now in our Bibles. They obviously should be believed, studied, obeyed, and proclaimed by all who consider themselves to be Christians.

The fact that many people reject the Bible, even claiming it is wrong in what it teaches, is irrelevant. Such claims merely display human arrogance. God’s Word has been “for ever . . . settled in heaven” and “is true from the beginning” (Psalm 119:89, 160). It will endure even after this present world has passed away (Mathew 24:35) and will finally be the criterion by which its detractors will be judged in the last day (Rev 20:12, 22:18-19).

Faith is a condition of the heart producing belief in God: For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.(Romans 10:10) It is not enough to accept the Gospel with the mind. This is not true Scriptural faith and does not produce change in your life. True Scriptural faith, believing with the heart, always produces change in your life. The result is something experienced in the present, not something hoped for in the future.

In conclusion, James states:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraided not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.

For he that wavereth, is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.( James 1: 5 – 7 )

Shalom and God bless!