11. God will judge us according to what we know. If a person never heard the gospel, God couldn’t send that person to hell, because the person didn’t know any better.

Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:16 that he was upset with the Jews because they wouldn’t let him take the gospel to the Gentiles that they MIGHT BE SAVED. If they needed saving, they were lost. A lost person is on his way to hell. Jesus said that He came to save the lost, and the gospel is the “…power of God unto salvation.” (Romans 1:16)

If ignorance would save us, then the best thing we could do is say nothing. That way everybody could go to heaven. But Jesus commanded us to preach the gospel.

We need to be careful that we don’t end up creating our own gospel. We could create the gospel of ignorance as easily as others have created the believe-only gospel. And when we do that, we subordinate the gospel of Christ to our opinion.

10. What if a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, but is baptized in the titles Father, Son, and Holy Spirit instead of the name of Jesus? God wouldn’t send that person to hell just because a preacher quoted Jesus’ own words from Matthew 28:19.

Let’s consider a non-religious example for a few moments. Look at the picture below:

The paper’s own instructions say to “sign your name on the line below.” This person has literally quoted part of those instructions on the line. In doing so, they failed to put any name at all on the line. Do you think the person properly followed the instructions?

Would you take a check signed with the words your name on the signature line. Or would a contract that was signed in such a way be valid?

And, yet, anybody who has been baptized by a preacher who said, “I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” has done something very similar. Why? Because, while they quote the Lord’s command, they don’t actually invoke any name during the baptism. Quoting the Lord’s instructions is not the same as actually obeying them.

For those who think Matthew 28:19 is using the terms Father, Son, and Holy Ghost as names, let me point out that each of those terms is preceded by the word the.

In normal usage (and this verse is an example of normal usage), proper names are not preceded by the word the. So, those baptized by quoting part of this verse end up being baptized into no name at all.

Not convinced? Perhaps another non-religious example will help. One might say, “Give this package to the manager.” One might say, “Give this package to Fred.” But nobody would say, “Give this package to the Fred.”

There are some specialized cases in which you can preface a proper name with the word the, but those circumstances do not exist in Matthew 28:19.

Remission of sins is why the Lord Jesus came and why He died on the cross (Matthew 26:28). Remission of sins is why He is named Jesus (Matthew 1:21). Jesus is the only name that can save us (Acts 4:12). Peter made it clear that water baptism in Jesus’ name is how we get our sins remitted (Acts 2:38). So, why would anyone think that it would be okay to get baptized into no name at all?

We can only show you what the Bible says, but you will have to decide for yourself if you can go to heaven without having your sins forgiven or if you can get them forgiven differently than they did in the church in the Bible. We’re saved by grace through faith, right? Well, faith in what? Faith in the baptism of the church in the Bible or faith in our opinions and traditions?

God told Noah to build the ark of gopher wood. What if he had used oak instead? Could Noah have been saved if he had built the ark his own way instead of the way God commanded? Do you think God will honor a method of baptism thought up by men? Paul didn’t make an exception for the Ephesians in Acts 19. He re-baptized them in Jesus’ name.

Trinitarian baptism is a development of the early centuries. It is the result of men adding to and taking from the Word of God. Even history records that the early Church knew only the name of Jesus in water baptism.

Here are just a few examples:

Moreover, there is no mention in the New Testament of anyone being baptized into the name of the Trinity (James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, vol. 1, p. 241, 1906 edition).

The New Testament knows only baptism in the Name of Jesus… which still occurs in the second and third centuries (Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 1, p.435, 1966 edition).

An explicit reference to the Trinitarian formula of Baptism cannot be found in the first century (New Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, McGraw-Hill, 1967, p. 59).

The formula used was ‘in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ’ or some synonymous phrase; there is no evidence for the use of the triune Name (Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. 2, p. 384, 1958 edition).

At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the Name of the Triune God: Father, Son , and Holy Spirit (Otto Heick, A History of Christian Thought, vol. 1, p. 215).

Nobody got baptized in Matthew 28:19. That is merely one account of how Jesus told the apostles to baptize every person on earth. He wasn’t speaking directly to us, but to them. Therefore, we must see how they obeyed and not try to second guess them two thousand years down the road. That takes us to Acts 2:38, Acts 8, 10, 19 and 22.

Baptism is for the remission of sins, and remission of sins comes only through the name of Jesus. After Paul believed on the Lord Jesus, after he repented, after he prayed and fasted for three days, after he received divine healing, and even after he received the Holy Ghost, Ananias said, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22:16). Therefore, calling on the name of Jesus outside of baptism will not bring remission of sins, and calling on the titles in baptism will not bring remission.

