Posted on 11/09/2006 8:44:45 AM PST by policyforever867
The Holy Trinity
-A8
So, who is the one who has "obeyed the Gospel of Christ"?
-A8
It is one who believes, repents of their sins, confesses that Christ is the Son of God, and is immersed for the remission of their sins.
So those Christians who sprinkle (but don't immerse), are not "men of God"?
-A8
The only authorized mode of baptism is immersion.
-A8
Immersion is absolutely specified in scripture. The Greek word that is transliterated as baptism means immersion. There are specific Greek words for sprinkling and pouring, and they are not used in reference to water baptism in the New Testament.
I can't explain it any better than John Henry Newman in his 1884 essay Inspiration in its Relation to Revelation "It is quite evident that this passage furnishes no argument whatever that the sacred Scripture, without Tradition, is the sole rule of faith; for, although sacred Scripture is 'profitable' for these four ends, still it is not said to be 'sufficient.' The Apostle [Paul] requires the aid of Tradition."
It also doesn't fit in with the meaning of 2 Thessalonians 2:15 "So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours"
It is true that without Scripture a man will not be "thoroughly equipped" --- the Scripture is necessary, but not sufficient. It is also true that without the apostolic preaching he will not be "thoroughly equipped," without the inspiration of thre Holy Spirit he will not be "thoroughly equipped," and without the interpretive authority of the Church, he will not be "fully equipped."
2 Peter 3: 15-16 Regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you; as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Obviously you think that I need your interpretive authority; I don't seem to be "fully equipped" to understand these Scriptures on my own, do I? (You must agree that this is true!) If that is the case, why should I prefer your interpretive authority to that of the Church?
I never said you needed me to interpret anything. You are the one saying that one needs the Catholic church in order to correctly interpret Scripture. I disagree with that.
Have you ever read the Didache? It was written around the year 90 AD and contains some of the the earliest Christian instructions.
Here is the chapter on Baptism:
Chapter 7. Concerning Baptism. And concerning baptism, baptize this way: Having first said all these things, baptize into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, in living water. But if you have no living water, baptize into other water; and if you cannot do so in cold water, do so in warm. But if you have neither, pour out water three times upon the head into the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whoever else can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html
Therefore I need someone to help me interpret it, right? That follows logically.
You're evidently posting these messages to help me interpret things correctly. Right? Acknowledging my own limitations, I ask: who should I go to for the correct interpretation of Scripture?
And what does Scripture say? (See my tagline!)
One was resurrected the other did the resurrecting, of course.
-A8
Genesis 1:1, of course. I assume you read my first post on the thread, no?
-A8
This disagrees with the clear teaching of the Bible.
The verse says what it says, man. Orthodox Christians? Did you change churches again? The Bible mentions nothing of the man-made doctrine of the trinity. The trinity is unorthodox.
John 14: 9-11 "9Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me"
We must deal with this false premise with which you are working: "sola scriptura". The Bible never teaches "sola scriptura".
-A8
-A8
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