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.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
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?