Perhaps a simple question would be appropriate here. Why would anyone want to be baptized in a way that was never once performed in the church in the Bible and reject the only way that ever was?

9. God looks on the heart. If a person is filled with the Spirit and then gets killed in an accident before being baptized, God wouldn’t send him to hell.

This could only be true if you can find Scripture to prove that Jesus didn’t mean what He said in Mark 16:16: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” or John 3:3-5: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD.” Refer to Paul’s conversion in Acts 9 and 22, or read Acts 2:38: “…and be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”

Try this: I received remission of sins by…

(Fill in the blank)

Now, list all the people in the church in the Bible who expressly received remission of sins the same way you did, and harmonize that with John 3:5, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16.

8. I don’t like to discuss or debate doctrine. I just want to be close to Jesus.

The apostles tell us dozens of times that we MUST have their doctrine. Without the doctrine of the apostles, it is impossible to be close to Jesus. Here is just one such example – “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (1 Timothy 4:16)

If you have accepted a preacher who tells you that your sins are forgiven at the moment you believe on Jesus, and the apostles say that forgiveness of sins comes in water baptism through the name of Jesus, how can you be close to Him? How can you be close to Jesus when your sins aren’t forgiven and you’re not a partaker of the Covenant, but an uncircumcised Philistine? A true relationship with God is impossible without obedience to the commandments of the apostles’ doctrine. I John 2:4 states: “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

Read Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-20, Luke 24:44-49, and then read the first two chapters of Acts. You will see the New Testament Church, plain and simple. And from the very beginning, they “Continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine.”

7. The Bible says we aren’t supposed to judge people.

Jesus did tell us that in Matthew 7:1-3, but in that context, He was talking about judging our neighbors’ hearts or their motives.

1 John 4:1 is very clear in telling us that we ARE to judge people’s doctrine (what they teach): “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God: because many FALSE PROPHETS are gone out into the world.”

We are not qualified to judge who will go to hell; however, putting someone in heaven is the same judgment. No, we cannot judge who will be saved and who will be lost because God has already made that judgment:

“Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5).

“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy ghost.” (Acts 2:38)

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…” (Mark 16:16).

If we were to judge, we might say, “He that just believes – plus nothing, minus nothing – shall be saved.”

6. We are saved by faith only. The Bible says Abraham’s faith was accounted unto him for righteousness.

Okay, Romans 4:3 – “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”

Paul is quoting from Genesis 15:6 and he tells us that Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. However, Paul doesn’t go into any detail about how it actually came about. But James does. James goes into explicit detail when he quotes Genesis 15:6. If we believe, it will be counted unto us for righteousness, but how is it counted for righteousness? It’s not just believing.

James asks in James 2:14, “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?” He spends the rest of the chapter answering this question. In verse 17 he says, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” Then, he reiterates it in verse 20, “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?” In verses 22 and 23, James tells us that Abraham’s faith was made perfect by his works and that, because of his works, the Bible says, “Abraham’s faith was imputed unto him for righteousness.” There are two kinds of faith, saving faith, and dead faith. What is the difference? Works.

Hebrews 11:7 sheds some light on Noah’s salvation. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” Faith caused Noah to move, but building the ark is what saved him and made him an heir of righteousness. By faith, he believed God, but obeying God’s word is what saved Noah. Had he not built the ark, Noah’s faith in God would not have saved him. It would have been mere dead faith.

The people in Acts 2 weren’t saved by faith only. Philip didn’t preach faith only in Acts 8. Paul wasn’t saved by faith only in Acts 9 (and 22), and Paul didn’t preach faith only to the Ephesians in Acts 19. Faith without works is dead.

But what about Abraham’s faith being imputed unto him for righteousness? James 2:21:“²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? ²²Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? ²³And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” Genesis 15:6 was fulfilled when Abraham offered Isaac on the altar, not at the moment he believed only.

I don’t think we can put it any stronger than James. James 2:24 – “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” And don’t forget, he is still answering that question from verse 14.

One more point worth mentioning here is we are not saved by faith; we are saved by grace. Faith is how we avail ourselves of God’s grace, but faith without works is dead faith. There are no works to grace (God’s part), but there are plenty of works to faith (our part). Grace, God’s unmerited favor, gave us Calvary, the blood, and the gospel that began at Jerusalem. Nothing we ever do or fail to do will add to or take away from that grace. However, our faith, faith made perfect by our works, is obedience to the demands of that grace.

5. The Bible says that we are saved by grace and not by works, lest any man should boast. Baptism is a work.

Paul does write in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are not saved by works. We cannot, by our good deeds, earn our salvation; it is the gift of God. Let’s read it.

Ephesians 2:8-9: “⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.” This is one of the most popular passages of Scripture in modern Christianity.

