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I am sincere as are you. We simply disagree on water vs spiritual baptism, and I suspect we both have enough ammunition to never agree.
Lets also read Acts 9:17, another description of the same encounter.
“Acts 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, “

I read this as Saul/Paul lost the scales from his eyes, and could see again before he got up and was baptized ( which by the way, the word Washed here is only used in one other place in the new testament - 1:corinthians6:11 which is pretty specific that you are washed in the spirit of God and mentions nothing about water. ) -
I mean no disrespect, I simply disagree from my reading of the Bible and the conviction of the Spirit telling me my action of getting washed with water does nothing to clean my sins away or get me the Holy spirit. That also comes through Grace and during the Baptism of the Spirit.

Ah- I see that I did post that in 18-
I am speaking of Baptism by water, which I do not believe cleanses you of sins nor does it offer salvation or give you the Holy Spirit. If you disagree, show me some scripture in that area specifically and I’d be happy to consider it.
Having said that, The Baptism in the Name of Christ, which occurs when you gain salvation at the moment of acceptance of him as your savior, is a whole other story. I regard that as the baptism of the Spirit which does All of those things in my personal experience and my understanding of scripture.
Having said all of that, I believe everyone should be baptized with water ( Dunked) as a physical representation and proclamation of what Christ has done, so you and I can agree that
The Holy spirit is real.
Christ is the way the truth and the Life, and no one comes to to the father but through him.
Everyone should be baptized.
We are to take up the great commission wholeheartedly.
Reading the Nicene Creed, I agree 100% with all parts of, including the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, providing we use the definition of Catholic in greek at the time of the writing of the Nicene Creed - ( Universal) - Which means you and I are brothers and I appreciate you sharpening me when I misspeak or have a lax interpretation. Peace and thanks for the good conversation. God Bless you and yours.

Whoops- Sorry- was doing a drive by posting in a hurry and mistyped. the correct answer is what you have posted- we are saved by grace through faith.I mentioned that in my first post.
I believe the same as you on the Holy Spirit to the Church to lead it to all truth.
I’m also quite familiar with Acts 2:38. What isn’t clear to me is where you are coming from in the One baptism area. I read Act 2:38 as “ Repent and be Baptized, every one of you , IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” -
So then can you clarify your position on the One baptism? I’m not being argumentative, just curious. Is the moment of Baptism the moment you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior ( Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is my belief and personal experience when I was saved, as well as how I read the scriptures) or when you physically are baptized with water by a priest or witness?

Ooops- I should clarify in reading this thread a little closer- By Baptism I mean the public event of Baptism with water. Not the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
I’d also like to ask what your definition of the Church is. Is it the Roman Catholic Church or is it all who Believe Christ to be Lord and act accordingly ( Ie- taking the great commission, believing all the tenants of the Nicene Creed) , etc....

I agree.
Did I post something about getting Baptized to be obedient to the Lord? Only thing I’d want to clarify is what are your views on the One Baptism? Water or Spirit?

You and I are the Church so lets reason together. May the Holy Spirit be involved n the conversation so that we sharpen and not batter each other :-)
Are you of the belief then that Scripture says that salvation is granted by works + Faith or Faith alone?
I read and understand Scripture to say that Christ alone is worthy to offer us Salvation and that we are saved by Grace through Faith. I see nowhere in scripture baptism taking our sins or giving us the Holy Spirit, but I see many examples of people getting the Holy spirit before Baptism and Jesus dying for our sins, not baptism.
Thoughts?

I can see how you’d think that, but its not a checklist. Its so simple its incredibly difficult. :-)
Think of it this way.
Your daughter or son gets married. At the ceremony, your heart swells. You tear up., You cry. You are joyous and sorrowful all at once.
You have a child. Your heart swells. Your brain quickens. You feel a dramatic life changing moment where you know nothing is the same as it was before the event. You start focusing on different priorities. You go into an intense period of study of your own moral convictions, the type of person you are, and who you SHOULD be for that child.
No checklist. These are natural things that happen as an outshoot of your joy and life changing moments.- same with salvation, but its the BIGGEST life changing moment one can have if you truly understand who Christ is and what he means to you and all of creation.- Once one believes, these are things we tend to do, but there is no biblical List that gets you salvation. We are saved by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8
As for a few scriptural references, heres an easy link -http://www.bible-truth.org/baptism.htm
I just did a quick google search on baptism in the bible- give it a once over. Remember- If it seems to difficult to understand or someone tries to confuse you with things you need to “Do” to be saved, test What Christ said against that-
John 14:6
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

And Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

AGAPE friend :-)

I would also be wary of using Baptism as a way to tell if someone is Christian or not. Mark 16:16 “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
Notice the word believes? It’s faith. If you truly believe, your actions will follow. If you get baptized without belief ( and this verse indicates it’s possible), you can lie all you want, but you can’t play games with the Lord.we are saved by Grace through faith and Baptism is something we then do out of joy and obedience to the Lord and as a public proclamation of that faith to the world. To look strictly at the act of baptism as a way to determine someone’s faith is simply checking a box to get Christian street
Creds. Pharisees did this too. Be wary of using this as your measure, friend. Agape!

One who truly believes that Jesus Christ is Lord and savior, the way the truth and the light, the only way to the father, believes he was fully god and fully man who came to earth Messiah to fulfill scriptures and die in exchange for our sins so that we could get access to the father even as sinners. characteristics that are observable by man are generally a changed life that they live for his glory. This can be acted out a number of ways but feeding his sheep and spreading the gospel are the most common. Agape!

She’s running alright. She’s patient and unflappable. It’s almost time, but not everyone is ready for her yet. Very, very soon though, people will be BEGGING for new leadership. Within 30 days. The minions of the dark side will completely freak out when she does. I’m looking forward to it. Fear no evil. Shine light on it.

Doesn’t Matter. Let him talk. Do a 24 hour Biden channel. The more people see the proof of lunacy, idiocy and moral bankruptcy on display, the more they have to makes decisions. Senate and Presidency fall conservative in 2012. The folks in power now are like roaring lions watching for someone to devour, and they will squirm and rage more and more as 2012 gets closer. But their days in office are numbered and they are going to be out of work themselves. Just be prepared for them to trash the pace before they leave the party and mom and dad get home. And things like the vote today? Irrelevant. Bottom line is this. The tea party in 1/3rd of the branches ( not counting the 4th rail media) of govt. was able to control the debate AND the news cycle. The more trash talked not hem, the stronger they get. Just like Sarah Palin. They just don’t have both house and senate yet. The winds of change are already blowing, and its getting cold up the pants legs of the bad guys. They are officially on job loss countdown. Fear no evil!

Well, technically, its all “Gods will” , but I don’t think he has any problem with natural selection ( He created the process actually, being the awesome designer he is) -
. Which this would be an example of.
If it was true ( which remains to be seen considering the source) -
Evolution is actually more like “ These plants turned into giraffes” -
I’ll ask God when I meet him. Hopefully, by that time, you’ll be there too and we can both listen and learn......
;-)

The other 48% were unfamiliar with his work or in direct competition with him.

Sorry- Wasn’t on net for a while- http://www.christiantoday.com/article/zondervan.says.rupert.murdoch.connection.does.not.present.ethical.dilemma/28315.htm
Confirmed through a few other sources via web- search zondervan murdoch.

Also going after Zondervan - Bible publisher.
Full court press is on by the evil forces of the world. Luckily, I’ve read the end of the Bible and know how it ends.

The correct response is to pray anyways and make sure they are added to your prayers. Let God work on their hearts and worry about the big stuff. None of this stuff is a surprise to him.

I think a whole lot of people are getting ready to be unwilling to do their jobs. As for what it does to a nation on a macro scale, it happened over, and over, and over again in the old testament. Within a generation of us not teaching that in schools, people forgot and are repeating well documented cautionary tales. Follow God. The world is in direct rebellion against him and always has been. Accountability will come from the Lord. And I agree. Its coming at some point. Best thing to do is follow the Lord and let the world do what it will. Do NOT participate and start storing treasures in heaven. When God decides its time, none of this stuff shall stand. We’re simply observing the winnowing fork at work. Exciting times no?

Or, he could be being dry and sarcastic. Do you really trust the media to actually get shades of humor in a statement?

Wait until she starts actually trying.

Wait until she starts actually trying.