As previously pointed out, Ephesians is a letter to the saints at Ephesus. Remember, these people are already saved and this is not instructions to lost sinners. The critical question is how did these people get saved by grace through faith, and is there a written record? Wouldn’t that give us a truer meaning of what Paul is writing about than some preacher’s opinion 2000 years after the fact?

There is a detailed record of the Ephesians’ conversion in the nineteenth chapter of Acts. In verse 1, Paul met some disciples at Ephesus. They were probably introduced to Christ by a man named Apollos. Paul knew they were believers, but he did not know if they were born again, if they were saved. He asked them a peculiar question in verse 2: “Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?”

What a question. According to Paul, it is possible to believe and still not have the Holy Ghost. When they told Paul that they never heard of the Holy Ghost, Paul didn’t tell them that they received it unawares the moment they believed. No. As we said before, the first thing Paul did was question their water baptism (verse 3): “Unto what then were ye baptized?” When they said, unto John’s baptism, Paul recognized that John baptized unto repentance; however, he basically told them that their baptism wasn’t good enough. When the people understood that, Paul re-baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus. The only difference in Paul’s baptism and their first baptism was the name called over them as they went down in the water. In verse 6, Paul laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost speaking in tongues.

Paul was not satisfied that the Ephesians were saved until he had baptized them in Jesus’ name and heard them speak in tongues. Regardless of what any preacher says, that is exactly how the Ephesians were saved by grace through faith and not of works.

Just as Peter preached in Acts 2:38, the Ephesians had to be baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost in order to be saved by grace through faith. And when they received the Holy Ghost, they spoke in tongues just like the Jews on the Day of Pentecost. The gospel won’t change and the faith that was once delivered to the saints won’t change.

No, our works cannot pay the price for our salvation, but neither can we obtain it just by saying or thinking the words, “I accept Jesus as my personal savior.” The apostles told us the way to have our sins forgiven and to be born into the kingdom of God is: REPENT, AND BE BAPTIZED EVERY ONE OF YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. Baptism in the name of Jesus is the only scriptural way to receive remission of sins. Jesus paid for our sins with His blood, but His blood is applied in water baptism.

Baptism is not a work we do to earn our salvation but an act of faith in response to God’s grace. Actually, the person being baptized doesn’t do any kind of work at all.
When someone dies, he doesn’t bury himself.

Just to keep things in proper perspective, we should point out that reciting the sinners’ prayer is as much a work as being baptized. Even “believing” is something that we do.

4. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This is truth, but not the whole truth. Remember, this conversation began with, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” This is the same Jesus who said in Mark 16:16, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” If you’re going to take John 3:16 alone, as the complete gospel to be saved by, you might as well take a pair of scissors and cut out the Great Commission, the book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament. Moreover, the only thing John 3:16 actually tells us is why God gave His Son, and not how to be saved.

When Philip went out into the desert and preached Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch, all of a sudden there was water. Philip’s sermon is not spelled out for us, but the only thing the eunuch wanted to know was if he could be baptized. Philip said that he could be baptized if he believed with all his heart. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”

There is no record in the New Testament of any individual being converted by mental assent. NONE. Not one apostle or other preacher ever told a lost person that he would be instantly and automatically saved, born again, simply by believing on Jesus Christ. NEVER. We don’t want to end up like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, believing that John 3:16 is all there is to salvation, while completely ignoring Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:16, Luke 24:47, John 3:5, John 3:8, Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, 16, 19, 22, James 2:17, 1 Peter 3:21, and others. Believing is essential, but it is only a prerequisite to actual conversion. Believing leads to repentance, obedience, and the birth of the Spirit.

Furthermore, the only scriptural way to be baptized is by immersion. When a person dies, he is buried, not sprinkled with dirt. When a person repents, dies out to his carnal lifestyle, he is buried with Jesus in the waters of baptism.

Romans 10:13 isn’t the only relevant verse in the book of Romans: Romans 6:4 – “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:” We’ll be in the likeness of His resurrection IF we have been planted in the likeness of His death (baptism). What if we’re not planted in that likeness?

3. In the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul asks, “Do all speak with tongues?” This is proof that not all people will speak in tongues when they receive the Holy Ghost.

There is a difference between receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues and the operation of the gift of tongues discussed in 1 Corinthians 12. Tongues was established as the sign of receiving the Holy Ghost in Acts. Corinthians does not void that, but expounds on a different aspect of tongues. When you read “Do all speak with tongues?” you will see that the question refers back to the unique gift of “divers tongues and interpretations” at the beginning of the chapter and not to receiving the Holy Ghost at conversion. 1 Corinthians 12 has nothing to do with conversion.

The speaking in tongues mentioned by Paul was one of the nine gifts of the Spirit actively operating in the church. This is not the same thing as described as receiving the promise in Acts. Paul couldn’t undo what Jesus said in John 3:8, either: “And so is EVERY ONE born of the Spirit.”

Paul is not telling us that not everyone will speak in tongues when they receive the Holy Ghost. He is telling us that not everyone in the church will operate in this unique gift of tongues and interpretations.

1 Corinthians was a letter written to the church at Corinth. It was only broken into chapters and verses for our convenience. Therefore, we must consider the whole letter and not take chapter 12 out of context. We’ve presented much scripture to show that tongues is the only biblical evidence of receiving the Holy Ghost in the book of Acts, but Paul tells us something in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15 that goes far beyond the initial evidence: “14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also:”

When Paul prayed with the spirit, he prayed in unknown tongues. This means that when he prayed with his understanding, he wasn’t praying with the spirit, no matter how sincere or passionate his praying. And he said he would continue to pray with the spirit (unknown tongues) and with his understanding also. Why would Paul stress praying with the spirit? “He that speaketh in an unknown tongue edifieth himself” (1 Corinthians 14:4). Edify means to build up. Don’t we want to pray with the spirit and build ourselves up? Well, according to Paul, the way to do that is praying with unknown tongues.

Jude said almost the same thing in his letter: “20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.” Wouldn’t this be the same as praying with the spirit? How do we build ourselves up on our most holy faith? By praying in the Holy Ghost. If praying in the Holy Ghost is the same as praying with the spirit, then that means we build ourselves up on our most holy faith by praying with unknown tongues.

Okay, where does that leave those who do not pray with unknown tongues? They can’t pray with the spirit or build themselves up like Paul did, and they can’t build themselves up on their most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost like Jude spoke about.

If you can’t pray with the spirit and you can’t pray in the Holy Ghost because you don’t speak in unknown tongues, what is the implication here? You don’t have the Holy Ghost in the first place. That brings us full circle. Acts shows us what happens when people receive the Holy Ghost, and the epistles were written to people saved in Acts. If we haven’t received the speaking-in-tongues Holy Ghost as recorded in the book of Acts, then 1 Corinthians does not apply to us anyway.

Finally, if you were called to testify as a witness in a court proceeding, you would “speak” on behalf of the defense or the prosecution. To give testimony or bear witness means to speak. 1 John 5:6: “And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.”

Would the Spirit “speak” when it bears witness? Acts 2:4: “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” In the upper room, when the people spoke with tongues, the Spirit spoke supernaturally through the believers. When God shows up, He’ll speak for Himself.

Try this little experiment:

I know that I received the gift of the Holy Ghost because…

(Fill in the blank)

Now, list as many examples as you can of people in the church in the Bible who knew they received the Holy Ghost by the same evidence that you just wrote down, and then harmonize that with Acts 2:16, Acts 8, Acts 10 and Acts 19.

2. When the jailer in Acts 16:31 asked how to be saved, Paul and Silas told him that all he had to do was believe.

Not exactly. The jailer did ask Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they did tell him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” But “shalt be” is future indicative and implies a future time, not automatically, right now with nothing else involved. Moreover, if we stop here, then everyone in the jailer’s house would be saved because the jailer believed. Just consider the very next verse (32) : “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.” Faith (saving faith) cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. In other words, they went home with the jailer and preached the gospel to him and his household. What did Paul and Silas preach to these folks? We are not given a single word, but the people went out sometime after midnight, in the company of the prisoners, to be baptized “straightway.” Back at the jail, the jailer would have committed suicide for fear of the Roman soldiers, but after Paul and Silas gave him the Word of the Lord, baptism became more important than his very life.

Would anyone go out in the middle of the night (at risk) to be baptized, if it were not essential? Baptism is exactly how Paul had his sins washed away, so it’s doubtful he would tell these folks that they could be saved without being baptized. Jesus expressed an opinion on the subject: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” ( Mark 16:16).

Paul also wrote that without the Spirit of Christ, we are none of his. While the main focus of this account is on water baptism, the jailer would have needed to receive the Spirit as well. We can turn to Acts 19 and see a detailed example of Paul’s ministry, including the people’s response and a written record of what happened when someone received the Holy Ghost under Paul’s preaching.

Further, all the apostles preached the same gospel. Jude, in his letter, refers to the “common salvation” and admonishes us to “Contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.” What does contend for mean? It means to fight for, to defend. What faith was once delivered unto the saints? The one that began at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.

Indeed, Galatians 1:23 says of Paul: “That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.” What faith had Paul destroyed? The one that began in Acts 2.